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2020

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22 December 2020

Cells in the holiday spirit

It is that time of year to get into the holiday spirit, prepare for some time at home and relax after a strange and stressful year. Even the cells in our Picture of the Week are getting into the holiday spirit, forming this colourful Christmas tree.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

18 December 2020

Stronger together

Gene activation requires the cooperative activity of multiple transcription factors. Until now, the mechanism used by these factors to coordinate their actions has been poorly understood. EMBL’s Krebs group presents a DNA footprinting method that makes it possible to determine whether…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

15 December 2020 Snowy mountains behind functional buildings. The Moon is up in the sky.

First powder over EMBL Grenoble

The first snowflakes have fallen on the Vercors Mountains, right behind the EMBL Grenoble building, and an almost full moon is showing up during a sunny morning.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

8 December 2020 Windowed façade reflecting leafless trees.

Clear views

With the external scaffolding removed, another step in the construction of the EMBL Imaging Centre is complete. Now we get a first glimpse of the final look of this stunning building.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

7 December 2020 Female scientist stands in front of electron microscope that is taller than she is

Seeing deeper inside cells

While cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) was first envisioned in 1968, the advances the Mahamid group are bringing to this 3D method for studying molecules directly inside cells are new, and are likely to greatly expand its use.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

2 December 2020 The image is a green coloured cell, with a wild and textured surface which is composed of many different shapes and shadows.

Scratching the surface on cell differentiation

Scientists in the Diz-Muñoz group at EMBL Heidelberg are working to build understanding of the role that mechanical properties play in affecting cell behaviour – a young and rapidly developing field of study. They have developed and successfully used a highly specialised technique to manipulate…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

1 December 2020 Rainbow on a cloudy sky above technical buildings.

Rainbow over the Hanseatic city

Hamburg hosts one of EMBL’s six sites. The city is notorious for its windy and rainy weather. Lots of rain also means a high chance of beautiful rainbows!

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

24 November 2020 Red loops on a black background are dotted with bright red flecks and pale blue ovals as part of a confocal microscope image of bone marrow cells.

A loopy baseline

Studying cancers means also knowing what healthy cells look like. In this case, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from healthy bone marrow are a bit ‘loopy’.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

23 November 2020 Tube-like structures of a cell at sub-cellular level in red and grey.

Replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2 in 3D

Researchers have studied SARS-CoV-2 replication in cells and obtained detailed insights into the alterations induced in infected cells. This information is essential to guide the development of urgently needed therapeutic strategies for suppressing viral replication and induced pathology.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

20 November 2020 The Reichstag building (left) and Paul-Löbe-Haus (right) in Berlin, as seen in daylight from across the Spree river.

Sharing our vision for the future

EMBL Director General Edith Heard introduced EMBL’s future plans during a parliamentary event at the Paul-Löbe-Haus of the German Bundestag in Berlin. She shared examples of EMBL’s research and outlined how EMBL’s activities will develop.

CONNECTIONSLAB MATTERS

2020

connectionslab-matters

17 November 2020 Car parking rooftop with a solar power plant under construction on it.

Solar power

Despite the cold autumn weather, workers are busy on the rooftop of the parking garage at EMBL Heidelberg. The 2176 m² rooftop is getting transformed into a combination of a green roof and a photovoltaic plant. The planted green roof will retain rainwater, while the solar panels – installed in…

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

10 November 2020 Green coloured brain cells next to a microfluidic network.

Understanding malaria

To help understand cerebral malaria the Bernabeu group has created in vitro engineered networks of human blood vessels.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

4 November 2020 SARS-CoV-2 is represented as a sphere with spike proteins poking out of its surface, which give it a corona-like appearance. The spike proteins resemble triangular ‘bushes’ with three tips at the top. In the background, a cell surface is visible with ACE2 proteins poking out of it in many places. The virus is about to attach to the cell surface. The sybodies, represented as tiny V-shaped structures, bind to the viral spike proteins at their tips.

Scientists identify synthetic mini-antibody to combat COVID-19

By screening hundreds of sybodies (synthetic mini-antibodies), scientists have identified one that might stop SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells. This work, which holds promise for treating COVID-19, was conducted by EMBL Hamburg and collaborators from the Centre for Structural Systems Biology…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

3 November 2020 Rainbow above the EMBL building in Heidelberg, surrounded by woods.

Under the rainbow

On autumn days without Heidelberg’s characteristic fog, the woods present themself in beautiful colours. You may even capture a rainbow.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

27 October 2020 Microscopic image of a cell, nucleus visible in bright green, cell membrane stained with a purple dye against black background.

