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The Francis Crick Institute
@crick.ac.uk
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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
Why do we need microscopes as big as buildings?

Book now for our free talk from Lucy Collinson as she discusses the detailed images of cells that powerful microscopes can show us, and how members of the general public can help us understand those images.

https://bit.ly/4jQ6AsF
Crick Crash Course: The tiny universe inside your cells
Our series of morning lectures sharing science from across the Crick in a simple and accessible way continues
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 28, 2026 at 10:05 AM
crick.ac.uk
What happens when researchers, clinicians and a community organisation work together?

Read our photo story from a pop-up liver clinic serving the UK's Mongolian community: www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-09...
Would anyone come? Investigating liver health among Mongolians living in the UK
Through pop-up clinics held at a London school, Crick scientists are investigating the growing overlap of hepatitis B and metabolic liver disease.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 22, 2026 at 3:30 PM
crick.ac.uk
In this week’s episode of A Question of Science, Professor Brian Cox is joined by our director and CEO Edith Heard, Natasha Karp, @petterbrodin.bsky.social and @ccriadoperez.bsky.social to discuss how biological sex can affect health, disease risk and research.

Listen ➡️ www.lnk.to/AQOSSexDiffe...
Five panellists seated on stage during A Question of Science at the Francis Crick Institute. Wide view of five panellists on stage during A Question of Science, with the audience in the foreground. Two speakers in conversation on stage at a recording of A Question of Science at the Francis Crick Institute.
October 21, 2026 at 10:30 AM
crick.ac.uk
Listen to Crick group leader @pontus-skoglund.bsky.social, who joined writer Gillian Slovo and classicist @edithmayhall.bsky.social on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week, discussing inheritance and the role of ancient DNA.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0032qn4
Start the Week - Inheritance – from stories to genetics - BBC Sounds
Secrets, myths and ancient DNA reshape our understanding of the past and present
www.bbc.co.uk
October 15, 2026 at 3:08 PM
crick.ac.uk
Thank you to climate scientist @michaelemann.bsky.social for a sobering and insightful talk yesterday about the urgent need to tackle misinformation, the importance of evidence-based policymaking, and the value of international collaboration across all areas of science.
A person is giving a lecture on stage in front of an audience. They are standing behind a podium with a computer monitor and microphone, gesturing towards a projector screen displaying a graph. The background features wooden paneling. A person is giving a lecture on stage. They are standing behind a podium with a computer monitor and microphone. The background features wooden paneling. A person is giving a lecture on stage. They are standing behind a podium with a computer monitor and microphone. The background features wooden paneling. Michael Mann and Edith Heard are standing together smiling towards the camera.
October 15, 2026 at 10:26 AM
crick.ac.uk
From a fundamental discovery to a spin-out company: ALTx Therapeutics grew out of years of collaborative research at the Crick.

Read the story of how it happened: www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-08...
Targeting cancer's immortality
How years of research and teams of experts at the Crick identified a drug target and launched a company.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 14, 2026 at 2:19 PM
crick.ac.uk
How do flies help us to understand health and disease?

Book now for our free talk from Nic Tapon, who will discuss the importance of flies to some of our research.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crick-crash-course-how-the-fly-helps-us-to-understand-health-and-disease-tickets-1991188792279?aff=Bsky
Crick Crash Course: How the fly helps us to understand health and disease
Our series of morning lectures sharing science from across the Crick in a simple and accessible way continues.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 9, 2026 at 9:00 AM
crick.ac.uk
Researchers have shown that an anti-ageing mechanism that evolved from remnants of viral DNA can not only be hijacked by cancer cells to stop them ageing, but also plays an important role in helping the embryo develop.

