Computational protein design and protein structure prediction win Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Science & Technology Creators of AI system AlphaFold receive 2024 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
2024
sciencescience-technology
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‘Exhausted’ immune cells in healthy women could be target for breast cancer prevention
Science & Technology New study uncovers the potential of immunotherapy in preventing breast cancer and creates the openly available Human Breast Cell Atlas.
2024
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
Sense makers: how standards are enabling data reuse
People & Perspectives Data standards that have been silently enabling discovery in the life sciences for decades are now making AI advances possible.
2024
people-perspectivesperspectivesscience
AI annotations increase patent data in SureCheMBL
AI annotations added to the SureChEMBL database increase the depth of data made available to users.
2024
sciencetechnology-and-innovation
The AI revolution hinges on accessible training
People & Perspectives Team Leader Sameer Velankar on why accessible training is key for AlphaFold and AI tools more generally.
2024
people-perspectivesperspectivesscience
Casting new light on gene regulation in development
Science & Technology New research from EMBL Heidelberg shows how cells in developing embryos undergo a major shift in the way they regulate gene expression as they mature and differentiate.
2024
sciencescience-technology
The malaria parasite generates genetic diversity using an evolutionary ‘copy-paste’ tactic
Science & Technology Plasmodium falciparum, a malaria parasite, uses gene conversion to produce genetic diversity in two surface protein genes targeted by the human immune system.
2024
announcementssciencescience-technology
Team SAMBAI: addressing cancer disparities in recent African heritage populations
Science & Technology An international team of researchers aim to combine social determinants of health with genomics, immune profiling, and exposomics data to tackle cancer inequities at an unprecedented scale.
2024
announcementssciencescience-technology
Studying the relationship between cancer-promoting proteins
Science & Technology A new study from the Bhogaraju Group at EMBL Grenoble reveals how the cancer-promoting MAGE family of proteins bind to their targets, aiding the development of anti-cancer drugs that target these proteins.
2024
sciencescience-technology
TREC in 2024: bringing it home
Science & Technology The Traversing European Coastlines (TREC) expedition prepares to begin its next phase of sampling, with stops in Spain, Greece, Italy, and beyond.
2024
sciencescience-technology
ProteomicsML: empowering proteomics research with machine learning
Streamlining proteomics data access for machine learning applications.
2024
sciencetechnology-and-innovation
Ancient ‘relaxant-inflammatory’ response gets sponges moving
Science & Technology Sponges lack muscles and neurons. Yet, they make coordinated movements. Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have discovered that sponge movement is controlled by an ancient ‘relaxant-inflammatory’ response that is also present in vertebrate blood vessels. The findings shed light on sponge physiology…
2024
sciencescience-technology
RNA to rule them all
Science & Technology The Kosinski Group at EMBL Hamburg collaborated with other groups in Hamburg to reveal critical steps in Lassa virus ribonucleoparticle assembly and recruitment, and the crucial role played by RNA in in the Lassa virus life cycle.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Unveiling the vulnerabilities of pulmonary neuroendocrine tumours
Science & Technology A new organoid model mimics the behaviour of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), providing a novel and invaluable tool to study the disease in the lab.
2023
sciencescience-technology
‘X-ray vision’ for investigation of mRNA nanomedicines
Science & Technology EMBL Hamburg, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Postnova Analytics GmbH, and BioNTech SE have developed a new method to quantitatively investigate sizes of nanoparticles containing mRNA. It may become an important part of regular characterisation of mRNA nanomedicines in the future.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Using artificial intelligence to discover therapeutic antibodies
Science & Technology Former EMBL staff scientist founds a start-up – DenovAI – for broader, faster and cheaper antibody discovery using advanced machine learning and computational biophysics.
2023
sciencescience-technology
The Global Biodiversity Portal: enabling biodiversity research worldwide
Science & Technology The new initiative brings together genomic data from various biodiversity projects to aid conservation and biodiversity efforts.
2023
announcementssciencescience-technology
Hamburg collaboration paves the way to cleaner technologies for industry
Science & Technology An interdisciplinary collaboration between Hamburg scientists has yielded new insights into the structure and function of a heat-resistant enzyme from an exotic microbe. In this interview, EMBL Hamburg’s Matthias Wilmanns and TUHH’s Garo Antranikian discuss how their collaboration developed and…
2023
sciencescience-technology
New evidence on retinal function
Science & Technology A new study from the Asari group at EMBL Rome shows a different retinal function in awake mice compared to isolated retinal samples. These new insights could help to develop prosthetic devices that can act as a retina in the future.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Spotlight: Creating an artificial uterus
Science & Technology EMBL researchers have created an engineered uterus that allows a closer look at a mouse embryo’s development and its interactions with the uterine environment.
2023
picture-of-the-weeksciencescience-technology
EMBL scientists receive prestigious ERC Synergy Grants
EMBL Announcements Jan Kosinski, Julia Mahamid, and Georg Zeller have received grants to enable ambitious projects aimed at mapping the cellular protein synthesis machinery in context and understanding complex host-microbiome interactions, respectively.
2023
embl-announcementsscience
A promising target to fight inflammatory bowel diseases
Science & Technology Researchers from the Cusack group at EMBL Grenoble provide structural insights on the XIAP/RIPK2 complex, a promising drug target to fight inflammatory bowel diseases.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Fighting antimicrobial resistance with new drug combinations
Science & Technology In an extensive investigation, EMBL researchers have tested over 10,000 drug combinations against some of the leading pathogenic bacteria carrying antimicrobial resistance and causing mortality.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Spotlight: Seeing into the seas
Science & Technology A new method developed by EMBL scientists can help us identify and investigate plankton species in field samples with greater speed, accuracy, and resolution than ever possible before.
2023
sciencescience-technology
mRNA nanomedicines scoop Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Science & Technology Pioneers of the mRNA nanomedicines technology receive 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or medicine. EMBL is pleased to have supported the development of the application of the mRNA nanomedicine technology through our long-standing collaboration with BioNTech, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and…
2023
sciencescience-technology
EMBL receives German AI prize
EMBL Announcements EMBL receives the German AI prize awarded for outstanding services to the research and development as well as application and commercialisation of artificial intelligence (AI) in life science research.
2023
embl-announcementsscience
Global guidelines to improve the quality of microscopy images in scientific publications
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Switching off the cytokine storm
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Uncovering the mechanisms underlying lack of response to immunotherapy
Science & Technology New research improves understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind why some cancers respond to immunotherapy and others don't.
2023
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
Revealing the secrets of protein evolution using the AlphaFold database
Science & Technology Researchers use the AlphaFold database and Foldseek Cluster algorithm to analyse millions of predicted protein structures and offer new insights into protein evolution.
2023
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
Understanding how cells avoid obstacles
Science & Technology EMBL researchers have identified a novel mechanism that allows cells to sense obstacles in their path and avoid them while navigating complex environments.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Swordfish sword under X-rays: SAXS explained
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Spotlight: Off to the pole
Science & Technology 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
2023
picture-of-the-weeksciencescience-technology
From data management to AI: an interview with Laura Clarke
People & Perspectives Experience in data management and coordination has enabled EMBL alumna Laura Clarke to pursue a career in AI development.
2023
people-perspectivesperspectivesscience
Open data to power up the blue economy
People & Perspectives EMBL-EBI Senior Scientist Rob Finn explains why data coordination and sharing are fundamental for a sustainable blue economy.
2023
people-perspectivesperspectivesscience
Novel algorithm able to detect mutations in single-cell sequencing data sets
Science & Technology SComatic enables researchers to link genotype to phenotype using only single-cell profiling data
2023
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
New therapies to improve cardiovascular health
Science & Technology EMBL researchers have made new strides into understanding and reversing genetic defects that underlie familial heart disease.
2023
sciencescience-technology
A glimpse into the hexasome: 40 years on
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
The power of cell sorting: understanding heart disease, phase separation, plankton, and more
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Facilitating drug discovery against COVID-19
Science & Technology A collaboration between EMBL Grenoble and EBRIS scientists led to the characterisation of a new compound with promising activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
2023
sciencescience-technology
DECIPHER database for rare diseases joins EMBL-EBI
EMBL Announcements Closer collaborations with EMBL-EBI data resources set to further develop and grow this unique rare disease platform.
2023
announcementsembl-announcementsscience
Pathogens Portal: The new gateway to public pathogen data
Science & Technology Enabling researchers worldwide to share and analyse pathogen data generated across the world
2023
sciencescience-technologytechnology-and-innovation
Bringing research on disordered proteins to order
Science & Technology 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…
2023
sciencescience-technology
Supporting the development of hologenomic approaches for more sustainable animal feeds
Science & Technology HoloFood, the first consistent collection of multiomic data about chicken and salmon gut microbiomes, set to enable the development of better animal feeds.
