EMBL News archive

We are EMBL: Valentina Lorenzi on human reproductive development

Lab Matters, Perspectives PhD student Valentia Lorenzi is using single-cell sequencing data to create a map of the developing human reproductive system.

Forging collaborations across the Nordics

Lab Matters The 12th annual meeting of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine took place in Espoo, Finland, between 11-14 September 2023.

Welcome: David Hulcoop

Announcements, Lab Matters David Hulcoop discusses how his experience bridging organisational cultures will help address critical challenges in drug discovery and target selection at Open Targets.

We are EMBL: Thomas Haize on sampling along the coast of Europe

Lab Matters Thomas Haize talks about his passion for the ocean, what TREC means to him, a day in the field, and the captivating beauty of underwater photography.

Global guidelines to improve the quality of microscopy images in scientific publications

Science A working group of researchers from the QUAREP-LiMi initiative has developed global guidelines to improve the quality of microscopy data and images published in scientific publications.

Celebrating Stephen Cusack’s contributions to science

Events Researchers from across the globe have gathered in Grenoble to celebrate the remarkable lifelong scientific achievements of Stephen Cusack, the former head of EMBL Grenoble.

Switching off the cytokine storm

Science EMBL Grenoble and University of Geneva researchers shed light on the molecular activation of the MAP kinase p38α, the final ‘switch’ triggering the inflammatory response.

Uncovering the mechanisms underlying lack of response to immunotherapy 

Research highlights, Science New research improves understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind why some cancers respond to immunotherapy and others don't.

Revealing the secrets of protein evolution using the AlphaFold database

Research highlights, Science Researchers use the AlphaFold database and Foldseek Cluster algorithm to analyse millions of predicted protein structures and offer new insights into protein evolution.

Understanding how cells avoid obstacles

Science EMBL researchers have identified a novel mechanism that allows cells to sense obstacles in their path and avoid them while navigating complex environments.

Exploring Nexus Island

Lab Matters Learn more about the game-based workshop that lets participants experience what it feels like to be a researcher on the TREC expedition.

TREC: Exploring the ocean’s oxygen supply

Lab Matters As part of the EMBL-led Traversing European Ecosystems (TREC) expedition, scientists are studying plankton to understand biodiversity, health, and our planet’s future.

We are EMBL: Sabrina Krueger on being a skill development guide

Lab Matters Sabrina Krueger, scientist-turned-training officer, shares her approach to this role and the need to be ‘true to yourself’.

EMBL leadership comments on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe

Announcements, Lab Matters EMBL Director General and Deputy Director General respond to the announcement by the European Commission and UK Government

Swordfish sword under X-rays: SAXS explained

Science Learn how scientists use bio-SAXS, an experimental X-ray technique, to study the shape and dynamics of proteins and other biomolecules. SAXS can be even used to analyse the structure of mineral particles in the swordfish sword bone, which can help scientists better understand bone ageing.

ERC starting grants for two EMBL Heidelberg researchers

Lab Matters Jordi van Gestel and Maria Zimmermann-Kogadeeva each receive 1.5 million EUR funding for research projects on microbial predators and the gut microbiome respectively

Spotlight: Off to the pole

Picture of the week, Science For a fruit fly embryo to develop correctly, key factors need to get to the right place at the right time – a journey that starts in the developing egg, as seen in this image from the Ephrussi Group at EMBL Heidelberg

We are EMBL: Therese Welander on enabling science

Lab Matters Therese Welander talks about her inspiration, and supporting science by solving problems and overcoming challenges.

Deciding when to destroy mRNA

Alumni Elena Conti will discuss how cells control the life and death of mRNA molecules at the next annual Kafatos Lecture on 20 October in Munich.

After EMBL: Sergiy Avilov

Alumni Ukrainian scientist Sergiy Avilov uses the microscopy skills and scientific network he built at EMBL in his current role heading the Imaging Facility at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics.

From data management to AI: an interview with Laura Clarke

Perspectives, Science Experience in data management and coordination has enabled EMBL alumna Laura Clarke to pursue a career in AI development.

Bringing scientific services together ‘2RISE’

Events An upcoming EMBL-led infrastructure management training will help formalise information exchange in the Rhine-Neckar region to widen access to technology and scientific services for members of the Health + Life Science Alliance.

We are EMBL: Emerald Perlas on infrastructures and technology in research

Lab Matters Emerald Perlas, Head of the Histology Facility, talks about his experience in supporting multidisciplinary research at EMBL Rome and keeping up with technological advances.

Open data to power up the blue economy

Perspectives, Science EMBL-EBI Senior Scientist Rob Finn explains why data coordination and sharing are fundamental for a sustainable blue economy.

Novel algorithm able to detect mutations in single-cell sequencing data sets

Research highlights, Science SComatic enables researchers to link genotype to phenotype using only single-cell profiling data

Welcome: Clément Blanchet

Lab Matters Clément Blanchet has been appointed to lead the team working on small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at EMBL Hamburg. In this interview, he talks his ambitions for the future work of the SAXS Team, his passion for science, and a memorable ‘aha’ moment he had in his early career.

Bringing advanced life science technologies to the field

Lab Matters EMBL’s newly deployed Advanced Mobile Laboratory (AML) is bringing cutting-edge technologies to the European coast to help researchers study ‘life in context’.

Filling the skills gap to advance genomic medicine: an interview with Emily Perry

Lab Matters, Perspectives By upskilling researchers on bioinformatics skills and tools, EMBL alumna Emily Perry is helping to make genomic medicine more accessible.

From academia to industry: exploring new career paths

Events EMBL organised a five-day summer school to help PhD students and postdocs learn more about research and development (R&D) related industry career roles.

Imaging-based spatial-omics: EMBO Practical Course at EMBL Rome 

Lab Matters The first EMBO Practical Course on imaging-based spatial-omics was organised at EMBL Rome to explore the latest techniques to visualise RNA transcripts and proteins in their native tissues.

New therapies to improve cardiovascular health

Science EMBL researchers have made new strides into understanding and reversing genetic defects that underlie familial heart disease.

A glimpse into the hexasome: 40 years on

Science Research from the Eustermann group at EMBL Heidelberg reveals how the packaging of DNA into hexasomes impacts the function of enzymes involved in gene regulation.

We are EMBL: Rutuja Yelmar on her life as a PhD student at EMBL Grenoble

Lab Matters Rutuja Yelmar, predoctoral Fellow at EMBL Grenoble in the Kowalinski group, talks about her passion for research, daily inspiration, and the importance of collaboration in achieving her goals.

The power of cell sorting: understanding heart disease, phase separation, plankton, and more

Science EMBL researchers use a new cell sorting technology to gain new insights into cellular function in health and disease, as well as for other innovative applications.

EMBL-EBI’s new building set to support data growth and innovative partnerships

Announcements, Lab Matters Construction begins on EMBL-EBI's new building named after Janet Thornton.

Spotlight: Shedding light on deadly parasites

Lab Matters, Picture of the week This single-celled organism the size of a dust particle is capable of causing deadly tropical diseases in both humans and livestock –Trypanosoma brucei, in an image by Luciano Dolce from EMBL.

Facilitating drug discovery against COVID-19

Science A collaboration between EMBL Grenoble and EBRIS scientists led to the characterisation of a new compound with promising activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

EMBL and ZEISS enter long-term strategic partnership

Lab Matters Through the collaborative framework agreement, EMBL and ZEISS aim to accelerate the development of imaging technology to advance life science research.

DECIPHER database for rare diseases joins EMBL-EBI

Announcements, Science Closer collaborations with EMBL-EBI data resources set to further develop and grow this unique rare disease platform.

Pathogens Portal: The new gateway to public pathogen data

Science, Technology and innovation Enabling researchers worldwide to share and analyse pathogen data generated across the world

2022 EMBL Annual Report published

Lab Matters EMBL’s 2022 Annual Report is now available online, including a downloadable ‘Year in Review’.

EMBL scientists elected to EMBO Membership

Lab Matters Three EMBL group leaders and six EMBL alumni were recognised for their contributions to the life sciences.

Save the date: 4-5 July 2024!

Events EMBL will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024 with a dynamic scientific symposium. The event will share fundamental research that continues to open the way to scientific discoveries.

Bringing research on disordered proteins to order

Science, Technology and innovation A third of all known proteins are either completely or partially unstructured. EMBL scientists contributed to a new set of guidelines – Minimum Information About a Disorder Experiment (MIADE) – that will help researchers share data on unstructured proteins in a more useful way and will enable…

Research assessment reform at EMBL: an interview with Wolfgang Huber

Lab Matters Wolfgang Huber discusses why research assessment needs reform and how this could make science more diverse, more inclusive, and better

Serbia becomes EMBL prospect member

Lab Matters Starts three-year process toward full membership, opening up new opportunities for mutual exchange and collaboration.

After EMBL: Urtė Neniškytė

Alumni EMBL Rome alumna Urtė Neniškytė returned to her native Lithuania, helping establish the Vilnius University-EMBL Partnership Institute and advance genome-editing technologies there.

Supporting the development of hologenomic approaches for more sustainable animal feeds

Science, Technology and innovation HoloFood, the first consistent collection of multiomic data about chicken and salmon gut microbiomes, set to enable the development of better animal feeds.

Connecting scientists, engaging citizens

Lab Matters The TREC expedition stop in Sopot offered an opportunity to create connections with Polish scientists and citizens around the topics of planetary biology and ocean science.

Welcome: Sihem Bennour

Lab Matters Sihem Bennour, new head of HR, foresees a deeper culture of information sharing, listening, and problem solving with EMBL staff.

The speed of life: a zoo of cells to study developmental time

Science Researchers from the Ebisuya Group at EMBL Barcelona have used an unprecedented stem cell zoo to compare six different mammalian species and their developmental time.

We are EMBL: Jürgen Bauer on translating ideas into applications

Lab Matters Jürgen Bauer talks about translating science into applications with societal benefit, his journey from the lab bench to business development, and technology transfer at EMBL.

An organisation and its environment

Events A recent EMBL conference brought together scientists from various disciplines to conjoin scientific pursuits studying ‘life in context’.

We are EMBL: Adriana Castillo Caballero on multicultural science and creativity

Lab Matters Adriana Castillo Caballero talks about her curiosity-driven career, the importance of the people in her life, and her dreams for the future

TREC on Twitter: a life-in-context journey through the social media lens

Lab Matters TREC scientists, outreach specialists, and a crucial support team have been on the road, exploring life at European coasts.

Genomic medicine: ushering in a new era in healthcare

Perspectives, Science EMBL-EBI data resources are being used to deliver thousands of genetic diagnostics to patients every month.

Janet Thornton retires: a pioneer in structural bioinformatics

Announcements, Lab Matters In recognition of Janet Thornton’s retirement, we look back at some of her biggest accomplishments shaping the field of bioinformatics.

Baden-Württemberg´s new Minister of Science, Research, and the Arts visits EMBL

Events During a visit to the Heidelberg EMBL campus, Minister Petra Olschowski learned about EMBL´s current research programme, its scientific operations and local collaborations, and explored its Imaging Centre and World of Molecular Biology exhibition.

ProtVar: understanding missense variation in humans

Science, Technology and innovation A new tool for the interpretation of missense variation in humans – ProtVar – will help enable drug discovery.

IMAGINE-ing next-generation technology to help biologists

Lab Matters EMBL researchers and collaborators have begun an impactful innovation-development journey, thanks to a European Commission ‘IMAGINE’ grant.

EMBL in Italy: cutting-edge science from basic to applied research

Alumni The annual meeting organised by Italian EMBL alumni was held in Turin on 18-19 May, hosted by the University of Turin and the University of Piemonte Orientale (UPO)

EMBL and SciLifeLab cooperate on data science

Lab Matters The third meeting between EMBL and SciLifeLab communities took place in Uppsala and focused on data science, aiming at further expanding the collaboration

Sharing knowledge, widening access across Europe

Lab Matters European Commission and EMBL renew commitment, agree on new areas of cooperation, in new EC DG’s first infrastructure visit since appointment.

After EMBL: Heiko Runz and Laurence Ettwiller

Alumni From biking together while at EMBL to assistant professorships at Heidelberg University, two academics soon formed a union that took them to the United States., into various industry positions, and now to a life with two young children.

