
Shedding light on rare diseases: open data and model organisms
Perspectives, Science Why open data from model organisms is essential for rare disease research.
2023
perspectivesscience
Perspectives, Science Why open data from model organisms is essential for rare disease research.
2023
perspectivesscience
Lab Matters, Perspectives Jo McEntyre talks about data services, open data and a new era for research assessment.
2023
lab-mattersperspectives
Science Microbial communities play essential roles in ocean ecology and planetary health. A recent publication highlights priorities for understanding and protecting ocean microbiomes.
2022
science
Research highlights, Science Scientists identify previously unexplored gene segments to be added to human genome databases.
2022
research-highlightsscience
Lab Matters EMBO Director Fiona Watt discusses preprints, data sharing, and evaluation in light of EMBL’s new Open Science policy
2022
lab-matters
Lab Matters Schoolchildren create exquisite protein-inspired artworks
2020
lab-matters
Science Despite restrictions, 2020 has been a busy year for the Darwin Tree of Life Project. We take a look at some of this year’s achievements and highlights.
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Alumni The story of a life-long friendship and a professional partnership that sowed the seeds for a ground-breaking vaccine technology.
2020
alumni
Science 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…
2020
science
Events December has seen the start of a new chapter in the collaboration that has for years marked the relationship between the European Commission (EC) and EMBL.
2020
events
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters Facilitated by EMBL’s Scientific Visitor Programme in 2019, Silvia Dias Almeida spent a year in the Diz-Muñoz group, helping solidify her career plans and set her up for a competitive PhD programme in biomedical imaging.
2020
lab-matters
Science A new paper from EMBL’s Savitski team and Typas group describes their work on E. coli and how it brings a greater understanding of the way genes function and interact.
2020
science
Lab Matters Funding by the European Research Council (ERC) will support research on the timing of developmental processes in mammals
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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.
2020
science
Science How artificial intelligence can help us solve the mysteries of the protein universe
2020
science
Lab Matters The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has recognised four EMBL researchers with their most recent awards, showing how tech trailblazers are integral to advancing science and medicine.
2020
lab-matters
Science 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…
2020
science
Science Members of the EMBL community are working to improve our understanding of the parasites that cause malaria and sleeping sickness
2020
science
Science Biotechnology company BioNTech and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz conduct collaborative research with EMBL scientists at the beamline P12 in Hamburg
2020
science
Picture of the week 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!
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science Bioinformaticians at EMBL-EBI and beyond are adapting computational tools to investigate coronavirus genomes and proteins.
2020
science
Events At EMBL’s Science and Society conference, Ugandan campaigner Vanessa Nakate spoke about the need to take action on climate change.
2020
events
Picture of the week 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’.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science Microbiomes, plastics, and connectivity – AtlantECO aims to understand the fabric of the Atlantic Ocean.
2020
science
Science 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.
2020
science
Lab Matters EMBL’s Eileen Furlong, Chair of the Equality and Diversity Committee and Head of the Genome Biology Unit, responds to the recent Nature Comms paper on the potential effects of mentor–mentee relationships.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters Ever-evolving technology and related budgetary, regulatory, and management challenges prompted EMBL to establish its new ARISE fellowship programme, which begins accepting applicants in December.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week 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…
2020
picture-of-the-week
Picture of the week To help understand cerebral malaria the Bernabeu group has created in vitro engineered networks of human blood vessels.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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…
2020
science
Picture of the week On autumn days without Heidelberg’s characteristic fog, the woods present themself in beautiful colours. You may even capture a rainbow.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science Researchers in the Gross group at EMBL Rome have investigated the mechanism behind defensive behaviour in mice. They have identified a specific area of the brain that encodes both spatial and threat cues to drive location-specific defensive responses.
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters Why should researchers make artificial intelligence more transparent and how can they do it?
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters EMBL’s Rupert Lück is engaged in developing the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC): the infrastructure that will support the future of data sharing and analysis in Europe.
2020
lab-matters
Science Open access data benefits millions of scientists around the world and is essential for a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020
science
Picture of the week In 2012, EMBL used ecological lawn mowers to keep the grass short around the Advanced Training Centre at EMBL Heidelberg.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters EMBL and CIML have signed a memorandum of understanding that will open up new scientific opportunities.