Party at the nucleus?

The nucleus of this cell fluoresces in bright green thanks to GFP-labelled nucleoporin proteins. EMBL scientists use engineered nucleoporins as 3D reference standards to improve super-resolution microscopy.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

20 October 2020 Greyscale image of two sheep grazing.

Ecological lawn mowers

In 2012, EMBL used ecological lawn mowers to keep the grass short around the Advanced Training Centre at EMBL Heidelberg.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

16 October 2020 Abstract graphic with big waves of black, white and grey somewhat like yin and yang, with two brain-shaped leaves in the upper right and lower left quadrants, one of which is green and more leafy-looking.

Taking charge by seeking ways to achieve gender balance

A three-day virtual conference, ‘Gender Roles and their Impact in Academia’, explored how biology, social structures, and unconscious bias shape gender roles, and discussed ways to achieve equal opportunities for men and women in academia.

LAB MATTERS

2020

eventslab-matters

15 October 2020 Four blue circular objects are surrounded with green structures, and the central blue circle with pink structures. The blue circles are human cell nuclei, and pink and green structures are proteins.

Repurposing drugs for a pan-coronavirus treatment

Scientists from the Beltrao Group at EMBL-EBI and collaborators identified drug targets common to SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, and MERS-CoV, three pathogenic coronaviruses. They also found potential drugs that could be repurposed as COVID-19 treatments, and against emerging coronavirus strains in the…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

15 October 2020 Dr. Maria Arruda looks towards the camera with a serious but kind expression

Respecting diversity: the role of the scientist

Maria Arruda is on a mission to make scientists think more about the role they play in society. After a career in academia and the life sciences, she is trying to help others see the bigger picture when it comes to the responsibility of the scientist.

LAB MATTERS

2020

eventslab-matters

13 October 2020 Sea anemone polyp in side view showing two arms.

Crazy arms

Sea anemones are amazing creatures. Despite their plant-like appearance and their tendency to remain fixed in one spot, they are actually animals.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

8 October 2020 Alvaro Crevenna, heads EMBL Rome’s Microscopy Facility. Credit: EMBL

Beyond the lens – microscopy at EMBL Rome

Research facilities play a crucial role in the advancement of science by supporting scientists with specialised expertise and state-of-the-art equipment. The Microscopy Facility at EMBL Rome exemplifies this role by making a wide variety of light microscopy technologies available to its researchers…

LAB MATTERSSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

lab-mattersscience-technology

6 October 2020 A filmstrip showing the healing process of a wound on cellular level.

Time heals all wounds

We’ve all had wounds at certain times in our lives. But they heal due to the self-repairing mechanisms in the body.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

5 October 2020 EMBL and Vilnius University logos on a background of genomic data

New partnership in Lithuania

On 8 September, EMBL and Vilnius University Life Sciences Center signed a framework agreement for the establishment of the VU LSC–EMBL Partnership for Genome Editing Technologies.

CONNECTIONSLAB MATTERS

2020

connectionslab-matters

1 October 2020 A group of people in an office are holding a videoconference. Some of the participants are wearing masks and gloves

Boosting the life sciences through alumni networks

EMBL’s network of alumni plays a vital role in advancing the life sciences globally. EMBL provides research, services, and infrastructure that help former staff to do this effectively. For several years EMBL has been discovering more avenues to help the life sciences across Europe. A key part of…

CONNECTIONS

2020

connectionsevents

29 September 2020 Oliver Billker, Director of MIMS, is standing at the podium in front of a microphone. Behind him, a projected slide says “Welcome to Umeå University”.

The Nordic EMBL Partnership: supporting national research

The partnership between EMBL and four Nordic research institutions aims to stimulate scientific exchange and inspire scientific collaborations. This year’s conference of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine included many talks by EMBL researchers and a presentation by EMBL’s…

CONNECTIONS

2020

connectionsevents

29 September 2020 A metal rack holding glass test tubes with yellow and red solutions in them.

Colourful test tubes

To study the effect of commonly used drugs on bacterial envelopes, EMBL scientists applied a biochemical assay using a colour reaction. The deeper the red, the stronger the disruptive effect of the drug.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

24 September 2020 The conference key visual shows a variety of species engulfed by fire, reflecting the conference title, ‘Our House Is Burning: Scientific and Societal Responses to Mass Extinction’.

