John Innes Centre

Archived News Releases

2008

  • JIC launches ambitious plan to reach every Norfolk school
    December 2008
    Scientists at the John Innes Centre have started counting down the days to March 2010 as they launch an ambitious project to get a scientist into every school in Norfolk on the same day.

  • MP Scientist Pairing Scheme
    November 2008
    A John Innes Centre scientist has spent a week in Westminster shadowing MP Ian Gibson, as part of a Royal Society scheme that aims to bring parliamentarians and scientists together to understand how scientific knowledge can better inform Government decision making.

  • John Innes Centenary Rose planted
    November 2008
    A rose developed to mark the centenary of the John Innes was planted in a ceremony on Monday 17th November. The “John Innes” rose, to be launched at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2010, was planted by Gordon Rowley, former keeper of the rose collection.

  • Sicilian word enters British genetic language
    November 2008
    A team from the John Innes Centre and University of St Andrews has identified a key gene that was transferred from a Sicilian plant into a close relative in Britain, showing how genetic cross-talk between species can be important for evolution.

  • New research identifies threat to human immune system's key defence mechanism
    November 2008
    [UEA press release]
    A breakthrough by scientists at the University of East Anglia could pave the way for new drugs that protect the human immune system from bacterial disease. Working with colleagues at the John Innes Centre, the researchers have made a key discovery about how infectious bacteria succeed in invading the human body - despite being under attack by Nitric Oxide.

  • InCrops initiative boosts low carbon economy
    November 2008
    [EEDA Press release]
    The John Innes Centre is a partner in a new multi-million pound scheme based at the University of East Anglia that will develop novel uses for crops to reduce our dependency on man-made products in a bid to tackle climate change.

  • Purple tomatoes
    October 2008
    Scientists have expressed genes from snapdragon in tomatoes to grow purple tomatoes high in health-protecting anthocyanins, naturally occurring pigments found at particularly high levels in berries such as blackberry, cranberry and chokeberry. Scientists are investigating ways to increase the levels of health-promoting compounds in more commonly eaten fruits and vegetables

  • John Innes and Apple Breeding
    October 2008
    Fruit breeding was important in shaping the early history of the John Innes, and a new exhibition and film on the six decades of research on apples is being launched to coincide with Apple Day at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse.

  • Extreme nature helps scientists design nano materials
    October 2008
    Scientists are using designs in nature from extreme environments to overcome the challenges of producing materials on the nanometre scale. A team from the UK’s John Innes Centre, the Scripps Research Institute in California and the Institut Pasteur in Paris have identified a stable, modifiable virus that could be used as a nanobuilding block.

  • The Big Norfolk Food Debate
    October 2008
    In assocation with the Joy of Food, the John Innes Centre and the Institute of Food Research held a public debate on current food issues. More than 130 people attended the debate, posing questions and listening to panellists explain their individual positions on food issues. The debate is now available to watch online.

  • Wheat, a plant that changed the world
    October 2008
    Funded by the BBSRC, the John Innes Centre and the Institute of Food Research have developed an exhibition and website on the history of wheat and the impact this important crop has had on mankind and the planet.  The exhibition, currently on display at Gressenhall Museum, was established to encourage dialogue and to educate about the process of growing wheat, and to gain a better understanding of the needs of consumers and growers.

  • New Chief Executive joins UK’s leading bioscience funder
    October 2008
    [BBSRC Press Release]
    Professor Douglas Kell has today started as the new Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the UK's leading funding agency for academic research and training in the non-clinical life sciences.

  • Sowing a future for peas
    September 2008
    New research from the John Innes Centre and the Central Science Laboratory could help breeders to develop pea varieties able to withstand drought stress and climate change. The research also shows that the composition of crops is likely to change with the climate.

  • 2008 Lasker Awards for Medical Research
    September 2008
    David Baulcombe, until recently a project leader at the Sainsbury Laboratory, has received the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for the discovery of tiny RNAs that regulate gene function.  These RNAs, some of which are known as microRNAs, govern a multitude of activities in animals and plants, and they have been implicated in a wide range of diseases.

