skip to content

 

Preventing Growth of Mesothelioma Tumours

13 August 2021

Mesothelioma cancer patients may benefit from new research that sheds light onto the reason behind the growth of these tumour cells which, unlike most cancers, have no oncogenic drivers. Scientists from the MRC Toxicology Unit (University of Cambridge) and the CRUK Beatson Institute (University of Glasgow) worked on the...

Read more

Nature Communications featured article: Treatment of COVID-19 with remdesivir in the absence of humoral immunity: a case report

1 March 2021

A recently publised article from Dr. James Thaventhiran's group about the potential treatment effect of remedesvir in COVID-19 patients was chosen as a featured paper by Nature Communiactions. The scientific achivement is highlighted under the topic of "Microbiology and Infectious diseases" in the journal's January issue .

Read more

Cryo-EM structural analysis reveals Caspase-8 catalytic domain architecture for co-ordinated control of cell fate

17 February 2021

Marion MacFarlane, MRC Investigator and Deputy Director at the MRC Toxicology Unit is the senior author of a new study published in Nature Communications which reveals how ‘Cryo-EM structural analysis of FADD:Caspase-8 complexes defines the catalytic dimer architecture for co-ordinated control of cell fate’. “The core FADD...

Read more

Cooperation is key to success in microbial communities

12 January 2021

Dr Kiran Patil, Director of Research at the MRC Toxicology Unit is the senior author of a new study which shows how cooperation among bacterial species allows them to thrive as a community. This research is from the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Cambridge and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). "If...

Read more

Remdesivir likely to be highly effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2

14 December 2020

The drug remdesivir is likely to be a highly effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2, according to a new study by a team of UK scientists. Writing in Nature Communications, the researchers describe giving the drug to a patient with COVID-19 and a rare immune disorder, and observing a dramatic improvement in his symptoms and...

Read more

Researchers test a drug that may allow more cancer patients to benefit from immunotherapy in the future

3 November 2020

Immunotherapy can be a lifesaver for cancer patients, but some patients' tumours don't respond well to this treatment. However, researchers are encouraged by a recent clinical trial that suggests that it may be possible to expand immunotherapy to help more people in the future. Immunotherapy works by marshalling the body's...

Read more

Air pollution from brake dust may have same harmful effects on immune cells as diesel exhaust

20 January 2020

Metal particles from the abrasion of brake pads - up to a fifth of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution at roadsides - may cause inflammation and reduce the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria, a new study has found, similarly to particles derived from diesel exhaust. The scientists, primarily funded by the...

Read more

New exciting paper from the Willis Lab

18 December 2019

We are pleased to announce a new paper from the Willis lab, which made front cover of science signaling, shows the common chemotherapy doxorubicin can promote the migration of cancer cells through phosphorylation of a translation factor. Please see the links to the article published in Science Signaling below: Summary...

Read more

Catching lung cancer early using only a sample of blood

14 February 2019

In this video, a summary of Miguel’s group latest study, modelling pre-cancerous lung tumours in mice to determine if evidence of these early tumours could be detected in the blood

Read more

'PAXX and its paralogs synergistically direct DNA polymerase λ activity in DNA repair'

25 September 2018

Published in @NatureComms today by scientists at @MRC_TU - 'PAXX and its paralogs synergistically direct DNA polymerase λ activity in DNA repair' https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06127-y

Read more