The program and abstracts of the forthcoming 9th Transgenic Technology meeting (TT2010), to be held in Berlin, at the MDC, on March 22-24, 2010, have been just published in the April issue (19:2) of the scientific journal Transgenic Research, associated to the International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT). All participants registered to attend the TT2010 meeting will receive a complimentary copy of this issue of the journal in Berlin. All ISTT members are entitled for the free access to browse and download this and other articles published in Transgenic Research through the privileged entry point available from within the members-only section of the ISTT web site.
Results of the 2010 ISTT Elections
March 1st, 2010These are the results of the 2010 ISTT Elections: Lluis Montoliu has been re-elected President of ISTT, Carlisle Landel has been re-elected Secretary of ISTT, Manuel Sanchez-Martin has been elected Treasurer of ISTT, Shirley Pease has been re-elected ISTT Officer, Jan Parker-Thornburg has been re-elected ISTT Officer and Elizabeth Williams has been elected ISTT Officer. Their terms of service will start on January 1st, 2011, till December 31st, 2014. Congratulations to all elected and re-elected candidates!
Sightseeing boat-trip in Berlin at the TT2010 meeting
February 20th, 2010At the TT2010 meeting, to be held in Berlin, on March 22-24, 2010, there will be several social amenities organized, prior the conference itself. On Sunday 21, 2010, there will be a Sightseeing boat-trip. The sightseeing boat trip will start on the river Spree, close to Friedrichstraße, around 3 pm on Sunday, March 21 and will be a two to three hour guided tour through the historical center of Berlin and some more recent quarters. All registered participants will receive detailed information in due time before the trip.
The ISTT Prize: a piece of art created by Bela Rozsnyay
February 8th, 2010The International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT) has established a “Prize for outstanding contributions to the field of Transgene Technologies“. The ISTT Prizes are awarded at each Transgenic Technology (TT) Meeting and are generously sponsored by genOway. The ISTT Prize is a unique piece of art and represents a mouse blastocyst created in silver by the Hungarian artist Mr. Bela Rozsnyay.
Next ISTT Prize will be awarded in Berlin, at the TT2010 meeting, to Prof. Francis Stewart ( TU Dresden, Germany). Previous awardees of this ISTT Prize have been: Brigid Hogan (TT2008), Charles Babinet (TT2007), Andras Nagy (TT2005), Qi Zhou (TT2004), Kenneth J. McCreath (TT2002) and Teruhiko Wakayama (TT2001). All awarded ISTT Prize winners are given Honorary ISTT Membership.
Mouse Welfare Terms
February 5th, 2010Mouse Welfare Terms is a website dedicated to standardising the way we describe different characteristics of laboratory mice which may impact on their welfare. The team who have developed the listing of terms is lead by mouse care staff and have worked with veterinarian advice to compile a list of controlled language for cage-side descriptions of any mice that may cause concern while being used for scientific research. The ultimate aim of this listing is to highlight welfare concerns associated with the maintenance of laboratory mice and any phenotypes that should be conveyed when either using these models locally or transferring to other facilities.
Course on Managing Mouse Colonies: Genetics, Breeding & Welfare
February 2nd, 2010The RSPCA and EUMODIC will be holding a two-day course entitled: Managing Mouse Colonies: Genetics, Breeding & Welfare. The course, a collaboration between MRC Harwell, the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, the RSPCA and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, will introduce experienced technicians and scientific staff involved with the management of GA mice, to current best practice in the maintenance of GA mouse colonies for scientific research, with an emphasis on the 3Rs and animal welfare. The event will be limited to 30 participants and take place on the 20th & 21st July 2010 at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK.
Topics to include:
• Establishing & maintaining transgenic lines
• Establishing & maintaining gene targeted lines
• An introduction to genetic/strain nomenclature
• Basic colony management
• Breeding workshop
• Advanced colony management
• Identifying and overcoming common issues
• Maintenance of high health status colonies
• Cryopreservation/rederivation workshop
• Experimental design workshop
Cost £150 (to cover all accommodation, food and course materials)
For more information, or to obtain an application form please email: GA@rspca.org.uk (putting ‘colony management course’ in the subject field) before 31st March 2010.
2010 ISTT Elections for Officers and Council Members
January 29th, 2010In 2010, and according to ISTT bylaws, we have to renew some members of the ISTT Executive Commitee (Council), whose term of service is due on December 31st, 2010:
ISTT President: Lluis Montoliu
ISTT Secretary: Carlisle Landel
ISTT Treasurer: Belen Pintado
ISTT Council Members: Sarah Johnson, Jan Parker-Thornburg, Shirley Pease
The Nominations Committee has been contacting potential candidates and requesting their willingness to participate in the current election process. Accordingly, ISTT Officers and Council Members proposed as candidates are:
ISTT President 2011-2014, 1 candidate: Lluis Montoliu
ISTT Secretary 2011-2014, 1 candidate: Carlisle Landel
ISTT Treasurer 2011-2014, 1 candidate: Manuel Sanchez-Martin
ISTT Council Members 2011-2014 (3 seats available/5 candidates), Mary-Ann Haskings, Jan Parker-Thornburg, Shirley Pease, Marian van Roon and Elizabeth Williams
Non-honorarium ISTT Members with voting rights are those that have already renewed in 2010 or have requested 2010 ISTT Membership renewal. To vote, please visit the members-only section of the ISTT web site.
From fibroblasts to neurons without ES or iPS cells
January 28th, 2010
Efficient induction of neurons from perinatal tail-tip fibroblasts. Figure 2 from article: Direct conversion of fibroblasts to functional neurons by defined factors, by Thomas Vierbuchen, Austin Ostermeier, Zhiping P. Pang, Yuko Kokubu, Thomas C. Südhof & Marius Wernig. Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature, advance online publication, 27 january 2010 (doi:10.1038/nature08797)
Today, Nature publishes an interesting article by Vierbuchen et al. where authors demonstrate that only three transcription factors (Ascl1, Brn2 (also called Pou3f2) and Myt1l) suffice to efficiently convert mouse embryonic and postnatal fibroblasts into functional neurons in vitro. The resulting neuronal cells appear to be functional in vitro and are called induced Neurons, or iN cells, and, most importantly, have been obtained without involving the use of ES cells or iPS cells, therefore avoiding the pluripotent stem cell step and, hence, avoiding the potential risk of tumorigenicity associated with the use of stem cell-derived neuronal cells. Further experiments would be required to validate this innovative approach in vivo and its potential relevance for human cell therapies in regenerative medicine.
Registration for the TT2010 meeting has been closed
January 28th, 2010Registration for attending the next TT2010 meeting is no longer possible. We thank for your interest. We have reached the maximum number of participants that are allowed at the MDC venue. If you have any question, comments or doubts, please contact the TT2010 Registration Office at tt2010@transtechsociety.org.
TT2010 Organizing Committee
Berlin, 28 January 2010
Updated preliminary agenda of the TT2010 Meeting
January 25th, 2010An updated preliminary agenda for the forthcoming 9th Transgenic Technology meeting, TT2010, to be held at MDC in Berlin (Germany), on March 22-24, 2010, has been released. This updated program includes all scheduled sessions and the short oral presentations selected among the submitted abstracts. The planned programs for the workshops, associated to this meeting and scheduled for March 25-26, are also specified. Additional information can be found at the TT2010 meeting web site.










