Placentas adapt to help keep babies healthy when mothers have poor diets or low oxygen during pregnancy
CTR researchers have discovered the placenta regulates how much oxygen and nutrients it transports to babies during challenging pregnancies in a study using mice to model conditions in the womb
Former PDN student awarded Anatomical Society Best Image prize
Léa Wenger, a former part 2 student, has just been awarded the runner-up prize of the Anatomical Society Best Image competition
Mechanics paves the way for nerve cells
By tracking real-time changes in physical properties of the embryonic brain, researchers from the Franze lab have shown that changes in brain stiffness tell growing nerve cells which way to turn
Late endosomes serve as mRNA translation platforms and help to sustain mitochondrial health in axon
New research by Christine Holt and colleagues published in Cell shows that late endosomes serve as mRNA translation platforms and help to sustain mitochondrial health in the axons of neurons
Ewa Paluch receives 2019 Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in the UK
Prof Paluch is the 2019 Laureate in Life Sciences and will receive the award and associated cash prize at the March Blavatnik Awards Ceremony to be held at the V&A.
PDN Part II students awarded BACA prize
Two of our Part II PDN students from last year who did anatomy projects with the Human Anatomy Teaching Group have been awarded the prize for best oral presentation at the BACA (British Association of Clinical Anatomists) and Anatomical Society meetings
CTR study on mini placentas makes Guardian 2018 science stories list
The miniature placenta study by Margherita Turco and her CTR colleagues has been featured in a list of science stories that shook 2018 by The Guardian
Using the marmoset brain to understand depression
Marmoset study by the Roberts lab shows how over-activity in a specific area of the brain’s frontal lobe blunts the anticipatory excitement and motivation for reward – core symptoms of depression.
Physical forces, not shape, identified as driving factor of cell division direction
Study by the Sanson Lab published in Developmental Cell sheds light on the driving mechanisms that determine the direction of the plane of division during development
‘Mini-placentas’ could provide a model for early pregnancy
PDN researchers say that new ‘mini-placentas’ – a cellular model of the early stages of the placenta – could provide a window into early pregnancy and help transform our understanding of reproductive disorders. Details of this new research are published today in the journal Nature.
Single-cell reconstruction of the early maternal–fetal interface in humans
Transcriptomes of about 70,000 single cells from first-trimester deciduas and placentas reveal subsets of perivascular, stromal and natural killer cells in the decidua, according to new research by CTR published on Nature
New mechanisms of action for platelet inhibition identified
Study by Gavin Jarvis on citalopram-induced platelet inhibition reports evidence for two novel and putative mechanisms of inhibition
Predatory flies use "homing missile" system to intercept preys mid-air
New study by Gonzalez-Bellido lab published on the Journal of the Royal Society Interface sheds light on the underlying system behind predation and navigation in insects
Sequential formation and resolution of multiple rosettes drive embryo remodelling after implantation
New study by Magda Zernicka-Goetz's lab on Nature Cell Biology examines the mechanisms of cavity formation during development for the correct formation of the embryo
PDN receives Green Impact Excellence Award
The Vice Chancellor has awarded our Department with the Green Impact Excellence Award for its commitment to waste reduction
A 3D cell shape that enables tube formation
New modelling and in vivo observations reveal that cells in tubes adopt an asymmetric cell shape dubbed scutoid, contrary to some previous assumptions
How flat sheets of cells become tubular organs
New research by Guy Blanchard in collaboration with the LMB Cell Biology Division gives new insight into how flat layers of cell tissue develop into 3D structures
Rapid Cue-Specific Remodeling of the Nascent Axonal Proteome
The Holt lab at PDN has developed a new method to identify newly synthesized axonal proteins in response to axon guidance cues. Axons stimulated by different guidance cues show distinct and common signatures.
PDN scientists generate key life event in artificial mouse ‘embryo’ created from stem cells
The creation of artificial embryos has moved a step forward after an international team lead by Magda Zernicka-Goetz used mouse stem cells to produce artificial embryo-like structures capable of ‘gastrulation’, a key step in the life of any embryo
Discovery of genetic variant could lead to personalised treatments for mood disorder
New work by PDN member Andrea Santagelo on serotonine transporter gene could identify targets for tailored therapies
CTR funded PhD student awarded prize for best medical engineering project
Romina Plitman, former PhD at CTR, received the Depuy Best Postgraduate Medical Engineering Project award
Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri awarded Lister Prize Fellowship
The Lister Institute provides research funding to outstanding early career scientists whose work shows excellent potential to make an impact in the field of biomedical sciences
Five members of Dino Giussani's group awarded prizes at international meeting
Postdocs, PhDs and undergraduate members of Dino's group receive awards at the Society for Reproductive Investigation 65th Annual International Meeting
Prof Ewa Paluch awarded EMBO membership
PDN's Director of Research among 62 newly selected member of European research organization
Wolfram Schultz awarded The 2018 Gruber Neuroscience Prize
The PDN neuroscientist received the joint award for his work on the structure, organization and functions of the basal ganglia
The game of fate: tracing the origin of heterogeneity and symmetry breaking in the early mammalian embryo
New paper on Nature Communications by Magda Zernicka Goetz in collaboration with researchers from the University of Nevada digs into one of the central questions of developmental biology, single cell differentiation
How muscle satellite-like cells remain undifferentiated
New study by Hadi Boukhatmi and Sarah Bray shows population of adult satellite-like cells in Drosophila maintained through a switch in RNA-isoforms
Transcription factor HIF2a necessary for the development and function of the carotid body.
Study by Randall Johnson's lab uses genetic and physiological analysis to demonstrate the essential role of the transcription factor HIF-2alpha in the sympathetic nervous system control of the ventilatory response to hypoxia
Mechanism behind neuron death in motor neurone disease and frontotemporal dementia discovered
Scientists from Christine Holt lab in collaboration with the University of Toronto have identified the molecular mechanism that leads to the death of neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or motor neurone disease) and a common form of frontotemporal dementia.
‘Sleeping’ stem cells could aid regenerative medicine for brain repair
Scientists at the Wellcome Trust/ Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, have identified a new type of stem cell in the brain which they say has a high potential for repair following brain injury or disease.