2023
sciencescience-technologytechnology-and-innovation
The speed of life: a zoo of cells to study developmental time
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Genomic medicine: ushering in a new era in healthcare
Science & Technology EMBL-EBI data resources are being used to deliver thousands of genetic diagnostics to patients every month.
2023
perspectivessciencescience-technology
ProtVar: understanding missense variation in humans
Science & Technology A new tool for the interpretation of missense variation in humans – ProtVar – will help enable drug discovery.
2023
sciencescience-technologytechnology-and-innovation
A more diverse human reference genome
Science & Technology The human pangenome – one of the most complete collections of genome sequences released so far – captures rich human diversity.
2023
announcementssciencescience-technology
Time-resolved crystallography for the masses
Science & Technology 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…
2023
sciencescience-technology
MAPLE: a phylogenetic tool for pandemic-scale genome data
Science & Technology EMBL-EBI researchers have developed a new tool capable of performing state-of-the-art phylogenetic inference on larger datasets than previously thought possible.
2023
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
TREC is underway!
EMBL Announcements 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.
2023
embl-announcementseventsscience
Shining light on the mechanics of embryo development
Lab MattersScience & Technology 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.
2023
lab-matterssciencescience-technology
The ‘long read’ for cancer
Using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing, EMBL scientists sequenced a primary childhood brain tumour known as a medulloblastoma, uncovering a novel complex mutation pattern.
2023
science
Large-scale study enables new insights into rare eye disorders
EMBL-EBI researchers use UK Biobank data to uncover new information about rare diseases of the eye.
2023
research-highlightsscience
Open data for biodiversity: an EMBL-EBI 2022 round-up
As major biodiversity projects ramp up, EMBL-EBI enables genomic data sharing for all species.
2023
perspectivesscience
Shedding light on rare diseases: open data and model organisms
Why open data from model organisms is essential for rare disease research.
2023
perspectivesscience
A human interactome to prioritise drug discovery
Researchers create a network of interacting proteins – or interactome – to aid drug discovery.
2023
research-highlightsscience
Studying epigenetic regulation at the single-molecule level
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.
2023
science
Case study: AlphaFold uses open data and AI to discover the 3D protein universe
Open data played a pivotal role in the development of the AlphaFold AI. The same open principles now apply to AlphaFold predictions.
2023
perspectivesscience
New evolutionary insights from stepping outside the lab
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.
2023
science
Solving the structure of a critical molecular editor
EMBL Grenoble scientists provide new insights into the function of an essential RNA editing enzyme.
2023
science
BlueRemediomics: harnessing marine microbes to promote a circular bioeconomy
Funding awarded for developing tools to harness marine microbiome data for biotechnological applications and ecosystem services.
2023
announcementsscience
Leveraging long-read sequencing for cancer genomics
Genomic sequencing and big data analysis are two novel technologies driving researchers’ understanding of the complexities of cancer.
2023
perspectivesscience
AI helps scientists decipher cellular structures
New artificial intelligence tool adds speed and detailed cellular information to analysis of cryo-electron tomography to aid researchers’ understanding of inner cell workings.
2023
science
Machine learning to identify and prioritise drug targets
Science & Technology Open Targets is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and prioritise drug targets.
2023
sciencescience-technologytechnology-and-innovation
Darwin Tree of Life: first 500 genome assemblies released as project creates a buzz
Science & Technology We look back through some of the 2022 highlights from the Darwin Tree of Life project.
2023
perspectivessciencescience-technology
New molecular insights on medical cannabis
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
Step-by-step guide to nuclear pore complex assembly
Science & Technology 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.
2023
sciencescience-technology
BOSS-RUNS: streamlining dynamic nanopore sequencing
Science & Technology A new method developed by EMBL-EBI researchers helps to streamline nanopore sequencing in real-time.
2023
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
EMBL-EBI databases considered critical to life sciences
Open data resources that enable global research and development recognised by the Global Biodata Coalition.
2022
announcementsscience
Developmental cell atlas uncovers new cell states
Unveiling a useful tool for understanding human lung development.
2022
research-highlightsscience
Getting closer to stopping toxoplasmosis infection
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Genomic Data Infrastructure – integrating genomics into healthcare
EMBL-EBI supports new European Commission project set to support the use of genomics in research and healthcare.
2022
announcementsscience
Open Targets consortium welcomes Genentech as newest member
Open Targets announces that Genentech will become the seventh partner in the drug discovery and validation consortium.
2022
announcementsscience
Open science for climate justice
Our experts discuss the importance of open science for food security and preserving global biodiversity.
2022
perspectivesscience
New molecular microscopy uncovers how breast cancer spreads
Researchers have created a tool that maps in previously unseen detail how breast cancer develops and spreads.
2022
research-highlightsscience
AlphaFold applications – a community assessment
Researchers use social media to share findings on how useful AlphaFold predictions are for different applications.
2022
research-highlightsscience
AI4LIFE: AI models for bioimaging
Researchers across EMBL are helping to make artificial intelligence (AI) models for bioimaging analysis interoperable and openly available to the scientific community.
2022
announcementsscience
Plankton zombies for Halloween!
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.
2022
science
Mapping the human brain: a global collaboration
NIH BRAIN Initiative to fund brain atlases, network coordination, and knowledge sharing to explore brain function research.
2022
announcementsscience
The power of light: folding 3D tissues
EMBL Barcelona researchers have developed a tool that can use light to control the shape of cells .
2022
science
Funding for researchers working on plastic recycling enzymes
EMBL-EBI’s MGnify data resource helps researchers find enzymes for novel applications.
2022
announcementsscience
Light-Seq: from images to sequences in context
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
2022
science
Biodiversity Genomics Europe: addressing biodiversity loss through genomics
European experts gather to launch a project that aims to characterise and conserve life on Earth using DNA data.
2022
announcementsscience
Seeing antibiotics in action inside a pathogenic bacterium
Science & Technology New research by EMBL scientists shows at atomic detail how antibiotics affect the process of protein production inside bacteria.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Combi-seq: a leap forward for personalised cancer therapy
Science & Technology Researchers have come up with a way to test the efficacy of hundreds of anticancer drug combinations – simultaneously, rapidly, and accurately.
2022
sciencescience-technology
European institutes commit to data access across borders
Connections The Federated EGA is set to improve access to sensitive human data in a safe and secure way.
2022
announcementsconnectionsscience
Does exercise drive development? In the sea anemone, the way you move matters.
Science & Technology 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
2022
sciencescience-technology
When microbiomes collide
Science & Technology EMBL researchers used data from over 300 human faecal microbiota transplants to gain an ecological understanding of what happens when two gut microbiomes clash.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Building the ideal limb
Science & Technology EMBL researchers use a “fearless” computer reconstruction and a two-centuries-old mathematical approach to study limb bud growth.
2022
sciencescience-technology
AlphaFold: where will the next AI breakthrough come from?
People & Perspectives 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.
2022
people-perspectivesperspectivesscience
CNest: a new method for copy number variation analysis
Science & Technology A new method for the robust analysis of copy number variation and used UK Biobank data to identify links between genome and disease.
2022
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
New antibiotic resistance genes identified in tuberculosis
Science & Technology International consortium analyses the genetic sequences and antibiotic susceptibility of 10,000 global Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates.
2022
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
Making patterns visible
Science & Technology How do gene expression patterns result in the generation of different cell types? Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg used the zebrafish notochord to find out.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Zooming in to get the full picture
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Shining a light on how bacteria interact
Science & Technology Machine learning has helped researchers uncover new insights into how bacteria infect host cells.
2022
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
AlphaFold predicts structure of almost every catalogued protein known to science
Science & Technology AlphaFold database offers a look at 3D protein universe.
2022
sciencescience-technologytechnology-and-innovation
The retron switch
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Priorities for ocean microbiome research
Science & Technology Microbial communities play essential roles in ocean ecology and planetary health. A recent publication highlights priorities for understanding and protecting ocean microbiomes.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Uncharted territories in the human genome
Science & Technology Scientists identify previously unexplored gene segments to be added to human genome databases.
2022
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
The new heroics of RNA in cell differentiation
Science & Technology EMBL research with Enolase 1 (ENO1) points to a possible new way to understand RNA’s leading role in how cells develop.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Puzzling out the structure of a molecular giant
Science & Technology 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
sciencescience-technology
Shaping up the genome for cell division
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Impact of DNA mutations on blood cell production uncovered
Science & Technology Researchers discover how DNA mutations change blood cell production and how this relates to ageing and cancer development.
