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The Francis Crick Institute
@crick.ac.uk
10K followers 370 following 390 posts
We're the Crick, a biomedical research lab in London working to figure out how life works.

Home to more than 2,000 scientists and a free public exhibition space.

https://www.crick.ac.uk/
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crick.ac.uk
Researchers discovered early signs of domestication by analysing the remains of two wolves who lived in modern-day Sweden 3-5,000 years ago.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-11...
Ancient wolves on remote Baltic Sea island reveal link to prehistoric humans
Cave discovery of wolf remains tells a tale of an unexpected relationship with humans.
www.crick.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
crick.ac.uk
Why do bad foods taste so good?

Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about nutrition.

Listen now on your favourite podcast platform: lnk.to/AQOSNutritio...
Episode graphic titled “Can We Trust Nutrition Science?” featuring several speakers and a large question mark background.
November 19, 2025 at 2:13 PM
crick.ac.uk
Researchers have identified a signalling feedback loop that may have been vital to the evolution of insect wings and therefore flight.

The signals, called morphogens, act like lighthouses in most developing tissues, guiding nearby cells towards their fate.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-11...
When evolution took flight
Researchers have revealed how a genetic circuit may have helped the evolution of insect wings.
www.crick.ac.uk
November 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
crick.ac.uk
Researchers at the Crick have discovered that mice lacking a specific gene responsible for cell structure lose intestinal balance and experience systemic inflammation, mirroring a lethal condition seen in humans.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-11...
How weakness in cell structure affects the host-microbiome relationship
Mice lacking a gene responsible for cell structure lose intestinal balance and experience systemic inflammation, mirroring a lethal condition seen in humans.
www.crick.ac.uk
November 13, 2025 at 7:56 PM
crick.ac.uk
We welcome anyone interested in HIV research to join our free annual event marking World AIDS Day.

We’ll hear from expert speakers including Julie Fox, Kevin McKenna and Robin Shattock as they discuss HIV research, clinical trials, policy and activism.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/world-aids...
World AIDS Day 2025: Living with HIV
Join us Tue 2 Dec for World AIDS Day. A warm welcome to all — public, researchers, clinicians & anyone curious about HIV/AIDS & science.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 9:35 AM
crick.ac.uk
Why is it so difficult to understand and treat the diseases that cause dementia?

Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about Alzheimer's disease, dementia and the ageing brain.

Listen now on your favourite podcast platform: lnk.to/AQOSDementiaBB
Promotional image for 'Can We Repair the Ageing Brain?' with five speakers and microphones.
November 12, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by The Francis Crick Institute
helloeacr.bsky.social
We're pleased to announce that @charlesswanton.bsky.social is the 2026 winner of the Mike Price Gold Medal Award! The award will be presented at the EACR 2026 Congress in Budapest, where Charles will present the Keynote Award Lecture.

Congratulations 🎉 learn more: magazine.eacr.org/charles-swan...
November 12, 2025 at 8:00 AM
crick.ac.uk
This image shows a mass of human stem cells, collectively known as an ‘organoid’.

We stained the neural crest cells of this organoid to better understand diseases related to defects in their development, such as Hirschsprung's disease and Neuroblastoma.

Image credit: @carmenmorenogon.bsky.social
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November 10, 2025 at 9:27 AM
crick.ac.uk
We had another full house at our Annual Science Meeting this week, which featured over 100 posters and 30 talks by our Crick colleagues.

These yearly events are a great way for us all to get together and discover what teams from every corner of the building have been working on.
A person standing in front of a lectern on a stage speaking to a crowd full of seated people. A large crowd of people mingling between many rows of posters. Two people talking while looking towards a poster, with more posters and people in the background. Three people looking intently at a scientific poster.
November 7, 2025 at 10:28 AM
crick.ac.uk
We each carry around six million variations in our DNA.

Henry Scowcroft explores how scientists like @gregfindlay.bsky.social and @carovinuesa.bsky.social are helping unravel the effects of these variants, where even a small change can have a big impact on our lives.
www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-10...
Variants: the typos turning loss into hope
Across the 3 billion ‘letters’ of our DNA, we each carry around 6 million variations. Researchers are unravelling their effects on our lives.
www.crick.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
crick.ac.uk
How does immunotherapy work, and why do some patients respond while others don’t?

Book our free talk by Samra Turajlic, head of the Cancer Dynamics Lab here at the Crick, Director of @cruk-mi.bsky.social and head of the UK-wide MANIFEST programme.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crick-cras...
Crick Crash Course: Immunotherapy
Our series of morning lectures sharing science from across the Crick in a simple and accessible way continues.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:15 AM
crick.ac.uk
Egg freezing, fertility tech and why ovulation is like the Hunger Games.

Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about the future of fertility.