2020
lab-matters
Events 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.
2020
events
Lab Matters New associate group leader at EMBL Hamburg investigates the structure of functional amyloids in bacteria and in human disease
2020
lab-matters
Science 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…
2020
science
Events 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.
2020
events
Science Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg have established an automated pipeline to create mutations in genomic enhancers, letting them watch evolution unfold before their eyes.
2020
science
Science A group of scientists led by EMBL Hamburg’s Christian Löw provide insights into the molecular structure of proteins involved in the gliding movements through which the parasites causing malaria and toxoplasmosis invade human cells.
2020
science
Lab Matters On 9 October, EMBL and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding that paves the way for stronger collaboration between these two leading research institutions.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week Sea anemones are amazing creatures. Despite their plant-like appearance and their tendency to remain fixed in one spot, they are actually animals.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters 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…
2020
lab-matters
Science The genome editing tool CRISPR–Cas9 – which plays a critical role in EMBL’s research – was recognised by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
2020
science
Science Members of an EMBL-led research group with collaborators in Estonia and Russia have built and trained a deep learning model to better understand how cells grow and divide.
2020
science
Picture of the week We’ve all had wounds at certain times in our lives. But they heal due to the self-repairing mechanisms in the body.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Events 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…
2020
events
Events 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…
2020
events
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Events 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.
2020
events
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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.
2020
science
Events 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.
2020
events
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters ARISE fellowships to offer first-ever comprehensive training for bioscience infrastructure operations
2020
lab-matters
Science Researchers have found the cause of dilated cardiomyopathy – a leading cause of heart failure – and identified a potential treatment for it: a drug already used to treat acne.
2020
science
Lab Matters A decadal roadmap points the way to cell-based medicine for Europe
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science The Gerstung Group at EMBL-EBI and collaborators have developed a statistical model that analyses genomic data to predict whether a patient has a high or low risk of developing oesophageal cancer.
2020
science
Lab Matters Two EMBL speakers gave presentations that looked toward the future and at ways to trailblaze on the endless frontier of science.
2020
lab-matters
Alumni 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.
2020
alumni
Lab Matters Maria Bernabeu and Wojciech Galej have each been awarded €1.5 million to research malaria and pre-mRNA splicing, respectively.
2020
lab-matters
Science 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.
2020
science
Science Researchers have uncovered how cells remove unwanted components from the nucleus following mitosis.
2020
science
Lab Matters EMBL-EBI is one of the eight European institutes involved in the Humanoid Cell Atlas initiative, a new open-access platform that combines single-cell profiling and organoid technology
2020
lab-matters
Science An international group of researchers, led by scientists from EMBL Heidelberg, have discovered that the number of tentacle arms a sea anemone grows depends on the amount of food it eats.
2020
science
Lab Matters As the EMBL Fellows' Career Service program reaches a milestone, it reflects on its first year and looks forward to ways to improve its offerings to EMBL postdocs and predocs.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week Those heart-shaped cells aren't just for show. They help tell the story of two proteins working together
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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.
2020
science
Lab Matters The Head of the Electron Microscopy Core Facility at EMBL Heidelberg receives Mid-Career Scientific Achievement Award 2020
2020
lab-matters
Events 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.
2020
events
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Science The beamlines run jointly by EMBL Grenoble and the ESRF reopen today, unveiling significant upgrades that exploit the brand new fourth generation ESRF synchrotron source.
2020
science
Picture of the week Beautiful flashes of blue colour help light the way for researchers to study cells in fruit fly larva that provide oxygen to tissues.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters The new team leader offering services in electron microscopy discusses his hopes and plans for the forthcoming EMBL Imaging Centre
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Science An international team of scientists involving Ewan Birney's group has investigated the function of a complex mesh of muscle fibres that line the inner surface of the heart.
2020
science
Science Discoveries at EMBL will help researchers to interpret one of the most common types of experiments in genomics and medical studies.
2020
science
Science Researchers studied the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With its spikes, the virus binds to human cells and infects them. The study gave surprising insights into the spike protein, including an unexpected freedom of movement and a protective coat to hide it from antibodies.
