• Question: hello are you doing any big projects at the moment?

    Asked by sjthescientist to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 20 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Yes we are doing several projects at the moment. We study some proteins that bind to the ends of our chromosomes and protect them against damage. We are also studying the mechanisms of DNA replication in microbes and aim to understand how this process takes place at the tiny level of molecules. If we understand this then we will be able to design new antimicrobial drugs to compact the antibiotic-resistant microbes that are dangerous for humans.

    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      There are molecules that are added to vaccines to make them work better – these are called adjuvants. I am looking at some of the new adjuvants that are being used to develop new vaccines and seing how infants respond to them as most of the work is in adults. Adults and infants respond to vaccines very differently and so it is impoartnt to know how infants respond to these molecules if you are going to develop vaccines for infants. I am one of the very few people who work with infants but this is very important work so we understand how children may respond to these vaccines.

    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      I work as part of a big project (called BaSysBio) made up of 15 different European research organisations from 9 countries and a lab in Australia. We all have different specialties and are trying to find out how all the genes, from a bug that lives in the soil, actually work. The bug is called Bacillus subtilis (Bsub), a close relative of the Anthrax bug (Bacillus anthracis). If we understand how Bsub works, we’ll understand much better how Anthrax works and maybe find away to prevent it infecting and killing people.

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Well, we have a few projects on the go at the moment. The big aim of all our projects is to understand how the immune system in our intestine is controlled. The immune system attacks harmful bacteria that enter the body to stop us getting ill. But, our intestine is chock full of over 100 trillion bacteria, which help us digest food and stay healthy. So, how is the immune system controlled to make sure it doesn’t attack all the good bacteria in our guts? This is what we are trying to figure out in our projects.

    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      quite a large one on disifectanst making bacteria hardder to treat with antibiotics

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