We are EMBL: Martin Pelosse on his role at the Eukaryotic Expression Facility

Lab Matters Martin Pelosse, Scientific Expert at EMBL Grenoble Eukaryotic Expression Facility, explains the platform’s role in supporting the site’s cutting-edge research activities and its future applications.

We are EMBL: Carolin Sauer on supporting cancer research

Lab Matters, Research highlights Postdoctoral researcher Carolin Sauer is leveraging long-read sequencing to develop new detection methods for various cancers.

We are EMBL: Timothy Shayers on building maintenance and renovation in Rome

Lab Matters Timothy Shayers talks about his role in overseeing the renovation works at EMBL Rome, his past experiences around the world, and his personal passions.

100th issue of EMBLetc. published

Lab Matters First published in 1999 as a black-and-white printed newsletter for EMBL staff and alumni, EMBLetc. has undergone many transformations in its 24 years of existence.

The World of Molecular Biology is open 

Lab Matters EMBL´s new permanent exhibition ‘The World of Molecular Biology’ in Heidelberg is now open for registration. The exhibition takes the visitor on a journey of scales, from genomes to ecosystems, and introduces key imaging technologies.

A more diverse human reference genome

Announcements, Science The human pangenome – one of the most complete collections of genome sequences released so far – captures rich human diversity.

Time-resolved crystallography for the masses

Science EMBL Hamburg scientists have contributed to the development of the Spitrobot, a ground-breaking experimental setup that will simplify creating molecular movies. The Spitrobot automates the sample preparation for time-resolved crystallography, which is used to create 3D snapshots of protein…

The hairy single-celled Tetrahymena provides a work reset

Lab Matters Dey Group holds second annual ‘labbatical’ to step outside daily research tasks with the help of single-celled model organisms.

Vizgen joins EMBL science-industry programme

Lab Matters Vizgen, the life science company dedicated to improving human health by visualising single-cell spatial genomics information, has joined EMBL’s Corporate Partnership Programme.

Bioinformatics powers international effort to map gene function

Announcements, Lab Matters EMBL-EBI is making a key contribution to a historic effort to understand the function of every human gene

Celebration of the next ten years of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine

Lab Matters The Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine celebrates the signing of its renewed ten years agreement between EMBL and the Universities of Aarhus, Oslo, Umeå, and Helsinki.

Building a broader European science community

Lab Matters Croatian scientists and students from the Ruđer Bošković Institute and University of Zagreb visited EMBL to exchange ideas with researchers and public outreach experts on ways to increase interest, awareness, and involvement in science.

EMBL celebrates 43 new PhDs

Events On Friday 21 April 2023, EMBL held a graduation ceremony to celebrate its newest group of PhDs who graduated during the last 12 months. The graduating class comprised 43 fellows representing 17 nationalities and all six EMBL sites.

The Human Genome Project at 20: interview with Ewan Birney

Lab Matters, Perspectives On the 20th anniversary of the Human Genome Project, we look back at its history, wonder and potential.

EMBL Hamburg joins northern European life science consortium

Lab Matters EMBL Hamburg partners with the Hanseatic Life Science Research Infrastructure Consortium (HALRIC) to enhance life sciences research in Scandinavia and northern Germany. The consortium builds on the HALOS project to foster collaborations between industry, hospitals, and universities, leveraging…

We are EMBL: Angelika Thomasson on administrative support to EMBL staff

Lab Matters Angelika Thomasson, administrative assistant at EMBL Grenoble, talks about her role in supporting her colleagues in organising events and travels, what she enjoys about EMBL, and which famous female scientist she would like to have coffee with.

Nikon Europe increases support for EMBL’s innovative scientific training programme

Lab Matters Nikon Europe has intensified its engagement with EMBL's Corporate Partnership Programme to support young scientists.

After EMBL: Thomas Graf

Alumni Alumnus Thomas Graf reflects on his time at EMBL, offering an update on his whereabouts and advice for young scientists.

We are EMBL: Eduard Avetisyan on the role of IT in structural biology

Lab Matters Eduard Avetisyan leads the EMBL Hamburg IT team. He joined EMBL after transitioning from particle physics research to IT. Besides providing standard IT user support, his team also enables smooth processing and computational analysis of structural biology data. Here, he talks about the joys and…

Human genome editing: regulations, risks, and ethical considerations

Lab Matters, Perspectives Scientists have the technology to edit the human genome. But when should they, and who contributes to these decisions?

MAPLE: a phylogenetic tool for pandemic-scale genome data

Research highlights, Science EMBL-EBI researchers have developed a new tool capable of performing state-of-the-art phylogenetic inference on larger datasets than previously thought possible.

EMBL and Montenegro: boosting cooperation and enhancing awareness

EMBL Member States, Lab Matters Europe’s life sciences laboratory EMBL on 5 April welcomed Council delegates Ivana Lagator and Lidija Vukcevic from the Montenegrin Ministry of Science and Technological Development, and University of Montenegro representative Professor Danilo Mrdak, to discuss expanding research and training…

TREC is underway!

Events, Science EMBL’s planetary biology flagship TREC expedition has officially started. The new project applies EMBL's expertise and technologies in molecular and cellular biology to current environmental challenges, and connects with a wide range of research disciplines.

Life in context

Events Upcoming EMBO/EMBL symposium provides a forum to explore how organisms function together, and how they react or adapt to changes at different molecular levels.

Dispensing microscopy expertise

Lab Matters Home to some of Europe’s most cutting-edge tools in molecular biology, EMBL has long shared its expertise and access to these tools through an extensive repertoire of courses, conferences, seminars, and other training. And now included in this mix is a job shadowing programme at EMBL Imaging…

Shining light on the mechanics of embryo development

Lab Matters, Science A new microscope built by EMBL researchers, based on Brillouin scattering principles, allows scientists to observe the dynamics of mechanical properties inside developing embryos in real time.

ERC Advanced Grant awarded to EMBL Rome researcher

Lab Matters Interim head of EMBL Rome Cornelius Gross has been awarded an Advanced grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for his project TERRITORY, aimed at investigating the neural basis of territorial aggression and fear.

EMBL Alumni Awards Announced for 2023

Alumni Two former EMBL scientists have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the fields of science communication and multiple sequence alignment research, respectively.

We are EMBL: Audrey Spielmann on providing lab support

Lab Matters Audrey Spielmann, Lab Support Manager, talks about her role in supporting the research done at EMBL Grenoble.

Welcome: Alejandro Torres-Sánchez

Lab Matters The new group leader is setting up the first purely theory-focused research group at EMBL Barcelona. He aims to understand fundamental biological principles using mathematical models and computer simulations, in close collaboration with experimental researchers across EMBL.

EMBL explores synergies in neuroscience research with French partners

Lab Matters Scientists from EMBL and its French academic partners gathered at EMBL Rome for a workshop to foster collaboration and advance research in neuroscience.

The ‘long read’ for cancer

Science Using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing, EMBL scientists sequenced a primary childhood brain tumour known as a medulloblastoma, uncovering a novel complex mutation pattern.

Welcome: Thomas Quail

Lab Matters New group leader Thomas Quail studies the fundamental processes that determine how proteins organise the genome inside a cell.

Welcome: Gergely Papp

Lab Matters Together with his team, Gergely Papp pushes the frontiers of technology development in the field of structural biology.

Molecules to Ecosystems: Liz Duke on X-ray imaging

Lab Matters Biological X-ray imaging is an emerging technology that uses X-rays to image tissues or even entire organisms. It will play an important role in EMBL Hamburg’s future service portfolio, and will allow studying life on multiple scales. Team Leader Liz Duke discusses her plans to establish X-ray…

EMBL Barcelona: Five years down the road

Lab Matters EMBL’s site by the sea completed its fifth year of operations. We look back at some key milestones and achievements since 2017.

Sharing science, shaping opportunities for collaboration

Events An annual Corporate Partnership Programme meeting provided a forum for EMBL researchers and industry representatives to discuss mobile labs, planetary biology, and other areas of common interest.

Large-scale study enables new insights into rare eye disorders

Research highlights, Science EMBL-EBI researchers use UK Biobank data to uncover new information about rare diseases of the eye.

TREC: A two-year mission to study human impact on Europe’s seas and coastal regions

Lab Matters EMBL is leading the TREC project: the first pan-European and cross-disciplinary effort to examine life in its natural context.

Tracing the history of women in science at EMBL

Lab Matters On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2023, EMBL archivist Maria Papanikolaou discusses the traces left by the women in science who have passed through EMBL, irrevocably changing the organisation in small and big ways.

Open data for biodiversity: an EMBL-EBI 2022 round-up

Perspectives, Science As major biodiversity projects ramp up, EMBL-EBI enables genomic data sharing for all species.

EMBL Grenoble showcased at Biophysical Society Meeting

Lab Matters EMBL’s French site was highlighted in a short film presenting its expertise in structural biology research and services.

Biology meets engineering

Lab Matters Physicists, engineers and robotics experts work together in EMBL Hamburg’s Instrumentation Team to design instruments that support structural biology research. The team has finished a transfer robot that facilitates automated handling of protein crystals with care and precision. This will help…

Shedding light on rare diseases: open data and model organisms

Perspectives, Science Why open data from model organisms is essential for rare disease research.

A human interactome to prioritise drug discovery

Research highlights, Science Researchers create a network of interacting proteins – or interactome – to aid drug discovery.

Spotlight: Using light and sound to see into the brain

Lab Matters, Picture of the week Researchers in the Prevedel Group use photoacoustic spectroscopy setup to test and optimise probes before their usage in mouse neuroscience.

Molecules to Ecosystems: Jo McEntyre on data services

Lab Matters, Perspectives Jo McEntyre talks about data services, open data and a new era for research assessment.

Studying epigenetic regulation at the single-molecule level

Science In a first-of-its-kind study, EMBL researchers have shown how DNA methylation across the genome contributes to the precise regulation of gene expression.

EMBL welcomes Estonia as full member

Lab Matters The Baltic nation of Estonia has become a full member of EMBL, joining the organisation as its 28th member state.

New EU-funded Project: Fragment-Screen

Lab Matters EMBL is one of the partners of this project that aims to accelerate drug discovery and development, bringing in expertise from EMBL Grenoble and EMBL-EBI.

Supporting scientists across Europe: the SPC Facility at EMBL Hamburg

Lab Matters EMBL Hamburg’s Sample Preparation and Characterisation (SPC) Facility offers scientists access to almost all available biophysics technologies. The facility’s staff provides advice and support with experiments and data analysis. The facility is conveniently located just next to the EMBL…

Welcome: Hanh Vu

Lab Matters Group Leader Hanh Vu studies ‘immortal’ flatworms that can grow and de-grow to understand better factors that determine organisms’ sizes.

Scientific passion that seeds passion

Lab Matters A recent student visitor shares her impressions from visiting EMBL’s Vincent group as we recognise International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Case study: AlphaFold uses open data and AI to discover the 3D protein universe

Perspectives, Science Open data played a pivotal role in the development of the AlphaFold AI. The same open principles now apply to AlphaFold predictions.

New evolutionary insights from stepping outside the lab

Science EMBL researchers are stepping outside the lab and thinking outside the box to understand the basic principles that underlie the development and evolution of organismal characteristics.

Promoting European innovation in the life sciences

Lab Matters One of EMBL’s core missions is the development and transfer of scientific know-how and technologies to academia, industry, and commercial entities to facilitate further research, innovations, and commercialisation for the benefit of society at large. Working across Europe, EMBL has partnerships…

Solving the structure of a critical molecular editor

Science EMBL Grenoble scientists provide new insights into the function of an essential RNA editing enzyme.

BlueRemediomics: harnessing marine microbes to promote a circular bioeconomy

Announcements, Science Funding awarded for developing tools to harness marine microbiome data for biotechnological applications and ecosystem services.

Leveraging long-read sequencing for cancer genomics

Perspectives, Science Genomic sequencing and big data analysis are two novel technologies driving researchers’ understanding of the complexities of cancer.

AI helps scientists decipher cellular structures

Science New artificial intelligence tool adds speed and detailed cellular information to analysis of cryo-electron tomography to aid researchers’ understanding of inner cell workings.