Dinosaurs, dodos, and the future of life on Earth

EMBL’s 21st Science and Society Conference will address scientific and societal responses to mass extinctions. Ahead of his keynote speech, renowned palaeontologist Mike Benton explains how looking into the deep past can give us vital insights into the future of life on Earth.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

eventsscience-technology

22 September 2020 Black and white electron microscope image of Anopheles mosquito gametes, looking much like feathery fern leaf stencils

A bloom of crystals

How does your crystal garden grow? EMBL's Electron Microscopy Core Facility was able to capture this garden of blooming crystals as they studied mosquito reproductive cells.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

18 September 2020 Composite image of mouse cells and human cells showing different levels of luminescence, indicated as different colours.

Human and mouse cells run at different speeds

The internal clock that governs the development of embryos ticks slower for humans than for mice. Differences in the speed of biochemical reactions underlie the differences between species in the tempo of development.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

17 September 2020 Colorful illustration conveys the balancing act women in science face, going between family and work responsibilities and wanting to succeed in both roles.

Indirect impacts of a pandemic on women in science

The EMBL conference that explored direct and indirect impacts from the current pandemic on women in science allowed for information and story sharing both in the form of lectures but also via online platforms like Slack and social media that included Twitter.

LAB MATTERS

2020

eventslab-matters

15 September 2020 Fluorescent microscopic image of fruit fly larva with tubular heart cells in gold and the remainder of image in magenta

Fruit fly with a heart of gold

Not just another pretty fruit fly. This magenta and golden drosophila larva is lit up with a fluorescent molecule to help researchers study heart formation.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

10 September 2020 Two researchers at EMBL's state-of-the-art Electron Microscopy Core Facility (EMCF). A female scientist is using a binocular microscope, a male scientist is standing next to her.

Level up!

ARISE fellowships to offer first-ever comprehensive training for bioscience infrastructure operations

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matters

8 September 2020 A network of tubes and cells in red and blue.

Not a galaxy far, far away

While this may seem like a nebula made up of interstellar clouds of dust and ionised gases, this image isn’t of a galaxy beyond the Milky Way.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

7 September 2020 science diplomacy

Looking forward

Two EMBL speakers gave presentations that looked toward the future and at ways to trailblaze on the endless frontier of science.

CONNECTIONSLAB MATTERS

2020

connectionslab-matters

4 September 2020 Portrait picture of Erin Tranfield, member of the EMBL Alumni Association Board, against a blue-green background.

Supporting the alumni community

Erin Tranfield recently joined the EMBL Alumni Association Board as one of 15 newly elected members. Here, she talks about her new role on the board and reflects on how a life-changing event made her refocus her perspective on work and life.

PEOPLE & PERSPECTIVES

2020

alumnipeople-perspectives

3 September 2020 Left: Slice of a cell in grey. Right: Two 3D reconstructions of parts of the slice, showing the internal structure.

Nuclear pores in their natural context

Scientists from the Beck group have studied the 3D structure of nuclear pores in budding yeast. They show how the architecture of the nuclear pore complex differs inside cells compared to its form observed in vitro studies.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

31 August 2020 3D image of plant cells. The ones identified by the algorithm are brightly coloured.

Intelligent software tackles plant cell jigsaw

Starting with computer code and moving on to a more user-friendly graphical interface called PlantSeg, the Kreshuk Group at EMBL and collaborators built a simple open-access method to provide the most accurate and versatile analysis of plant tissue development to date.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

26 August 2020 Colorful illustration conveys the balancing act women in science face, going between family and work responsibilities and wanting to succeed in both roles.

COVID-19’s indirect attack on women

More than 500 people have registered for an EMBL conference, "The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women in science: Challenges and solutions." Scheduled for 9 September, the conference is free and open to all. Pre-registration is still available and required to attend.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

eventsscience-technology

25 August 2020

Training the next generation of molecular biologists

The EMBL International PhD Programme is one of EMBL’s flagship training programmes. It forms part of our efforts to train and inspire talented scientists to become skilled and creative future leaders. Submission of applications for the current PhD student recruitment round is now possible.

