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LATS kinases belong to a family of proteins that, in mammals, are comprised of two isoforms, LATS1 and LATS2. Originally identified in Drosophila melanogaster as Warts kinase, LATS1 and LATS2 serine/threonine kinases have been shown to be tumour suppressors (Edwards and Munger 2004). The original homologue of LATS was described as the dlats/warts tumour suppressor in two independent screens in Drosophila (Justice et al. 1995, Xu et al. 1995). Dlats and warts encoded the same gene so in …

Sarah Brun Bar-Yaacov PhD Candidate, University of Liverpool Orthohantaviruses are a group of segmented negative-sense RNA viruses maintained as asymptomatic infections in rodent, insectivore and bat populations (Vaheri, Strandin, et al. 2013). They are Bunyaviruses and to date 41 orthohantavirus species have been officially recognized (ICTV 2014). Among orthohantaviruses, the rodent-borne are the most studied, as these are the only ones associated w …

Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative haematopoietic malignancy, characterised by a karyotypic abnormality present in more than 95% of cases known as the Philadelphia chromosome (Lozzio et al., 1975). CML has its origins in a common myeloid progenitor cell, which differentiates into erythrocytes, megakaryoctes, or granulocytes/monocytes (Fialkow et al., 1977). The Philadelphia Chromosome The Philadelphia chromosome was first …

By Sophie Arthur How many diseases and conditions do you think exist in this world? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Maybe even millions? Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer. But what I do know is there could be one solution to all of them! Yes, one perfect medicine of the future! The answer? Stem cells!Stem cells, promises & superheroes Our bodies are made up of an extraordinary amount of cells – all with their own unique shape, function and gene expression, and one of the reaso …

Alex Lloyd PhD Candidate, Dublin Institute of Technology Did you know that roughly 17.5 million people worldwide die annually from Cardiovascular diseases (CVD)? According to the World Health Organisation in 2013, one third of global death was attributed to CVDs. In Ireland, it is estimated that 10,000 people die annually from these diseases. However, what if there was a cheap available food-based preparation that could decrease disease progressio …