ERC Consolidator Grant success at EMBL

Lab Matters EMBL Rome group leader Jamie Hackett receives EUR 2 million for the ModLogic project, aimed at understanding how chromatin modifications impact gene activity.

EMBL partners with UNESCO to drive progress on shared goals

Lab Matters New agreement with UN organisation will enable cooperation in the fields of open science, capacity building, and talent development

Machine learning to identify and prioritise drug targets

Science, Technology and innovation Open Targets is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and prioritise drug targets.

BIOcean5D targets marine biodiversity

Lab Matters EMBL hosts inaugural meeting for major interdisciplinary project designed to boost understanding of ocean life

Vikas Trivedi from EMBL Barcelona receives ERC Synergy Grant

Lab Matters The group leader, together with three other principal investigators, has been awarded the ERC Synergy Grant, one of the most prestigious public grants in Europe.

Spotlight: A ‘devil’ of a flatworm

Lab Matters, Picture of the week Tasmanian flatworms add to an EMBL researcher’s collection as she studies principles that control animal body size.

Spotlight: Colours of the colon

Lab Matters, Picture of the week Mucus present in the mouse colon can be visualised using Alcian blue staining, as imaged here by EMBL predoctoral fellow Linda Decker.

Darwin Tree of Life: first 500 genome assemblies released as project creates a buzz

Perspectives, Science We look back through some of the 2022 highlights from the Darwin Tree of Life project.

Molecules to Ecosystems: Rob Finn on the Microbial Ecosystems transversal theme

Lab Matters Rob Finn, one of the co-chairs of the Microbial Ecosystems theme, discusses his work, the challenges of multidisciplinary research, and how the theme is already helping to promote the exchange of scientific ideas.

New molecular insights on medical cannabis

Science EMBL Grenoble researchers have investigated the interaction between THC and some proteins it might bind to. In a recent study, they showed in vitro that THC inhibits an important human enzyme called autotaxin.

Step-by-step guide to nuclear pore complex assembly

Science EMBL Heidelberg researchers and their collaborators reveal how the nuclear pore complex, one of the biggest molecular machines in eukaryotic cells, is assembled one protein at a time.

BOSS-RUNS: streamlining dynamic nanopore sequencing

Research highlights, Science A new method developed by EMBL-EBI researchers helps to streamline nanopore sequencing in real-time.

Spotlight: Zebrafish embryos to make this season jolly

Lab Matters, Picture of the week Zebrafish embryos during gastrulation, a very early stage of development, to study the effect of temperature on vertebrate embryo development.

EMBL-EBI databases considered critical to life sciences

Announcements, Science Open data resources that enable global research and development recognised by the Global Biodata Coalition.

Spotlight: Establishing a colour palette for antibiotic resistance

Lab Matters, Picture of the week To identify which drugs disrupt bacterial envelope integrity, the Typas group uses a molecule called chlorophenyl red-β-D-galactopyranoside.

Understanding marine biodiversity across space, time, and human impacts

Lab Matters Europe-wide project studies coastal and marine biodiversity from viruses to whales

Edith Heard elected as member of the French Academy of Sciences

Lab Matters The Director General of EMBL was elected by her peers to become a member of one of France’s oldest national science academies.

EMBL in Spain: from EvoDevo to Tissues

Alumni More than a hundred scientists from across Spain and Europe met at the Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology (CABD) for the 2022 “EMBL in Spain” event.

Celebrating science in Grenoble

Lab Matters In October 2022, EMBL Grenoble participated in the annual science outreach event Parvis des Sciences, organised by the GIANT campus under the umbrella of the French science week – La Fête de la science.

Developmental cell atlas uncovers new cell states

Research highlights, Science Unveiling a useful tool for understanding human lung development.

New chair of EMBL Council

Lab Matters EMBL alumnus and eminent molecular biologist Peter B. Becker has been named the next chair of EMBL’s Council as of January 2023.

Making a great postdoc program even better with our member states

Lab Matters EMBL’s EIPOD-Learning in Context programme focuses on interdisciplinary research that explores ‘life in context’ and adds a new collaborative dimension with member state organisations.

Getting closer to stopping toxoplasmosis infection

Science Recent studies supported by EMBL Grenoble’s expertise in structural biology research and scientific services have identified Altiratinib as a potential drug to stop toxoplasmosis infection and opened up treatment options against malaria.

Welcome to EMBL: Talya Dayton

Lab Matters The new group leader in Barcelona aims to understand how cells behave in health and in disease, and approaches her favourite hobby, cooking, very similarly to her work in the lab.

Six enlightening questions about ‘plasticity across scales’

Events A recent EMBO|EMBL symposium provided a forum for discussing recent research on a range of issues for organisms as they cope with changing environments.

Genomic Data Infrastructure – integrating genomics into healthcare

Announcements, Science EMBL-EBI supports new European Commission project set to support the use of genomics in research and healthcare.

EMBL scientists receive prestigious ERC Starting Grant

Lab Matters Three EMBL scientists received this year’s ERC Starting Grants, and will be awarded €1.5 million over five years to carry out research projects.

Welcome Jordi van Gestel

Lab Matters Looking to understand microbial predator-prey relationships, EMBL’s newest group leader tackles a molecular ‘arms race’ in his lab.

EMBLetc. receives digital-first makeover

Lab Matters The biannual magazine that highlights EMBL’s research, people, and projects now has a new online home.

Promoting EMBL opportunities for the Danish scientific community

Events DANEMO is a communication platform and research support initiative launched by DANDRITE at Aarhus University. It aims to encourage scientists in Denmark to engage with EMBL and EMBO. The DANEMO symposium from 3-4 November in Aarhus focused on raising awareness of the new EMBL programme ‘Molecules…

EMBL builds on links with Malta

Events EMBL deepens scientific collaboration, opening the door for greater engagement and opportunities for Malta’s life science community

Open Targets consortium welcomes Genentech as newest member

Announcements, Science Open Targets announces that Genentech will become the seventh partner in the drug discovery and validation consortium.

Open science for climate justice

Perspectives, Science Our experts discuss the importance of open science for food security and preserving global biodiversity.

New molecular microscopy uncovers how breast cancer spreads

Research highlights, Science Researchers have created a tool that maps in previously unseen detail how breast cancer develops and spreads.

AlphaFold applications – a community assessment

Research highlights, Science Researchers use social media to share findings on how useful AlphaFold predictions are for different applications.

Two in one: combining MASSIF-1 and CrystalDirect

Lab Matters Researchers and engineers have integrated a CrystalDirect harvester into the fully automated beamline MASSIF-1, a unique combination of structural biology technologies that is now open to external academic users.

AI4LIFE: AI models for bioimaging

Announcements, Science Researchers across EMBL are helping to make artificial intelligence (AI) models for bioimaging analysis interoperable and openly available to the scientific community.

Plankton zombies for Halloween!

Science Plankton parasites provide a zombie story perfect for Halloween. While invading single-celled plankton, these parasites devour the cell’s nucleus and hijack metabolism while the organism remains alive.

Setting priorities for preprints and open science

Lab Matters Newly appointed member of the ASAPbio Board of Directors, EMBL Group Leader Gautam Dey speaks about preprints, data management, and open science.

Mapping the human brain: a global collaboration

Announcements, Science NIH BRAIN Initiative to fund brain atlases, network coordination, and knowledge sharing to explore brain function research.

Welcome: Flora Vincent

Lab Matters After a postdoc at Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, Flora Vincent has joined EMBL’s Developmental Biology unit to further explore the world of phytoplankton.

The power of light: folding 3D tissues

Science EMBL Barcelona researchers have developed a tool that can use light to control the shape of cells .

Teaming up to drive forward time-resolved crystallography

Lab Matters The recent construction of the new ID29 beamline in Grenoble is pioneering a new way of doing experiments in time-resolved crystallography and opening up technology transfer possibilities

Ardan Patwardhan and Wim Hagen receive Scientific Achievement Award

Lab Matters The Royal Microscopical Society awarded Ardan Patwardhan and Wim Hagen with Scientific Achievement Award

EMBL deepens ties with Croatia

Events Visit of delegation from the Ruđer Bošković Institute to EMBL Heidelberg marks a new chapter in scientific and institutional cooperation

Funding for researchers working on plastic recycling enzymes

Announcements, Science EMBL-EBI’s MGnify data resource helps researchers find enzymes for novel applications.

Examining life along Iceland’s coasts

Lab Matters The final pilot project in Iceland marked the countdown to the ‘Traversing European Coastlines’ (TREC) expedition to study coastal ecosystems and their response to changes in the environment.

Light-Seq: from images to sequences in context

Science Researchers have combined advanced light microscopy with next-generation sequencing to create a method to study cells directly in the context of their native tissues

Leading research institutions launch Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim

Events Leading scientific research facilities launch the Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim. The research alliance aims to build the Rhine-Neckar region into an internationally leading biomedical-technological cluster focusing on life sciences, the health economy, and medical technology.

The EMBL Connection

Events EMBL's Partnership Conference highlights the value of its networks, bringing researchers together to build new scientific connections.

EMBL Barcelona and CRG kickstart new era of digital biology in Barcelona

Lab Matters The institutes have launched a joint new initiative which aims to make biology as engineerable as an aeroplane or a bridge.

Biodiversity Genomics Europe: addressing biodiversity loss through genomics

Announcements, Science European experts gather to launch a project that aims to characterise and conserve life on Earth using DNA data.

Inaugural Kafatos Lecture brings outstanding science to the global public

Alumni EMBL´s Inaugural Kafatos Lecture brings outstanding science to the global public. The 2022 lecture will be delivered by EMBL alumnus and distinguished developmental geneticist Denis Duboule and will focus on ‘Evolution and Embryonic Development: The Complex Story of our Dual Origins’.

Tools for teachers

Lab Matters EMBL reminds teachers of freely available educational resources and workshops just in time for school.

Seeing antibiotics in action inside a pathogenic bacterium

Science New research by EMBL scientists shows at atomic detail how antibiotics affect the process of protein production inside bacteria.

Combi-seq: a leap forward for personalised cancer therapy

Science Researchers have come up with a way to test the efficacy of hundreds of anticancer drug combinations – simultaneously, rapidly, and accurately.

AlphaFold developers and EMBL alumnus among Breakthrough Prize recipients

Lab Matters Cell biologist Anthony Hyman and DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were announced among 25 Breakthrough Prize recipients

European institutes commit to data access across borders

Announcements, Science The Federated EGA is set to improve access to sensitive human data in a safe and secure way.

PETRA IV and future opportunities at EMBL Hamburg beamlines

Lab Matters EMBL joined a kick-off event focusing on the developments related to the upgrade of the PETRA III synchrotron storage ring to PETRA IV at the DESY campus, where EMBL Hamburg is located. PETRA IV could open new possibilities at EMBL Hamburg, contributing to the goals of the EMBL Programme…

Life Science Alliance starts new chapter

Lab Matters Dieter Schwarz Foundation renews 3-year funding to EMBL for the EMBL | Stanford Life Science Alliance, a unique international collaboration bringing together researchers from the two leading institutions to develop transformative technologies and accelerate biomedical research.

Does exercise drive development? In the sea anemone, the way you move matters.

Science The latest research from EMBL’s Ikmi group employs interdisciplinary approaches to show how sea anemone ‘exercise’ changes their developing size and shape, uncovering an intimate relationship between behaviour and body development

When microbiomes collide

Science EMBL researchers used data from over 300 human faecal microbiota transplants to gain an ecological understanding of what happens when two gut microbiomes clash.

Summer in Science – life in a research lab

Lab Matters 20 secondary school students from all over Italy participated in the fourth edition of Summer in Science at EMBL Rome.

Insights into scientific careers

Events As the career landscape continues to change for PhDs and postdocs, the EMBL Fellows’ Career Service offers webinars that present professional options in and beyond academia.

Augmenting science

Lab Matters The Scientific Visitor Programme shares EMBL tools and talent with outside researchers in collaborative, multidisciplinary environments.

ERC Proof-of-Concept grant provides way to realise commercial potential of ‘SpaceM’ technology

Lab Matters A new grant will provide a way for fundamental metabolomic research to realise its commercial potential and promise in aiding drug development and precision medicine.

