Abstract
The International University of Andalucía (UNIA) Current Trends in Biomedicine Workshop on Molecular Causes of Primary Microcephaly and Related Diseases took place in Baeza, Spain, November 18–20, 2019. This meeting brought together scientists from Europe, the USA and China to discuss recent advances in our molecular and genetic understanding of a group of rare neurodevelopmental diseases characterised by primary microcephaly, a condition in which head circumference is smaller than normal at birth. Microcephaly can be caused by inherited mutations that affect key cellular processes, or environmental exposure to radiation or other toxins. It can also result from viral infection, as exemplified by the recent Zika virus outbreak in South America. Here we summarise a number of the scientific advances presented and topics discussed at the meeting.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía (UNIA) for funding and hosting the workshop, Joaquín Torreblanca for organising the workshop and all of the meeting participants for their attendance, interactivity, sharing of unpublished data and edits to the review.
Funding
T.H.S. was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PGC2018-095616-B-I00/GINDATA and FEDER), the Centres of Excellence Severo Ochoa award and the CERCA Programme.
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Stracker, T.H., Morrison, C.G. & Gergely, F. Molecular causes of primary microcephaly and related diseases: a report from the UNIA Workshop. Chromosoma 129, 115–120 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-020-00737-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-020-00737-6