2020
science
Picture of the week Despite their ghostly appearance, these are very real cell nuclei infected with Influenza A virus – the only influenza virus known to cause pandemics.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters As he enters retirement, Head of EMBL Rome Phil Avner reflects on his scientific career and memories from his time as Head of EMBL’s site in Italy
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters Researchers from all life science disciplines – from fundamental biological research to medical applications – generate immense datasets. Analysing these datasets and gaining new knowledge from them is a growing challenge for scientists. The fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine…
2020
lab-matters
Science A global team of researchers including the Flicek Team at EMBL-EBI has partnered up with the Māori tribe Ngātiwai to sequence the genome of the tuatara, a rare reptile endemic to New Zealand.
2020
science
Picture of the week This group of cells represents an interesting example of organ formation where cells simultaneously move and change their shapes in a highly coordinated manner.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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…
2020
science
Science A new approach that allows researchers to see molecular machinery at work inside cells has offered a deeper understanding of how bacteria produce proteins and a unique glimpse into how they respond to antibiotics.
2020
science
Science Europe PMC has begun indexing full-text COVID-19 preprints along with the associated data. The project aims to accelerate research to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
2020
science
Events The Svergun group at EMBL Hamburg has released the course ‘Solution Scattering from Biological Macromolecules’ in an online format for the first time. The course explores different aspects of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for studying the structure of macromolecules.
2020
events
Science EMBL scientists and collaborators help reveal the process by which enormous quantities of DNA are folded into cells.
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm that uses computer vision to analyse tissue samples from cancer patients. The algorithm can distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissues, and can also identify patterns DNA and RNA changes in tumours.
2020
science
Picture of the week The image shows one of the four rows of roof lights above the atrium, which is the main public space of the Imaging Centre.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science EMBL scientists have created a new, realistic 3D testbed that could help achieve the goal of stopping cancers before they start by studying cancer cells as they first form.
2020
science
Science 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.
2020
science
Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard and EMBO Director Maria Leptin respond to the current proposal on the Multiannual Financial Framework.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters European collaboration receives funding to explore risks and impact of future infectious disease outbreaks.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters 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’.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters Latvia has joined EMBL as a prospect member, starting a three-year process toward full membership.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters The CrystalDirect® technology, combined with the web-based CRIMS software enable a fully automated, remote-controlled protein-to-structure pipeline.
2020
lab-matters
Events 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.
2020
events
Picture of the week 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…
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters 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…
2020
lab-matters
Science 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…
2020
science
Lab Matters The governing Council of EMBL has approved Director General Edith Heard’s restructure of senior management with effect from 1 July 2020.
2020
lab-matters
Science 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…
2020
science
Lab Matters Open Targets welcomes new Informatics Science Director
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters A national consortium including EMBL and the DKFZ is set to launch the German Human Genome–Phenome Archive, creating an invaluable bridge between fundamental biomedical research and applied healthcare.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week Local beekeeper Jörg Staffel has set up three bee colonies on the grass slope in front of the ATC building.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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…
2020
science
Science Researchers evaluate how the new coronavirus rewires human proteins for its own replication, and identify several antiviral drugs ready for clinical trials
2020
science
Science Today we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first draft of the entire human genome.
2020
science
Lab Matters EMBL is joining the virtual seminar series ‘Life Science Across the Globe’ – a timely initiative to foster international scientific exchange across countries and continents, starting on 1 July.
2020
lab-matters
Science 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…
2020
science
Science DNA damage caused by chemical mutagens is not repaired immediately and can create more genetic diversity in tumours.
2020
science
Lab Matters 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…
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week Elisa Kreibich from EMBL’s Krebs group baked an EMBL cake for the farewell of Alexandra Martitz, the first master student in their lab.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters Jan Korbel and Oliver Stegle have performed a survey of fellow life scientists to learn how the current crisis, with partial or complete institutional shutdowns, is affecting their work.
2020
lab-matters
Events 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…
2020
events
Science While global research on coronaviruses has shed light on the function of many SARS-CoV-2 proteins, the role of some crucial components remains unknown. Researchers at EMBL Grenoble will use a range of structural biology methods to try to solve some of the puzzles of the molecular mechanics of…
2020
science
Science 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…
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Events 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…
2020
events
Science Scientists discovered that antihypertensive agent alters the tissue characteristics of colon cancer metastases. This "stiffness" of metastases has an effect on the therapeutic success.