  • DNA Topoisomerases in Biology and Medicine
    July 2008
    The John Innes Centre is hosting a meeting of international scientists working on new drug discovery targets for cancer and bacterial diseases. The scientists attending Topo2008 all work in the field of topoisomerases, enzymes that act on the double strands of DNA to stop them becoming tangled.

  • JIC hosts Science, Art and Writing Showcase
    July 2008
    A Science, Art and Writing (SAW) Showcase event was held recently at the John Innes Centre where 15 schools presented the fruits of their labours. Schools presented an evening of science, art and writing inspired by research at the John Innes Centre and the Institute of Food Research.

  • JIC Entomologists scoop award at BBC Gardeners World Live
    June 2008
    The John Innes Centre’s Entomology display was awarded ‘Best Space Stand’ at the BBC Gardener’s World Live! Exhibition, which was held last week at the NEC in Birmingham.  The display, entitled ‘The JIC Pest and Disease Clinic’ gave visitors the opportunity to learn about the role of the Entomology facility within JIC and discuss any plant pest problems they were experiencing.

  • Phil Smith awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours
    June 2008
    Dr Phil Smith has been awarded an MBE for services to science education in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.  Phil is the co-ordinator of the Norwich-based Teacher Scientist Network (TSN), an innovative science education charity hosted by the John Innes Centre which brings scientists and teachers together to enhance and enliven science education in the classroom and beyond.

  • Funding for superbug spin-out
    June 2008
    Procarta Biosystems, the company spun-out of the John Innes Centre in 2007 to develop a technology designed to defeat antibiotic-resistant superbugs, has received significant seed funding.  The Rainbow Seed Fund and the Iceni Seedcorn Fund have provided £320,000 to allow Procarta to further develop its DNA decoy technique, which aims to restore antibiotic efficacy against resistant superbugs, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).

  • Sugar-coated antibiotics
    May 2008
     Researchers from the John Innes Centre and the University of East Anglia have recently elucidated the structure and function of an enzyme which is involved in decorating antibiotics with sugar molecules.  Many antibiotics have a variety of different carbohydrate moleculesand by manipulating them, it may be possible to restore usefulness in antibiotics to which resistance has developed. 

  • JIC Director recognised by the Royal Society
    May 2008
    Professor Chris Lamb, Director of the John Innes Centre, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science. Fellows are elected in recognition of their scientific achievements in fundamental research, in leading and directing scientific and technological progress research establishments and industry.

  • RevGenUK, a 'single-stop' shop for use in functional genomics
    May 2008
    A new project (RevGenUK) has been launched at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK to help geneticists understand how plants grow. This knowledge can be used to improve the ability of crops to grow in adverse conditions or to grow more sustainably with reduced nitrogen fertilisers. Supported by a grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the project builds on the JIC’s expertise in TILLING, a technique to detect mutant genes.

  • Cross-Channel link-up for systems biology
    May 2008
    With support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), the John Innes Centre’s Robert Sablowski will coordinate teams from France and the UK to advance understanding of how networks of genes control organ growth, as part of a unique cross-channel partnership to enhance international collaboration in Systems Biology

  • John Innes Centre scientist receives top international honour
    May 2008
    John Innes scientist Caroline Dean OBE FRS has been elected a member of the USA’s National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for her excellence in original scientific research.  Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honours given to a scientist or engineer in the USA.

  • Plant gene clusters for natural products
    March 2008
    John Innes Centre scientists have found that plants may cluster the genes needed to make defence chemicals. Their findings may provide a way to discover new natural plant products of use as drugs, herbicides or crop protectants, and understanding the evolutionary driving forces that brought these clusters together independently in different species will have implications for our understanding of plant metabolism.

