https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from The Francis Crick Institute As we age, our cells acquire cancer-causing mutations, but mutations alone are rarely enough to start a tumor. An environmental trigger, such as exposure to air pollution from sources such as combustion engines, coal burning and cigarette smoke may be needed to tip mutant cells into cancer. Currently, lung cancer screening is offered only to people over a certain age who have previously smoked, missing never-smokers and individuals exposed to high levels of pollutants who may also be at risk of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-blood-proteins-lung-cancer-years.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:40:01 EDT news699806042 As tumors outgrow their blood and nutrient supplies, or respond to treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, individual cancer cells die, exposing their internal scaffolds. These dead cells are an abundant source of mutated proteins, or antigens, that can mark cancer cells as different from healthy ones. This is exactly what the immune system needs to recognize a tumor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-dead-tumor-cells-chemotherapy-radiotherapy.html Wed, 20 May 2026 08:20:01 EDT news698480102 Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have revealed that sensory nerve signals interfere with the immune system's response to lung cancer. This previously unrecognized neuroimmune connection could be targeted to improve responses to immunotherapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-nervous-lung-cancer-evade-immune.html Tue, 19 May 2026 15:00:02 EDT news698416083 The ability of different genetic variants—changes to one or more building blocks of DNA—to cause disease, and to what extent, has historically been opaque. Geneticist and Crick group leader Greg Findlay has pioneered a new method in the hope of changing this. Called "saturation genome editing," the new technique involves mapping every single variant in a given gene to work out what it does and pinpoint which changes are responsible for specific disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-mutations-scale-gene-reveals-neurodevelopmental.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:20:03 EDT news694876263 An international team of researchers led by the Francis Crick Institute, the University of East Anglia and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has found that dogs were domesticated more than 14,000 years ago and that dogs living in pre-agricultural Europe contributed substantially to the genetics of dogs living after agriculture and in the present day. The findings appear in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-earliest-dogs-europe-year-dna.html Evolution Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:00:02 EDT news693648782 Each year, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the reason that more than a million people die from infections that no longer respond to existing antibiotics, making AMR one of the greatest global health challenges of our time. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-video-powder-antibiotics.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:00:02 EST news690533721 Blood flows around the body through a complex network of vessels, which must constantly adapt to changing needs. The balance between growing new vessels and stabilizing existing vessels, so they aren't leaky, must be finely tuned. Abnormal blood vessel growth has been linked to a wide range of diseases, including bleeding disorders, cancer and diabetic retinopathy, but the underlying mechanisms aren't fully understood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-link-protein-key-disorganized-blood.html Medical research Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:20:04 EST news689519330 How do immune cells strike a balance, unleashing rapid attacks against pathogens or cancer, while avoiding damage to healthy cells? Research into an immune kill switch holds potential for controlling infections or preventing autoimmunity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-dual-mrna-markers-cells-overactive.html Immunology Thu, 22 Jan 2026 15:41:46 EST news688318862 Complex sugar-protein molecules that sense external messages to help a cell grow or respond to its environment can now be tracked and analyzed, using a Nobel Prize-winning chemistry technique. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-sweet-tracking-crucial-cell-messengers.html Biochemistry Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:26:31 EST news688134361 The immune system provides constant surveillance for the body, aiming to spot and eliminate disease-causing microbes or cancerous cells. But tumor cells develop many features that help them hide from the immune system to avoid being detected and killed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-cancer-invisibility-cloak-dying-tumor.html Oncology & Cancer Mon, 05 Jan 2026 10:18:13 EST news686830663 Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and AlveoliX have developed the first human lung-on-chip model using stem cells taken from only one person. These chips simulate breathing motions and lung disease in an individual, holding promise for testing treatments for infections like tuberculosis (TB) and delivering personalized medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-lung-chip-genetically-identical-cells.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:00:04 EST news686323460 From the moment an embryo starts to take shape, two-way communication is critical for making sure tissues and organs develop correctly. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-uncovering-early-embryonic-communications-stem.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:50:29 EST news685111801 Lars Stevens-Cullinane works in a dark room. But he's not processing negatives and printing photographs on light-sensitive paper; he's testing whether brief flashes of light can make drug-resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-phototherapy-reverse-antibiotic-resistance.html Biochemistry Fri, 28 Nov 2025 09:30:03 EST news683544001 An international team of researchers led by the Francis Crick Institute, working with the Paul Scherrer Institute, has developed a new imaging protocol to capture mouse brain cell connections in precise detail. In work published in Nature Methods, they combined the use of X-rays with radiation-resistant materials sourced from the aerospace industry. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-ray-imaging-captures-brain-intricate.html Neuroscience Thu, 27 Nov 2025 05:00:11 EST news683305622 Retroviruses are viruses that have evolved the ability to write their genetic code into a cell's own DNA. The most ancient known lineage of retroviruses, foamy viruses, emerged around 450 million years ago, before animal life moved onto land or even the evolution of trees. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-ancient-retrovirus-reveals-link-modern.html Evolution Thu, 20 Nov 2025 22:00:01 EST news682876296 In many aspects of our lives, we find meaning in the order in which events occur. We buy into myths about "middle child syndrome," talk of calm before storms, and consider it strange to start a meal with dessert. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-genetic-mutations-cancer-patient-outcomes.html Oncology & Cancer Thu, 20 Nov 2025 15:57:39 EST news682876654 In most developing tissues, signals called morphogens act like lighthouses, guiding nearby cells toward their fate and telling them what to become. Each cell relies on such signals for organized structures like organs and limbs to form. But as Jean-Paul Vincent explains, "for life to evolve large structures, those signals need to reach particularly far." https://phys.org/news/2025-11-genetic-circuit-evolution-insect-wings.html Evolution Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:26:04 EST news682691161 Cells have an internal skeleton that maintains their structure and also drives their movement. Known as the cytoskeleton, this scaffold is composed of a network of dynamic filaments made of a protein called actin. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-weakness-cell-affects-hostmicrobiome-relationship.html Immunology Fri, 14 Nov 2025 12:31:04 EST news682345861 Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that hunger can make virgin female mice aggressive towards pups, but only in certain hormonal states. These mice would usually ignore other females' pups or show parent-like caring behavior. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-hunger-hormones-aggression-pups-female.html Medical research Wed, 22 Oct 2025 15:00:05 EDT news680363678 Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and Vividion Therapeutics have identified chemical compounds that can precisely block the interaction between the major cancer-driving gene RAS and a key pathway for tumor growth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-experimental-drug-pave-clinical-trial.html Oncology & Cancer Thu, 09 Oct 2025 14:52:04 EDT news679240321 The amount of any given protein in a cell has to be controlled to keep its levels within a range required for healthy functions. This is especially important for proteins that are known to group together in liquid droplets called "condensates." These proteins generally contain flexible parts that don't have fixed 3D structures, so they can form many interactions at the same time. When these proteins accumulate, they are prone to forming large clumps called aggregates. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-cells-groups-proteins.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:30:04 EDT news678018601 A mixture of DNA and proteins—known as "chromatin"—sits inside every cell nucleus as a jumbled puddle of genetic information. As cells prepare to divide during mitosis, the chromatin is condensed into rod-shaped chromosomes, allowing the cell to neatly split its genetic material between two new cells. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-doesnt-idea-chromosome.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:59:03 EDT news677851141 Before a cell divides, its DNA is replicated so that each daughter cell inherits the same genetic information. The two copies, known as "sister chromatids," are held together by a ring-shaped protein complex called cohesin until they are pulled to opposite poles of the cell in a miniature game of tug of war. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-dna-genetic-replication.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:20:04 EDT news677246030 How do cells know what they should become as the body develops? Biological development depends crucially on spatial patterns: the lines that eventually give rise to segments, organs, or markings like stripes and spots. Yet despite the variation in form, shape and structure in the animal kingdom, the mechanisms that generate these body plans are surprisingly similar across species. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-evolution-rewires-gene-circuits-patterns.html Evolution Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:49:04 EDT news677242141 By tracking the fate of individual embryonic stem cells, researchers have found that endoderm cells—early embryonic cells that give rise to tissues such as the gut and lungs—originate from multiple converging developmental paths challenging long-held assumptions about cells following linear trajectories. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-converging-cell-paths-embryo.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:21:03 EDT news676714861 In modern medicine, few diseases are as steeped in emotive and metaphorical language as cancer. It's often spoken about as a battle pitched against a cunning enemy. A foe to be beaten. These phrases are so common that we don't think twice about them, but they deeply affect how we understand cancer, how people experience it and how we care for the people who live with it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-cancer-interact-disease.html Oncology & Cancer Thu, 21 Aug 2025 16:43:05 EDT news675013381 By revealing the molecular mechanisms behind the peacekeeping abilities of specialized immune cells, scientists are uncovering new pathways for treating autoimmune conditions and detecting diseases like cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-body-peacekeepers-specialized-immune-cells.html Immunology Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:02:04 EDT news674920921 The heartbeat is synonymous with life. It's one of the first essential functions to begin during development and to end at death. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-zebrafish-embryos-reveal-key-mechanisms.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 06 Aug 2025 13:20:03 EDT news673705111 Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have discovered that the heart's own contractions trigger biological signals that guide the formation of a functional beating heart. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-early-heartbeats-trigger-heart.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:00:03 EDT news673626507 The intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium is a vicious trespasser, hiding within the cells that line the gut and causing intestinal damage. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-intestinal-results-hidden-cryptosporidium-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 23 Jul 2025 13:27:28 EDT news672496030