IMB's latest news, explainers and more
Risk of depression and heart disease linked in women
Get the latest research to your inbox
- Researchers from The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) have developed a faster and more accurate method for assembling genomes that could help clinicians rapidly identify antibiotic-resistant infections.
- Australian researchers are a step closer to understanding immune sensitivities to well-known, and commonly prescribed, medications. Many drugs are successfully used to treat diseases, but can also have harmful side effects. While it has been known that some drugs can unpredictably impact on the functioning of the immune system, our understanding of this process has been unclear.
- IMB researchers have found a promising small molecule treatment that blocked cancer spread and improved survival rates in mice in a pre-clinical study of breast cancer.
- IMB agricultural sciences PhD student Samantha Nixon (King Group) has been named as one of 22 exceptional young Australians to receive a Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship. Samantha is is researching the concept of spider venoms as next generation treatments to combat drug resistance in parasites in Australian livestock.
- Dr Joseph Powell and his team are investigating how differences in your DNA sequence impact on how disease starts and develops in the body. This NHMRC-funded research is important because it could lead to new approaches to prevent or to treat disease. (via NHMRC website)
- No summer barbecue would be complete without the great Aussie salute. It's a tradition that has been linked to one specific fly: the Australian bush fly. IMB researcher Dr Maggie Hardy explains why this little Australian has got a bad rap. (via ABC Science)
- Chances are, you’re going to marry someone a lot like you. Similar intelligence, similar height, similar body weight. A new study of tens of thousands of married couples suggests that this isn’t an accident. We don’t marry educated people because we happen to hang around with educated people, for example—we actively seek them out. And these preferences are shaping our genomes. Story via Science Magazine (external link).
- IMB researchers have discovered a molecular trigger for inflammation that could lead to new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and neurodegenerative diseases. Professor Jennifer Stow said targeting this trigger - a protein called SCIMP, could reduce or ‘switch off’ inflammation.
- Researchers from The University of Queensland will investigate ways to halt or even reverse Parkinson’s disease thanks to a A$1.2 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and its major Australian funding partner, Shake It Up Australia Foundation.
Pages
Strawberry DNA extraction activity
Extract and view DNA from a strawberry using common household ingredients.
Get started
The Edge: Genetics
People have known for thousands of years that parents pass traits to their children, but it is only relatively recently that our technology has caught up to our curiosity, enabling us to delve into the mystery of how this inheritance occurs, and the implications for predicting, preventing and treating disease.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get the latest research straight to your inbox.
Stay up-to-date as we answer questions about hot topics, and share the latest news at IMB, Australia’s #1 research institute.
General enquiries
+61 7 3346 2222
imb@imb.uq.edu.au
Media enquiries
IMB fully supports UQ's Reconciliation Action Plan and is implementing actions within our institute.
Support us
Donate to research
100% of donations go to the cause