  • How roots find a route
    February 2008
    Scientists at the John Innes Centre have discovered how roots find their way past obstacles to grow soil. The discovery, described in the journal Science, also explains how germinating seedlings penetrate the soil without pushing themselves out as they burrow. “The key is in the fuzzy coat of hairs on the roots of plants” says Professor Liam Dolan. “We have identified a growth control mechanism that enables these hairs to find their way and to elongate when their path is clear”.

  • Major scientific push to tackle agricultural productivity and food security in developing world
    February 2008
    £7M of new research is being launched to tackle some of the most damaging and widespread pests, diseases and harsh environmental conditions which can devastate crop yields across the developing world. The new funding includes £340k to Dr Lesley Boyd at the John Innes Centre to identify genetic resistance to stem rust, a disease threatening African crops. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID) are unveiling 12 new projects as part of their flagship initiative – Sustainable Agriculture Research for International Development (SARID).

  • DNA with a twist: new company Inspiralis to search for cancer drugs and antibiotics
    February 2008
    A new company has joined the fight against MRSA and cancer. Researchers at the John Innes Centre have launched a new company, Inspiralis Ltd, based around their expertise in DNA topoisomerases – a group of enzymes that help DNA molecules to unravel and wind up properly and not to become tangled during replication.

  • Cells with something to say
    January 2008
    For any multicellular organism to work, it is essential that one cell can talk to another. JIC scientists have made the first step in defining the structure of communication channels between plant cells. A team led by Prof. Andy Maule has identified a class of proteins new to plant biology that affect cell-to-cell communication and their discovery could make it possible to regulate the flow of molecules between cells.

  • Genomics collaboration agreement
    January 2008
    The John Innes Centre has completed an agreement with Cogenics™, a division of Clinical Data, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Cogenics will provide the John Innes Centre with gene expression and other genomics services in a solutions-oriented approach.

2007

  • How size matters
    December 2007
    The beauty of nature is partly due to the uniformity of leaf and flower size in individual plants, and scientists have discovered how plants arrive at these aesthetic proportions. Researchers have discovered that cells at the margins of leaves and petals play a particularly important role in setting their size.

  • Decoy makes sitting duck of superbugs
    December 2007
     A DNA-based therapy could slash the development time of new drugs to combat antibiotic resistant superbugs. Scientists from the John Innes Centre have proven that by taking a short stretch of DNA from a bacterium and delivering it with an existing antibiotic they can switch off antibiotic resistance.

  • Bacteria shed light on an important group of human proteins
    November 2007
    A collaboration between researchers in Switzerland, the UK and France has led to the solution of the first crystal structure of a member of the Rhesus protein family and thereby shed new light on a group of proteins of great importance in human transfusion medicine.  The UK group was led by Professor Mike Merrick in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at the John Innes Centre.

  • Bridging the gap between higher education and the public
    November 2007 [RCUK Press release]
    Members of the public will soon be able to play a more interactive role in the important work of higher education institutions, thanks to a new £9.2M initiative - Beacons for Public Engagement.  UEA and partners, as CUE East (Community University Engagement East) will establish a one-stop shop for the public, located in ‘The Forum’ in Norwich.  The twenty two external partners, including JIC and IFR, will play a vital role in their delivery programme and critical thinking.

  • 2007 Biosciences Federation Science Communication Awards
    October 2007
    Nicole Steinmetz has been named winner of the New Researcher category for the 2007 Biosciences Federation Science Communication Awards recognising the effectiveness of her work communicating nanobiotechnology. Nicole recently completed her PhD into the use of Cowpea Mosaic Virus to produce new nanomaterials. Nicole was commended by the awards panel for communicating a complex and topical subject to a range of audiences using a variety of media.

