Orientia tsutsugamushi: comprehensive analysis of the mobilome of a highly fragmented and repetitive genome reveals the capacity for ongoing lateral gene transfer in an obligate intracellular bacterium
Obligate intracellular bacteria - those only capable of growth inside other living cells - have limited opportunities for horizontal gene transfer with other microbes due to their isolated...
Evidence of a genetic background predisposing to complex regional pain syndrome type 1
Complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS-1) is a rare, disabling and sometimes chronic disorder usually arising after a trauma. In a recent study, the Woods lab examined whether patients with this...
The structure of a Plasmodium vivax Tryptophan Rich Antigen domain suggests a lipid binding function for a pan-Plasmodium multi-gene family
Plasmodium vivax is the most geographically widespread cause of malaria, with nearly 3 billion people at risk of infection, mostly in Latin America and Asia. There is no approved vaccine for P. vivax...
Super resolution microscopy reveals how autophagosomes form from finger-like phagophores
Conserved from yeast to humans, autophagy is a pathway whereby cells engulf cytoplasmic contents in double-membraned autophagosomes, which traffic their contents to lysosomes for degradation. This...
Unpicking the complex genetics underpinning a rare disease
Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS) is an inherited condition caused by faulty ribosomal assembly. Individuals with SDS are at high risk of progression to blood cancers including myelodysplasia and...
New CIMR research identifies cell surface markers of severe COVID-19
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to present a significant public health risk. Although many are now protected by natural immunity or vaccination, a minority...
A new mechanism for a human virus to evade cellular defences
Prof Mike Weekes’s lab works to understand how viruses including human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) interact with and evade host cell antiviral proteins. EBV is associated with...
Ectocytosis renders TCR signaling self-limiting at the immune synapse
Prof. Gillian Griffiths’s lab studies cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) - serial killers which destroy multiple targets in succession. A new Science paper from the lab describes a unique mechanism for...
Prof David Rubinsztein has been named as a highly cited researcher by Clarivate™. Each year, they identify the small fraction of the global research scientists and social scientists who have...
CIMR is delighted to welcome two new PIs to the Institute, Dr Melissa Gammons and Dr Jonathon Nixon-Abell, both of whom have been awarded prestigious Wellcome Career Development Awards. Dr Nixon-...
The Rayner lab are part of a new international consortium, OptiViVax, working to develop an effective vaccine against Plasmodium vivax parasites. P. vivax is one of the principal causes of malaria...
