Bacteria shed light on new drug targets for inherited cancers

Prof David Leys and colleagues at the University of Manchester’s Paterson Institute for Cancer Research have succeeded in purifying a protein found in bacteria that could reveal new drug targets for inherited breast and ovarian cancers as well as other cancers linked to DNA repair faults. The team are the first to decipher the structure of a protein called PARG – which plays an important role in DNA repair and acts in the same pathway as PARP. Read more

The study is published in the journal Nature - click here for Full article

Information Technology Future of Medicine (ITFoM)- Funded through FET flagship initiative as part of the European Digital Agenda

Prof Hans Westerhoff and members of the MCISB are leading the integration work package of the EU Pilot Action ITFoM. This is one of six actions funded (€1.5M), two of which will receive a further share of the one billion euro budget. The ITFoM proposes a medicine based on computer models ("virtual patrients") derived from molecular, physiological, anatomical and environmental data generated on every individual patient. These will then be used to identify individually optimised prevention/therapy schedules, minimising potential side effects of treatment regimes. The integration work package focuses on developing the tools required to incorporate gathered clinical data, and generated analytical data into models that will inform relevant health providers. Read more

Bionexgen - European project to develop the next generation of green chemical processes

"Developing the next generation of biocatalysts for industrial chemical synthesis - Bionexgen" is the title of an ambitious pan-European research programme that will develop the next generation of biocatalysts used for eco-efficient manufacturing process in the chemical industry. This 3 yr European Union FP7 funded project is led by Prof Nick Turner (CoEBio3, MIB) and aims to replace traditional chemical manufacturing methods with greener biotechnology routes. Read more

Researchers visualise herpes virus' tactical manoeuvre.

Alexander Golovanov - For the first time, researchers have developed a 3D picture of a herpes virus protein interacting with a key part of the human cellular machinery, enhancing our understanding of how it hijacks human cells to spread infection and opening up new possibilities for stepping in to prevent or treat infection. This discovery uncovers one of the many tactical manoeuvres employed by the virus. Read more

MIB secures major EU DirectFuel consortium grant (€3.7M)

The DirectFuel consortium brings together European and US expertise in enzymology, systems biology and synthetic biology to develop photosynthetic microorganisms that catalyse direct conversion of solar energy and carbon dioxide to engine-ready fuels. The Manchester component led by Prof Nigel Scrutton (MIB Director) and Prof David Leys (both members of the Manchester Enzymology Group), will provide novel components to construct novel biochemical pathways and create new photosynthetic strains that would allow low-cost production of transport fuel in a potentially neutral 'greenhouse gas' emitting process that does not compete for agricultural land. Read more

Advances in Stem cell sorting methods

Prof Peter Fielden and Prof Nick Goddard along with colleagues in the Faculty of Life Sciences have received over £2M funding from EPSRC for their project "Stem cells fractionations with artificial matrices" which aims to develop high throughput smart sieves to sort millions of cells simultaneously

CoEBio3 has entered into two new large scale collaborations in the area of biofuels and biorefineries

SUPRABIO is an EU FP7 funded consortium of 17 partners with the aim of developing a European biorefinery capability for processing biomass into fuels and platform chemicals. The role of CoEBio3 is to develop novel biocatalytic technologies for upgrading biomass derived feedstocks into high value products. Secondly, a new collaboration will soon begin with scientists in Australia at the Government research institutes supported by CSIRO. This project will involve the development of novel technologies for exploiting the diverse biomass and bioproducts found in Australia.

The ‘Amine synthesis through biocatalytic cascades’ (AMBIOCAS) programme brings together microbiologists, enzymologists, chemists, engineers and process development experts involved in research to develop the next generation of green manufacturing methods for the chemical industry. Led by Prof Nick Turner, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacture (CoEBio3), the three-year project involves six partners from academia and industry. Read More

Vasudevan Ramesh's research group was one of the first to gain access to the 1 GHz spectrometer at Lyon following the vetting of our research proposal submitted under the EU-NMR access review procedure. In addition to the ultra high 1 GHz (= 23.5 Tesla) magnetic field, the spectrometer is also equipped with a cryo cooled probe and other accessories to render unsurpassed sensitivity. They successfully used these advanced conditions to carry out several multidimensional NMR experiments of RNAs and their complexes. The new vista in RNA research warrants an even higher field NMR spectrometer in the new decade and hopefully a Bruker 1.2 GHz spectrometer is looming on the horizon, pushing the frontier even further. Read more

Researchers in Manchester have successfully carried out the first rewire of genetic switches, creating what could be a vital tool for the development of new drugs and even future gene therapies.

Working within cells of bacteria, chemical biologist Prof Jason Micklefield and his team have rewired these genetic switches so they are no longer activated by small naturally occurring molecules found in cells – but through the addition of a synthetic molecule.

The Carbon Trust has announced plans to take on the world in the global race to develop a sustainable, cost-effective biofuel from algae. The two Manchester projects are:
Project 1 - Nutrient optimisation for high lipid yield and productivity - Jon Pittman, Andrew Dean and Prof Roy Goodacre Project 2 - Ultrasonic extraction of biofuel precursors from single cell algae - Jeremy Hawkes, Prof Peter Fielden, Bernard Treves Brown and Jeff Prest, MIB with Steve Wilkinson, Chemical Engineering, Sheffield

See website for full details Read more