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTSLAB MATTERS

2020

embl-announcementslab-matters

25 August 2020 Fruit fly larval cells looking like blue lightning

Breathing beneath the skin

Beautiful flashes of blue colour help light the way for researchers to study cells in fruit fly larva that provide oxygen to tissues.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

20 August 2020 A portrait photo of Geetika Malhotra, new Head of Web Development at EMBL-EBI.

Welcome: Geetika Malhotra

The Web Development team provides a central source of web design and development for EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). In July, Geetika Malhotra joined the team as their new Head.

LAB MATTERSPEOPLE & PERSPECTIVES

2020

lab-matterspeople-perspectives

18 August 2020 Three cells, each looking like a face.

Three little ghosts

Despite their ghostly appearance, these are very real cell nuclei infected with Influenza A virus – the only influenza virus known to cause pandemics.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

11 August 2020 Different parts of a fruit fly arranged into an artificial green eye.

The eye of science

This image is a composite of lateral pentascolopidial organs, a wing imaginal disc pouch, and an epithelial wound in a Drosophila larva. The organs are arranged here like eyelashes. Cells surrounding an epidermal wound appear as the iris and pupil of this artistic eye.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

4 August 2020 A long string of cells - red in the centre, yellow at the border.

Fish close-up

This group of cells represents an interesting example of organ formation where cells simultaneously move and change their shapes in a highly coordinated manner.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

3 August 2020 A woman with glasses holds a book. The book cover says "Gene naming rules". Thought bubbles float around her head and display gene symbols like BRCA1.

Bagpipe and Pokemon, or how not to name a human gene

The human genome harbours about 19 000 protein-coding genes, many of which still have no known function. As scientists unveil the secrets of our DNA, they come across novel genes that they need to refer to using a unique name. The Human Genome Organisation’s Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) at…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

28 July 2020 Small dots. Some in bright yellow.

An ocean of droplets

Bacterial cells are embedded in microfluidic droplets in oil. The fluorescence indicates the presence of the targeted DNA strain with the help of a characteristic DNA sequence.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

20 July 2020 A magnifying glass hovers over the human gut, revealing its biodiversity.

Unparalleled inventory of the human gut ecosystem

An international team of scientists has collated all known bacterial genomes from the human gut microbiome into a single large database. Their work will allow researchers to explore the links between bacterial genes and proteins, and their effects on human health.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

16 July 2020 A collage of portrait photos of Jessica Vamathevan, Jan Korbel, and Nassos Typas.

Changes in senior roles at EMBL

Three changes in senior staff positions have been confirmed at EMBL today. Jessica Vamathevan becomes Head of Strategy, Jan Korbel becomes Head of Data Science for EMBL Heidelberg, and Nassos Typas becomes Senior Scientist.

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTSLAB MATTERS

2020

embl-announcementslab-matters

14 July 2020 The image shows a larva of Platynereis dumerilii, a marine worm. The body of the worm is shown in grey. Muscle strands are coloured in red. The muscles of one individual strand are highlighted in different, brighter colours.

Muscular worm larva

The image shows a larva of Platynereis dumerilii, a marine worm. The image here was produced by Constantin Pape, a visiting predoctoral fellow in the Kreshuk group at EMBL Heidelberg.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

13 July 2020 scientists teaching about the microbiome

Applications for virtual learning lab open

The European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS), EMBL’s education facility, invites secondary school science teachers to participate in a virtual training course this autumn entitled ‘Introducing your microbiome’.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matters

8 July 2020 Alexander Aulehla on the left and Paul Flicek on the Right

Two EMBL scientists become EMBO Members

This year, EMBO elected 63 new members, including Alexander Aulehla, Group Leader and Senior Scientist at EMBL Heidelberg, and Paul Flicek, Associate Director of EMBL-EBI Services, Senior Scientist, Group and Team Leader at EMBL-EBI.

