Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

CRUK Announces Cuts

Cancer Research UK is cutting its research funding by £44 million ($54 million), the Guardian reports.

The charity, which funds about half of cancer research efforts in the UK, forecasts that its income will fall by 25 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Guardian notes that efforts to contain the pandemic has affected ways CRUK raises money, such as through its shops and fundraising events. Because of this, CRUK says it will likely raise £120 million less this year than anticipated.

The charity has announced it would cut funding to existing grants and institutes by 10 percent and its national infrastructure by 20 percent, for a total of about £44 million in cuts. Its executive board is also taking a 20 percent pay cut. The charity adds that it hopes that by making these cuts now, it will be better poised later to continue its work, the Guardian notes.

"We know these funding cuts will be devastating to the work of our scientists and clinicians, and that the scope and focus of these changes will raise many questions," CRUK says in an open letter to researchers. It adds that it will be reaching out to everyone affected by the cuts.

The Scan

Sick Newborns Selected for WGS With Automated Pipeline

Researchers successfully prioritized infants with potential Mendelian conditions for whole-genome sequencing or rapid whole-genome sequencing, as they report in Genome Medicine.

Acne-Linked Loci Found Through GWAS Meta-Analysis

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics find new and known acne vulgaris risk loci with a genome-wide association study and meta-analysis, highlighting hair follicle- and metabolic disease-related genes.

Retina Cell Loss Reversed by Prime Editing in Mouse Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa

A team from China turns to prime editing to correct a retinitis pigmentosa-causing mutation in the PDE6b gene in a mouse model of the progressive photoreceptor loss condition in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

CRISPR Screens Reveal Heart Attack-Linked Gene

Researchers in PLOS Genetics have used CRISPR screens to home in on variants associated with coronary artery disease that affect vascular endothelial function.