Building the ideal limb

Science EMBL researchers use a “fearless” computer reconstruction and a two-centuries-old mathematical approach to study limb bud growth.

Strengthening scientific ties between EMBL and Iceland

Lab Matters EMBL delegation including the Director General visits Iceland marking another stage in this deepening scientific collaboration

AlphaFold: where will the next AI breakthrough come from?

Perspectives, Science Ewan Birney, Deputy Director General of EMBL and Director of EMBL-EBI, reveals the key factors that enabled AlphaFold to change the world of biology.

Molecules to Ecosystems: Virginie Uhlmann on the Theory transversal theme

Lab Matters Virginie Uhlmann, Research Group Leader at EMBL-EBI and one of the co-chairs of the Theory@EMBL transversal theme, chats about how this theme will open up new research avenues.

CNest: a new method for copy number variation analysis

Research highlights, Science A new method for the robust analysis of copy number variation and used UK Biobank data to identify links between genome and disease.

New antibiotic resistance genes identified in tuberculosis

Research highlights, Science International consortium analyses the genetic sequences and antibiotic susceptibility of 10,000 global Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates.

Visualising Life: The EMBL Lautenschläger summer school returns to Heidelberg

Events The EMBL Lautenschläger summer school, held 4–15 Jul 2022, introduced students from a range of scientific backgrounds to interdisciplinary life science research.

Making patterns visible

Science How do gene expression patterns result in the generation of different cell types? Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg used the zebrafish notochord to find out.

Zooming in to get the full picture

Science EMBL and UW researchers plus additional collaborators have constructed a complete map of fruit fly embryonic development using machine learning. This research is foundational to better understanding overall embryo development in other species, including humans.

Shining a light on how bacteria interact

Research highlights, Science Machine learning has helped researchers uncover new insights into how bacteria infect host cells.

AlphaFold predicts structure of almost every catalogued protein known to science

Science, Technology and innovation AlphaFold database offers a look at 3D protein universe.

Latvian science benefits from prospect membership

Events The first meeting of the Latvian Bioinformatics Forum points towards an even brighter future for the country’s role in European life sciences

A summer of scientific exchange in Barcelona

Lab Matters EMBL’s site by the sea hosted a trio of conferences this summer, covering topics ranging from vascular biology to engineered living systems to evolution.

Molecules to Ecosystems: Jan Kosinski on the Infection Biology transversal theme

Lab Matters Jan Kosinski, Group Leader at EMBL Hamburg and one of the co-chairs of the Infection Biology theme in EMBL’s new programme, chats about how this theme will support his work and help establish new collaborations.

Welcome: Maria Papanikolaou

Lab Matters EMBL’s new archive and records manager, Maria Papanikolaou, explains the dual role she and an additional colleague will have in the Office of Science Information Management.

The retron switch

Science EMBL researchers now understand the function of an elusive small DNA in bacteria and have developed a tool that can be used to better understand what might ‘switch on’ bacterial immune defences.

EMBL Rome’s Gene Editing and Embryology Facility generates transgenic mice to understand human diseases

Lab Matters The GEEF facility at EMBL Rome supports scientists worldwide with scientific expertise and state-of-the-art gene editing technologies.

Priorities for ocean microbiome research

Science Microbial communities play essential roles in ocean ecology and planetary health. A recent publication highlights priorities for understanding and protecting ocean microbiomes.

Uncharted territories in the human genome

Research highlights, Science Scientists identify previously unexplored gene segments to be added to human genome databases.

Three EMBL scientists elected as EMBO Members

Lab Matters Cornelius Gross, Miki Ebisuya and Nassos Typas join EMBO, the prestigious organisation for the life sciences.

The EMBL Imaging Centre: making it happen

Events Creating a cutting-edge facility for the global life science community doesn't happen overnight. We spoke to some of those who worked to turn this dream into a reality.

Official opening of the EMBL Imaging Centre

Events Representatives from politics, industry and academia attended the inauguration ceremony at EMBL Heidelberg

EMBL welcomes first generation of ARISE fellows

Lab Matters Participating researchers will lead projects to develop novel technologies for better science.

EMBL 2021 Annual Report published

Lab Matters EMBL’s 2021 Annual Report is now available, sharing mission highlights from the year in a new digital-first, sustainable format.

Patrick Cramer elected as next President of the Max Planck Society

Alumni Former chair of EMBL Council to take office as the next President of the Max Planck Society in June 2023. 

The world needs science, and science needs women

Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard joined other L’Oreal-UNESCO Laureates in Paris for a series of events celebrating these outstanding researchers and their contributions.

EMBL and CSIC join hands to discuss microbes in a changing world

Events Researchers from EMBL and CSIC came together to discuss microbial communities, diversity, and behaviour, in the context of One Health.

The new heroics of RNA in cell differentiation

Science EMBL research with Enolase 1 (ENO1) points to a possible new way to understand RNA’s leading role in how cells develop.

EMBL enhances collaboration with scientists and research institutes in Croatia

Events Two days of events with institutes in the country add a new chapter to successful scientific collaboration

Puzzling out the structure of a molecular giant

Science Scientists have solved several mysteries around the structure and function of a true molecular giant: the human nuclear pore complex. They created the most complete model of the complex thanks to combining the program AlphaFold2 with cryo-electron tomography, integrative modelling, molecular…

2022 EMBL Alumni Awards Winners announced

Alumni Two former EMBL staff members have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to research in the fields of brain evolution and cancer.

Supporting the African BioGenome Project to build bioinformatics capacity

Announcements, Lab Matters The African BioGenome Project and EMBL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support each other in building genomics and bioinformatics capacity across Africa

EMBL and IIT: Launching new avenues of collaboration

Lab Matters EMBL and IIT scientists met in person at EMBL Rome to strengthen their collaboration and explore new opportunities for scientific exchange

Welcome: Pascale Cossart

Lab Matters Pascale Cossart, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the biology of Listeria, brings four decades of expertise in intracellular bacterial parasitism to EMBL as a visiting scientist.

Shaping up the genome for cell division

Science Researchers have discovered the mechanism by which a family of DNA motor proteins packages loosely arranged strands of DNA into compact individual chromosomes during cell division.

Teamed up to innovate

Lab Matters A new formal collaboration agreement enables will help smooth the transition from fundamental science to innovation.

Impact of DNA mutations on blood cell production uncovered

Research highlights, Science Researchers discover how DNA mutations change blood cell production and how this relates to ageing and cancer development.

EMBL in Italy event held at GSK Vaccines in Siena

Alumni The GSK Vaccines site in Siena hosted the annual EMBL in Italy event. The hybrid meeting brought together industry leaders, representatives from biotech start-ups, data scientists, and researchers from academia.

A machine learning approach for allocating gene function

Science, Technology and innovation Researchers in the Ensembl team are making the most of machine learning methods to speed up genome annotation pipelines

Fergal Martin – Eukaryotic Annotation Team Leader

Lab Matters Fergal Martin discusses the importance of open access data and his work in different biodiversity initiatives

Edith Heard elected as a member of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard has been elected as a foreign member of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in recognition of her academic excellence. Heard is among 15 new members of the Academy, which has been advancing basic research and interdisciplinarity for nearly 280 years.

EMBL and SciLifeLab foster new connections

Events Joint workshop brings researchers together on site and virtually to discuss broad range of planetary biology topics.

EMBL Hamburg is helping train lab techs of the future

Lab Matters Students from the Business Academy Aarhus visit EMBL Hamburg annually. Many of them return later as trainees to gain experience as lab technicians. EMBL Hamburg offers great opportunities to learn diverse techniques and work with various equipment. This experience helps them in their future jobs in…

Organisations should embrace open science faster – interview with Prof. Dame Janet Thornton

Lab Matters, Perspectives Janet Thornton, the inaugural winner of the FEBS Journal Open Science Award, explains the importance and impact of open science.

Europe PMC: Harnessing the power of text mining to accelerate life sciences research

Science, Technology and innovation How text mining collaborations benefit our research, data resources, and the wider scientific community.

Peter Harrison – Genome Analysis Team Leader

Lab Matters Peter Harrison discusses the importance of data accessibility and his passion for biodiversity and agricultural genomics.

Royal Society honour for Eileen Furlong

Lab Matters EMBL’s Head of Genome Biology announced as Fellow of the Royal Society for her exceptional contributions to science.

Flip-flop genome

Science Researchers at EMBL Heidelberg found that inversions in the human genome are more common than previously thought, which impacts our understanding of certain genetic diseases.

What do stem cell aggregates and whipped cream have in common?

Science EMBL researchers revise the old problem of sintering droplets to understand the mechanical properties of tissues.

Enabling imaging across scales

Events EMBL’s first Imaging Centre Symposium will occur onsite at EMBL and include tours of the new Imaging Centre on 31 May, introducing participants to the facility and its staff and featuring talks on the rapid developments in imaging technologies that have led to notable biological and medical…

Interpreting bioimages with deep learning

Perspectives, Science Virginie Uhlmann shares her tips for using deep learning for bioimage analysis in the life sciences.

Anne Ephrussi elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences

Lab Matters The honour recognises distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Unravelling the origins of the human spine

Science Scientists at EMBL Barcelona have created for the first time a 3D in vitro model that recapitulates the periodic formation of human somites – structures that give rise to the spinal column.

Next Head of EMBL Grenoble appointed

Lab Matters Professor Kristina Djinović-Carugo has been appointed as the next head of EMBL Grenoble. She will join EMBL in July from the Max Perutz Laboratories at the University of Vienna, where she is currently Head of the Department of Structural and Computational Biology and full Professor of Structural…

Meet the next Head of EMBL Grenoble

Lab Matters Slovenian structural biologist Kristina Djinović-Carugo will join EMBL in July as the new Head of EMBL Grenoble. We spoke to her about her background, research interests, and plans for EMBL Grenoble.

Greater than the sum of our genes: DNA does not define us

Lab Matters, Perspectives Ewan Birney discusses the input of both genetics and our environment in making us who we are

“If you want science to move forward, you have to share it”

Lab Matters EMBO Director Fiona Watt discusses preprints, data sharing, and evaluation in light of EMBL’s new Open Science policy

EMBL consolidates ties with Sapienza University

Lab Matters EMBL and the Sapienza University of Rome confirm their reciprocal interest in intensifying collaborations and launch new opportunities for exchange of expertise

A metaphor for epigenetic inheritance

Science Recent studies from the Hackett group at EMBL Rome have revealed new insights on the mechanism regulating transmission of non-genetic information during embryonic development, and inspired a scientific illustration

The MANE collaboration: working together to support genome science

Research highlights, Science Researchers from the MANE collaboration bring you the most comprehensive human genome annotation dataset to date.

Matthias Hentze receives Centenary Award

Lab Matters EMBL Heidelberg’s Matthias Hentze receives the Biochemical Society’s Centenary Award for his discoveries in RNA biology.

Welcome: John Lees

Lab Matters John Lees joins EMBL-EBI as a Group Leader in Pathogen informatics and modelling.

“Summer in Science” is back! A full immersion in science for high school students

Lab Matters After a two-year break, the summer school organised by Adamas Scienza and EMBL in collaboration with CNR is back. It will take place at the International Research Campus of Monterotondo (Rome) from 13 to 24 June 2022.

From liquid to solid to drive development

Science Condensates are membraneless organelles that control specific functions within a cell. Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have shown how the physical state of condensates can influence biological function.

Genomic sequencing aids the global Tuberculosis fight

Perspectives, Science Zamin Iqbal and his team are working with researchers all over the globe to help put a stop to Tuberculosis

Darwin Tree of Life at EMBL-EBI: reaching the first major milestone

Announcements, Science Our researchers highlight their contributions to the Darwin Tree of Life project and how new genome annotations helps to further biodiversity research

Judith Zaugg from EMBL Heidelberg receives ERC Consolidator Grant

Lab Matters Judith Zaugg, Group Leader at EMBL Heidelberg, has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of €2 million funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. Over the next five years, the grant will enable her group to study cellular interactions in the human bone…

EMBL’s statement on the invasion of Ukraine

Lab Matters EMBL condemns in the strongest terms the unjustified military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, with the support of Belarus, and the resulting loss of life and human suffering. We express our deepest sympathy to the Ukrainian people and to all the victims of this war.  As an…

Safeguarding African biodiversity through genomics

Perspectives, Science The African BioGenome Project aims to safeguard biodiversity and build bioinformatics capacity across Africa

Putting Cryptococcus in context

Science EMBL’s imaging technology helps researchers gain insights in the fungus’ journey from the lung to the brain.