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTSLAB MATTERS

2020

embl-announcementslab-matters

8 July 2020 The Logo of the ALPX company.

ALPX – smart crystallography

The CrystalDirect® technology, combined with the web-based CRIMS software enable a fully automated, remote-controlled protein-to-structure pipeline.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matters

8 July 2020 Artwort illustrating various aspects of infection research. The centre of the image shows a cartoon representation of a coronavirus. The spheric shape has been overlaid with a map of the world to illustrate the global spread of viruses. The edges of the artwork feature images of potential virus hosts (bats, poultry, dromedary), a group of humans, a microscope, pills, a syringe and vaccine vial, protein structures, and an illustration of a human lung. The background is set in yellow and red colour.

What COVID-19 is teaching us

The virtual EMBL Conference ‘SARS-CoV-2: Towards a New Era in Infection Research’ explored the importance of fundamental research, collaboration, and data science in containing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and discussed opportunities to improve our response to pandemics in the future.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

eventsscience-technology

7 July 2020 The rainbow pride flag hanging in front of the Advanced Training Centre at EMBL Heidelberg. Picture taken in summer 2020.

Pride at EMBL

EMBL brings together more than 1700 people from all over the world, from a variety of academic and cultural backgrounds. This creates an environment in which there is constant exchange of both scientific knowledge and cultural heritage. While it seems obvious that EMBL, as an international…

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

6 July 2020 EMBL Director General Edith Heard standing at a laboratory work bench, facing the camera. Edith Heard on the left side, lab bench with pipettes and equipment on the right. Photo taken by érôme Brébion at Institut Curie, Paris.

Edith Heard elected senator of the Max Planck Society

EMBL Director General Edith Heard has been elected a senator of the Max Planck Society, one of Germany’s leading scientific research organisations. She joins the Senate along with Nobel Laureates and EMBL alumni Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Stefan W. Hell, as well as nine additional new…

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTSLAB MATTERS

2020

embl-announcementslab-matters

3 July 2020 stem cells neurons differentiation

From stem cells to neurons

Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have investigated stem cells and how they differentiate to become neurons. Their approach included an assessment of the complex interplay of molecules during the differentiation process and generated fundamental new insights into the role of a protein called Sox2 in…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

2 July 2020 epigenetic reprogramming, epigenetic memory, Hackett group

Unravelling epigenetic reprogramming

A study conducted by the Hackett group at EMBL Rome has identified key factors controlling the complex system of gene regulation during early embryo development, shedding new light on the mechanisms behind these events and on their evolutionary implications. Their findings are published in Nature…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

30 June 2020 Beekeeper checking one of the hives near the Adacned Training Centre at EMBL Heidelberg.

Busy bees at the ATC

Local beekeeper Jörg Staffel has set up three bee colonies on the grass slope in front of the ATC building.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

29 June 2020 Gene Editing and Embryology Facility at EMBL Rome

Editing the mouse genome to study SARS-CoV-2 infection

To study how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells, the Gene Editing and Embryology Facility (GEEF) at EMBL Rome will generate mice that express a human version of a protein called ACE2. The mouse line will be shared with preclinical research collaborators carrying out vaccine and antibody trials, and with the…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

25 June 2020 Scientists in the Hackett group at EMBL Rome doing lab work

Silencing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor with epigenetic modifications

EMBL scientists develop a new molecular tool to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. This tool is able to cause targeted epigenetic modifications of specific genes in specific cell populations. They will use it in mice to target airway cells that express the ACE2 protein – the receptor that…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

23 June 2020 EMBL's Equality and Diversity Officers. Zac O'Sullivan (left) and Luisa Vieites Rodrigues (right)

Equality and diversity at EMBL

EMBL is striving to make its labs and offices a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. To achieve this goal, EMBL's Equality and Diversity Officers, Luisa Vieites Rodrigues and Zac O'Sullivan, are working closely with leadership and the EMBL community. In this interview, they share their…

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matters

23 June 2020

Delicious science

Elisa Kreibich from EMBL’s Krebs group baked an EMBL cake for the farewell of Alexandra Martitz, the first master student in their lab.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

18 June 2020 Illustration of gender balances in academia

Closing the gender gap

To explore the origins of gender imbalances in academia and possible ways of overcoming them, international experts will meet for the virtual EMBL | EMBO | HHMI conference ‘Gender Roles and their Impact in Academia’ from 13–15 Oct 2020. The conference’s outcomes will be integrated into a…

