Malaria parasites have a complex life cycle and high variability which has made the development of a vaccine a real challenge. Currently the most advanced vaccine candidate is RTS,S. 

An adverse drug reaction is when a medication given as instructed and at a normal dose has an unwanted or harmful effect on a patient. 

For much of nature, natural selection and ‘survival of the fittest’ still play a dominant role; only the strongest can survive in the wild. As little as a few hundred years ago, the same was true for humans, but what about now? 

The Guinea worm is a water-transmitted parasite that develops over a year in its host before painfully emerging from the skin. It is hoped that it will soon become the first parasite to be eradicated but there are a few challenges to overcome first…

Have you ever wanted to know more about your genetic make-up? Direct-to-consumer testing is now making this possible through tests you can order online. But is there a more serious side to us having such easy access to all of the information in our genomes? 

The origin of modern humans has probably been the most debated issue in evolutionary biology over the last few decades. 

The human brain, in all its staggering complexity, is the product of millions of years of evolution. 

The fruit fly, also known as Drosophila melanogaster, has the longest history in genetics and research out of all the model organisms. 

Genetic counsellors are health professionals who help people faced with the possibility of a genetic disease to make informed decisions about their futures.  

Genome-wide association studies have led to the discovery of hundreds of genes with a role in common diseases. 

Allan Bradley was director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute from 2000 to 2010. His appointment as director coincided with the completion of the draft human genome sequence by the Human Genome Project. 

Eric Lander is the founding director of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard. He was one of the leaders of the Human Genome Project and his work has been key in developing tools to investigate disease.

Dr Francis Collins led the Human Genome Project from 1993. In his work, he was responsible for discovering the genes mutated in cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s disease. He is currently director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Francis Crick and his American colleague, James Watson, discovered the double helix structure of DNA. For this fundamental finding Francis, James and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962. 

The Sanger Institute takes its name from the double Nobel Prize winner and ‘father of genomics’, Frederick Sanger.

James Watson and his British colleague Francis Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA. For this fundamental finding James, Francis and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962. 

Professor Dame Janet Thornton was director of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), which shares the Wellcome Genome Campus with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, from 2001 to 2015. 

Professor Sir John Sulston was the founding director of the Sanger Centre (now the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute) from 1992 until 2000 when the ‘working draft’ of the human genome sequence was completed.  

Maurice Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and James Watson in 1962 for their joint discovery of the structure of DNA. Naturally reticent, Wilkins didn’t initially stand forward to give his own account of the DNA story so few knew of his direct involvement in the project.

Professor Sir Mike Stratton is the director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and co-leader of the Cancer Genome Project.

Robert H. Waterston is an American biologist well known for his work on sequencing the genome of the nematode worm C. elegans alongside John Sulston. He is also recognised for his part in sequencing the human, mouse and chimpanzee genomes. 

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer whose fundamental research was critical to Watson and Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA. 

Some scientists involved in the Human Genome Project upset the collaborative nature by trying to patent sections of the DNA sequence for their own financial gain. 

It was a project of such a huge size that no one thought it would be possible at that time, but with the support of key scientists and considerable funding, the Human Genome Project began…

The Human Genome Project was a pioneer for encouraging open access to scientific research. In 1996, those involved agreed that all new information produced should be made freely available to all within 24 hours.

Neglected tropical diseases affect the poorest of the world’s populations but relatively little is known about their biology. Genomics is now providing insight into these diseases and enabling scientists to develop new strategies to prevent and treat these debilitating diseases.

In a small number of cases, doctors are able to use pharmacogenomics in their treatment of patients.

It has been over a decade since the Human Genome Project was finished, so what has been happening since and how is the completed human genome sequence being used?

Humans have been breeding animals for millenia to bring out desirable characteristics. With the thoroughbred race horse there's lots of money at stake but with research mice it's the possibility of life-saving new treatments.

Sequencing the genome of the malaria parasite has revealed interesting clues as to how it is able to evade the human immune system for long enough to cause disease.