An international study proposes stool analysis for early detection of pancreatic cancer

Science A molecular signature of 27 microorganisms in stool defines the high-risk population for the most common pancreatic cancer and could be used for early detection of the disease.

A postdoc conference spotlighted in tweets

Events EMBL hosted a futuristic infection biology conference, but it offered even more: an opportunity for postdocs to share their work and network towards future research homes.

Deep learning models help predict protein function

Perspectives, Science Deep learning models can improve protein annotations and has helped expand the Pfam database.

Understanding genomes, piece by piece

Science Genomes are made up of thousands of individual pieces – genes – which are expressed at different levels. Researchers at EMBL have shed light on how the placement of a gene affects its expression, as well as that of its neighbours.

A 3D culture model to study embryo growth

Science A recent study by EMBL researchers proposes a new method to grow early embryos in the laboratory. With a 3D culture set-up, scientists can closely monitor the changes embryos undergo around the time of implantation.

Break the bias – an interview with Louise Mullany

Lab Matters, Perspectives An exploration of what gender bias looks like in science and how organisations and individuals can address it

Academia, industry, or somewhere else?

Alumni, Lab Matters New study: EMBL PhDs and postdocs develop skills that make them highly employable in roles that drive research and innovation in academia, industry, and other sectors.

‘The World of Molecular Biology’ exhibition

Lab Matters The new permanent ‘The World of Molecular Biology’ exhibition will open in mid-2023 at EMBL’s headquarters in Heidelberg. It will encourage people to actively engage with science and its relevance for everyday life.

Converging lenses on embryo development

Science Researchers from the Furlong group at EMBL have come up with a way to observe the development of fruit-fly embryos simultaneously at the genetic and cellular levels, generating a high-resolution and integrated view of how different cell lineages form.

Molecular medicine across borders

Lab Matters The 11th annual Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine meeting was hosted in virtual format by DANDRITE, the Danish node of the Partnership, from 31 January–2 February 2022. The programme included updates from all partnership nodes, discussions about opportunities for new collaborations,…

New genetic data policy must promote biodiversity conservation

Announcements, Science Scientists urge the adoption of a sensible international policy for digital sequence information.

Welcome: Michael Dorrity

Lab Matters Michael Dorrity, one of EMBL’s newest group leaders, is studying how the environment influences early life stages in zebrafish.

Pfizer joins the Open Targets consortium

Announcements, Science Open Targets, a consortium focused on drug target identification, prioritisation, and validation, announced today that Pfizer has joined as a partner.

EMBL and Latvia deepen collaboration

Events Agreement signed with Latvia’s Biomedical Research and Study Centre will boost academic exchange and collaboration on some of the largest challenges facing human and planetary health.

Investing in Italy by translating EMBL expertise to the market

Alumni, Lab Matters, Technology and innovation Experiences at EMBL Rome led former group leader to establish his start-up in Italy, developing a new generation of gene therapies.

Learning from Deep Learning: the inspirational story behind AlphaFold

Science DeepMind visits EMBL Heidelberg to discuss current and future implications of Artificial Intelligence for life science research.

Decoding the secrets of snake venom

Science EMBL Hamburg’s Grzegorz Chojnowski from the Wilmanns Group developed software called findMySequence, which identifies proteins’ amino-acid sequences based on electron cryo-microscopy and X-ray crystallography data. It’s useful for identifying unknown proteins in samples from natural sources.

Fostering excellence, diversity, and mobility in the Nordic EMBL Partnership

Events, Lab Matters Ahead of the annual meeting of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, we spoke with its new Speaker, Mark Daly. Mark Daly, FIMM Director, recently accepted the post of Speaker of the Nordic EMBL Partnership. He explains his vision of the future cooperation between EMBL and the Nordics.

Genomic data for biodiversity – a global challenge

Perspectives, Science An exploration of where in the world genomics methods are applied and where the data are used.

EMBL Imaging Centre kickstarts training with workshop for undergraduates

Lab Matters The new EMBL Imaging Centre held its first on-site training workshop, introducing undergraduate students to the basics of volume electron microscopy. This marks the first of many opportunities to aid capacity-building in imaging techniques in Europe.

Cell sorting enters a new dimension

Science EMBL researchers, in collaboration with BD Biosciences, have demonstrated a new technology that allows rapid image-based sorting of cells. The new technology represents a major upgrade to flow cytometry and has applications in diverse life science fields.

The Earth Biogenome Project: on track and ready to ramp up

Announcements, Science On track to reach an ambitious goal of 3,000 genomes sequenced by the end of 2022, what’s next for the Earth Biogenome Project?

A new era for European molecular biology

Announcements, Lab Matters EMBL announces details about its next programme, ‘Molecules to Ecosystems’. It will guide studying life across scales and in context with changing environments.

Capturing ‘snapshots’ of a crucial step in RNA splicing

Science The Galej group at EMBL Grenoble has recently obtained high resolution snapshots of a crucial step in RNA splicing involving the U2 snRNP complex, a crucial component of the human spliceosome.

Welcome: Melissa Harrison

Lab Matters Melissa Harrison joins EMBL-EBI as the new Team Leader of Literature Services. We found out more about her plans for open access publishing and Europe PMC.

New facility in Hungary builds on strong collaborative foundations

Events A delegation from EMBL has participated in inauguration of a new facility — Incubator House — located in Szeged, Hungary.

Kristina Haase from EMBL Barcelona receives ERC Starting Grant

Lab Matters Kristina Haase, Group Leader at EMBL Barcelona, will receive €1.5 million over the next five years to develop her project on 3D vascularised in vitro cardiac tissues.

New bacteria and viruses found on human skin

Science Researchers have identified hundreds of new bacterial species and viruses in the human skin microbiome.

The start of a journey

Lab Matters This year marks the beginning of EMBL’s next programme ‘Molecules to Ecosystems’ to advance the understanding of life across scales and in the context of changing environments.

EMBL-IAB collaboration on the rise

Lab Matters The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between EMBL and the Institute for Advanced Biosciences (IAB) a year ago has already catalysed new grants for joint research projects related to cancer and infection biology, thereby deepening collaborative activities.

Observing the secret life of molecules inside the cell

Science EMBL Hamburg’s Kosinski Group, the Beck Laboratory at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, and colleagues at EMBL Heidelberg recorded the nuclear pore complex contracting in living cells. They visualised the movement with an unprecedented level of detail with help of new software called…

EMBL and Gulbenkian strengthen their scientific collaboration

Lab Matters The agreement focuses on reinforcing the collaboration between scientists to strengthen our understanding of the organism in its environment.

Fostering diversity and equality

Lab Matters Showing a continued commitment to providing a diverse and inclusive organisation for conducting leading molecular biology research, EMBL has launched an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy.

Solving molecular puzzles to find the perfect fit

Science Using cryo-EM and structural biology techniques, EMBL researchers have shown how two proteins of Legionella pneumophila interact. This finding sheds light on a mechanism critical to the infection process and could lead to the development of new drugs to treat pneumonia.

Darwin Tree of Life in 2021: tireless fieldwork and the first beautiful genomes

Science A look back at some of the 2021 highlights from the Darwin Tree of Life partner institutes.

Artificial intelligence — a scientific game changer in 2021

Science The systematic application of AI in life sciences as in the AlphaFold algorithm for predicting protein structures has been named '2021 Breakthrough of the Year' by Science magazine.

Denis Duboule to deliver inaugural Kafatos Lecture

Alumni EMBL alumnus Denis Duboule has been selected as the speaker for the inaugural Kafatos Lecture to take place in October 2022.

Open science at EMBL: a transparent way of working

Lab Matters EMBL announces the release of its new Open Science Policy, contributing to positive culture change across the life sciences.

Connecting the dots between bacterial genes around the world

Science Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg analysed a new global gene database to study how genes emerge and spread across various habitats on our planet. In the future, the group will expand the database and use it for studying microbial gene evolution and dispersal at a finer-grained scale.

A gallery of human RNA polymerases

Science New structural biology research provides fundamental information critical to understanding enzyme mutations connected to rare diseases and cancers.

Eileen Furlong honoured with Leibniz Prize

Lab Matters EMBL Senior Scientist and Head of the Genome Biology Unit is among the researchers honoured for outstanding work by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG).

Strengthening collaborations in France

Lab Matters EMBL and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) signed a memorandum of understanding.

The impact of drugs on gut microbes is greater than we thought

Science Researchers studying a massive cohort of European patients have found that commonly prescribed drugs for cardiometabolic disorders can have long-term effects on the gut microbiome. Such effects can complicate the understanding of how disease affects the microbiome and must be taken into…

How structural biology helps to make RNA vaccines

Science RNA vaccines, such as the ones for COVID-19, represent a new approach in vaccine technology. Cy Jeffries, faculty staff scientist at EMBL Hamburg, explains the clever technology behind RNA vaccines, and how structural biology contributes to its development. EMBL Hamburg collaborated on several…

EMBL Imaging Centre launches first open call for users

Lab Matters The new EMBL Imaging Centre has announced its first open user call, and new project evaluation process and training opportunities.

Wrangling an octopus-like viral replication machine

Science EMBL structural biology is part of an international collaboration addressing zoonotic disease caused by Lassa virus.

Welcome: Niccolò Banterle

Lab Matters Using gene editing and three types of microscopy, one of EMBL’s newest group leaders is deciphering the functions of one of the smallest molecules involved in cell division, motility, and signalling, known as a centriole.

Celebrating Lithuania-EMBL cooperation on life science research

Events EMBL has taken another step towards strengthening its scientific relationship with Lithuania.

Welcome: Maria Zimmermann-Kogadeeva

Lab Matters Maria Zimmermann-Kogadeeva is one of EMBL’s newest group leaders and a computational biologist whose research group applies computational modelling to better understand the metabolism of gut bacteria and their potential to have far-reaching impacts on other organs.

Welcome: Tudor Groza

Lab Matters Tudor Groza joins EMBL-EBI as our new Phenomics Team Lead. We found out from Tudor exactly what this new role will entail

A holistic approach to preserving our health – and our planet’s

Events The upcoming 22nd EMBL Science & Society Conference will explore the One Health approach, which advocates for greater cross-sectoral collaboration and communication across the human-animal-environment interface.

Can data help feed a hungry world?

Science How genomics, open data, and multidisciplinary science can improve food security.

Addressing the biodiversity crisis with 12,000 reptiles – or one database

Alumni An alumnus reflects on the reptile database he started in 1996 while at EMBL. The database helps understand biodiversity issues.

Building a 3D placenta on a chip

Lab Matters A new model could serve as a platform to investigate critical placenta barrier phenomena, including defence against bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

Newly-launched Kafatos Lectures to bring groundbreaking science to the public

Alumni A new life sciences lecture series commemorates the legacy of former EMBL Director General Fotis Kafatos for people around the world.

EMBL alum takes DNA sequencing to the field

Alumni EMBL alum Lara Urban has developed mobile DNA approaches to monitor impacts upon biodiversity in remote areas of New Zealand and elsewhere.

EMBL Imaging Centre welcomes first external user

Lab Matters Correlative microscopy service enables PhD student from Switzerland to study structure and location of proteins cells use to communicate.

DUO: streamlining access to biomedical datasets

Science The GA4GH Data Use Ontology (DUO) supports a data authorisation and access framework to streamline consent to use biomedical data

EMBL experimental services enable European researchers to tackle global societal challenges

Lab Matters Independent impact review finds EMBL experimental services are ‘critical’ for research and endorses EMBL as a world-class service provider for academia and industry.

Making sense of bacterial DNA data

Science A vast, curated collection of bacterial genomes is now organised, searchable and open to the community.

New horizons for the EIPP

Lab Matters EMBL's PhD and postdoc programmes evolve to the more multidisciplinary way of doing great molecular biology research.