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTS

2020

embl-announcementsevents

16 June 2020 Tissue culture plates in an incubator.

Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 behaves in the gut

Scientists at EMBL and Heidelberg University Hospital are studying how the novel coronavirus behaves in the gut to try to better understand its epidemiology and prevent its spread. To do this, they are combining advanced imaging and sequencing technologies to study coronavirus in human intestinal…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

16 June 2020 Composite image of fly larvae organs making up a flower

From fly to flower

In this composite image, visual artist Mona Kakanj assembled three different biological structures in fly larvae into a flower. The original images were taken as part of a research project by Parisa Kakanj in Maria Leptin’s group.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

15 June 2020 Arise logo

Life sciences open their doors for engineers

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory has secured 6.8 million Euros funding from the European Commission to launch a unique training programme. The ARISE Programme will train and develop Europe’s next generation leadership for research infrastructures in the life sciences.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matters

15 June 2020 Key visual for the virtual EMBL conference ‘SARS-CoV-2: Towards a New Era in Infection Research’. Credits: Aleksandra Krolik/EMBL

Improving our response to emerging pandemics

The emergence of previously unknown pathogens, such as the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, raises many questions. To explore these questions in an international scientific forum, EMBL will host the virtual conference ‘SARS-CoV-2: Towards a New Era in Infection Research’ on 3 July. Invited…

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTS

2020

embl-announcementsevents

9 June 2020 This image shows the structure of a bacterial group II intron

Genetic cut and paste at atomic resolution

Researchers in the Marcia group at EMBL Grenoble and the De Vivo lab at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa have obtained some of the most detailed ever snapshots of the splicing process in systems known as group II self-splicing introns. The new insights will help scientists to develop…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

9 June 2020 Beamline Hamburg

Shining high-brilliance beams on coronavirus structure

EMBL researchers are studying COVID-19-related molecules by exposing them to high-brilliance X-ray beams. The Svergun group at EMBL Hamburg is using biological small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) as part of a global effort by scientists to elucidate the structural organisation of SARS-CoV-2…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

9 June 2020 Mouse embryonic fibroblasts and their cell skeletons

Glow-in-the-dark cell skeletons

This image shows mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), their cell skeletons (green) and nuclei (blue) under a confocal microscope, photographed by Julia Hansen in the lab of Matthieu Boulard at EMBL Rome.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

8 June 2020 Microscopic image showing a macrophage that has been infected with Salmonella (green), causing cellular cathepsins (red) to locate to the nucels (blue).

Re-trafficking proteins to fight Salmonella infections

Scientists including members of EMBL’s Typas group have investigated how immune cells called macrophages respond to infection by the intracellular pathogen Salmonella enterica. They discovered that Salmonella causes newly produced cathepsins to accumulate in the nuclei of infected cells to…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

2 June 2020

Organelles in space

This image is a 3D-rendering of the automatic segmentation of a HeLa cell, made by Julian Hennies from the Schwab team at EMBL Heidelberg.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

1 June 2020 An illustration of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq)

Enabling functional genomics studies in individual cells

Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have developed a new method, called Targeted Perturb-seq (TAP-seq), which increases the scale and precision of functional genomics CRISPR–Cas9 screens by orders of magnitude. Their method overcomes limitations in previous applications of single-cell RNA sequencing,…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

27 May 2020 Automated sample changer and diffractometer at the ID30B X-ray crystallography beamline at ESRF Grenoble.

Facilitating COVID-19 structural biology research

EMBL and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) restart the activities of the Joint Structural Biology Group in Grenoble to support coronavirus-related projects. A new initiative will allow users to be granted access to the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL and to a…

CONNECTIONS

2020

connectionsscience

22 May 2020

The hunt for neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

Scientists hope that a legacy of the novel coronavirus in recovered COVID-19 patients – antibodies in their blood – could lead to drugs to treat others. The Merten group at EMBL Heidelberg has pivoted its microfluidics platform to support the search for neutralising antibodies that could…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

22 May 2020

EMBL scientists investigate rare lung disease

Researchers in EMBL’s Zaugg group have studied the causes of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare disease that causes high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. The study, carried out in collaboration with Stanford University School of Medicine, compared lung cells of patients…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

19 May 2020 EMBL group leader Georgia Rapti

Welcome: Georgia Rapti

The nervous system has fascinated Georgia Rapti ever since her first introduction to biology. Her research group in the Developmental Biology unit will focus on understanding the early biological events involved in the nervous system’s formation.

