Latest News from the John Innes Centre http://www.jic.ac.uk http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:35:31 +0100 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:49:47 +0100 FeedForAll v1.0 (1.0.1.0) A team of UK researchers, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), has publicly released the first sequence coverage of the wheat genome. The release is a step towards a fully annotated genome and makes a significant contribution to efforts to support global food security and to increase the competitiveness of UK farming. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100827wheatgenome.htm business 626E6516-2EB7-499D-91C3-2F2F4485705C Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:49:47 +0100 Professor James Brown has been awarded the Royal Agricultural Society of England Research Medal in recognition of his work to combat cereal diseases. The Research Medal is presented for work of outstanding merit carried out in the UK, which is proven or likely to be of benefit to agriculture. Professor Brown's work has been vital in protecting wheat production in the UK and is continuing to combat the threats crop diseases pose to UK food security. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100812JamesBrownRASEmedal.htm People 713F0501-D1E0-481F-93E3-8927CC5C51DA Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:51:05 +0100 Plant scientists at the John Innes Centre have provided a new solution to an old debate on why species hybrids are often more vigorous than their parents. They found a type of genetic "noise" - caused by a surprising degree of variation in gene activity even for highly similar traits in closely related species. In this study, the scientists analysed the trait of flower asymmetry in two closely related species of snapdragon. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100720CoenHybridVigour.htm AC56FD10-DC00-4664-A9B9-29A2A8A428BF Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:00:01 +0100 Fiona Corke, a Research Assistant in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at JIC has received a Public and Community Engagement Award from CUE East and the University of East Anglia for her long-standing work in public engagement and communicating the John Innes Centre's science to the wider community. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100719corkecueeastaward.htm B32433FF-F671-4A4A-8617-4D274CE87133 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:32:36 +0100 Gerhard Saalbach, from the JIC Proteomics Facility, has been awarded an Outstanding Scientist/Technologist Award by the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities at this year's annual science conference in Sacramento, California http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100716saalbachaward.htm A2994A7D-6873-4825-9C7B-2B9BC7B181B3 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:07:28 +0100 John Innes Centre scientists have identified the genes necessary for making a highly potent and clinically unexploited antibiotic in the fight against multi-resistant pathogens. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100712mervbibblantibiotics.htm business C2D03507-2C2B-48DB-9944-AD332B9189A6 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:00:00 +0100 The John Innes Centre has come fourth in an annual international survey to find the best places to work in academia, outside of the US. The survey, carried out by The Scientist magazine, is based on academics responding to a survey to assess their working environment. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100630BPTWa2010.htm E2A25D7B-E065-4BA9-91CC-BDAC56193EC9 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:49:09 +0100 The John Innes Centre is to present a gift of a rose bush to a number of the science institute's partners and supporters at a special evening at Peter Beales Roses, Attleborough, on Monday 28th June. The John Innes Centre, one of the world's leading research centres in plant and microbial research, is celebrating its centenary this year, and to mark the occasion rosa "John Innes" was launched by Peter Beales at this year's Chelsea Flower Show in May, where the celebrated rose breeders picked up their 18th Gold Medal. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100625FoJICatBealesRoses.htm 0EA0E825-AFA5-43B3-9676-D9C1079EF50A Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:48:16 +0100 The John Innes Centre wants you to vote on what you think is the most important contribution it has made to plant and microbial science over the last 100 years. At a recent public event speakers gave short presentations supporting each of the 5 achievements shortlisted, and these are now available to watch to help you decide. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100521JICvote.htm 2486CEC3-8961-410D-A874-8BF15D68A1A2 Fri, 28 May 2010 11:04:28 +0100 The John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory have topped a survey ranking the most influential papers of the last ten years in plant and animal sciences. A total of 88,700 institutions were surveyed worldwide. JIC and TSL on the Norwich Research Park were ranked significantly higher than any other organization. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100521JICranking.htm 29E32CBD-F091-48FE-8577-A2A6287F0C80 Fri, 21 May 2010 10:32:05 +0100 Many plants, in response to predators or herbivores, release hydrogen cyanide to defend themselves. This mechanism, known as cyanogenesis, is found in two thirds of the main crop species eaten worldwide, including maize, sugar cane and some legumes. John Innes Centre scientists are working on a way to screen crop plants for toxic accumulation. The genetic screen will be particularly useful for crops grown in tropical and sub-Saharan Africa. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100514cyanogenesis.htm 766B7614-FC78-4FA6-9670-453202C9196D Fri, 14 May 2010 12:53:59 +0100 Eagle Genomics Ltd. in close collaboration with Martin Trick and Ian Bancroft from the John Innes Centre have signed a collaboration agreement to establish a commercial service for a new plant breeding research technology, TraitTag. The genetic variations between individual plants can be used to identify key parts of the genome, known as biomarkers, which can be used to allow plant breeders to test for the presence of positive traits when selecting specimens to breed. TraitTag allows breeders to identify these biomarkers quickly and effectively through the identification and scoring of variations across very large sets of plants. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100513TraitTag.htm 33590391-7A7A-42E2-8773-C5469A9B3699 Fri, 14 May 2010 09:12:20 +0100 JIC scientists have identified a new class of drug target that tricks tuberculosis bacteria into suicidal self-poisoning. Researchers identified the role that an enzyme called GlgE plays in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the cause of tuberculosis and the leading cause of death worldwide from bacterial pathogens. It claims about two million lives every year. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100322stephbornemannTB.htm E1433A7A-AED5-458B-BBC6-0865AF4F8271 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:12:12 +0100 Dr Michael McArthur has been named the winner of 'Most Promising Innovator of the Year' award at the BBSRCs Innovator of the Year event for his work using novel antibacterials to combat drug-resistant bacterial infections. Dr McArthur has developed novel technologies to combat drug resistant bacterial infections, such as MRSA and a spin-out company from the John Innes Centre, Procarta Biosystems, is now taking this technology through to the marketplace. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100319BBSRCInnovatorAward2010.htm Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:56:24 +0100 A play depicting the struggle of women scientists in the early 1900s, "Blooming Snapdragons", tells the story of a remarkable group of scientists, known collectively as Bateson's Ladies, whose contribution to the new science of genetics is set against an overwhelmingly male-dominated world of academia at the time. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/120310bloomingsnapdragons.htm 2AA85928-F652-4BAF-8A03-DF0B23C4B7D9 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:25:37 +0100 For the first time, scientists have succeeded in growing empty particles derived from a plant virus and have made them carry useful chemicals. The external surface of these nano containers could be decorated with molecules that guide them to where they are needed in the body, before the chemical load is discharged to exert its effect on diseased cells. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100310nanoluggage.htm 3CB1879D-F465-4053-967F-7505240C06C9 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:24:54 +0100 Scientists, pea breeders and the food industry are collaborating to discover how taste and tenderness can be determined by biochemistry and genetics. They will work together to hone the make-up of a perfect pea. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100308QDiPSproject.htm 49317DF5-6FF6-416E-8CB5-4CEEF3CFD3B4 Mon, 8 Mar 2010 12:04:53 +0100 Two research groups from the John Innes Centre have been shortlisted for the finals of a £20,000 national bioscience innovation prize, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's (BBSRC) Innovator of the Year Award http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100304InnovatorFinalists.htm 745A599C-122C-434C-ADBA-FBA45E30D181 Thu, 4 Mar 2010 10:32:23 +0100 The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the John Innes Foundation and the John Innes Centre Governing Council have announced the appointment of Professor Dale Sanders FRS as Director and Chief Executive of the John Innes Centre (JIC). Prof Sanders will take up the post on 1 September 2010. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100302NewJICDirector.htm D0BF231A-4893-432C-9A72-6E6062C89D4D Tue, 2 Mar 2010 10:30:00 +0100 Scientists from the John Innes Centre and the University of Oxford have discovered which genes control the specialized nutrient mining machine that develops on the surface of plant roots. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100216rootmining.htm Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:49:00 +0100 A few grass species provide the bulk of our food supply and new grass crops are being domesticated for sustainable energy and feedstock production. However there are significant barriers limiting crop improvement, such as a lack of knowledge of gene function and their large and complex genomes. Now, an international consortium involving JIC present an analysis of the complete genome sequence of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100210brachypodiumsequence.htm 1903F653-101D-4C03-A90A-CCD4E6B59B30 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:00:06 +0100 In December 2009 Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics and Head of the Dept of Genetics at University College London, presented the first Annual Lamb Lecture, entitled What Sex Really Means. This wonderfully entertaining and informative presentation is now available online. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/friends/index.htm EF04249E-57F8-4560-9770-827FC8FEBECA Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:38:04 +0100 Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have discovered that plants have a built-in thermometer that they use to control their development. http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/100107WiggeTemperature.htm 3AB9C93E-C833-4969-8CDE-6ECF16C61849 Thu, 7 Jan 2010 18:12:45 +0100