EMBL Hamburg trains future generations of life scientists in using SAXS

Lab Matters Each year, EMBL Hamburg’s Svergun Group offers practical EMBO courses and lecture courses on biological small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The courses provide young scientists an opportunity to gain hands-on experience by measuring their own samples, and by exploring different aspects of SAXS…

Ken Holmes

Alumni Ken Holmes, outstanding pioneer of structural biology and founder of EMBL´s Hamburg site, died on 2 November 2021 at the age of 87.

More than a gut reaction

Science What can sponges tell us about the evolution of the brain? Sponges have the genes involved in neuronal function in higher animals. But if sponges don’t have brains, what is the role of these? EMBL scientists imaged the sponge digestive chamber to find out.

Structure of a promiscuous protein will help scientists design better drugs

Science Scientists at EMBL Hamburg determined the molecular structure of Peptide Transporters 1 and 2. The findings will enable developing drugs that more efficiently pass from the gut to target tissues.

Welcome: Svetlana Dodonova

Lab Matters Svetlana Dodonova is one of EMBL's newest group leaders, leading a team of researchers who will study how genetic material is organised inside cells using structural biology approaches.

Open data on the rise: the value of EMBL-EBI data resources

Lab Matters Independent study reveals that EMBL-EBI open data resources are critical for the life sciences.

Science for sustainability

Lab Matters The engagement of US and European Big Science facilities

Genomic sequencing to strengthen biodiversity

Science The Darwin Tree of Life project is an unprecedented initiative sequencing 70,000 species

Harnessing the microbiome to improve meat production

Science International project uses biomolecular data to improve animal feed and make meat production more sustainable

Novel enzymes for a Green Economy

Science Using metagenomic data to find novel enzymes for plastic degradation and beyond

Life sciences have key role in developing climate change solutions

Lab Matters EMBL attends COP26 to argue for strategy to involve molecular biology in the Green Recovery

Biophysics analysis made easy with an online tool

Science EMBL Hamburg’s Sample Preparation and Characterisation (SPC) Facility has released eSPC, an online platform for analysing data from biophysical experiments. The platform enables the scientific community to analyse data from different experiments without the need to travel.

Analysis and sorting with flow cytometry

Lab Matters A technology around since the ‘60s, flow cytometry has increasing applications. New leadership at EMBL’s flow cytometry facilities is looking to ease use, expand training, and encourage more collaboration.

EMBL reinforces collaboration with Belgian scientific community

Events EMBL has held a joint workshop with the Belgian Science Policy Office, BELSPO, underlining their long-standing collaboration and commitment to future cooperation.

BY-COVID – a new EU project for pandemic preparedness

Science The BY-COVID project aims to make infectious disease data, including COVID-19, openly available to everyone.

CRyPTIC: cataloguing drug resistance mutations in M. tuberculosis

Science Profiling M. tuberculosis strains from 27 countries to reveal causes of drug resistance.

The human genome, data sharing, and drug discovery: a career profile with Ian Dunham

Lab Matters Ian Dunham walks us through his career so far including working on the human genome project, seeing his work on the cover of Nature and his current role as Director of Open Targets.

Characterising protein phosphosite function at scale

Science Researchers develop a new high-throughput approach to assess the functional significance of protein phosphosites.

EMBL DG joins National Academy of Medicine

Lab Matters Professor Edith Heard is among new members elected to US National Academy of Medicine

How herpes seizes proteins’ means of production

Science The Graham and Crump groups at the University of Cambridge and the Svergun Group at EMBL Hamburg have discovered a mechanism by which the herpes simplex virus takes control of the molecular machinery of human cells. Their work reveals how a dedicated viral protein hijacks key host proteins, forcing…

Genomic tracking of the COVID-19 pandemic in England

Science Largest in-depth analysis of genomic data tracks the spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in England.

Tackling the collateral damage from antibiotics

Science Researchers from EMBL’s Typas group and collaborators have analysed the effects of 144 antibiotics on the wellbeing of gut microbes. The study improves our understanding of antibiotics’ side effects and suggests a new approach to mitigating the adverse effects of antibiotics therapy on gut…

When ‘good’ cells go ‘bad’

Science If researchers can identify specifically when good cells go bad, they can potentially understand disease better.

EMBL and Ifremer cooperate to advance ocean sciences

Lab Matters The two organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding to support scientific cooperation in the exploration of coastal and oceanic ecosystems.

EMBL welcomes young scientists

Lab Matters This autumn, students begin their PhD in research groups across EMBL’s six sites.

Six Ways to Protect the Planet Against Pandemics*

Events EMBL will host a conference to look at the state of the pandemic, lessons learned, and ways to improve pandemic preparedness. Here’s a sneak peek into what promises to be another interesting and informative EMBL conference.

From creating new antimicrobials to combating Alzheimer’s disease

Science Structural biology provides insights into the diverse functions of fibrous protein in humans, amphibians, and bacteria.

A cellular atlas of an entire worm

Science EMBL scientists and colleagues have developed an interactive atlas of the entire marine worm Platynereis dumerilii in its larval stage. The PlatyBrowser resource combines high-resolution gene expression data with volume electron microscopy images.

EMBL strengthens links with Estonia

Lab Matters A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between EMBL and the University of Tartu, a leading centre of research and training. The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation between EMBL and the life science research community in Estonia.

New microscopy technique makes deep in vivo brain imaging possible

Science Scientists in EMBL’s Prevedel Group have developed a pioneering microscopy technique that allows researchers to observe cells hidden within opaque tissues, such as live neurons embedded deep in the brain.

Transferable skills

Lab Matters In the lab, Diënty Hazenbrink works with microbes that live in our guts. In her free time, she enjoys wildlife photography. A shared set of skills facilitates both activities.

Celebrating Hungary-EMBL collaborations for life sciences research

Lab Matters EMBL and Hungarian research institutes will collaborate to address urgent biological and environmental challenges.

Proteins, art and seeing the world through a new lens

Lab Matters Hundreds of school children explore the beauty of proteins through art

The secret life of baby octopuses

Science Some of the most amazing creatures live in the deep blue sea. The Mesoscopic Imaging Facility (MIF) at EMBL Barcelona was recently involved in studying one unique feature of the octopus: the ephemeral structures on the surface of their skin called Kölliker’s organs.

EMBL and Helmholtz Health join forces

Lab Matters EMBL and Helmholtz Association have signed a memorandum of understanding. The expanded collaboration of both institutions will focus on research related to health.

Organoids and machine learning: image analysis software developed during lockdown

Science MOrgAna is an open source, user-friendly, modular software that is able to analyse organoids with machine learning.

Vision unveiled: new roles for the retina in visual processing

Research highlights, Science EMBL scientists have found evidence of an unexpected role for retinal cells in pre-processing visual information; their results provide potential opportunity for future prosthetic visual aids.

3D-Beacons Network: protein structure data, all in one place

Science 3D-Beacons Network acts as a one-stop shop for protein structures by combining and standardising data from several providers.

Charting a multi-omic universe

Science A research collaboration used machine learning to map tumour molecular make-up, potentially paving way to more customised cancer treatment.

Artificial neural networks revolutionise biological image analysis

Science Packaged for simple installation and free use, the novel method DECODE enables researchers to reduce imaging times and increase localisation density in single-molecule localisation microscopy (SMLM).

German Cross of Merit for former EMBL Director General

Alumni Former EMBL Director General Professor Iain Mattaj was awarded the German Cross of Merit (‘Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland’) at a ceremony held at EMBL Heidelberg on 9 September 2021.

New horizons for virtual learning

Events EMBL's science education department makes the latest scientific research more accessible for teachers and students.

Common medications accumulate in gut bacteria

Science A new collaborative study led by EMBL group leaders Kiran Patil, Nassos Typas, and Peer Bork has found that common medications accumulate in human gut bacteria. This process reduces drug effectiveness and affects the metabolism of common gut microbes, thereby altering the gut microbiome.

A flip book for biological systems

Science In the Mesoscopic Imaging Facility (MIF) at EMBL Barcelona, researchers study the details of biological systems in the context of organs, body parts, or entire organisms. This image shows OPTiSPIM1, one of the custom light-sheet microscope setups available at the facility.

The Spatial Mouse Atlas: new insights into cell fate

Science Researchers have combined spatial gene expression information with single-cell genomics data to create a high-resolution atlas of mouse organogenesis.

Cryo-Electron Microscopy Service Platform supports research on protein transport

Lab Matters Giulia Zanetti from the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB) in London explains how the collaboration with the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Service Platform enabled her group to reveal the structure of protein transport complexes.

Welcome: Liz Duke

Lab Matters The new team leader at EMBL Hamburg talks about her plans to establish biological X-ray imaging and high-throughput tomography.

Inspiring the next generation of life scientists

Lab Matters EMBL launches new mentoring opportunity, linking Master’s students with postdoctoral researchers.

Edith Heard elected to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard has been elected a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Her admission to the ‘Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine’ section recognises her outstanding professional contributions to science.

MASSIF-1 beamline in Grenoble supports COVID-19 drug discovery

Lab Matters MASSIF-1, run jointly by EMBL Grenoble and the ESRF, is a beamline for macromolecular crystallography. It is used by the research community to study the 3D structure of proteins, which is important for drug development.

Supporting EMBL and fundamental research

Alumni EMBL alumnus Angus Lamond reflects on the process of translating the importance of fundamental research – to EMBL and wider society.

All heart

Alumni A community of scientists is looking at the estimated three billion heart muscle cells in a human heart to better understand heart disease.

Peer Bork honoured with Novozymes Prize and ISCB Senior Scientist Award

Lab Matters Distinctions recognise Peer’s development and sharing of bioinformatics tools as well as his significant contributions to bioinformatics research, education, and services.

What lies beneath: the building blocks of life

Science Analysis of more than 2 million images has boosted understanding of ocean microbes, shedding light on the distribution of nitrogen-fixers at a global level

Studying coronavirus proteins using small-angle X-ray scattering at European XFEL

Science A collaboration led by EMBL Hamburg’s Svergun Group used small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at the European XFEL to obtain data on samples containing coronavirus spike proteins and antibodies that bind them.

DeepMind and EMBL release the most complete database of predicted 3D structures of human proteins

Science Partners use AlphaFold, the AI system recognised last year as a solution to the protein structure prediction problem, to release more than 350,000 protein structure predictions including the entire human proteome to the scientific community.

Accessible 3D protein models to accelerate scientific discovery

Science DeepMind and EMBL-EBI to make millions of protein structure predictions freely available to the scientific community.

Great expectations – the potential impacts of AlphaFold DB

Science A discussion of the applications that AlphaFold DB may enable and the possible impact of the resource on science and society.

The PROTACtable genome – a new route to drug discovery

Science Researchers establish a framework for identifying new drugs capable of exploiting a cell’s own machinery.

A black redstart visits

Lab Matters Mehdi Khadraoui, a former member of the EMBL Communications team, took this close-up of a black redstart.

EMBL Director General welcomes new EMBO Director

Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard has warmly welcomed Fiona Watt, who will become the new director of EMBO.

EMBL Alumni Awards 2021

Alumni EMBL alumni Ilaria Piazza and Ken Holmes have been recognised for their outstanding contributions, and will receive their awards as part of the celebrations for EMBL World Alumni Day.

A model of cooperation for transporting mRNA

Science EMBL scientists generate a high-resolution crystal structure of the Kinesin-1/aTm1 transport complex in the fruit fly.

From antibodies to nanoplastics

Science EMBL’s Melissa Graewert and colleagues are taking a structural biologist’s approach to better understanding nanoplastic particles.

A hidden medal

Alumni We all like a story about rediscovering treasures, right? Well, that’s just what happened recently at EMBL Grenoble!

New insights into Salmonella’s survival strategies

Science Research in the Typas group uncovers new details of the strategies Salmonella uses to survive in infected cells.

New life science Imaging Centre preparing for user access

Lab Matters The EMBL Imaging Centre is preparing for external user access, after an on-time and on-budget build and handover to the science team.

Welcome: Sarah Dyer

Lab Matters EMBL welcomes Sarah Dyer, the new Non-Vertebrate Genomics Team Leader at EMBL-EBI.

New head for EMBL’s Developmental Biology Unit

Lab Matters Dr Alexander Aulehla has been appointed the new Head of EMBL’s Developmental Biology Unit, and will take up the role starting in July 2021.