LAB MATTERSPEOPLE & PERSPECTIVES

2020

lab-matterspeople-perspectives

15 May 2020 Cell division

Tracing the origins of cells

Researchers from the Sharpe group at EMBL Barcelona have published a method to track the developmental history of a cell using the gene editing tool CRISPR–Cas9, but without the need to create transgenic organisms.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

13 May 2020 Close-up photograph of servers at EMBL Heidelberg's data centre.

Understanding the role of our genes in SARS-CoV-2 infections

EMBL scientists will contribute to the new German COVID-19 OMICS Initiative to study the biological mechanisms contributing to coronavirus infections. EMBL group leaders Jan Korbel and Oliver Stegle, who is also affiliated with the DKFZ Heidelberg, will coordinate the set-up of IT infrastructures…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

11 May 2020

EMBL SPC facility supports COVID-19 projects

The Sample Preparation and Characterisation Facility (SPC) at EMBL Hamburg reopens to support scientists working on Covid-19 research. The SPC Facility is one of the best equipped facilities in Europe is therefore in high demand from external users. Re-opening the facility also allows experts at…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

6 May 2020

Wings without wings

The image shown here, taken by Daniel Rios-Barrera from the Leptin Group shows the cells of the early wing tissue of the fly during larval development.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

29 April 2020 The Influenza virus

Understanding the influenza virus

The infectious disease commonly known as flu is caused by the influenza virus. It spreads around the world in seasonal outbreaks, causing millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Stephen Cusack, Head of EMBL Grenoble, has been studying different aspects of the influenza…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

28 April 2020

Dancing chromosomes

In human cells, the genetic material is packaged into 23 different DNA molecules, the chromosomes. Each chromosome is present in two copies, one inherited from the paternal sperm, and the other from the maternal egg. During most of the cell’s life, chromosomes take the shape of long,…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

28 April 2020 Close-up view of the interior of a protein analytics system

Exploring synthetic antibodies to stop coronavirus

Scientists at EMBL Hamburg and Karolinska Institutet Stockholm aim to find synthetic antibodies – known as nanobodies – that bind a surface protein of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Nanobodies could prevent the virus from entering human cells and causing COVID-19.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

24 April 2020 Collage of images representing wet and dry lab research and healthcare

Why share data during a pandemic?

In March 2020, planes were grounded, streets went quiet, and our lives changed forever. But while the world came to a halt, many scientists were ramping up their efforts to understand the new virus.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

23 April 2020 Key visual for the EMBO | EMBL symposium ‘The Four-Dimensional Genome’

EMBL hosts its first virtual conference

The virtual EMBO | EMBL symposium ‘The Four-Dimensional Genome’ brought together 470 participants. Here, Jürgen Deka, Head of External Scientific Training, discusses how he and his team overcame the organisational challenges.

LAB MATTERS

2020

eventslab-matters

22 April 2020 Portrait photo of Brendan Rouse, EMBL's Environmental Officer

Welcome: Brendan Rouse

Brendan Rouse came to Heidelberg in March as EMBL’s Environmental Officer, tasked with monitoring the organisation’s environmental impact and promoting sustainable practices. Here, he discusses his plans for the new role.

LAB MATTERSPEOPLE & PERSPECTIVES

2020

lab-matterspeople-perspectives

21 April 2020

Evolution of the eye

This Picture of the Week shows a stained cryosection of a retina – the light-sensitive part of the eye – of an ancient fish, the lamprey.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

16 April 2020 Micropipette tips in a liquid-handling robot

Helping to scale up coronavirus testing

Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg are contributing their expertise in a community effort to develop large-scale testing methods for coronavirus. Their goal is to increase the capacity and speed of testing, which is crucial for containing the pandemic.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

14 April 2020

Gazing at healing wounds

What may look like a branch of a tree with the first flower buds emerging after winter are, in fact, tracheal cells of a fruit fly larva and their nuclei.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

7 April 2020

Exciting science!