Listen now on your favourite podcast platform:
lnk.to/AQOSFertilit...
Promotional image for 'What's the future of fertility?' with five speakers and microphones.
November 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by The Francis Crick Institute
the-node.bsky.social
“I never imagined that tiny fruit flies could reveal so much about the brain and its functions until I spent my summer in @alexgouldlab.bsky.social laboratory…” 🪰

Learn more about Padmapriya Ajith’ studentship experience @crick.ac.uk #RosaBeddingtonFund ⬇️
thenode.biologists.com/role-of-fat-...
Role of fat body lipid transport in Drosophila neurodevelopment - the Node
I never imagined that tiny fruit flies could reveal so much about the brain and its functions until I spent my summer in Alex Gould’s laboratory at the
thenode.biologists.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:04 PM
crick.ac.uk
Just a few weeks left to apply for our clinical PhD programme.

We're looking for clinicians who are passionate about research to join the 3-year fully funded programme.

Learn more and see what positions are available ⬇️

www.crick.ac.uk/careers-and-...
Doctoral clinical fellows
The Crick's clinical PhD programme.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 30, 2025 at 9:41 AM
crick.ac.uk
NEW EPISODE: Who owns space?

Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about the politics, ethics and law of outer space exploration.

Listen now on your favourite podcast platform: www.lnk.to/AQOSSpaceBB
Promotional image for 'Who owns space?' with five speakers and microphones.
October 29, 2025 at 9:07 AM
crick.ac.uk
Crick group leaders work across disciplines, supported by core funding and mentoring to build ambitious, curiosity-driven research.

Apply now to join us ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
October 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM
crick.ac.uk
Looking for fun science activities you can do with kids to keep their brains engaged this half term?

We’ve created a website full of activities, videos and quizzes for young people to spark excitement about science.

🔗 kids.crick.ac.uk/experiment

#KidsActivities #ScienceKids
October 24, 2025 at 3:57 PM
crick.ac.uk
Free tickets are available for our upcoming Translational Research Symposium, which will highlight the cutting-edge translational programmes and initiatives here at the Crick.

📅 Monday, 17 November.

Get tickets 👇
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crick-tran...
Crick Translational Research Symposium
This inaugural translation symposium will highlight the Crick’s cutting-edge translational programmes and initiatives.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 10:25 AM
crick.ac.uk
Researchers at the Crick found that virgin female mice can become aggressive towards pups when hungry, but only in certain hormonal states.

It highlights the importance of understanding hormones when observing how different physical states interact in the brain.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-10...
Hunger influences the behaviour of female mice towards pups
Researchers find that virgin female mice can become aggressive towards pups when hungry, but only in certain hormonal states.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
crick.ac.uk
Congratulations to @andreas-t-schaefer.bsky.social on receiving a £3.8 million @wellcometrust.bsky.social Discovery Award, working with @esrf.fr, to chart the brain circuity behind the sense of smell in mice.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-10...
New £3.8m project to map the mouse olfactory system
Andreas Schaefer, Principal Group Leader of the Sensory Circuits and Neurotechnology Laboratory at the Crick, has received a Wellcome Discovery Award to chart the brain circuitry behind the sense of s...
www.crick.ac.uk
October 22, 2025 at 12:28 PM
crick.ac.uk
NEW EPISODE: Who are our ancestors and why does it matter?

Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about ancient DNA.

Listen on your favourite podcast platform: lnk.to/AQOSAncientD...
Episode graphic titled “Why Does Ancient DNA Matter?” featuring several speakers and a large question mark background.
October 22, 2025 at 8:18 AM
crick.ac.uk
Congratulations Laura 🥳
myesmo.bsky.social ESMO - European Society for Medical Oncology @myesmo.bsky.social · Oct 20
👏We are pleased to announce Laura Marandino as the 2025 recipient of the ESMO José Baselga Fellowship for Clinician Scientists. This fellowship, supported by AZ, provides the resources & #mentorship for #ClinicianScientists. #ESMO25
October 21, 2025 at 9:58 AM
crick.ac.uk
Congratulations to @charlesswanton.bsky.social on being elected to the National Academy of Medicine @nam.edu.

Charlie was elected for his work applying evolutionary biology to cancer genomics, demonstrating how cancer evolution occurs across cancer types.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-10...
Charlie Swanton elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine
Charlie Swanton, Deputy Clinical Director at the Crick, has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 20, 2025 at 2:36 PM
crick.ac.uk
To mark World Menopause Day, Crick scientists Maxine Holder and Celine Bouchoux, as well as former Crick scientist Georgina Fletcher, appeared on The Microscopists podcast to talk about their experiences of perimenopause.

Listen now 👇
themicroscopists.bitesizebio.com/episodes/the...
The Microscopists | The Microscopists Discusses Menopause and Perimenopause
In this special episode of The Microscopists, we're joined by three passionate voices who share their personal experiences with perimenopause and menopause.They share personal stories of navigating...
themicroscopists.bitesizebio.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
crick.ac.uk
Congratulations to Bart de Strooper on receiving an honorary CBE for services to dementia research in the UK and internationally.

Bart is a Principal Group Leader at the Crick, Professor of Dementia Research at @ucl.ac.uk and Founding Director of the @ukdri.ac.uk

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-10...
Bart de Strooper awarded CBE for services to dementia research
Bart de Strooper, Principal Group Leader at the Crick, Professor of Dementia Research at UCL and Founding Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute, has received an honorary CBE for services to d...
www.crick.ac.uk
October 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM