Research

This is a video summary presenting new findings published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation about the role of microRNA-155 in the affinity-based selection of B cells. Two of the paper’s authors, Rinako Nakagawa and Elena Vigorito, provide a personally guided tour of their results. The results of this study may extend our understanding of the pathogenesis of lymphomas and open up new therapeutic targets.

News link: A testing time: understanding more about how the ‘best’ B cells are selected

Keywords: Research, immunology, B cells, apoptosis, antibodies, germinal centre, microRNA-155, c-Myc

Date: December 2015

A video by researchers at the Babraham Institute allows a glimpse into the physical interactions occurring in the genome. Reflecting the beauty of a distant galaxy, the video shows a three-dimensional view of the contact points between the 22,000 genes in the mouse genome.

News link: Come here and be quiet!

Keywords: genome, genes, polycomb proteins, nuclear dynamics

Date: November 2015

The video clip shows memory T cells (green) actively patrolling the skin surface (blue) in case of re-infection with a similar pathogen. Find more videos like this on our Weapons of Microscopic Destruction website, plus games and more information on how the immune system works.

Date: May 2015

A new method for visualising chromosomes is painting a truer picture of their shape, which is rarely like the X-shaped blob of DNA most of us are familiar with.

News item: ‘X-shape’ not true picture of chromosome structure, new imaging technique reveals

Keywords: chromosome, shape, DNA, folding, genes, nuclear dynamics

Date: September 2013