2022
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
A machine learning approach for allocating gene function
Science & Technology Researchers in the Ensembl team are making the most of machine learning methods to speed up genome annotation pipelines
2022
sciencescience-technologytechnology-and-innovation
Europe PMC: Harnessing the power of text mining to accelerate life sciences research
Science & Technology How text mining collaborations benefit our research, data resources, and the wider scientific community.
2022
sciencescience-technologytechnology-and-innovation
Flip-flop genome
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
What do stem cell aggregates and whipped cream have in common?
Science & Technology EMBL researchers revise the old problem of sintering droplets to understand the mechanical properties of tissues.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Interpreting bioimages with deep learning
Science & Technology Virginie Uhlmann shares her tips for using deep learning for bioimage analysis in the life sciences.
2022
perspectivessciencescience-technology
Unravelling the origins of the human spine
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
A metaphor for epigenetic inheritance
Science & Technology 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
2022
sciencescience-technology
The MANE collaboration: working together to support genome science
Science & Technology Researchers from the MANE collaboration bring you the most comprehensive human genome annotation dataset to date.
2022
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
From liquid to solid to drive development
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Genomic sequencing aids the global Tuberculosis fight
Science & Technology Zamin Iqbal and his team are working with researchers all over the globe to help put a stop to Tuberculosis
2022
perspectivessciencescience-technology
Darwin Tree of Life at EMBL-EBI: reaching the first major milestone
Science & Technology Our researchers highlight their contributions to the Darwin Tree of Life project and how new genome annotations helps to further biodiversity research
2022
announcementssciencescience-technology
Safeguarding African biodiversity through genomics
Science & Technology The African BioGenome Project aims to safeguard biodiversity and build bioinformatics capacity across Africa
2022
perspectivessciencescience-technology
Putting Cryptococcus in context
Science & Technology EMBL’s imaging technology helps researchers gain insights in the fungus’ journey from the lung to the brain.
2022
sciencescience-technology
An international study proposes stool analysis for early detection of pancreatic cancer
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Deep learning models help predict protein function
Science & Technology Deep learning models can improve protein annotations and has helped expand the Pfam database.
2022
perspectivessciencescience-technology
Understanding genomes, piece by piece
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
A 3D culture model to study embryo growth
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Converging lenses on embryo development
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
New genetic data policy must promote biodiversity conservation
Science & Technology Scientists urge the adoption of a sensible international policy for digital sequence information.
2022
announcementssciencescience-technology
Pfizer joins the Open Targets consortium
Connections Open Targets, a consortium focused on drug target identification, prioritisation, and validation, announced today that Pfizer has joined as a partner.
2022
announcementsconnectionsscience
Learning from Deep Learning: the inspirational story behind AlphaFold
Science & Technology DeepMind visits EMBL Heidelberg to discuss current and future implications of Artificial Intelligence for life science research.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Decoding the secrets of snake venom
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Genomic data for biodiversity – a global challenge
Science & Technology An exploration of where in the world genomics methods are applied and where the data are used.
2022
perspectivessciencescience-technology
Cell sorting enters a new dimension
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
The Earth Biogenome Project: on track and ready to ramp up
Science & Technology 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?
2022
announcementssciencescience-technology
Capturing ‘snapshots’ of a crucial step in RNA splicing
Science & Technology 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.
2022
sciencescience-technology
New bacteria and viruses found on human skin
Science & Technology Researchers have identified hundreds of new bacterial species and viruses in the human skin microbiome.
2022
sciencescience-technology
Observing the secret life of molecules inside the cell
Science & Technology 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…
2021
sciencescience-technology
Solving molecular puzzles to find the perfect fit
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Darwin Tree of Life in 2021: tireless fieldwork and the first beautiful genomes
Science & Technology A look back at some of the 2021 highlights from the Darwin Tree of Life partner institutes.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Artificial intelligence — a scientific game changer in 2021
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Connecting the dots between bacterial genes around the world
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
A gallery of human RNA polymerases
Science & Technology New structural biology research provides fundamental information critical to understanding enzyme mutations connected to rare diseases and cancers.
2021
sciencescience-technology
The impact of drugs on gut microbes is greater than we thought
Science & Technology 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…
2021
sciencescience-technology
How structural biology helps to make RNA vaccines
Science & Technology 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…
2021
sciencescience-technology
Wrangling an octopus-like viral replication machine
Science & Technology EMBL structural biology is part of an international collaboration addressing zoonotic disease caused by Lassa virus.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Can data help feed a hungry world?
Science & Technology How genomics, open data, and multidisciplinary science can improve food security.
2021
sciencescience-technology
DUO: streamlining access to biomedical datasets
Science & Technology The GA4GH Data Use Ontology (DUO) supports a data authorisation and access framework to streamline consent to use biomedical data
2021
sciencescience-technology
Making sense of bacterial DNA data
Science & Technology A vast, curated collection of bacterial genomes is now organised, searchable and open to the community.
2021
sciencescience-technology
More than a gut reaction
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Structure of a promiscuous protein will help scientists design better drugs
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Genomic sequencing to strengthen biodiversity
Science & Technology The Darwin Tree of Life project is an unprecedented initiative sequencing 70,000 species
2021
sciencescience-technology
Harnessing the microbiome to improve meat production
Science & Technology International project uses biomolecular data to improve animal feed and make meat production more sustainable
2021
sciencescience-technology
Novel enzymes for a Green Economy
Science & Technology Using metagenomic data to find novel enzymes for plastic degradation and beyond
2021
sciencescience-technology
Biophysics analysis made easy with an online tool
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
BY-COVID – a new EU project for pandemic preparedness
Science & Technology The BY-COVID project aims to make infectious disease data, including COVID-19, openly available to everyone.
2021
sciencescience-technology
CRyPTIC: cataloguing drug resistance mutations in M. tuberculosis
Science & Technology Profiling M. tuberculosis strains from 27 countries to reveal causes of drug resistance.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Characterising protein phosphosite function at scale
Science & Technology Researchers develop a new high-throughput approach to assess the functional significance of protein phosphosites.
2021
sciencescience-technology
How herpes seizes proteins’ means of production
Science & Technology 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…
2021
sciencescience-technology
Genomic tracking of the COVID-19 pandemic in England
Science & Technology Largest in-depth analysis of genomic data tracks the spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in England.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Tackling the collateral damage from antibiotics
Science & Technology 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…
2021
sciencescience-technology
When ‘good’ cells go ‘bad’
Science & Technology If researchers can identify specifically when good cells go bad, they can potentially understand disease better.
2021
sciencescience-technology
From creating new antimicrobials to combating Alzheimer’s disease
Science & Technology Structural biology provides insights into the diverse functions of fibrous protein in humans, amphibians, and bacteria.
2021
sciencescience-technology
A cellular atlas of an entire worm
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
New microscopy technique makes deep in vivo brain imaging possible
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
The secret life of baby octopuses
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Organoids and machine learning: image analysis software developed during lockdown
Science & Technology MOrgAna is an open source, user-friendly, modular software that is able to analyse organoids with machine learning.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Vision unveiled: new roles for the retina in visual processing
Science & Technology 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.
2021
research-highlightssciencescience-technology
3D-Beacons Network: protein structure data, all in one place
Connections 3D-Beacons Network acts as a one-stop shop for protein structures by combining and standardising data from several providers.
2021
connectionsscience
Charting a multi-omic universe
Science & Technology A research collaboration used machine learning to map tumour molecular make-up, potentially paving way to more customised cancer treatment.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Artificial neural networks revolutionise biological image analysis
Science & Technology 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).
2021
sciencescience-technology
Common medications accumulate in gut bacteria
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
A flip book for biological systems
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
The Spatial Mouse Atlas: new insights into cell fate
Science & Technology Researchers have combined spatial gene expression information with single-cell genomics data to create a high-resolution atlas of mouse organogenesis.
2021
sciencescience-technology
What lies beneath: the building blocks of life
Science & Technology 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
2021
sciencescience-technology
Studying coronavirus proteins using small-angle X-ray scattering at European XFEL
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
DeepMind and EMBL release the most complete database of predicted 3D structures of human proteins
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Accessible 3D protein models to accelerate scientific discovery
Science & Technology DeepMind and EMBL-EBI to make millions of protein structure predictions freely available to the scientific community.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Great expectations – the potential impacts of AlphaFold DB
Science & Technology A discussion of the applications that AlphaFold DB may enable and the possible impact of the resource on science and society.
2021
sciencescience-technology
The PROTACtable genome – a new route to drug discovery
Science & Technology Researchers establish a framework for identifying new drugs capable of exploiting a cell’s own machinery.
2021
sciencescience-technology
A model of cooperation for transporting mRNA
Science & Technology EMBL scientists generate a high-resolution crystal structure of the Kinesin-1/aTm1 transport complex in the fruit fly.
