38 posts · 32,199 views
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- July 5, 2011
- 03:11 AM
- 769 views
PhD: Procrastination, hallucination, Dissertation– Lab 2: Tea at the poles
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Jonathan Lawson is in the first year of his Wellcome Trust Four-year PhD. Undertaking the second of three laboratory projects, he tells us how yeast come in more shapes and sizes than you might have imagined. How do cells know which way is up? This is one of the most fundamental and important questions in [...]... Read more »
Carazo-Salas RE, Antony C, & Nurse P. (2005) The kinesin Klp2 mediates polarization of interphase microtubules in fission yeast. Science (New York, N.Y.), 309(5732), 297-300. PMID: 16002618
Hayles J, & Nurse P. (2001) A journey into space. Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology, 2(9), 647-56. PMID: 11533722
La Carbona S, Le Goff C, & Le Goff X. (2006) Fission yeast cytoskeletons and cell polarity factors: connecting at the cortex. Biology of the cell / under the auspices of the European Cell Biology Organization, 98(11), 619-31. PMID: 17042740
Sawin, K.E., & Tran, P.T. (2006) Cytoplasmic microtubule organization in fission yeast. Yeast, 23(13), 1001-1014. DOI: 10.1002/yea.1404
- June 6, 2011
- 06:00 AM
- 510 views
Getting to the root of the Tree of Life
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
All organisms on Earth can be mapped onto the phylogenetic ‘Tree of Life’ – with its dividing branches showing how species have evolved through time. At the very base of the tree are three branches, representing the three major domains of life: Bacteria, eukaryotes and Archaea. You’ve almost certainly heard of the first two – [...]... Read more »
Kelly S, Wickstead B, & Gull K. (2011) Archaeal phylogenomics provides evidence in support of a methanogenic origin of the Archaea and a thaumarchaeal origin for the eukaryotes. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 278(1708), 1009-18. PMID: 20880885
- April 6, 2011
- 12:26 PM
- 891 views
Q&A: Dr Beau Lotto – Making anyone part of scientific discovery
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Dr Beau Lotto Dr Beau Lotto is a neuroscientist on a mission: to get us to understand that we are each makers of how we see and understand the world. In a recent project he worked with primary school children to help them become the first in the world to plan, perform and publish [...]... Read more »
Blackawton PS, Airzee S, Allen A, Baker S, Berrow A, Blair C, Churchill M, Coles J, Cumming RF, Fraquelli L.... (2011) Blackawton bees. Biology letters, 7(2), 168-72. PMID: 21177694
Maloney LT, & Hempel de Ibarra N. (2011) Blackawton bees: commentary on Blackawton, P. S. et al. Biology letters, 7(2), 166-7. PMID: 21177691
- March 30, 2011
- 11:25 AM
- 1,029 views
Guest post: Auditory processing disorder – a cause of language problems or an incidental finding?
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
What causes a child’s language problems? Is it a problem with hearing? A problem with the brain’s interpretation of speech? Is it genetic? Specialists sometimes diagnose ‘Auditory Processing Disorder’ but the term itself is a complicated affair, writes Dorothy Bishop. Five-year-old Charlie doesn’t speak very clearly, and doesn’t always understand what people are saying. His [...]... Read more »
Bishop, D. (2006) Developmental cognitive genetics: How psychology can inform genetics and vice versa. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 59(7), 1153-1168. DOI: 10.1080/17470210500489372
Bishop, D. (2007) Using mismatch negativity to study central auditory processing in developmental language and literacy impairments: Where are we, and where should we be going?. Psychological Bulletin, 133(4), 651-672. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.133.4.651
Bishop DV, Hardiman MJ, & Barry JG. (2010) Lower-frequency event-related desynchronization: a signature of late mismatch responses to sounds, which is reduced or absent in children with specific language impairment. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 30(46), 15578-84. PMID: 21084613
Dawes P, & Bishop DV. (2007) The SCAN-C in testing for auditory processing disorder in a sample of British children. International journal of audiology, 46(12), 780-6. PMID: 18049967
Dawes P, & Bishop D. (2009) Auditory processing disorder in relation to developmental disorders of language, communication and attention: a review and critique. International journal of language , 44(4), 440-65. PMID: 19925352
Ferguson MA, Hall RL, Riley A, & Moore DR. (2011) Communication, listening, cognitive and speech perception skills in children with auditory processing disorder (APD) or Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 54(1), 211-27. PMID: 20689032
Loo JH, Bamiou DE, Campbell N, & Luxon LM. (2010) Computer-based auditory training (CBAT): benefits for children with language- and reading-related learning difficulties. Developmental medicine and child neurology, 52(8), 708-17. PMID: 20370814
Moore, D. (2006) Auditory processing disorder (APD): Definition, diagnosis, neural basis, and intervention. Audiological Medicine, 4(1), 4-11. DOI: 10.1080/16513860600568573
Moore DR, Ferguson MA, Edmondson-Jones AM, Ratib S, & Riley A. (2010) Nature of auditory processing disorder in children. Pediatrics, 126(2). PMID: 20660546
- March 11, 2011
- 09:41 AM
- 876 views
Bites: X marks the spots
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
The human X chromosome has about 155 million base pairs. Fragile X syndrome is caused by just three of them. The genetic disease, one of the leading causes of inherited mental retardation worldwide, affects around 1 in every 4500 males and 1 in every 9000 females. It is caused by the improper duplication of the [...]... Read more »
Hallahan BP, Craig MC, Toal F, Daly EM, Moore CJ, Ambikapathy A, Robertson D, Murphy KC, & Murphy DG. (2011) In vivo brain anatomy of adult males with Fragile X syndrome: an MRI study. NeuroImage, 54(1), 16-24. PMID: 20708694
- March 9, 2011
- 06:45 AM
- 821 views
Guest post: Language on the left?