  • New centre to tackle £20 billion cost of diet-related diseases
    October 2007
    A new Centre for Preventive Medicine is launched in Norwich to tackle diet related diseases. The Centre brings together basic research from two internationally renowned research institutes, medical research by university scientists and clinical research conducted in a hospital environment

  • New research into plant colours sheds light on antioxidants
    October 2007 [BBSRC Release]
    Scientists have made an important advance in understanding the genetic processes that give flowers, leaves and plants their bright colours. The research is highlighted in the new issue of Business from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

  • Excellent start to summer schools in Applied Molecular Microbiology
    August 2007
    The first of an annual series of summer schools was held at the Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences in Split, Croatia, 23-30 June 2007, covering “Microbial Genomics and Secondary Metabolites”.  The schools are jointly sponsored by the John Innes Centre and the Rudjer Bošković Institute in Zagreb.
  • Scientists find stem cell switch
    July 2007
    JIC scientists have discovered how plant stem cells in roots detect soil structure and whether it is favourable for growth. Poor soil structure is a problem in tropical agriculture, where soil becomes compact as it dries out. The research team determined that the hormone ethylene regulates cell division in root stem cells.
  • How plants learned to respond to changing environments
    July 2007
    A team of John Innes Centre scientists led by Professor Nick Harberd have discovered how plants evolved the ability to adapt to changes in climate and environment.  Plants adapt their growth, including key steps in their life cycle such as germination and flowering, to take advantage of environmental conditions .  They can also repress growth when their environment is not favourable.  This involves many complex signalling pathways which are integrated by the plant growth hormone gibberellin.
  • Boost for research to reduce pesticide use
     June 2007
    The John Innes Centre in Norwich is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Saskia Hogenhout, an expert in insect-borne microorganisms that cause disease in plants.  These tiny parasitic bacteria, called phytoplasmas, live in the sap of plants and are spread by insects such as leafhoppers.  Phytoplasmas cause a wide variety of diseases in economically important crops, the full range of which is still not fully known.
  • Moss genes provided fuse for plant life explosion
    June 2007
    Scientists from the John Innes Centre have identified the genes that control the development of root hairs on plants.  Published in the journal Science, Professor Liam Dolan reports that these genes are also found in moss, a finding that changes our understanding of how the plants we see today evolved over 400 million years ago.
  • Flowering switch could help feed the world
    May 2007
    The operation of a vital switch for controlling crop productivity has been identified following a 70 year search.The ability to produce more food in the same acreage is crucial to feeding an increasing world population at the same time as curbing deforestation and dedicating more land to biofuels. Scientists at the John Innes Centre have identified how the signal that controls flowering is delivered to the shoot apex.
  • Why are there no Unicorns?
    May 2007
    Why are there no Unicorns?  Perhaps horses develop in a way that cannot be easily modified to produce a Unicorn, or maybe Unicorn-like animals were weeded out by natural selection. The problem highlights a general issue in evolutionary biology of what constrains biodiversity and is addressed in a recently published Science article on the evolution of flower branching displays, or inflorescences.
  • Study of RNA silencing to treat life-threatening diseases
    April 2007
    Scientists from the Sainsbury Laboratory are leading a new research consortium to study how RNA silencing could be used to treat life-threatening diseases. The European Commission has committed 11.8 million euros to this four-year Integrated Project funded under the Sixth Framework Programme.
  • How parasites keep the gene pool healthy [BBSRC News Release]
    March 2007
    All life forms have depended on having a diverse range of genes in order to adapt and survive through the ages. Research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals how parasites co-evolve with their hosts so that genetic diversity is maintained.
  • Another piece of membrane protein puzzle solved
    January 2007
    In collaboration with researchers at the University of Sheffield and the Paul Sherrer Institute in Switzerland Dr Mike Merrick and colleagues reveal the crystal structure of a protein complex, enabling greater understanding of how cells regulate ammonium uptake.
  • £13M to harness science for better crops [BBSRC News Release]
    January 2007
    The UK’s primary public funder of bioscience research has announced over £13M of research projects to turn ideas from excellent basic plant science into practical applications to benefit the UK’s farmers and consumers.

  • Plants point the way to coping with climate change [BBSRC News Release]
    January 2007
    Plants use the cold of winter to time their flowering for the relative warmth of spring. JIC researchers led by Professor Caroline Dean have revealed that a species has developed different responses to different climates in a short period of time.

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998