HRESOEARRCH IZONS In this issue CANCER plus news and views from across the University University of Cambridge research magazine www.research-horizons.cam.ac.uk Issue 11 | Spring 2010 eDitoRiAL P D R R o P f A warm welcome to A e U S L S D Research horizons o i R g K A e magazine. this issue R v D i n , D we focus on cancer – B e R P i A n R a significant research D t L m e theme across many e n t departments in the o f P A University and a t h o clinical and healthcare strength within L o g the Cambridge University hospitals y nhS foundation trust. in the past decade, over £70 million has been invested in new cancer research buildings and facilities in Cambridge, including the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Watching cancer cells eat, From pandemic to policy: institute (CRi)/Li Ka Shing Centre, the breathe and die combating swine flu Strangeways Research Laboratory and the hutchison/medical Research Council Research Centre, as well as in new clinical facilities for cancer patients; Contents and annual cancer research funding in Cambridge now exceeds £40 million. Research News 3–7 Professor Sir Bruce Ponder, featured on our front cover, leads the CRi, which Spotlight: Cancer 8–19 hosts 250 scientists working within Cambridge Cancer Centre: the vision 8 21 research groups and is one of the Beacons of life and death: chromatin and cancer 9 principal cancer research facilities in Cancer: what’s on the cards? 10 europe. Understanding how cancer cells grow 12 We hope that our Spotlight section Data mining the complex cancer landscape 13 gives a sense of the partnerships that Smart testing for smart drugs 14 are proving vital for translating cancer research into real benefits for patients: Watching cancer cells eat, breathe and die 16 from understanding the fundamental Cut-and-paste cancer: lymphoma’s genetic blueprint 17 basis of cancer, to identifying those Hutchison/MRC Research Centre 18 individuals with the highest risk; and from diagnosing and treating cancer Knowledge Transfer 20 –21 early, to moving towards tailored treatment and monitoring of patients. Preview 22 –23 helping to connect this research The future of books community, a virtual Cambridge Cancer Centre was launched in 2006 by Professor Ponder to promote Features 24–31 interactions between researchers and Britain’s island heritage: reconstructing half a million years of history 24 clinicians working in diverse areas to A scriptorium of commonplace books 26 achieve the best possible results for Le bon usage: using French correctly 27 cancer patients. From pandemic to policy: combating swine flu 28 elsewhere in this issue, we bring The educational neuroscience of dyslexia and dyscalculia 30 you examples of some of the other remarkable research happening across In Focus: The British Academy 32–33 the University, on areas as diverse as the swine flu pandemic, how Britain became an island nation, handwriting Inside Out: Professor Jaideep Prabhu 34 in 500-year-old manuscripts, dyslexia and dyscalculia, the purity and linguistic Forthcoming Events 35 correctness of the french language, and the publishing of bestsellers. The Back Page 36 if you have any comments and Your way into Cambridge suggestions for future issues, please email them to me at [email protected] Cover photograph of Professor Sir Bruce Ponder. Edited by Dr Louise Walsh. Designed by Cambridge Design Studio (www.cambridgedesignstudio.org). Dr Louise Walsh Printed by Falcon Printing Services Ltd (www.falcon-printing.co.uk). editor ©2010 University of Cambridge and Contributors as identified. All rights reserved. 2 | issue 11 | Spring 2010 ReSeARCh neWS New funding to untangle Alzheimer’s Professor disease Lynn Gladden: A major new drive to understand, diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease has begun in Cambridge. Cambridge’s P R o f e new Pro-Vice- S S o R P e t Chancellor for e R S t g e o Research R g e - h y S L o P Brain of an Alzheimer’s patient (left), showing considerable cell loss, compared with a normal brain (right) funding from the Wellcome trust (Wt) to plug the gaps in knowledge, the and medical Research Council (mRC) has interdisciplinary research programme been announced for a £5 million builds on a collaboration that has been research programme on Alzheimer’s growing for several years in Cambridge, disease (AD) in Cambridge. the as co-investigator Professor Chris programme, which is led by Professor Dobson from the Department of Peter St george-hyslop in the Chemistry explained: ‘A fascination with Cambridge institute of medical Research how the fundamental molecular events and Department of Clinical that underlie AD relate to what is neurosciences, is a major collaborative happening in living systems has brought effort involving 15 scientists from seven together a group of people with research departments across Cambridge. interests that range from theory to the programme also involves scientists therapy.’ the consortium pulls in Professor Lynn gladden is one of the from the University of Bristol, the max expertise from biochemistry, genetics, University’s five Pro-vice-Chancellors, Planck Centre for Structural molecular clinical neuroscience, medical genetics, whose role is to take forward strategy Biology in germany and the University chemistry, chemical engineering, and policy development and to of toronto in Canada. neurophysiology, physics, biophysics AD is an increasingly common and pathology. support the vice-Chancellor in neurodegenerative disease of the brain the programme aims to lay the providing institutional leadership for that affects individuals in mid-to-late life, basis for both the development of the University, particularly in their impairing intellectual function and biological markers to detect disease at areas of responsibility. the Pro-vice- memory. the disease, which is incurable, an early stage, before widespread Chancellors work closely with the results when certain proteins in the brain damage has occurred, and the creation heads of Schools and senior become misfolded and form tangled of effective therapeutics. ‘Already, the professional administrators. As Pro- masses that are toxic. the resulting consortium is working well. the vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor progressive loss of cells in the brain atmosphere takes alight as people throw gladden succeeds Professor ian Leslie. gradually incapacitates patients for up to in ideas about novel experimental Professor gladden CBe, fRS, a decade before death. the incidence of approaches using tools from both fReng is the Shell Professor of AD is on the increase as populations live physical and life sciences that would not Chemical engineering, and head of longer: in the UK, 700,000 people have been possible until very recently,’ the Department of Chemical currently live with dementia, half of said Professor St george-hyslop. engineering and Biotechnology. She is whom have AD; in 30 years’ time, the Professor Patrick Sissons, head of the also a member of the Council of the estimates are that this number will have School of Clinical medicine and Regius engineering and Physical Sciences hit 1.4 million and be costing the UK Professor of Physic, added: ‘this initiative Research Council (ePSRC). Professor economy £50 billion per year. exemplifies the power of collaboration gladden was awarded a CBe in the Professor St george-hyslop between internationally leading Queen’s Birthday honours list in June explained the unique challenge the investigators who can look beyond their 2009 for services to chemical disease poses: ‘Although AD has been individual spheres, and work at the engineering, having been awarded an known about for over a century, it’s such boundaries of traditional disciplines to oBe in 2001 for services to chemistry. a complex disease that attempts to bring new insight to a notoriously her particular research interests are in understand the underlying mechanism complicated disease.’ applying magnetic resonance using conventional tools have yielded imaging techniques in the fields of confusing and conflicting answers. As a For more information, please contact heterogeneous catalysis and multi- consequence, there is currently no drug Professor St George-Hyslop phase transport in porous media. that can halt its progression.’ ([email protected]). issue 11 | Spring 2010 | 3 ReSeARCh neWS Evidence of the first modern humans in North Africa Excavation of the deepest archaeological trench in North Africa half a century after it was first dug is offering a glimpse of up to 200,000 years of human history. P R in 1948, Cambridge academic Professor o f e S Charles mcBurney stumbled upon a large S o R cave on the north coast of Libya. g R A e Returning to excavate it three years later, m e B he sank a trench 14 metres into the floor A R K of the cave, finding layer upon layer of e R ( L evidence of human occupation going e f t ) back thousands of years into deep A n D prehistory. A D i i over 50 years later, excavation n S K resumed in 2007 when Professor graeme e e P ( Barker, Director of Cambridge’s mcDonald R i g h institute for Archaeological Research, led t ) an expedition of 30 academics from 10 research institutes back to the haua fteah Cave. now, mid-way through this five-year project, the researchers have made a fascinating discovery that sheds new light on when modern humans first arrived on Africa’s northern shores. ‘mcBurney’s work was a seminal contribution to world prehistory. With techniques available to him in the 1950s, he concluded that the trench spanned about 80,000 years of history. he believed Excavation of the Haua Fteah Cave, Libya, today (left) and by Charles McBurney in the 1950s (right) the human jaws that he discovered deep the trench, revealing the original walls of technologies and hunting practices and down were pre-modern in anatomy and the pit.