2020
science
Science Scientists at EMBL Rome unveil the mechanism behind the most studied epigenetic modification.
2020
science
Science 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…
2020
science
Science 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…
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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…
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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,…
2020
science
Science Researchers from EMBL Grenoble have developed a way to visualise large RNAs in 3D using biochemical and structural biology techniques.
2020
science
Science 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…
2020
science
Science 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.
2020
science
Picture of the week In the Leptin Group, Eva Hasel investigates the innate immune system in Japanese rice fish.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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…
2020
science
Science 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…
2020
science
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week The image shown here, taken by Anniek Stokkermans from EMBL’s Ikmi Group, shows a larva of Nematostella vectensis.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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.
2020
science
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Science 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…
2020
science
Picture of the week This image of the starlet sea anemone was taken by Petrus Steenbergen using a stereoscope.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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…
2020
science
Science DNA mutations are caused by a combination of DNA damage and repair, shows study by EMBL-EBI and collaborators.
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science By re-opening the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL Grenoble, EMBL is supporting structural biology projects to respond to the health threats posed by coronaviruses.
2020
science
Lab Matters The Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine has been awarded 210,000 euros. The funds will be used to train the next generation of specialists and research leaders in molecular medicine in the Nordic countries.
2020
lab-matters
Science The Marquez Team has restarted operations at the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL Grenoble. The team has developed a fully automated protein-to-structure pipeline, which can be operated remotely and provides virtual access to the facilities.
2020
science
Science EMBL electron microscopy specialists collaborate with researchers from Heidelberg University Hospital to understand the changes occurring in cell structures upon SARS-CoV-2 infection.
2020
science
Science 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…
2020
science
Picture of the week 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,…
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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.
2020
science
Science EMBL scientists working in the groups of Matthias Hentze and Wolfgang Huber have created RBPbase – a database of RNA-binding proteins – to assist the identification of proteins that interact with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome.
2020
science
Science 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.
2020
science
Events 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.
2020
events
Lab Matters To address global challenges, we need to better understand life in the context of environmental change, says EMBL Director General Edith Heard
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg have created a complete description of early embryo development, accounting for every single cell in the embryo.
2020
science
Science The new collaborative space will help scientists, public health and healthcare professionals around the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
2020
science
Science EMBL Heidelberg reopens the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Service Platform to support coronavirus structural biology research.
2020
science
Science 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.
2020
science
Science EMBL researchers are studying how drugs that have shown good results against COVID-19 work in living cells
2020
science
Science The Protein Expression and Purification Core Facility at EMBL Heidelberg will produce proteins for several coronavirus-related research projects, to assist the development of new strategies to fight the virus.
2020
science
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science EMBL researchers in the Heard group at EMBL Heidelberg explore the interaction between DNA organisation and gene expression in the early embryo
2020
science
Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard responds to the resignation of the President of the European Research Council (ERC)
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week EMBL is all about exciting science, through which we aim to achieve a fundamental understanding of biological processes.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science EMBL scientists examine the molecular causes of a rare hereditary disease of the spine and ribs
2020
science
Lab Matters Three international teams involving EMBL Heidelberg have been granted funding from the European Commission for three Twinning projects with institutes in Portugal and the Czech Republic.
2020
lab-matters
Science 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.
2020
science
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week Paola Bertucci, from the Arendt Group at EMBL Heidelberg, studies the evolution of Platynereis dumerilii – a species of annelid polychaete worm.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science EMBL-EBI set to launch European COVID-19 Data Platform to help store, share, and analyse research data linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020
science
Lab Matters EMBL is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for our staff and visitors.
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week The iconic ATC – celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year – reflects the blue sky, the clouds and the rays of the Sun.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters Stories from EMBL’s past are captured via the EMBL Archive’s Oral Histories programme
2020
lab-matters
Alumni Committee recognises outstanding contributions of EMBL alumni to science journalism and genome editing
2020
alumni
Picture of the week The medaka shown in this Picture of the Week was captured by Eva Hasel, a postdoc in the Leptin group at EMBL Heidelberg.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science 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.
2020
science
Events How Joana Moscoso bridges the gap between science and society
2020
events
Picture of the week 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!
