Hundreds of fossils discovered on Wexford coastline date back to long before dinosaurs roamed  A team of scientists, led by experts from the School of Natural Sciences at University of Galway, have discovered an exceptionally well-preserved group of fossil sea urchins at Hook Head, County Wexford.  The find is one of the most important in Irish palaeontology in recent times. Sea urchins, or echinoids, are a group of marine animals, related to starfish. They have globular plated bodies covered by numerous defensive spines, which fall away and are quickly lost after the urchin dies. Over 200 complete fossil echinoids are preserved in exquisite detail on a limestone surface, in an area of just 1m2 . All of the Hook Head specimens have their spines still attached and they apparently died together on the seafloor almost 350 million years ago - a dramatic moment now frozen in time on the rock surface on the coast of south-east Ireland. The limestone layer containing the fossil urchins was in danger of being lost to coastal erosion, so the scientific team mounted a rescue operation to save it.  The site at Hook Head is protected under law and approval for the recovery was granted by several state agencies, as well as the local landowner. Following successful removal, the team immediately entrusted the fossil-bearing slab to the National Museum of Ireland for conservation and further study.  The discovery and recovery of the hundreds of fossil sea urchins was recently reported in the Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, which is published by the Royal Irish Academy.  One of the international scientific experts who peer-reviewed the paper remarked: “Speaking as a Paleozoic echinoid worker, this is one of the most exceptional and striking fossil finds in the last century.” Palaeontologist Dr Nidia Álvarez-Armada, the lead author in the study, said: “I initially discovered these fossil sea urchins on a rocky coastal outcrop when I was surveying the geology of Hook Head peninsula for my undergraduate Bachelor of Science thesis at University of Galway. When I first noticed the echinoids on the limestone surface, I was completely astonished by both the sheer number of fossil specimens present and also their exceptional preservation.  “The significance of the find was instantly apparent and I immediately began mapping and recording the shape, size and position of each individual urchin on the rock surface. This work took several weeks to complete, but it was important to carefully document the fossil find in as much detail as possible.” The Hook Head fossil find has considerable potential to reveal important information about the nature of seafloor communities during the Carboniferous, a time period that occurred long before dinosaurs ever walked on land, when the marine realm was very different to today. Dr John Murray, School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway, who co-authored the paper and supervised the original project, said: “It is quite exceptional to find Carboniferous fossil sea urchins so perfectly preserved and in such large numbers like this. In life, these particular echinoids had very flexible plated bodies, covered with many spines, which usually disarticulated and dispersed rapidly after death, leaving little trace of them behind. The Hook Head urchins must have been buried quite quickly after they died, with little or no post mortem disturbance; however, it remains unclear why they congregated in such large numbers at this location on that ancient seafloor.” Dr Murray added: “The significance of this discovery was such that all of the members of the rescue team willingly volunteered their time and expertise to travel to Hook Head to help salvage the fossil-bearing slab. We consciously chose to leave this important fossil find in the care of the National Museum of Ireland immediately - I guess it was our way of giving this piece of priceless geoheritage back to the people of Ireland.” To read the full study in The Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, visit: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/868440/pdf Ends

University of Galway researchers discover biomarkers which may help in determining tailored cancer treatment Researchers at University of Galway have determined that biomarkers known as microRNAs can help predict which patients with breast cancer are likely to face a recurrence of the disease and death. The researchers, led by Dr Matthew Davey, Professor Michael Kerin and Dr Nicola Miller, from the University’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, conducted a multicentre trial In Ireland, involving 124 patients who were treated with chemotherapy.  The findings of the research have been published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).  They include:  MiRNAs can be used as a biomarker to predict which patients are likely to face breast cancer recurrence and mortality. Researchers conducting a multicentre trial in Ireland drew blood samples from 124 patients with breast cancer at 5 different timepoints during their cancer journey, and assessed their outcomes almost nine years later. Researchers say their discovery of the predictive value of miR-145 could help physicians better tailor treatment to the need of each patient being treated for breast cancer. According to figures from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland, over 3,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. While long-term outcomes have improved for patients with breast cancer, the most common cancer diagnosed in women, 20% to 30% of these patients will see their breast cancer relapse.  