EMBL welcomes appointment of Maria Leptin as new President of the ERC

Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard has warmly welcomed the appointment of Professor Maria Leptin as the next President of the European Research Council (ERC)

Structural biology reveals new opportunities to combat tuberculosis

Science EMBL Hamburg’s Wilmanns and Kosinski groups have determined the detailed structure of a bacterial protein complex critical for tuberculosis infection.

Welcome: Anna Erzberger

Lab Matters Anna Erzberger, one of EMBL’s newest group leaders, will provide unique perspective as a theoretical biological physicist.

After the Lecture: Cultivating the information ecosystem

Events At an EMBL Science & Society lecture, science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt advocated for accurate, clear and contextual science communication.

Food safety, antibiotics, and a shrinking planet

Science After work in antimicrobial resistance, EMBL postdoc Laura Carroll is using machine learning for next-gen antibiotic development.

Illuminating protein complexes in cells

Lab Matters EMBL group leaders Julia Mahamid, Anna Kreshuk & Jonas Ries awarded Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant to advance what we see inside cells.

How our gut microbiome changes over time

Science Researchers investigate how external factors can influence the persistence of microbe species in the human gut

Visualising RNA structures using R2DT

Science New software enables scientists to visualise RNA secondary structures using the world’s largest RNA structure dataset.

EMBL scientists elected as EMBO Members

Lab Matters John Marioni, Alex Bateman, and Takashi Hiiragi have been elected to EMBO Membership.

EMBL external research community survey

Lab Matters EMBL is conducting an Impact Assessment of our experimental services to understand the value these services have for our external user community. If you have accessed EMBL experimental services at one or more of our facilities to support the conduct of your research, we would like to hear from you.

Molecular biology stepping up to solve environmental challenges

Lab Matters EMBL’s EU Green Week event showcased various ways molecular biology research can help solve environmental challenges.

The power of community

Lab Matters EMBL Director Matthias Hentze describes the Environmental Research Initiative: a community effort to solve global environmental challenges.

Living laboratories

Science Under the innovative Planetary Biology research theme, EMBL scientists aim to understand life in the context of its environment.

Joining forces to solve global challenges

Lab Matters EMBL and the Swedish Science for Life Laboratory sign agreement to advance science together.

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in England

Science The largest in-depth analysis of genomic surveillance data mapping out the dynamics of 62 lineages of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

EMBL scientists support malaria research

Science EMBL scientists support research on malaria by providing freely available data resources and using innovative experimental approaches. Our Course and Conference Office facilitates the exchange of knowledge in the field by hosting the annual BioMalPar conference.

Just the gist: Big data and pandemics in seven key points

Events EMBL’s most recent Science and Society seminar explored how best to harness big data to address multi-faceted issues of a pandemic.

Michael Zimmermann receives FEBS Anniversary Prize

Lab Matters The Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie has awarded a FEBS Anniversary Prize to Michael Zimmermann for his gut microbiome research.

How can we prepare for future pandemics?

Events Leading international experts gathered to showcase progress in the fight against COVID-19 and share lessons for the future.

Reshaping the cell membrane with molecular pegs

Science Researchers at EMBL Hamburg reveal how peg-like proteins clasp and reshape the cell membrane

Shaping the future of structural biology and X-ray imaging at EMBL Hamburg

Events A workshop run by EMBL Hamburg explored opportunities for structural biology at the future, upgraded PETRA IV synchrotron.

EMBL and Inserm to join forces

Lab Matters A memorandum of understanding has been signed between EMBL and Inserm to strengthen their scientific cooperation.

Artificial intelligence makes great microscopes better than ever

Science EMBL scientists have combined artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms with two cutting-edge microscopy techniques.

After the lecture: Zehra Sayers

Alumni Zehra Sayers explains what makes the SESAME synchrotron special, why we should not fear failure, and why curiosity is her biggest driver.

EMBL and Tara Ocean Foundation sail forward with formalised cooperation

Lab Matters The EMBL-Tara Ocean Foundation collaboration will expand opportunities to jointly explore molecular connections between ocean and humankind.

EMBL provides key infrastructure for COVID-19 drug screening project

Science EMBL Hamburg’s integrated structural biology facility has contributed to the success of a large-scale SARS-CoV-2 study

Piecing together the best reference genome

Science Researchers reveal the best technology for assembling reference genomes.

Uniting strengths to expand research

Lab Matters The European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Italian Institute of Technology have signed an agreement to expand the scope of their collaboration to include areas of mutual interest and in the context of EMBL’s 2022-2026 Programme “Molecules to Ecosystems”.

EMBL Director General elected to US National Academy of Sciences

Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard has been elected into the US National Academy of Sciences, recognising her contributions to research.

SARS-CoV-2 curtails immune response in the gut

Science EMBL scientists, together with collaborators from Heidelberg University, have provided further evidence of the gut’s role in COVID-19.

EMBL DG joins WHO Science Council

Lab Matters Edith Heard has been appointed to a new World Health Organization advisory council.

EMBL strengthens collaborations in the French academic landscape

Lab Matters A memorandum of understanding has been signed between EMBL, Collège de France, and the Institute of Biology of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS).

Different immune responses identified in patients with COVID-19

Science Researchers identify differences in immune response in asymptomatic COVID-19 cases compared to those with severe symptoms

Team Science: building diversity and inclusion in research

Lab Matters In a talk on 29 April, Professor Jeanette Woolard will share her experience of creating a more positive research culture

Combating emerging infectious diseases: lessons from COVID-19

Events EMBL and Portugal are bringing together leading scientists to highlight the role of fundamental research in tackling infectious diseases.

Using metagenomic techniques to explore lichens

Science Researchers have used a metagenomics approach to piece together the genomes of yeasts found in wild lichens.

The value of open data for Latin American science

Science Scientists from the CABANA project explore how open data is benefiting global research efforts.

Structural biology at EMBL: driving technology development

Lab Matters Florent Cipriani, who recently retired as Head of the Instrumentation Team after a long career at EMBL Grenoble, is one of the pioneers of instrumentation development in this field.

Repurposing drugs to manage COVID-19 progression

Science Researchers use large-scale human genetic studies to identify drug targets important for managing COVID-19 in its early stages

EMBL Hamburg lights the way to folding next-level origami

Science Using EMBL Hamburg’s world-class structural biology infrastructure, researchers advance the folding of protein ‘origami’ designed in the lab.

Linking genetics and age-related diseases

Science Researchers have used human medical and genetic data from UK Biobank to investigate the genetics of age-related diseases

Welcome: Matthew Hartley

Lab Matters The challenges and opportunities when setting up a global archive for bioimages

From molecules to ecosystems: EMBL and IAB sign memorandum of understanding

Lab Matters This MoU formalises a 15-year collaboration between the two institutes and strengthens Grenoble as a European research centre in the life sciences.

New perspectives for treating psychiatric disorders

Science Scientists have determined the structure of Glycine Transporter 1. The finding could open new avenues for developing therapeutics for psychiatric disorders

Welcome: Ana Boskovic

Lab Matters The new group leader at EMBL Rome will study how embryos can inherit non-genetic information from their parents that causes stable and heritable effects

Coronavirus vaccine uses EMBL’s earliest virus research

Alumni EMBL alumnus Kai Simons did early work with Semliki Forest virus membranes, which is now central to a COVID-19 vaccine.

VAAM Research Award for Nassos Typas

Lab Matters Nassos Typas has received the German VAAM Research Award.

From mRNA researcher to BioNTech manager

Alumni EMBL alumnus Pawel Masiewicz has transferred skills and experience gained at EMBL to oversee starting materials for mRNA vaccine development.

Wolfgang Huber becomes ISCB Fellow

Lab Matters The contribution of EMBL Group Leader and Senior Scientist Wolfgang Huber has been recognised by the International Society for Computational Biology

After the lecture: Tracey Brown

Lab Matters Tracey Brown from Sense about Science shares her thoughts on the need to empower women to share and access scientific information.

EMBL prepares women postdocs for leadership

Lab Matters Members of EMBL’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee explain how EMBL is choosing to challenge through its LEAP mentoring programme.

Induced pluripotent stem cells reveal causes of disease

Science Scientists in the Stegle group and colleagues have studied induced pluripotent stem cells from around 1,000 donors to identify correlations between individual genetic variants and altered gene expression. They linked more than 4,000 of the genetic variants responsible for altered expression…

Pfam releases structures for every protein family

Science Thousands of new protein structure models, prected using deep learning, now available to explore

From crisis to recovery: achieving an equal future in a post-COVID-19 world

Lab Matters EMBL invites Simon Gallow, an advocate at UN Women UK, to give a talk marking International Women’s Day.

New avenues for eradicating cancer

Science A new method has the potential to boost international research efforts to find drugs that eradicate cancer at its source.

Bridging Excellence: a unique transatlantic opportunity for postdocs

Lab Matters Applications are now open for the Life Science Alliance’s Bridging Excellence Fellowships, enabling postdocs to carry out collaborative projects at EMBL and Stanford University.

The European Climate Pact: EMBL plays its part

Lab Matters EMBL's Environmental Officer Brendan Rouse explains more about his role as a European Climate Pact Ambassador.

Welcome: Sinem Saka

Lab Matters As one of EMBL’s newest group leaders, Sinem Saka will combine multiple technologies, such as microscopy and single-cell omics, to solve biological puzzles.

Human genomes provide new reference for global genetic diversity

Science A collaboration including EMBL scientists has created the most diverse set of reference human genomes ever assembled.

Reflecting on allyship as women in science

Lab Matters Being a woman in science takes allies, not just great science. Here, EMBL’s L’Oréal–UNESCO Fellows talk about support networks.

Feldberg Prize for Anne Ephrussi

Lab Matters Anne Ephrussi has been awarded the German Feldberg Prize 2022 in recognition of her outstanding research.

SPC Facility in Hamburg supports a new pan-European consortium

Lab Matters The Sample Preparation and Characterisation (SPC) Facility at EMBL Hamburg is one of the founding members of the Molecular-Scale Biophysics Research Infrastructure (MOSBRI). Within this new European initiative, the SPC Facility will offer services related to membrane proteins, protein complexes,…

Welcome to EMBL: Gautam Dey

Lab Matters Gautam Dey is fascinated by the evolutionary origins of the nucleus, and is looking forward to making the most of EMBL's infrastructure.

The thousands of viruses living in your gut

Science Scientists identify more than 140 000 virus species in the human gut; more than half have never been seen before

Allyship and support: an interview with Janet Thornton

Lab Matters Professor Dame Janet Thornton discusses work–life balance, the support she has received during her career, and how organisations can help staff during the COVID-19 pandemic

A new piece of the HIV infection puzzle explored

Science Researchers from EMBL and Heidelberg University Hospital combine high-resolution imaging to observe the infection process in cell nuclei, opening the door for new therapeutics.

Finding coronavirus’s helper proteins

Science A team of EMBL scientists and colleagues have analysed how the novel coronavirus affects proteins in human cells. They identified several human proteins as potential drug targets to prevent viral replication.

Understanding Earth’s oceans together

Lab Matters EMBL and EMBRC have signed a memorandum of understanding for increased scientific collaboration.

Coding between the vines

Lab Matters EMBL Teen Maria-Theresa Licka shares how female scientists guided & inspired her to develop an app to ID vine disease.

Protein sequences provide clues to how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells

Science Researchers at EMBL Heidelberg have identified sequences in human proteins that might be used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells. They have discovered that the virus might hijack certain cellular processes, and they discuss potentially relevant drugs for treating COVID-19.

Opinion: Allyship and Women in Science

Lab Matters Roshni Mooneeram discusses what Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is to her, and what the meaning of allyship is.

A better look at a human RNA polymerase

Science New EMBL research shows where & to what degree a component of cellular machinery known as RNA Pol III is mutated and becomes problematic.

At the core of the Integrator complex

Science A new paper from the Galej group at EMBL Grenoble describes the structure of key parts of the Integrator complex, involved in gene expression.

Show your support for open COVID-19 data

Lab Matters Open letter galvanises life science community in support of open COVID-19 data

Insights into the new B.1.1.7 coronavirus lineage

Science A new lineage of coronavirus was first identified in the UK, but why is it spreading much more rapidly within the population?

