Stem cell functions continue to be governed by day and night cycles (circadian rhythms) during ageing, but their rhythms become devoted to tissue repair and not to the maintenance of tissue tone.
The two studies published in Cell and headed by Salvador Aznar Benitah at IRB Barcelona reject the scientific dogma associating ageing with the loss of stem cell circadian rhythm.
A low-calorie diet delays alterations in the rhythmic functions of stem cells and slows down ageing.
Fran Supek (IRB Barcelona) and Ben Lehner (CRG) identify important processes that create mutations that cause cancer by studying the genomes of more than 1,000 tumors.
Many mutations in human cancers are caused by mistakes made by a repair mechanism or ‘DNA spellchecker’ rather than the actual damage to DNA caused by the environment.
Sunlight and alcohol consumption increase the rate at which this happens, resulting in more mutations in the most important parts of our genomes.
Scientists at IRB Barcelona identify a key component of the machinery that allows Staphylococcus aureus to transfer genes that confer antibiotic resistance.
Infection by antibiotic-resistant S. aureus is a serious threat in hospitals worldwide.
Halting the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is one of the strategies available to tackle hospital infections.
Published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the study reveals new insights into translation regulation, an essential step in genome regulation.
These findings will help researchers to better understand pathological processes such as cancer.
The work is the first to report on the key role of the TLK2 gene in mouse embryo development.
The study solidifies an important role for both TLK1 and TLK2 in genome stability.
A massive genomics study of people with intellectual disabilities performed in the Netherlands points to patient mutations in the TLK2 gene.
A study published in Cell Metabolism by IRB Barcelona scientists turns long-standing assumptions about glycogen biology on their head.
The results may explain the muscular defects of patients with glycogen storage disease XV.
Scientists at IRB Barcelona clarify the function of the genes that drive wing development in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Published in the journal eLife, this study unveils that the Dpp morphogen is necessary for wing growth but that its gradient does not govern this process.
Understanding the development of limbs in Drosophila paves the way to research into congenital defects in vertebrates.
A study co-led by IRB Barcelona and IDIBAPS emphasizes the importance of the neuronal mechanisms in the detection of nutrients and the control of glucose levels.
The results published in Cell Metabolism help to understand diabetes in greater detail.
Researchers led by Salvador Aznar-Benitah at IRB Barcelona investigate the role of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b proteins in skin homeostasis and tumour development in adult mice.
The study has been published in eLife and deserved an eLife digest aimed at a more general audience.
In EMBO Molecular Medicine, IRB Barcelona scientists report a technique based on a combination of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and patient-derived tumour organoids that allows the study of cell heterogeneity in human tumours.
The novel approach was used to examine the behaviour of colorectal cancer stem cells by tracing specific marker genes.