2021
sciencescience-technology
From antibodies to nanoplastics
Science & Technology EMBL’s Melissa Graewert and colleagues are taking a structural biologist’s approach to better understanding nanoplastic particles.
2021
sciencescience-technology
New insights into Salmonella’s survival strategies
Science & Technology Research in the Typas group uncovers new details of the strategies Salmonella uses to survive in infected cells.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Planetary egg cells
As evocative as a constellation of planets, these egg cells within a mouse ovary are at different stages of maturity.
2021
picture-of-the-weekscience
Structural biology reveals new opportunities to combat tuberculosis
Science & Technology EMBL Hamburg’s Wilmanns and Kosinski groups have determined the detailed structure of a bacterial protein complex critical for tuberculosis infection.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Food safety, antibiotics, and a shrinking planet
People & Perspectives After work in antimicrobial resistance, EMBL postdoc Laura Carroll is using machine learning for next-gen antibiotic development.
2021
people-perspectivesscience
How our gut microbiome changes over time
Science & Technology Researchers investigate how external factors can influence the persistence of microbe species in the human gut
2021
sciencescience-technology
Visualising RNA structures using R2DT
Science & Technology New software enables scientists to visualise RNA secondary structures using the world’s largest RNA structure dataset.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Living laboratories
Science & Technology Under the innovative Planetary Biology research theme, EMBL scientists aim to understand life in the context of its environment.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in England
Science & Technology The largest in-depth analysis of genomic surveillance data mapping out the dynamics of 62 lineages of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
2021
sciencescience-technology
EMBL scientists support malaria research
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Reshaping the cell membrane with molecular pegs
Science & Technology Researchers at EMBL Hamburg reveal how peg-like proteins clasp and reshape the cell membrane
2021
sciencescience-technology
Artificial intelligence makes great microscopes better than ever
Science & Technology EMBL scientists have combined artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms with two cutting-edge microscopy techniques.
2021
sciencescience-technology
EMBL provides key infrastructure for COVID-19 drug screening project
Science & Technology EMBL Hamburg’s integrated structural biology facility has contributed to the success of a large-scale SARS-CoV-2 study
2021
sciencescience-technology
Piecing together the best reference genome
Science & Technology Researchers reveal the best technology for assembling reference genomes.
2021
sciencescience-technology
SARS-CoV-2 curtails immune response in the gut
Science & Technology EMBL scientists, together with collaborators from Heidelberg University, have provided further evidence of the gut’s role in COVID-19.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Different immune responses identified in patients with COVID-19
Science & Technology Researchers identify differences in immune response in asymptomatic COVID-19 cases compared to those with severe symptoms
2021
sciencescience-technology
Using metagenomic techniques to explore lichens
Science & Technology Researchers have used a metagenomics approach to piece together the genomes of yeasts found in wild lichens.
2021
sciencescience-technology
The value of open data for Latin American science
Connections Scientists from the CABANA project explore how open data is benefiting global research efforts.
2021
connectionsscience
Repurposing drugs to manage COVID-19 progression
Science & Technology Researchers use large-scale human genetic studies to identify drug targets important for managing COVID-19 in its early stages
2021
sciencescience-technology
EMBL Hamburg lights the way to folding next-level origami
Science & Technology Using EMBL Hamburg’s world-class structural biology infrastructure, researchers advance the folding of protein ‘origami’ designed in the lab.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Linking genetics and age-related diseases
Science & Technology Researchers have used human medical and genetic data from UK Biobank to investigate the genetics of age-related diseases
2021
sciencescience-technology
New perspectives for treating psychiatric disorders
Science & Technology Scientists have determined the structure of Glycine Transporter 1. The finding could open new avenues for developing therapeutics for psychiatric disorders
2021
sciencescience-technology
Induced pluripotent stem cells reveal causes of disease
Science & Technology 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…
2021
sciencescience-technology
Pfam releases structures for every protein family
Science & Technology Thousands of new protein structure models, prected using deep learning, now available to explore
2021
sciencescience-technology
New avenues for eradicating cancer
Science & Technology A new method has the potential to boost international research efforts to find drugs that eradicate cancer at its source.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Human genomes provide new reference for global genetic diversity
Science & Technology A collaboration including EMBL scientists has created the most diverse set of reference human genomes ever assembled.
2021
sciencescience-technology
The thousands of viruses living in your gut
Science & Technology Scientists identify more than 140 000 virus species in the human gut; more than half have never been seen before
2021
sciencescience-technology
A new piece of the HIV infection puzzle explored
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Finding coronavirus’s helper proteins
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Protein sequences provide clues to how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
A better look at a human RNA polymerase
Science & Technology New EMBL research shows where & to what degree a component of cellular machinery known as RNA Pol III is mutated and becomes problematic.
2021
sciencescience-technology
At the core of the Integrator complex
Science & Technology A new paper from the Galej group at EMBL Grenoble describes the structure of key parts of the Integrator complex, involved in gene expression.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Insights into the new B.1.1.7 coronavirus lineage
Science & Technology A new lineage of coronavirus was first identified in the UK, but why is it spreading much more rapidly within the population?
2021
sciencescience-technology
The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage
Science & Technology 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.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Monitoring dangerous bacteria in freshwater
Science & Technology Freshwater sports can cause waterborne infections, but real-time DNA sequencing could help.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Toadlet peptide transforms into a deadly weapon against bacteria
Science & Technology 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…
2021
sciencescience-technology
Opinion: Scientific disagreements aren’t new to COVID
People & Perspectives Understanding why disagreement is good for COVID science. EMBL Deputy Director General Ewan Birney offers tips for sorting through the discourse.
2021
people-perspectivesscience
In kefir, microbial teamwork makes the dream work
Science & Technology Researchers discovered the dominant species of bacteria in kefir grains cannot endure without other species that help the 'team' survive.
2021
sciencescience-technology
Darwin Tree of Life: looking back on 2020
Science & Technology Despite restrictions, 2020 has been a busy year for the Darwin Tree of Life Project. We take a look at some of this year’s achievements and highlights.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Stronger together
Science & Technology Gene activation requires the cooperative activity of multiple transcription factors. Until now, the mechanism used by these factors to coordinate their actions has been poorly understood. EMBL’s Krebs group presents a DNA footprinting method that makes it possible to determine whether…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Heating proteins to understand how genes work
Science & Technology A new paper from EMBL’s Savitski team and Typas group describes their work on E. coli and how it brings a greater understanding of the way genes function and interact.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Seeing deeper inside cells
Science & Technology While cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) was first envisioned in 1968, the advances the Mahamid group are bringing to this 3D method for studying molecules directly inside cells are new, and are likely to greatly expand its use.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Solving the protein structure puzzle
Science & Technology How artificial intelligence can help us solve the mysteries of the protein universe
2020
sciencescience-technology
Scratching the surface on cell differentiation
Science & Technology Scientists in the Diz-Muñoz group at EMBL Heidelberg are working to build understanding of the role that mechanical properties play in affecting cell behaviour – a young and rapidly developing field of study. They have developed and successfully used a highly specialised technique to manipulate…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Tackling tropical diseases
Science & Technology Members of the EMBL community are working to improve our understanding of the parasites that cause malaria and sleeping sickness
2020
sciencescience-technology
EMBL facilities support development of RNA vaccines
Science & Technology Biotechnology company BioNTech and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz conduct collaborative research with EMBL scientists at the beamline P12 in Hamburg
2020
sciencescience-technology
Repurposing bioinformatics tools to tackle the pandemic
Science & Technology Bioinformaticians at EMBL-EBI and beyond are adapting computational tools to investigate coronavirus genomes and proteins.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Microbiomes help predict the future of the Atlantic
Connections Microbiomes, plastics, and connectivity – AtlantECO aims to understand the fabric of the Atlantic Ocean.
2020
connectionsscience
Replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2 in 3D
Science & Technology Researchers have studied SARS-CoV-2 replication in cells and obtained detailed insights into the alterations induced in infected cells. This information is essential to guide the development of urgently needed therapeutic strategies for suppressing viral replication and induced pathology.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Scientists identify synthetic mini-antibody to combat COVID-19
Science & Technology By screening hundreds of sybodies (synthetic mini-antibodies), scientists have identified one that might stop SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells. This work, which holds promise for treating COVID-19, was conducted by EMBL Hamburg and collaborators from the Centre for Structural Systems Biology…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Should I run, or should I not? The neural basis of aggression and flight
Science & Technology Researchers in the Gross group at EMBL Rome have investigated the mechanism behind defensive behaviour in mice. They have identified a specific area of the brain that encodes both spatial and threat cues to drive location-specific defensive responses.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Open data sharing accelerates COVID-19 research
Science & Technology Open access data benefits millions of scientists around the world and is essential for a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Repurposing drugs for a pan-coronavirus treatment
Science & Technology Scientists from the Beltrao Group at EMBL-EBI and collaborators identified drug targets common to SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, and MERS-CoV, three pathogenic coronaviruses. They also found potential drugs that could be repurposed as COVID-19 treatments, and against emerging coronavirus strains in the…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Seeing evolution happening before your eyes
Science & Technology Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg have established an automated pipeline to create mutations in genomic enhancers, letting them watch evolution unfold before their eyes.