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science EMBL researchers investigate the role of a histone protein in regulating gene expression
2020
science
Picture of the week Colder winter weather has finally arrived EMBL-EBI. It’s the first time the site has seen snow this winter.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science EMBL researchers combine multiple datasets to develop expandable atlas of an entire animal
2020
science
Lab Matters Theresia Bauer and EMBL discuss organisational developments and future strategies
2020
lab-matters
Events Annual Reception celebrates EMBL’s achievements in 2019 and explores its way ahead
2020
events
Picture of the week In the Trivedi Group at EMBL Barcelona, Krisztina Arató and Jia Le Lim study the early development of zebrafish embryos.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters EMBL’s new Science and Society Manager shares her plans for fostering multidisciplinary dialogue
2020
lab-matters
Science New group leader at EMBL Heidelberg employs synthetic chemistry to develop novel tools for biology
2020
science
Lab Matters 2020 call now open for FNR funding of bilateral projects between EMBL and Luxembourg
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week In this image, Julian Hennies from the Schwab Team has reconstructed the 3D structure of a human cell's organelles.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters EMBL Director General recognised alongside four other exceptional women in the life sciences
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science This technique provides a simple but effective way to study the functions of organs in living animals
2020
science
Lab Matters How EMBL’s ‘Microscope in Action’ introduces teenagers to the basics of fluorescence microscopy
2020
lab-matters
Science Scientists provide important new insights into the molecular basis of X-inactivation
2020
science
Science EMBL co-leads most comprehensive study of genetic causes of cancer
2020
science
Science 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.
2020
science
Science The largest and most comprehensive catalogue of cancer-specific RNA alterations reveals new insights into the cancer genome.
2020
science
Science 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.
2020
science
Science 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…
2020
science
Science Using the dataset from the Pan-Cancer project, scientists has developed methods to group, classify, and describe large rearrangements of the genome that are a key driver of cancer.
2020
science
Science Analysis of whole cancer genomes gives key insights into the role of the non-coding genome in cancer
2020
science
Science Researchers at Harvard Medical School and EMBL-EBI have carried out the largest analysis across cancer types of the newly discovered mutational phenomenon chromothripsis.
2020
science
Science Using the data from the Pan-Cancer project EMBL scientists describe how our genetic background influences cancer development.
2020
science
Science New resource that categorises genes essential for supporting life could be used to identify rare disease mutations
2020
science
Picture of the week Morgan Oatley and her colleagues in Christophe Lancrin’s group investigated how haematopoietic stem cells emerge from the endothelium in developing mouse embryos.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Lab Matters 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.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters New grant will increase collaboration between imaging centres and fuel scientific discovery
2020
lab-matters
Science Strengthening ties between EMBL and Israel through the Scientific Visitor Programme
2020
science
Picture of the week Muzamil Majid Khan, a postdoc in the Pepperkok team at EMBL Heidelberg, studied the piece of tissue visible in this image.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science New group leader at EMBL Barcelona is investigating how malaria affects the human circulatory system
2020
science
Events László Palkovics, Hungarian Minister for Innovation and Technology, visited EMBL Heidelberg
2020
events
Science EMBL researchers have developed a method to observe interactions between transcription factors
2020
science
Events EMBL Director honoured by the international RNA Society
2020
events
Lab Matters The new EMBL spinoff company Araxa Biosciences GmbH aims to set new standards for the development of antibody-based therapeutics and diagnostics
2020
lab-matters
Events Dame Janet Thornton presents the 2019 EMBL Insight Lecture: Ageing and disease – what is the link?
2020
events
Science Kristina Haase brings an engineer’s perspective to vascular disease and regenerative medicine
2020
science
Lab Matters Judith Reichmann will receive this year’s Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for Young Researchers
2020
lab-matters
Picture of the week The image shown here is a 3D-rendering created by Julian Hennies from the Schwab team.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Science EMBL scientists identify drug targets in blood and organs
2020
science
Lab Matters The latest issue of the free magazine, Science in School, is now available for teachers worldwide.
2020
lab-matters
Lab Matters The call for applications for Bridging Excellence Fellowships is now open
2020
lab-matters
Events The club provides a social outlet for EMBLers with a social conscience
2020
events
Picture of the week This image has been composed from thousands of individual super-resolution microscopy images. It was created by Markus Mund in the Ries Group.
2020
picture-of-the-week
Picture of the week 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.
2020
picture-of-the-week
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