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Science for Health
NIMR research featured in MRC Annual Review 2009-10
02 November 2010
The latest MRC Annual Review takes its theme from Shakespeare’s division of humanity into seven ages. The review, covering 2009-10, shows how MRC-funded research benefits everyone, at every stage of life. It features the work of Robin Lovell-Badge, from NIMR's Division of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics, and that of the WHO Influenza Centre which is based at NIMR.
The gene which keeps females female
Robin Lovell-Badge and collaborators at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) showed that ovary cells become more like testis cells in adult mice if the gene Foxl2 is ‘turned off’. They found that Foxl2, which is found on a non-sex chromosome, is solely responsible for keeping the ovary as an ovary in adults, acting by directly suppressing the male-promoting gene Sox9. These findings challenge several long-held assumptions about sex determination: that female development happens by default; that it is fixed; and that it relies solely on the X and Y chromosome. These findings might eventually help to treat certain reproductive conditions, such as the masculinising effects of menopause seen in some women.
Flu pandemic
The World Health Organization (WHO) has four Collaborating Centres for Reference and Research on Influenza. One of these is NIMR's WHO Influenza Centre, under the Directorship of John McCauley. During the 2009 flu pandemic it analysed more than 3,500 clinical specimens and virus isolates from 55 countries. Full genome sequencing has shown that the viruses are similar across the world, suggesting they are not mutating further. The WHO Influenza Centre and other groups at NIMR continue to research influenza. Their findings inform not only our response to the evolution of the flu virus and possible further outbreaks, but also the way we prepare for pandemic infections in the future.
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