2020
sciencescience-technology
How deadly parasites ‘glide’ into human cells
Science & Technology A group of scientists led by EMBL Hamburg’s Christian Löw provide insights into the molecular structure of proteins involved in the gliding movements through which the parasites causing malaria and toxoplasmosis invade human cells.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Powerful genome editing tool recognised by Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Science & Technology The genome editing tool CRISPR–Cas9 – which plays a critical role in EMBL’s research – was recognised by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Deep learning captures cell cycle
Science & Technology Members of an EMBL-led research group with collaborators in Estonia and Russia have built and trained a deep learning model to better understand how cells grow and divide.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Human and mouse cells run at different speeds
Science & Technology The internal clock that governs the development of embryos ticks slower for humans than for mice. Differences in the speed of biochemical reactions underlie the differences between species in the tempo of development.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Fighting cardiovascular disease with acne drug
Science & Technology Researchers have found the cause of dilated cardiomyopathy – a leading cause of heart failure – and identified a potential treatment for it: a drug already used to treat acne.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Genome sequencing accelerates cancer detection
Science & Technology The Gerstung Group at EMBL-EBI and collaborators have developed a statistical model that analyses genomic data to predict whether a patient has a high or low risk of developing oesophageal cancer.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Nuclear pores in their natural context
Science & Technology Scientists from the Beck group have studied the 3D structure of nuclear pores in budding yeast. They show how the architecture of the nuclear pore complex differs inside cells compared to its form observed in vitro studies.
2020
sciencescience-technology
How to remove unwanted components from the cell nucleus
Science & Technology Researchers have uncovered how cells remove unwanted components from the nucleus following mitosis.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Eat more to grow more arms…if you’re a sea anemone
Science & Technology An international group of researchers, led by scientists from EMBL Heidelberg, have discovered that the number of tentacle arms a sea anemone grows depends on the amount of food it eats.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Intelligent software tackles plant cell jigsaw
Science & Technology Starting with computer code and moving on to a more user-friendly graphical interface called PlantSeg, the Kreshuk Group at EMBL and collaborators built a simple open-access method to provide the most accurate and versatile analysis of plant tissue development to date.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Upgraded beamlines at EMBL Grenoble unveiled
EMBL Announcements The beamlines run jointly by EMBL Grenoble and the ESRF reopen today, unveiling significant upgrades that exploit the brand new fourth generation ESRF synchrotron source.
2020
embl-announcementsscience
New clues to a 500-year old mystery about the human heart
Science & Technology An international team of scientists involving Ewan Birney's group has investigated the function of a complex mesh of muscle fibres that line the inner surface of the heart.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Predicting how gene expression varies
Science & Technology Discoveries at EMBL will help researchers to interpret one of the most common types of experiments in genomics and medical studies.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Flexible and protected – new findings on SARS-CoV-2 protein shed light on virus’s ability to infect cells
Science & Technology Researchers studied the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With its spikes, the virus binds to human cells and infects them. The study gave surprising insights into the spike protein, including an unexpected freedom of movement and a protective coat to hide it from antibodies.
2020
sciencescience-technology
The curious genome of the tuatara, an ancient reptile in peril
Science & Technology A global team of researchers including the Flicek Team at EMBL-EBI has partnered up with the Māori tribe Ngātiwai to sequence the genome of the tuatara, a rare reptile endemic to New Zealand.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Bagpipe and Pokemon, or how not to name a human gene
Science & Technology The human genome harbours about 19 000 protein-coding genes, many of which still have no known function. As scientists unveil the secrets of our DNA, they come across novel genes that they need to refer to using a unique name. The Human Genome Organisation’s Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) at…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Visualising the cell’s molecular machinery in action
Science & Technology A new approach that allows researchers to see molecular machinery at work inside cells has offered a deeper understanding of how bacteria produce proteins and a unique glimpse into how they respond to antibiotics.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Europe PMC: unlocking the potential of COVID-19 preprints
Science & Technology Europe PMC has begun indexing full-text COVID-19 preprints along with the associated data. The project aims to accelerate research to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Understanding chromosome organisation
Science & Technology EMBL scientists and collaborators help reveal the process by which enormous quantities of DNA are folded into cells.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Artificial intelligence finds patterns of mutations and survival in tumour images
Science & Technology Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm that uses computer vision to analyse tissue samples from cancer patients. The algorithm can distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissues, and can also identify patterns DNA and RNA changes in tumours.
2020
sciencescience-technology
A tool to improve cancer research
Science & Technology EMBL scientists have created a new, realistic 3D testbed that could help achieve the goal of stopping cancers before they start by studying cancer cells as they first form.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Unparalleled inventory of the human gut ecosystem
Science & Technology An international team of scientists has collated all known bacterial genomes from the human gut microbiome into a single large database. Their work will allow researchers to explore the links between bacterial genes and proteins, and their effects on human health.
2020
sciencescience-technology
From stem cells to neurons
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have investigated stem cells and how they differentiate to become neurons. Their approach included an assessment of the complex interplay of molecules during the differentiation process and generated fundamental new insights into the role of a protein called Sox2 in…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Unravelling epigenetic reprogramming
Science & Technology A study conducted by the Hackett group at EMBL Rome has identified key factors controlling the complex system of gene regulation during early embryo development, shedding new light on the mechanisms behind these events and on their evolutionary implications. Their findings are published in Nature…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Editing the mouse genome to study SARS-CoV-2 infection
Science & Technology To study how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells, the Gene Editing and Embryology Facility (GEEF) at EMBL Rome will generate mice that express a human version of a protein called ACE2. The mouse line will be shared with preclinical research collaborators carrying out vaccine and antibody trials, and with the…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Existing drugs can prevent SARS-CoV-2 from hijacking cells
Science & Technology Researchers evaluate how the new coronavirus rewires human proteins for its own replication, and identify several antiviral drugs ready for clinical trials
2020
sciencescience-technology
Five things you probably didn’t know about the Human Genome Project
Science & Technology Today we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first draft of the entire human genome.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Silencing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor with epigenetic modifications
Science & Technology EMBL scientists develop a new molecular tool to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. This tool is able to cause targeted epigenetic modifications of specific genes in specific cell populations. They will use it in mice to target airway cells that express the ACE2 protein – the receptor that…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Unpicking the complexity of DNA mutations
Science & Technology DNA damage caused by chemical mutagens is not repaired immediately and can create more genetic diversity in tumours.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Investigating the structure and mechanisms of coronavirus biomolecules
Science & Technology While global research on coronaviruses has shed light on the function of many SARS-CoV-2 proteins, the role of some crucial components remains unknown. Researchers at EMBL Grenoble will use a range of structural biology methods to try to solve some of the puzzles of the molecular mechanics of…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 behaves in the gut
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL and Heidelberg University Hospital are studying how the novel coronavirus behaves in the gut to try to better understand its epidemiology and prevent its spread. To do this, they are combining advanced imaging and sequencing technologies to study coronavirus in human intestinal…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Blood pressure drug improves response to cancer therapy
Science & Technology Scientists discovered that antihypertensive agent alters the tissue characteristics of colon cancer metastases. This "stiffness" of metastases has an effect on the therapeutic success.
2020
sciencescience-technology
New insights into epigenetic modifications
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL Rome unveil the mechanism behind the most studied epigenetic modification.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Genetic cut and paste at atomic resolution
Science & Technology Researchers in the Marcia group at EMBL Grenoble and the De Vivo lab at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa have obtained some of the most detailed ever snapshots of the splicing process in systems known as group II self-splicing introns. The new insights will help scientists to develop…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Shining high-brilliance beams on coronavirus structure
Science & Technology EMBL researchers are studying COVID-19-related molecules by exposing them to high-brilliance X-ray beams. The Svergun group at EMBL Hamburg is using biological small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) as part of a global effort by scientists to elucidate the structural organisation of SARS-CoV-2…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Re-trafficking proteins to fight Salmonella infections
Science & Technology Scientists including members of EMBL’s Typas group have investigated how immune cells called macrophages respond to infection by the intracellular pathogen Salmonella enterica. They discovered that Salmonella causes newly produced cathepsins to accumulate in the nuclei of infected cells to…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Enabling functional genomics studies in individual cells
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have developed a new method, called Targeted Perturb-seq (TAP-seq), which increases the scale and precision of functional genomics CRISPR–Cas9 screens by orders of magnitude. Their method overcomes limitations in previous applications of single-cell RNA sequencing,…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Novel method sheds new light on tumour-suppressing RNA
Science & Technology Researchers from EMBL Grenoble have developed a way to visualise large RNAs in 3D using biochemical and structural biology techniques.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Facilitating COVID-19 structural biology research
Connections EMBL and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) restart the activities of the Joint Structural Biology Group in Grenoble to support coronavirus-related projects. A new initiative will allow users to be granted access to the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL and to a…
2020
connectionsscience
Distinguishing coronavirus genome mutations from inadvertent errors
Science & Technology EMBL scientists have performed a large-scale analysis of over 4700 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences. They found that many of the most interesting changes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that have been reported so far are likely to be technical artefacts, rather than biological mutations.
