2020 | EMBL
Novel method sheds new light on tumour-suppressing RNA
Researchers from EMBL Grenoble have developed a way to visualise large RNAs in 3D using biochemical and structural biology techniques.
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 macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamline at the ESRF with a single project proposal.
Distinguishing coronavirus genome mutations from inadvertent errors
EMBL scientists have performed a large-scale analysis of over 4700 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences. They found that many of the most interesting changes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that have been reported so far are likely to be technical artefacts, rather than biological mutations.
Underwater butterfly
In the Leptin Group, Eva Hasel investigates the innate immune system in Japanese rice fish.
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 potentially stop the infection before it enters the cell.
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 with the disease with those of healthy individuals. Instead of finding a single clear cause, their results showed large epigenetic disturbances.
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.
The birth of tentacles
The image shown here, taken by Anniek Stokkermans from EMBL’s Ikmi Group, shows a larva of Nematostella vectensis.
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.
EMBL welcomes NetApp in its Corporate Partner Programme
EMBL welcomes NetApp, a leader in cloud data services empowering global organisations to change their world with data, as member of the Corporate Partnership Programme of the EMBL Advanced Training Centre.