Strengthening collaborations in Italy

Lab Matters EMBL and CNR have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen scientific cooperation. The agreement will foster collaborative projects and integrate them within the European and global scientific landscape.

Issue #51 of Science in School now available

Lab Matters The latest issue of Science in School highlights the eight members of EIROforum.

Welcome: Nicoletta Petridou

Lab Matters New group leader Nicoletta Petridou explains her fascination with the complexity of early embryo development, and how the interdisciplinary nature of EMBL will aid her research.

The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage

Science A note on the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which has first been described in the U.K. and has spread to 57 countries. The note summarises epidemiological information about the spread of B.1.1.7 in the U.K. collated and in part conducted by researchers from EMBL-EBI.

DKFZ and EMBL intensify cooperation

Lab Matters EMBL and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg are increasing their already existing collaborations with a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.

Monitoring dangerous bacteria in freshwater

Science Freshwater sports can cause waterborne infections, but real-time DNA sequencing could help.

EMBL courses and conferences: learning lessons and looking ahead

Events EMBL has a packed schedule of courses and conferences for 2021, ready to go ahead virtually, regardless of limitations on physical gatherings

Welcome: Timo Zimmermann

Lab Matters The EMBL Imaging Centre is scheduled to open in 2021 with Timo Zimmermann as Team Leader for advanced light microscopy technology development and service provision.

Welcome: Olivier Duss

Lab Matters One of EMBL’s newest group leaders, Olivier Duss, will explore how RNA folds into functional structures and how it works with proteins to control a diverse range of activities in the cell.

Toadlet peptide transforms into a deadly weapon against bacteria

Science Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and EMBL Hamburg, in collaboration with scientists in Israel and Spain, have discovered remarkable molecular properties of an antimicrobial peptide from the skin of the Australian toadlet. The discovery could inspire the development of…

EMBL becomes newest Instruct Centre

Lab Matters EMBL’s sites in Grenoble, Hamburg, and Heidelberg form the newest Instruct Centre. The new centre offers users access to a broad range of state-of-the-art facilities.

Opinion: Scientific disagreements aren’t new to COVID

Science Understanding why disagreement is good for COVID science. EMBL Deputy Director General Ewan Birney offers tips for sorting through the discourse.

In kefir, microbial teamwork makes the dream work

Science Researchers discovered the dominant species of bacteria in kefir grains cannot endure without other species that help the 'team' survive.

Discover the wonderful world of proteins: first virtual PDB Art exhibition

Lab Matters Schoolchildren create exquisite protein-inspired artworks

Darwin Tree of Life: looking back on 2020

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.

How EMBL alumni created a groundbreaking vaccine technology

Alumni The story of a life-long friendship and a professional partnership that sowed the seeds for a ground-breaking vaccine technology.

Stronger together

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…

EMBL and the European Commission refresh longstanding collaboration

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.

EMBL Scientific Visitor Programme opens eyes and doors

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.

Heating proteins to understand how genes work

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.

EMBL group leader Miki Ebisuya receives ERC Consolidator Grant

Lab Matters Funding by the European Research Council (ERC) will support research on the timing of developmental processes in mammals

Seeing deeper inside cells

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.

Solving the protein structure puzzle

Science How artificial intelligence can help us solve the mysteries of the protein universe

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative recognises EMBL scientists

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.

Scratching the surface on cell differentiation

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…

Tackling tropical diseases

Science Members of the EMBL community are working to improve our understanding of the parasites that cause malaria and sleeping sickness

EMBL facilities support development of RNA vaccines

Science Biotechnology company BioNTech and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz conduct collaborative research with EMBL scientists at the beamline P12 in Hamburg

Repurposing bioinformatics tools to tackle the pandemic

Science Bioinformaticians at EMBL-EBI and beyond are adapting computational tools to investigate coronavirus genomes and proteins.

Science and society: global youth activism

Events At EMBL’s Science and Society conference, Ugandan campaigner Vanessa Nakate spoke about the need to take action on climate change.

Microbiomes help predict the future of the Atlantic

Science Microbiomes, plastics, and connectivity – AtlantECO aims to understand the fabric of the Atlantic Ocean.

Replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2 in 3D

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.

Statement on recent paper on mentorships in academia

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.

Sharing our vision for the future

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.

ARISE fellowship programme readying for applications

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.

Scientists identify synthetic mini-antibody to combat COVID-19

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…

Should I run, or should I not? The neural basis of aggression and flight

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.

Bringing AI out of the black box

Lab Matters Why should researchers make artificial intelligence more transparent and how can they do it?

EOSC: shaping Europe’s digital future

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.

Open data sharing accelerates COVID-19 research

Science Open access data benefits millions of scientists around the world and is essential for a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

EMBL forms new collaborations in France

Lab Matters EMBL and CIML have signed a memorandum of understanding that will open up new scientific opportunities.

Taking charge by seeking ways to achieve gender balance

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.

Welcome: Meytal Landau

Lab Matters New associate group leader at EMBL Hamburg investigates the structure of functional amyloids in bacteria and in human disease

Repurposing drugs for a pan-coronavirus treatment

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…

Respecting diversity: the role of the scientist

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.

Seeing evolution happening before your eyes

Science Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg have established an automated pipeline to create mutations in genomic enhancers, letting them watch evolution unfold before their eyes.

How deadly parasites ‘glide’ into human cells

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.

EMBL strengthens collaboration with Spanish research

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.

Beyond the lens – microscopy at EMBL Rome

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…

Powerful genome editing tool recognised by Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Science The genome editing tool CRISPR–Cas9 – which plays a critical role in EMBL’s research – was recognised by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Deep learning captures cell cycle

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.

New partnership in Lithuania

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.

Boosting the life sciences through alumni networks

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…

The Nordic EMBL Partnership: supporting national research

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…

Dinosaurs, dodos, and the future of life on Earth

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.

Human and mouse cells run at different speeds

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.

Indirect impacts of a pandemic on women in 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.

Level up!

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

Fighting cardiovascular disease with acne drug

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.

Achieving personalised therapeutics

Lab Matters A decadal roadmap points the way to cell-based medicine for Europe

Genome sequencing accelerates cancer detection

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.

Looking forward

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

Supporting the alumni community

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.

EMBL scientists receive prestigious ERC Starting Grants

Lab Matters Maria Bernabeu and Wojciech Galej have each been awarded €1.5 million to research malaria and pre-mRNA splicing, respectively.

Nuclear pores in their natural context

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.

How to remove unwanted components from the cell nucleus

Science Researchers have uncovered how cells remove unwanted components from the nucleus following mitosis.

An organoid cell atlas to enhance biomedical research

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

Eat more to grow more arms…if you’re a sea anemone

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.

EMBL Fellows’ Career Service celebrates first birthday

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.

Intelligent software tackles plant cell jigsaw

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.

Royal Microscopical Society award for Yannick Schwab

Lab Matters The Head of the Electron Microscopy Core Facility at EMBL Heidelberg receives Mid-Career Scientific Achievement Award 2020

COVID-19’s indirect attack on women

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.

Training the next generation of molecular biologists

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.

Upgraded beamlines at EMBL Grenoble unveiled

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.

Welcome: Simone Mattei

Lab Matters The new team leader offering services in electron microscopy discusses his hopes and plans for the forthcoming EMBL Imaging Centre

Welcome: Geetika Malhotra

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.

New clues to a 500-year old mystery about the human heart

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.

Predicting how gene expression varies

Science Discoveries at EMBL will help researchers to interpret one of the most common types of experiments in genomics and medical studies.

Flexible and protected – new findings on SARS-CoV-2 protein shed light on virus’s ability to infect cells

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.

Arrivederci Phil!

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

Bridging artificial intelligence and the life sciences – launch of ELLIS Heidelberg

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…

The curious genome of the tuatara, an ancient reptile in peril

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.

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

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…

Visualising the cell’s molecular machinery in action

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.

Europe PMC: unlocking the potential of COVID-19 preprints

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.

EMBL releases online course on solution scattering from biological macromolecules

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.

Understanding chromosome organisation

Science EMBL scientists and collaborators help reveal the process by which enormous quantities of DNA are folded into cells.

Artificial intelligence finds patterns of mutations and survival in tumour images

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.

A tool to improve cancer research

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.

Unparalleled inventory of the human gut ecosystem

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.

Response to the proposed compromise on the EC’s Multiannual Financial Framework

Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard and EMBO Director Maria Leptin respond to the current proposal on the Multiannual Financial Framework.

Funding to predict the risk of infectious disease outbreaks

Lab Matters European collaboration receives funding to explore risks and impact of future infectious disease outbreaks.

Changes in senior roles at EMBL

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.

Applications for virtual learning lab open

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’.

Latvia becomes EMBL prospect member state

Lab Matters Latvia has joined EMBL as a prospect member, starting a three-year process toward full membership.

Two EMBL scientists become EMBO Members

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.

ALPX – smart crystallography

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

What COVID-19 is teaching us

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.

Edith Heard elected senator of the Max Planck Society

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…

From stem cells to neurons

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…

Restructure of senior management

Lab Matters The governing Council of EMBL has approved Director General Edith Heard’s restructure of senior management with effect from 1 July 2020.

Unravelling epigenetic reprogramming

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…

Welcome: Ellie McDonagh

Lab Matters Open Targets welcomes new Informatics Science Director

EMBL boosts national and international sharing of genomic data

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.

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

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…

Existing drugs can prevent SARS-CoV-2 from hijacking cells

Science Researchers evaluate how the new coronavirus rewires human proteins for its own replication, and identify several antiviral drugs ready for clinical trials

Five things you probably didn’t know about the Human Genome Project

Science Today we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first draft of the entire human genome.

Sharing our passion for science with the world

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.

Silencing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor with epigenetic modifications

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…

Unpicking the complexity of DNA mutations

Science DNA damage caused by chemical mutagens is not repaired immediately and can create more genetic diversity in tumours.

Equality and diversity at EMBL

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…

EMBL survey studies effects of COVID-19 pandemic on life scientists

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.

Closing the gender gap

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…

Investigating the structure and mechanisms of coronavirus biomolecules

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…

Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 behaves in the gut

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…

Life sciences open their doors for engineers

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.

Improving our response to emerging pandemics

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…

Blood pressure drug improves response to cancer therapy

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.

New insights into epigenetic modifications

Science Scientists at EMBL Rome unveil the mechanism behind the most studied epigenetic modification.

Genetic cut and paste at atomic resolution

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…

Shining high-brilliance beams on coronavirus structure

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…

Re-trafficking proteins to fight Salmonella infections

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…

Enabling functional genomics studies in individual cells

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,…

Novel method sheds new light on tumour-suppressing RNA

Science 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

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…

Distinguishing coronavirus genome mutations from inadvertent errors

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.

The hunt for neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

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…

EMBL scientists investigate rare lung disease

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…

Welcome: Georgia Rapti

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.

Tracing the origins of cells

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.

EMBL welcomes NetApp in its Corporate Partner Programme

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.

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

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…

EMBL SPC facility supports COVID-19 projects

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…

DNA damage and faulty repair jointly cause mutations

Science DNA mutations are caused by a combination of DNA damage and repair, shows study by EMBL-EBI and collaborators.

Responding to health threats posed by coronaviruses

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.

Nordic EMBL Partnership awarded €210,000 funding

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.

Remote access to EMBL structural biology pipelines to support research on SARS-CoV-2

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.

Taking a closer look at infected cells to better understand COVID-19

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.

Understanding the influenza virus

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…

Exploring synthetic antibodies to stop coronavirus

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.

Helping researchers identify host proteins used by coronavirus

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.

Why share data during a pandemic?

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.

EMBL hosts its first virtual conference

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.

EMBL statement on Earth Day 2020

Lab Matters To address global challenges, we need to better understand life in the context of environmental change, says EMBL Director General Edith Heard

Welcome: Brendan Rouse

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.

Unprecedented single-cell studies in virtual embryo

Science Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg have created a complete description of early embryo development, accounting for every single cell in the embryo.

EMBL-EBI launches COVID-19 Data Portal

Science The new collaborative space will help scientists, public health and healthcare professionals around the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Supporting international research on the structure of the coronavirus