2020
sciencescience-technology
The hunt for neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
Science & Technology Scientists hope that a legacy of the novel coronavirus in recovered COVID-19 patients – antibodies in their blood – could lead to drugs to treat others. The Merten group at EMBL Heidelberg has pivoted its microfluidics platform to support the search for neutralising antibodies that could…
2020
sciencescience-technology
EMBL scientists investigate rare lung disease
Science & Technology Researchers in EMBL’s Zaugg group have studied the causes of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare disease that causes high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. The study, carried out in collaboration with Stanford University School of Medicine, compared lung cells of patients…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Tracing the origins of cells
Science & Technology Researchers from the Sharpe group at EMBL Barcelona have published a method to track the developmental history of a cell using the gene editing tool CRISPR–Cas9, but without the need to create transgenic organisms.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Understanding the role of our genes in SARS-CoV-2 infections
Science & Technology EMBL scientists will contribute to the new German COVID-19 OMICS Initiative to study the biological mechanisms contributing to coronavirus infections. EMBL group leaders Jan Korbel and Oliver Stegle, who is also affiliated with the DKFZ Heidelberg, will coordinate the set-up of IT infrastructures…
2020
sciencescience-technology
EMBL SPC facility supports COVID-19 projects
Science & Technology The Sample Preparation and Characterisation Facility (SPC) at EMBL Hamburg reopens to support scientists working on Covid-19 research. The SPC Facility is one of the best equipped facilities in Europe is therefore in high demand from external users. Re-opening the facility also allows experts at…
2020
sciencescience-technology
DNA damage and faulty repair jointly cause mutations
Science & Technology DNA mutations are caused by a combination of DNA damage and repair, shows study by EMBL-EBI and collaborators.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Responding to health threats posed by coronaviruses
Science & Technology By re-opening the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL Grenoble, EMBL is supporting structural biology projects to respond to the health threats posed by coronaviruses.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Remote access to EMBL structural biology pipelines to support research on SARS-CoV-2
Science & Technology The Marquez Team has restarted operations at the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL Grenoble. The team has developed a fully automated protein-to-structure pipeline, which can be operated remotely and provides virtual access to the facilities.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Taking a closer look at infected cells to better understand COVID-19
Science & Technology EMBL electron microscopy specialists collaborate with researchers from Heidelberg University Hospital to understand the changes occurring in cell structures upon SARS-CoV-2 infection.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Understanding the influenza virus
Science & Technology The infectious disease commonly known as flu is caused by the influenza virus. It spreads around the world in seasonal outbreaks, causing millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Stephen Cusack, Head of EMBL Grenoble, has been studying different aspects of the influenza…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Exploring synthetic antibodies to stop coronavirus
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL Hamburg and Karolinska Institutet Stockholm aim to find synthetic antibodies – known as nanobodies – that bind a surface protein of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Nanobodies could prevent the virus from entering human cells and causing COVID-19.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Helping researchers identify host proteins used by coronavirus
Science & Technology EMBL scientists working in the groups of Matthias Hentze and Wolfgang Huber have created RBPbase – a database of RNA-binding proteins – to assist the identification of proteins that interact with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Why share data during a pandemic?
Science & Technology In March 2020, planes were grounded, streets went quiet, and our lives changed forever. But while the world came to a halt, many scientists were ramping up their efforts to understand the new virus.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Unprecedented single-cell studies in virtual embryo
Science & Technology Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg have created a complete description of early embryo development, accounting for every single cell in the embryo.
2020
sciencescience-technology
EMBL-EBI launches COVID-19 Data Portal
Science & Technology The new collaborative space will help scientists, public health and healthcare professionals around the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Supporting international research on the structure of the coronavirus
Connections EMBL Heidelberg reopens the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Service Platform to support coronavirus structural biology research.
2020
connectionsscience
Helping to scale up coronavirus testing
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg are contributing their expertise in a community effort to develop large-scale testing methods for coronavirus. Their goal is to increase the capacity and speed of testing, which is crucial for containing the pandemic.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Identifying how potential COVID-19 drugs work
Science & Technology EMBL researchers are studying how drugs that have shown good results against COVID-19 work in living cells
2020
sciencescience-technology
Producing proteins for coronavirus research
Science & Technology The Protein Expression and Purification Core Facility at EMBL Heidelberg will produce proteins for several coronavirus-related research projects, to assist the development of new strategies to fight the virus.
2020
sciencescience-technology
How chromosome structure influences development
Science & Technology EMBL researchers in the Heard group at EMBL Heidelberg explore the interaction between DNA organisation and gene expression in the early embryo
2020
sciencescience-technology
Tissue dynamics provide clues to human disease
Science & Technology EMBL scientists examine the molecular causes of a rare hereditary disease of the spine and ribs
2020
sciencescience-technology
Understanding brain tumours in children
Science & Technology The causes of 40 percent of all cases of certain medulloblastoma – dangerous brain tumours affecting children – are hereditary. These are the findings of a recent genetic analysis carried out by scientists from EMBL and numerous colleagues around the world.
2020
sciencescience-technology
EMBL-EBI leads International collaboration to share COVID-19 research data
Science & Technology EMBL-EBI set to launch European COVID-19 Data Platform to help store, share, and analyse research data linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020
sciencescience-technology
€2.45 m to investigate leukaemia causes and therapies
EMBL Announcements The Heidelberg-based LeukoSyStem consortium investigates leukaemia stem cells in acute myeloid leukaemia. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research financially supports this collaboration between Heidelberg University Hospital, HI-STEM gGmbH, the German Cancer Research Center and EMBL.
2020
embl-announcementsscience
New insights into gene regulation
Science & Technology EMBL researchers investigate the role of a histone protein in regulating gene expression
2020
sciencescience-technology
Finding your way around Platynereis dumerilii
Science & Technology EMBL researchers combine multiple datasets to develop expandable atlas of an entire animal
2020
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Claire Deo
People & Perspectives New group leader at EMBL Heidelberg employs synthetic chemistry to develop novel tools for biology
2020
people-perspectivesscience
New technique for studying living fly larvae
Science & Technology This technique provides a simple but effective way to study the functions of organs in living animals
2020
sciencescience-technology
How females shut off their second X chromosome
Science & Technology Scientists provide important new insights into the molecular basis of X-inactivation
2020
sciencescience-technology
The Pan-Cancer project
Science & Technology EMBL co-leads most comprehensive study of genetic causes of cancer
2020
sciencescience-technology
Protecting data in the cloud
Science & Technology Cloud computing offers unprecedented opportunities for global-scale research collaborations. It also presents a unique set of challenges in terms of data protection and the ethics of data sharing.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Characterising RNA alterations in cancer
Science & Technology The largest and most comprehensive catalogue of cancer-specific RNA alterations reveals new insights into the cancer genome.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Cancer mutations occur decades before diagnosis
Science & Technology Researchers at EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the Francis Crick Institute have analysed the whole genomes of over 2600 tumours from 38 different cancer types to determine the chronology of genomic changes during cancer development.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Analysis of human genomes in the cloud
Science & Technology Scientists from EMBL present a tool for large-scale analysis of genomic data with cloud computing. Main advantages of the new tool, called Butler, are continuous system monitoring and its ability to self-heal in case of failure, allowing for 43% more efficient data processing than previous…
2020
sciencescience-technology
Studying DNA rearrangement to understand cancer
Science & Technology Using the dataset from the Pan-Cancer project, scientists has developed methods to group, classify, and describe large rearrangements of the genome that are a key driver of cancer.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Scientists identify new genetic drivers of cancer
Science & Technology Analysis of whole cancer genomes gives key insights into the role of the non-coding genome in cancer
2020
sciencescience-technology
Chromothripsis in human cancer
Science & Technology Researchers at Harvard Medical School and EMBL-EBI have carried out the largest analysis across cancer types of the newly discovered mutational phenomenon chromothripsis.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Finding genetic cancer risks
Science & Technology Using the data from the Pan-Cancer project EMBL scientists describe how our genetic background influences cancer development.