https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-10-07_an-ancient-advantage-hijacked-by-cancer
An ancient advantage, hijacked by cancer
Researchers show that an anti-ageing mechanism hijacked by cancer cells to evade normal biological limits, also plays an important role in helping the embryo develop, having evolved from remnants of v...
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October 8, 2026 at 6:47 AM
crick.ac.uk
The West Africa, West Indies, West London (WWW) Consortium, which convenes researchers from the Crick and across the UK, Ghana and Jamaica, are hoping to reveal the impact of genetics and the environment on responses to future pandemic threats.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-10...
A global effort to understand immunity before potential future pandemics
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed striking differences in how people responded to COVID-19 within and across populations. A team of infectious disease researchers, working across three continents, are ho...
www.crick.ac.uk
October 7, 2026 at 2:24 PM
crick.ac.uk
A Question of Science with @profbriancox.bsky.social is back for a second series, exploring the science behind the headlines.

In today’s episode, the panel discusses how AI is already changing medicine and healthcare, and what might come next.

Watch and listen now ➡️ www.lnk.to/AQOSAIMedBB
A panel of five individuals seated on a stage, engaged in discussion. The backdrop reads "A Question of Science." The setting is at The Francis Crick Institute, with shelves displaying books and a spotlight highlighting the panelists. The audience is partially visible in the foreground. A stage with two individuals seated, engaged in a discussion. The backdrop displays the text "A Question of Science." There is a small table with a plant, and the audience is visible in the foreground. A panel discussion is taking place in a well-lit studio. Three individuals are seated on stage in armchairs, each with a microphone. The background features shelves with various objects. It appears informal and conversational, with an audience in attendance.
October 7, 2026 at 8:00 AM
crick.ac.uk
In 2019, Peter Ratcliffe was jointly awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. Looking back on a decade as the Crick's Clinical Director, he shares 10 lessons from a life in science: www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-08...
Life lessons with Peter Ratcliffe
Looking back after a decade as the Crick’s Clinical Director, Peter shares 10 lessons from a life in science.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 6, 2026 at 2:44 PM
crick.ac.uk
In a piece in @thelondonstandard.bsky.social, the Crick’s @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social and @charlesswanton.bsky.social explain how AI could help us shift from reactive disease management to proactive prevention and true precision medicine.

Read the full article ➡️ www.standard.co.uk/news/tech/ai...
If AI can learn how life works, it could help us live longer, healthier lives
The Francis Crick Institute’s expert scientists on how AI can help the healthcare industry
www.standard.co.uk
October 5, 2026 at 3:46 PM
crick.ac.uk
Researchers at the Crick have shown that a surge in immune cell production in response to an indirect injury or infection can reactivate dormant cancer cells inside the bone, potentially leading to relapse.

https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-10-01_inflammation-can-wake-up-dormant-cancer-cells
Inflammation can wake up dormant cancer cells
Research shows that ‘sleeping’ cancer cells hidden in the bone can be reactivated by a surge in immune cell production, offering scientists fresh insights into cancer relapse.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 1, 2026 at 3:45 PM
crick.ac.uk
PhD recruitment is now open at the Crick, and we're looking for people to join a community of researchers tackling big scientific questions in the heart of London. Apply by 3 November: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-and-...

Find out more about the three routes into our 2027 PhD programme in this thread ⬇️
PhD students
Our PhD programme attracts the brightest scientific minds and is an opportunity for talented people to embark on their career in biomedical research.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 1, 2026 at 3:16 PM
crick.ac.uk
γδ T cells don’t fit neatly into the immune system’s traditional categories. Crick and King’s researchers found that these cells use adaptive immune receptors to drive rapid, innate-like responses to tissue stress, inflammation, and cancer.

www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-09...
Immune cells defy textbook classifications
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, King’s College London and Complutense University of Madrid have shown that γδ T cells use adaptive immune receptors to drive rapid, innate-like responses to...
www.crick.ac.uk
September 30, 2026 at 3:52 PM
crick.ac.uk
We're looking for undergraduate students at UK universities who are interested in scientific research to join one of our labs or facilities for 12 months as part of our sandwich student programme.

Apply by 6 October: https://www.crick.ac.uk/careers-and-study/students/sandwich-students
Sandwich students
Sandwich students join one of the Crick’s research groups or science technology platforms for 12 months to work on a research project.
www.crick.ac.uk
September 29, 2026 at 3:56 PM
crick.ac.uk
Our AI for Biological Discovery online seminar series continues with “Communities of AI agents for scientific discoveries” by James Zou, Stanford University, on 7 October at 15:00 BST.

Register now for the webinar: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ai-in-biol...
AI in Biology Seminar | Professor James Zou
A new AI for Biological Discovery Seminar Series, presented by the Francis Crick Institute.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
September 29, 2026 at 10:12 AM
crick.ac.uk
Applications are open for our new AI/ML clinical fellowships, combining formal MSc-level training in AI and machine learning with PhD or postdoctoral research at the Crick.

Find out more about the programme and apply by 11 November: https://bit.ly/4hxmAgn
AI/ML clinical fellows
Our clinical training pathway integrating AI and machine learning with discovery research.
www.crick.ac.uk
September 28, 2026 at 4:10 PM
crick.ac.uk
“I think what motivates me to work on TB is that I always wanted to work on something relevant and important for humans.”

Watch @maxgg.bsky.social discuss his journey to developing new methods to visualise TB and antibiotics inside cells. https://youtu.be/wzGqJszqh-s
Why can bacteria live inside us for decades? - Max Gutierrez - Lifeworks
YouTube video by The Francis Crick Institute
youtu.be
September 28, 2026 at 1:36 PM
crick.ac.uk
Researchers have identified a response to a rhinovirus infection in which airway cells physically remove infected neighbours from the tissue. The process helps protect the airway, but it might also help the virus spread.

Read the full story: www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-09...
First defence: how airways remove infected cells
The immune system kicks into gear to fight back against viruses, bacteria or other threats. But an ancient process is likely defending us even earlier.
www.crick.ac.uk
September 28, 2026 at 9:29 AM
crick.ac.uk
Our Chief AI Scientist, Mihaela van der Schaar, contributed to a @cellpress.bsky.social feature on AI in biomedical research, joining seven other researchers to discuss the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Real the full article: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
September 24, 2026 at 4:14 PM
crick.ac.uk
Zooming out on cancer: how it rewires our biology, from tissues to organs and whole-body systems.

Researchers Caroline Hill, Ilaria Malanchi and @adrover.bsky.social are helping to unravel this vast complexity, opening up new opportunities to tackle the disease. www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-08...
Cancer: the bigger picture
Bold ideas and cross-disciplinary science are revealing how cancer rewires cells, tissues and whole-body systems.
www.crick.ac.uk
September 24, 2026 at 1:21 PM
crick.ac.uk
Our next Medicine at the Crick event on 19 November explores 'not-so-acute' infections: viruses and bacteria that can persist in the body long after infection.

Book online and in-person tickets ➡️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/medicine-a...
A person presents at a podium in front of an audience in an auditorium.
September 24, 2026 at 11:12 AM
crick.ac.uk
Discover the latest issue of The Crick magazine, featuring stories on cancer, antimicrobial resistance, life after a Nobel Prize, liver health, heat and the human body, and more from across the Crick.

Read now: https://www.crick.ac.uk/news-and-features/the-crick-magazine-issue-3
September 23, 2026 at 3:02 PM
crick.ac.uk
“The scientific endeavour is a global endeavour, and crossing both geographical boundaries and scientific boundaries is key to success.”

Our Director Edith Heard joined The Life Scientific today, discussing her global career in research.

Listen on BBC Sounds: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The Life Scientific - Edith Heard on unravelling the mystery of X-chromosome inactivation - BBC Sounds
Epigeneticist Edith Heard on decoding the details of how X chromosomes are expressed.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 15, 2026 at 4:01 PM