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
The human brain is split into two halves, the left and the right hemisphere. But to what extent are language functions found mainly in one hemisphere, and why this might be? In the first in a series of posts from scientist bloggers, Professor Sophie Scott describes how there are two sides to language in the [...]... Read more »
Knecht, S. (2000) Handedness and hemispheric language dominance in healthy humans. Brain, 123(12), 2512-2518. DOI: 10.1093/brain/123.12.2512
- March 1, 2011
- 09:26 AM
- 1,093 views
PhD: Procrastination, hallucination, dissertation – Lab 1: Only the nose knows
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Jonathan Lawson is in the first year of his Wellcome Trust Four-year PhD. Undertaking the first of three laboratory projects, he tells us how cells that help us smell might one day cure paralysis. Cells from the nose that could cure stroke or paralysis – crazy, right? That’s what I thought too, but it [...]... Read more »
Barraud P, Seferiadis AA, Tyson LD, Zwart MF, Szabo-Rogers HL, Ruhrberg C, Liu KJ, & Baker CV. (2010) Neural crest origin of olfactory ensheathing glia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(49), 21040-5. PMID: 21078992
- February 17, 2011
- 06:10 AM
- 1,001 views
Genetic counselling and schizophrenia tests
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Genetic testing has many ethical implications. These can be particularly sensitive when it comes to psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia that are open to misconception and stigmatisation. Although knowledge of one’s risk of developing a disorder can lead to positive changes in behaviour, and allow for early intervention, these come mixed with disadvantages, including feelings [...]... Read more »
Salkovskis PM, Rimes KA, Bolton J, & Wroe AL. (2010) An experimental investigation of factors involved in the decision to undertake genetic testing for schizophrenia. Journal of mental health (Abingdon, England), 19(2), 202-10. PMID: 20433328
- February 16, 2011
- 06:04 AM
- 903 views
Female fruitfly fecundity
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
The frequency with which mating occurs has differing consequences for males and female fruitflies in terms of their fitness and lifespan. For males, the more mates they have, the better their chances of reproductive success. But for females, a shift to too much mating and reproduction may be costly in terms of lifespan, given the [...]... Read more »
Wigby S, Slack C, Grönke S, Martinez P, Calboli FC, Chapman T, & Partridge L. (2011) Insulin signalling regulates remating in female Drosophila. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 278(1704), 424-31. PMID: 20739318
- February 14, 2011
- 06:47 AM
- 722 views
How structural biology solved a 110-year immunological mystery
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
In December last year, a new research paper revealed how a protein called perforin – the ‘bullet’ of the immune system – kills rogue cells in our body. How these immune pore-forming proteins function has been a key question since the discovery of “haemolytic complement proteins” in the 1890s by the Nobel laureate Jules [...]... Read more »
Law RH, Lukoyanova N, Voskoboinik I, Caradoc-Davies TT, Baran K, Dunstone MA, D'Angelo ME, Orlova EV, Coulibaly F, Verschoor S.... (2010) The structural basis for membrane binding and pore formation by lymphocyte perforin. Nature, 468(7322), 447-51. PMID: 21037563
- February 4, 2011
- 06:20 AM
- 803 views
Do you feel the same way too?
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Have you ever watched a loved one stub their toe and wince yourself in sympathy? If so, you’ve perhaps unknowingly experienced a psychological phenomenon known as ‘embodied simulation’. When a you see someone making a gesture, be it emotional or physical, the regions activated in their brain are also activated in yours, creating a common [...]... Read more »
Anders S, Heinzle J, Weiskopf N, Ethofer T, & Haynes JD. (2011) Flow of affective information between communicating brains. NeuroImage, 54(1), 439-46. PMID: 20624471
- February 3, 2011
- 09:40 AM
- 252 views
Guest post: Thinking in time
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Where does our sense of time come from? Recent research suggests external factors play a key part in how our brain perceives the passage of time, writes Misha Ahrens. Our sense of time passing is important, and typically assumed to originate from timekeeping circuitry within the brain. But a dedicated ‘brain clock’ has not yet [...]... Read more »
Ahrens MB, & Sahani M. (2011) Observers exploit stochastic models of sensory change to help judge the passage of time. Current biology : CB, 21(3), 200-6. PMID: 21256018
- February 1, 2011
- 06:10 AM
- 757 views
Guest post: One cartwheel to rule them all (and in 9-fold symmetry bind them!)
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Centrioles play a key part in cell division – faults can lead to cancer – yet we know little about how they themselves duplicate. Dr John Vakonakis, a Wellcome Trust Research Development Fellow at the University of Oxford, explains how new research is providing some clues. Every day in our lives millions of cells inside [...]... Read more »
Kitagawa D, Vakonakis I, Olieric N, Hilbert M, Keller D, Olieric V, Bortfeld M, Erat MC, Flückiger I, Gönczy P.... (2011) Structural Basis of the 9-Fold Symmetry of Centrioles. Cell. PMID: 21277013
- January 28, 2011
- 09:09 AM
- 760 views
Tiny fish light the way to fighting cancer
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
As most of us know, a cancer cell is formed when its DNA becomes altered, either by the switching on of genes which allow uncontrolled proliferation, or by the switching off of the genes which prevent this from happening. What is unknown however, is the role that the innate immune system plays in the development [...]... Read more »
Feng Y, Santoriello C, Mione M, Hurlstone A, & Martin P. (2010) Live imaging of innate immune cell sensing of transformed cells in zebrafish larvae: parallels between tumor initiation and wound inflammation. PLoS biology, 8(12). PMID: 21179501
- January 27, 2011
- 06:16 AM
- 651 views
Guest post: Awakening stem cells in the brain – glia sound the alarm
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Stem cells are often hailed for their medical potential, but the cells surrounding them can be just as important and may offer an alterative therapeutic strategy. Professor Andrea Brand and Dr James Chell of the Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, have uncovered the key role of glial cells in controlling stem cell division in the brain. [...]... Read more »
Chell JM, & Brand AH. (2010) Nutrition-responsive glia control exit of neural stem cells from quiescence. Cell, 143(7), 1161-73. PMID: 21183078
- January 18, 2011
- 05:55 AM
- 856 views
Not so wild thing
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Different branches of biological research often use different model organisms. You’ve probably heard of some of them: E. coli, the standard organism for much bacterial research, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in genetics, Arabidopsis thaliana in plant research. Another model organism is the nematode C. elegans. These tiny worms that live in rotting fruit are [...]... Read more »
Weber KP, De S, Kozarewa I, Turner DJ, Babu MM, & de Bono M. (2010) Whole genome sequencing highlights genetic changes associated with laboratory domestication of C. elegans. PloS one, 5(11). PMID: 21085631
- December 9, 2010
- 05:42 AM
- 711 views
Eye on the ball
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
When studying eye movement, it is easy to imagine someone sitting in a darkened room, following a dot around a computer screen. New research suggests that the future of this research may require a shifting of the goal posts. Dr Christina Howard and colleagues from the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol describe a [...]... Read more »
Howard CJ, Troscianko T, & Gilchrist ID. (2010) Eye-response lags during a continuous monitoring task. Psychonomic bulletin , 17(5), 710-7. PMID: 21037171
- December 7, 2010
- 08:36 AM
- 750 views
Bites: Lassa fever
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
Lassa fever is a common disease in West Africa and endemic in several countries including Sierra Leone and parts of Nigeria. There are 300–500,000 cases of Lassa fever each year, causing about 5000 deaths. Though 80 per cent of infections elicit no symptoms, if they do occur, they can be nasty. Starting with a fever, this [...]... Read more »
Qi, X., Lan, S., Wang, W., Schelde, L., Dong, H., Wallat, G., Ly, H., Liang, Y., & Dong, C. (2010) Cap binding and immune evasion revealed by Lassa nucleoprotein structure. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature09605
- November 23, 2010
- 06:38 AM
- 661 views
Bites: Imm-ewe-nity
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
For sheep, having a strong immune system may be the key to living a long life, but at the cost of reproductive success, research has shown. The work looked at an unmanaged population of Soay Sheep (Ovis aries), a primitive breed living on the remote island of Hirta, to the far west of Scotland. Dr [...]... Read more »
Graham AL, Hayward AD, Watt KA, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM, & Nussey DH. (2010) Fitness correlates of heritable variation in antibody responsiveness in a wild mammal. Science (New York, N.Y.), 330(6004), 662-5. PMID: 21030656
- November 8, 2010
- 06:33 AM
- 593 views
For better health, it pays to stay in school
by Wellcome Trust in Wellcome Trust Blog
It is well-documented that those who are better educated have better physical health than those who are less educated. This is true throughout the world despite differences in healthcare systems. But why is this the case? Dr Wendy Johnson, from the University of Edinburgh, and colleagues including Wellcome Trust research fellow Dr David Batty, studied [...]... Read more »
Johnson W, Kyvik KO, Mortensen EL, Skytthe A, Batty GD, & Deary IJ. (2010) Education reduces the effects of genetic susceptibilities to poor physical health. International journal of epidemiology, 39(2), 406-14. PMID: 19861402
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