2020
sciencescience-technology
Pinpointing rare disease mutations
Science & Technology New resource that categorises genes essential for supporting life could be used to identify rare disease mutations
2020
sciencescience-technology
Meytal Landau: a visiting researcher in Hamburg
People & Perspectives Strengthening ties between EMBL and Israel through the Scientific Visitor Programme
2020
people-perspectivesscience
Welcome: Maria Bernabeu
People & Perspectives New group leader at EMBL Barcelona is investigating how malaria affects the human circulatory system
2020
people-perspectivesscience
How transcription factors work together
Science & Technology EMBL researchers have developed a method to observe interactions between transcription factors
2020
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Kristina Haase
People & Perspectives Kristina Haase brings an engineer’s perspective to vascular disease and regenerative medicine
2020
people-perspectivesscience
Melting reveals drug targets in a living organism
Science & Technology EMBL scientists identify drug targets in blood and organs
2020
sciencescience-technology
EMBL co-develops new method that could facilitate cancer diagnosis
Science & Technology Researchers have developed a cheaper and faster method to check for genetic differences in individual cells
2019
sciencescience-technology
Innovative method delivers new insights into the stem cell microenvironment
Science & Technology Researchers have developed new methods to reveal the 3D-organisation of bone marrow at a single cell level
2019
sciencescience-technology
A classification tool for transcription factors
Science & Technology The software diffTF quantifies activity of transcription factors and predicts their mode of action
2019
sciencescience-technology
Machine learning finds critical phosphosites
Science & Technology Resource has implications for disease research
2019
sciencescience-technology
Understanding a key player in melanoma
Science & Technology A new paper describes a unique mechanism of partner selectivity in transcription factors.
2019
sciencescience-technology
Neural pathways
Science & Technology Exploring the diverse routes by which EMBL scientists are driving forward neurobiology
2019
sciencescience-technology
Science date: The Crick meets EMBL
People & Perspectives Crick and EMBL PhDs talk science over coffee
2019
people-perspectivesscience
From cell to mouse – how tissues differentiate
Science & Technology Shedding light on the mechanisms that control the fate of embryonic cells
2019
sciencescience-technology
Photo-micropatterning advances structural cell biology
Science & Technology A new technique in cryo-EM
2019
sciencescience-technology
New perspectives on nuclear pores
Science & Technology EMBL researchers have published two new studies involving the nuclear pore complex
2019
sciencescience-technology
Convention on the Rights of the Child stored in DNA
EMBL Announcements Children's rights stored in synthetic DNA
2019
embl-announcementsscience
EMBL spins the Sleeping Beauty transposase
Science & Technology New possibilities for gene therapies
2019
sciencescience-technology
Engineering bacteria to fight diabetes
Science & Technology EMBL’s Genomics Core Facility supports students participating in the annual iGEM competition.
2019
sciencescience-technology
A tool to monitor tuberculosis
Science & Technology Funding awarded to EMBL-EBI for tuberculosis monitoring tool
2019
sciencescience-technology
Happy hour for time-resolved crystallography
Science & Technology Researchers from Hamburg simplify time-resolved X-ray crystallography
2019
sciencescience-technology
B cells linked to immunotherapy
Science & Technology Immunotherapy: the role of B cells
2019
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Isidro Cortés-Ciriano
People & Perspectives Exploring the cancer genomics labyrinth
2019
people-perspectivesscience
MEG3 kissing loops essential for tumour suppression
Science & Technology MEG3 adopts a complex three-dimensional structure to fulfil its tumour suppressor function.
2019
sciencescience-technology
Understanding molecular mechanisms of ageing
Science & Technology Understanding how ageing works at a molecular level
2019
sciencescience-technology
Exploring the beauty of proteins
EMBL Announcements Schoolchildren get creative with 3D protein structures
2019
embl-announcementsscience
We all come from the ocean
People & Perspectives Eric Karsenti's combined loves of biology and sailing set in motion the Tara Oceans expedition
2019
people-perspectivesscience
Transcriptional hubs confer phenotypic robustness
Science & Technology Enhancers in Drosophila embryos gather together to preserve phenotypes under stressful conditions
2019
sciencescience-technology
Toxin responsible for Legionella growth identified
Science & Technology SidJ enforces a unique modification on human proteins and helps legionella grow.
2019
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Michael Zimmermann
People & Perspectives Michael Zimmermann's group will investigate how gut microbes affect the body’s response to drugs.
2019
people-perspectivesscience
First results from CSSB
Science & Technology EMBL scientists collaborate to develop new protocol for screening membrane protein stability
2019
sciencescience-technology
Rearranging chromosomes
Science & Technology Does rearranging chromosomes affect their function? EMBL scientists reveal uncoupling of 3D chromatin organisation and gene expression.
2019
sciencescience-technology
A tRNA modifier at work
Science & Technology Using cryo-EM, scientists have determined the structure of a large protein complex called Elongator.
2019
sciencescience-technology
Programming: language
Science & Technology How computer processing of human language is harnessed by EMBL scientists
2019
sciencescience-technology
Wielding the genetic scissors
Science & Technology What CRISPR may bring for the future of biology, and how it is used at EMBL
2019
sciencescience-technology
Actin crosslinking plays key role in tissue morphogenesis
Science & Technology New insights into mechanisms behind embryonic development
2019
sciencescience-technology
A new home for biological images
Science & Technology The BioImage Archive - EMBL-EBI's first dedicated imaging data resource
2019
sciencescience-technology
Drawing knowledge
People & Perspectives A conversation about art-science collaborations and the importance of drawing in biology.
2019
people-perspectivesscience
How coding opens up scientific data
Science & Technology The increasing importance of code in the biological sciences
2019
sciencescience-technology
Life with the endangered kākāpō
Science & Technology Using genomics to help endangered species
2019
sciencescience-technology
Intact chromosomes during cell division
Science & Technology The mystery of how condensin maintains the integrity of the genome during cell division.
2019
sciencescience-technology
Hydraulic force shapes mammalian embryos
Science & Technology Uncovering new role of fluid pressure in controlling embryo size and cell fate
2019
sciencescience-technology
Paving the way for new flu drugs
Science & Technology Snapshots of the flu virus replication machine in action
2019
sciencescience-technology
The origins of plastic pollution at sea
Science & Technology Tara Ocean Foundation launches the exploration of 10 European rivers
2019
sciencescience-technology
Breaking the bottleneck in imaging data collection
Science & Technology Scientists develop software tools for automated acquisition of electron microscopy data
2019
sciencescience-technology
New 3D microscope
Science & Technology A newly developed 3D microscope visualises fast biological processes better than ever.
2019
sciencescience-technology
The Arctic Ocean: reservoir of marine viruses
Science & Technology Results from the Tara Oceans expedition reveal the Arctic Ocean as a cradle of viral biodiversity
2019
sciencescience-technology
Sex and diet affect proteotype
Science & Technology EMBL scientists have discovered that the proteome is substantially affected by both sex and diet
2019
sciencescience-technology
Catalogue of structural variants
Science & Technology Thorough characterisation of structural variants in human genomes
2019
sciencescience-technology
Prioritising cancer drug targets using CRISPR
Science & Technology Large CRISPR screen prioritises hundreds of promising genes for personalised cancer treatment
2019
sciencescience-technology
Global microbial signatures for colorectal cancer
Science & Technology Colorectal cancer characterised by consistent changes in gut bacteria across continents, cultures and diets
2019
sciencescience-technology
Designer organelles bring new functionalities into cells
Science & Technology EMBL scientists create membraneless organelle to build proteins in living cell
2019
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Santiago Rompani
People & Perspectives New EMBL group leader explores what neurobiology can teach us about what it means to be human
2019
people-perspectivesscience
ATP affects proteome-wide solubility
Science & Technology Scientists develop technology to measure how ATP concentration affects protein solubility in cells
2019
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Sagar Bhogaraju
Science & Technology New group leader at EMBL Grenoble is investigating the cellular role of melanoma antigens
2019
sciencescience-technology
Many gut microbes may originate in the mouth
Science & Technology Many microbes traverse the oral-gut barrier
2019
sciencescience-technology
Understanding early embryo development in mice
Science & Technology How organs form in a mouse embryo
2019
sciencescience-technology
Cell death trigger in tuberculosis bacteria
Science & Technology Suicide system in tuberculosis bacteria might hold key to treatment
2019
sciencescience-technology
Role reversal: RNA controls protein function
Science & Technology EMBL scientists identify RNA regulating protein behaviour in switch of normal roles
2019
sciencescience-technology
Almost 2000 unknown gut bacteria discovered
Science & Technology Researchers identify novel gut bacteria species and call for more data from beyond Europe and North America
2019
sciencescience-technology
More than 100 new gut bacteria discovered in human microbiome
Science & Technology A new database of bacteria in the human microbiome is the most comprehensive to date.