EMBL is all about exciting science, through which we aim to achieve a fundamental understanding of biological processes.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

1 April 2020

Understanding brain tumours in children

The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma – dangerous brain tumours affecting children – are hereditary. These are the findings of a recent genetic analysis carried out by scientists from EMBL and numerous colleagues around the world.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

31 March 2020 Portrait of Bastian Drees, Head of Library

Welcome: Bastian Drees

Bastian Drees is a biophysicist turned librarian, who joined EMBL in January as the new Head of Library. Here, he discusses the changing role of libraries and how they can help scientists organise and share their results.

LAB MATTERSPEOPLE & PERSPECTIVES

2020

lab-matterspeople-perspectives

31 March 2020

Artistic life sciences

Paola Bertucci, from the Arendt Group at EMBL Heidelberg, studies the evolution of Platynereis dumerilii – a species of annelid polychaete worm.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

24 March 2020

Springtime in Heidelberg

The iconic ATC – celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year – reflects the blue sky, the clouds and the rays of the Sun.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

17 March 2020

Wrapped in purple

The medaka shown in this Picture of the Week was captured by Eva Hasel, a postdoc in the Leptin group at EMBL Heidelberg.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

11 March 2020 Leukaemia stem cells are located in a patient’s bone marrow (shown here in blue) in the so-called stem cell niche. The green structure is the bone itself. Credit: Dr. Raphael Lutz, Haas Lab

€2.45 m to investigate leukaemia causes and therapies

The Heidelberg-based LeukoSyStem consortium investigates leukaemia stem cells in acute myeloid leukaemia. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research financially supports this collaboration between Heidelberg University Hospital, HI-STEM gGmbH, the German Cancer Research Center and EMBL.

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTS

2020

embl-announcementsscience

10 March 2020

It’s Lab Ski Day!

This image, taken by Raphaël Cohen-Aberdam from the Cipriani team, shows that the weather for the Grenoble Lab Ski Day 2020 was just perfect!

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

3 March 2020

Snowy day

Colder winter weather has finally arrived EMBL-EBI. It’s the first time the site has seen snow this winter.

LAB MATTERS

2020

lab-matterspicture-of-the-week

25 February 2020

Accidental beauty

In the Trivedi Group at EMBL Barcelona, Krisztina Arató and Jia Le Lim study the early development of zebrafish embryos.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

11 February 2020

Breathe in, breathe out

This image shows the tracheal system of a live fruit fly larva. Daniel Rios from the Leptin Group and Dimitri Kromm from the Hufnagel Group used this advanced microscope to investigate the dynamics of tracheal cells during development.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

5 February 2020

Protecting data in the cloud

Cloud computing offers unprecedented opportunities for global-scale research collaborations. It also presents a unique set of challenges in terms of data protection and the ethics of data sharing.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

5 February 2020

Cancer mutations occur decades before diagnosis

Researchers at EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the Francis Crick Institute have analysed the whole genomes of over 2600 tumours from 38 different cancer types to determine the chronology of genomic changes during cancer development.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

5 February 2020

Analysis of human genomes in the cloud

Scientists from EMBL present a tool for large-scale analysis of genomic data with cloud computing. Main advantages of the new tool, called Butler, are continuous system monitoring and its ability to self-heal in case of failure, allowing for 43% more efficient data processing than previous…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

5 February 2020

Chromothripsis in human cancer

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and EMBL-EBI have carried out the largest analysis across cancer types of the newly discovered mutational phenomenon chromothripsis.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

4 February 2020

From cosmetics to blood cells

Morgan Oatley and her colleagues in Christophe Lancrin’s group investigated how haematopoietic stem cells emerge from the endothelium in developing mouse embryos.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

31 January 2020

Statement on Brexit

Today marks the next chapter in the UK’s relationship with Europe. While we wait to see what a future relationship brings, researchers will continue to work across borders to tackle society’s most pressing problems, such as climate change, ageing, and disease.

EMBL ANNOUNCEMENTSLAB MATTERS

2020

embl-announcementslab-matters

28 January 2020

Injured lung

Muzamil Majid Khan, a postdoc in the Pepperkok team at EMBL Heidelberg, studied the piece of tissue visible in this image.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

14 January 2020

Ring of fire

This image has been composed from thousands of individual super-resolution microscopy images. It was created by Markus Mund in the Ries Group.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

7 January 2020

Skittles for science

What might also be an artistic representation of a scattered bowl of Skittles is actually a 3D reconstruction of a high-pressure frozen HeLa cell.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

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