Podcast episode | SCANning for coronavirus

In the latest episode of Lab Notes, an Allen Institute podcast, we sit down with Jay Shendure, director of the Allen Discovery Center at UW Medicine and leader of the SCAN study to track the spread of coronavirus in Seattle.

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Stories

2020 Annual Report

This year has starkly illuminated why science is critical to the wellbeing of humanity. There’s so much we still need to understand about basic biological systems and the underpinnings of human health. Read on for highlights from Allen Institute research from the past year.

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Links between unsung brain cells and Huntington’s disease

Astrocytes, once thought of as inert ‘brain glue,’ may turn out to be key players in Huntington’s and other neurodegenerative diseases – and could offer a new path to therapies, a new study led by Allen Distinguished Investigator Baljit Khakh finds.

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A holistic way to look at the mammalian brain’s many types of neurons

Using a technique that simultaneously captures different kinds of features from each cell, Allen Institute for Brain Science researchers laid the groundwork for a “family tree” of the mouse brain.

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New cell line lets researchers use CRISPR to reversibly switch off genes

‘CRISPR interference,’ or CRISPRi, enables study of basic cell biology and disease in human stem cells. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, teamed up with the Allen Institute for Cell Science to release a CRISPRi stem cell line for any researcher to use.

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Join us virtually Dec. 14-18 for neuroscience and cell biology events

All next week, Allen Institute researchers are hosting the Showcase Symposium and the Seattle Cell Science Symposium, events focused on neuroscience and cell biology that are held virtually this year, with talks from our own researchers and other experts in the field. Find more information on the events on our website, and tune into our YouTube channel to view the live streams.

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In the News

Towards a Better Characterization of Neurons

LabRoots, November 14, 2020

A cheat sheet to help know your neurons

Cosmos Magazine, November 13, 2020

Morphogenesis: Coding for Shape

Evolution News and Science Today, October 19, 2020

Frontiers Group announces 2020 Allen Distinguished Investigators

Philanthropy News Digest, October 19, 2020