Dr Davey said: “The process of identifying which patients are more likely to have a recurrence has been a challenge. Therefore we set out to determine whether miRNAs -small, non-coding molecules that modulate genetic expression and affect cancer development - are capable predicting which patients are more likely to have a recurrence of, and die from, breast cancer. “We discovered that patients with an increased expression of a certain type of miRNA, called miR-145, are unlikely to have a recurrence of breast cancer.  “We showed that increased expression of this biomarker, which was measured in patients' blood samples during chemotherapy, actually predicted their long-term oncological outcome. We can predict those who are likely to suffer recurrence and also those who will be free of recurrence. Further studies into the clinical application of this biomarker are ongoing. “This study may also help identify breast cancer patients who could benefit from closer monitoring and additional therapies post-surgery or treatment.” This research is made possible by the National Breast Cancer Research Institute and Cancer Trials Ireland.  Ends

Dr Andrew Daly, Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering and CÚRAM Funded Investigator, will develop new bioinks for organ bioprinting University of Galway Investigator Dr Andrew Daly has today been named a recipient of a European Research Council Starting Grant Award of €1.49m. morphoPRINT will focus on creating dynamic bioinks that can program morphogenetic behaviours in bioprinted organs to enhance their physiological relevance.  Three-dimensional bioprinting, where bioprinters are used to position cells into organ-shaped constructs, holds great promise for tissue and organ engineering. Although remarkable progress has been made in recent years, it remains challenging to bioprint organs with suitable functionality for implantation. For example, in the case of the heart, bioprinted heart cells (termed cardiomyocytes) do not beat with sufficient intensity or force to pump blood around the body. This is largely because bioprinted cardiomyocytes, now typically derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, are immature, with properties more similar to juvenile rather than adult cardiomyocytes.  In the body, as our heart develops, cardiomyocytes are exposed to mechanical and electrical stimuli that 'train' and 'shape' the cells into a more mature form. Integrating these behaviours into bioprinted organs that initially exist outside of the body has been challenging. Dr Daly explains: “The morphoPRINT project will develop a new range of programmable bioinks that will allow us to 'sculpt' heart cell maturation using mechanical stimuli. I am delighted to accept this funding award which will enable our lab to develop cutting edge technology that brings us closer to the reality of bioprinted organ replacements.” Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CÚRAM, said: “This European Research Council Starting Grant Award is an exciting opportunity for Dr Daly and speaks to the calibre of his research career to date. I welcome the opportunity for Dr Daly to continue to develop this ground breaking and promising research and the impact it will have to enhance and grow his professional reputation and profile.” Dr Andrew Daly was awarded a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Trinity College Dublin in 2018, where he developed bioprinted implants for cartilage and bone regeneration. For this work, he was awarded the Engineer’s Ireland Biomedical Engineering Research Medal. Following this, he moved to the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania for his postdoctoral training. In 2020, he was awarded an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship to develop bioprinted cardiac disease models for screening of miRNA therapeutics. In January 2021, he started his research group at the University of Galway.   To date, his work has been published in the top journals in the field, including Nature Communications, Nature Reviews Materials, Cell, Biomaterials, Advanced Science, Acta Biomaterialia, Advanced Healthcare Materials, and Biofabrication.  Dr Daly is one of 408 researchers to have won this year’s European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants. The funding is worth in total €636 million and is part of the Horizon Europe programme. It will help excellent younger scientists, who have 2 to 7 years’ experience after their PhDs, to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their most promising ideas. Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “We are proud to empower younger researchers to follow their curiosity. These new ERC laureates bring a remarkable wealth of scientific ideas, they will further our knowledge and some already have practical applications in sight. I wish them all the best of luck with their explorations.”  President of the European Research Council Professor Maria Leptin said: “It is a pleasure to see this new group of bright minds at the start of their careers, set to take their research to new heights. I cannot emphasize enough that Europe as a whole - both at national and at EU level - has to continue to back and empower its promising talent. We must encourage young researchers who are led by sheer curiosity to go after their most ambitious scientific ideas. Investing in them and their frontier research is investing in our future.” The grants will be invested in scientific projects spanning all disciplines of research from engineering to life sciences to humanities. Ends