2019
sciencescience-technology
The web meets genomics: a DNA search engine for microbes
Science & Technology New search engine allows researchers to identify antibiotic resistance genes or mutations in real time
2019
sciencescience-technology
New method to study gene expression in yeast cells
Science & Technology Scientists develop high-throughput yeast single-cell RNA sequencing method
2019
sciencescience-technology
Structure of prodrug-transporter complex revealed
Science & Technology Scientists develop structural model that could help in the development of drugs with increased absorption rates
2019
sciencescience-technology
Facilitating transcontinental human data exchange
Science & Technology Federated data sharing will now be possible on an unprecedented scale
2019
sciencescience-technology
Hundreds of tiny robots grow bio-inspired shapes
Science & Technology Scientists build self-organising features into robot swarms to study shape formation
2018
sciencescience-technology
Using light to stop itch
Science & Technology EMBL researchers have found a way to stop itch with light in mice
2018
sciencescience-technology
Model to predict prostate cancer progress
Science & Technology Cancer researchers have developed a computer model to predict the course of disease for prostate cancer
2018
sciencescience-technology
New ways to look at protein-RNA networks
Science & Technology Researchers develop new method to analyse the entire protein-RNA network of the cell
2018
sciencescience-technology
Discovering new enzymes just got easier
Science & Technology EMBL-EBI industry case study: Biocatalysts
2018
sciencescience-technology
Algorithm identifies gene–environment relationships
Science & Technology New algorithm will enhance understanding of relationship between genotype and environmental factors
2018
sciencescience-technology
Molecular and behavioural effects of SETD5 mutation
Science & Technology Scientists uncover effects of mutation that can cause autism and intellectual disability
2018
sciencescience-technology
Controlling organ growth with light
Science & Technology The De Renzis group investigated invagination, the first step of organ development in embryos.
2018
sciencescience-technology
Genomes of all known UK species to be sequenced
Science & Technology Genomes of 66,000 UK species to be sequenced in global effort to sequence all known eukaryotic species
2018
sciencescience-technology
New insights into the regulation of haemostasis
Science & Technology EMBL scientists investigate the structure of a key protein involved in blood clotting
2018
sciencescience-technology
Catching up on protein dynamics
Science & Technology The Hentze Lab enhanced a RNA-interactome capture technique to pave the way towards medical progress
2018
sciencescience-technology
Time-resolved X-ray crystallography simplified
Science & Technology Speeding up time-resolved X-ray crystallography with EMBL beamline P14
2018
sciencescience-technology
A worm’s sense of the world
Science & Technology EMBL researchers discover that four organs in a marine worm’s head can sense different chemicals
2018
sciencescience-technology
More effective insulin thanks to first 3D image
Science & Technology New study reveals how to make therapeutic insulins more effective than they currently are
2018
sciencescience-technology
Exploring cell identity by mapping genetic networks
Science & Technology ERC grantees Wolfgang Huber and Oliver Stegle share their vision for the next 10 years
2018
sciencescience-technology
Deleting genes to study how germ cells are born
Science & Technology How embryonic stem cells develop into the germ line
2018
sciencescience-technology
Transcription factors controlled by DNA sequence
Science & Technology EMBL scientists gain mechanistic insights into how cellular signalling controls gene regulation
2018
sciencescience-technology
Ageing is visible in the way cells use glucose
Science & Technology Researchers from EMBL and Heidelberg University unveil the molecular mechanisms of ageing
2018
sciencescience-technology
Solving the structure of retromer
Science & Technology Retromer’s 3D structure improves understanding of cellular sorting and packaging
2018
sciencescience-technology
X-rays reveal surprising shape of scaffolding protein
Science & Technology X-ray experiments show that scaffolding protein PDZK1 has a L-shaped conformation
2018
sciencescience-technology
First interactive model of human cell division
Science & Technology Real-time tracking of proteins during mitosis is now possible using a 4D computer model
2018
sciencescience-technology
PhenoMeNal: an online portal for metabolomics
Science & Technology Complex metabolomics analyses in the cloud
2018
sciencescience-technology
Cohesin: a glue for DNA
Science & Technology EMBL scientists discover how a component of the cohesin ring binds DNA
2018
sciencescience-technology
New approach for testing cancer drug response
Science & Technology Large-scale systematic analysis explores how inherited genome affects drug response of cancer cells
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Jim Swoger
People & Perspectives New head of the Mesoscopic Imaging Facility at EMBL Barcelona will help scientists visualise nature
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Welcome: Vikas Trivedi
People & Perspectives An engineer’s approach to understanding morphogenesis
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Understanding soil through its microbiome
Science & Technology First global survey of soil genomics reveals a war between fungi and bacteria
2018
sciencescience-technology
The proteins behind hungry cells
Science & Technology EMBL researchers visualise the proteins needed to capture molecules and bring them into a cell
2018
sciencescience-technology
Art meets structural biology
Lab Matters The Protein Data Bank in Europe celebrates its schools art project with its largest exhibition yet
2018
lab-mattersscience
Europe PMC now indexes preprints
Science & Technology Europe PMC adds preprints to its search
2018
sciencescience-technology
Parental chromosomes kept apart during first division
Science & Technology Mammalian life begins differently than we thought
2018
sciencescience-technology
Maternal bacteria persistent in newborns
Science & Technology Scientists show how bacteria and other microorganisms are passed on from mother to child
2018
sciencescience-technology
Leukaemia roots detectable years before diagnosis
Science & Technology Acute myloid leukaemia risk could be detected years before diagnosis
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Miki Ebisuya
People & Perspectives New group leader at EMBL Barcelona creates artificial biological systems to study animal development
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Melting bacteria to decipher antibiotic resistance
Science & Technology EMBL scientists investigate how bacteria melt to study their reaction to drugs
2018
sciencescience-technology
Combining antibiotics changes their effectiveness
Science & Technology Combining antibiotics with each other, non-antibiotic drugs or food additives can alter their effectiveness
2018
sciencescience-technology
Algal nuclear pore complex revealed
Science & Technology EMBL scientists reveal NPC architecture of algae
2018
sciencescience-technology
Flu’s response to new drug explored
Science & Technology EMBL scientists investigate how influenza virus responds to new drug treatment
2018
sciencescience-technology
New way to isolate DNA- and RNA-protein complexes
Science & Technology EMBL researchers develop method that simplifies the isolation of DNA- and RNA- protein complexes
2018
sciencescience-technology
Miniature testing of drug pairs on tumour biopsies
Science & Technology Combinations of cancer drugs can be quickly and cheaply tested using a novel microfluidic device
2018
sciencescience-technology
New insights into Turing patterns
Science & Technology EMBL scientists extend Turing’s theory to help understand how biological patterns are created
2018
sciencescience-technology
Personalised medicine: one data type is not enough
Science & Technology New computational method uses multi-omics analysis for personalised medicine
2018
sciencescience-technology
Constructing new tissue shapes with light
Science & Technology EMBL researchers guide the shape of cells and tissues with optogenetics
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Simone Köhler
People & Perspectives Which of our genes will be passed on to our children? Simone Köhler wants to find out
2018
people-perspectivesscience
How wild species may benefit from mouse genetic data
Science & Technology Of mice and gorillas: using mouse data for conservation
2018
sciencescience-technology
Reconstructing 3D shapes from unmeasurable data
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL Hamburg determine shapes of intermediate states in dynamic biological systems
2018
sciencescience-technology
The scientific origins of Edith Heard
People & Perspectives EMBL’s next Director General reflects on the questions that drive her research
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Exploring genetic variation
Science & Technology EMBL group leader Jan Korbel reflects on his scientific origins and current research
2018
sciencescience-technology
New risk factors for rare childhood cancer
Science & Technology Researchers identify genes that can cause brain tumours in children and other cancers later in life
2018
sciencescience-technology
CRISPR: from clipping scissors to word processor
Science & Technology New platform transforms CRISPR gene editor into precision tool
2018
sciencescience-technology
New insights into the origins of cancer
Science & Technology What worms can tell us about cancer
2018
sciencescience-technology
Protein stability and solubility during cell cycle
Science & Technology EMBL scientists uncover large solubility and thermal stability changes of proteins during the cell cycle
2018
sciencescience-technology
The rise of GPU computing in science
Science & Technology Discover how EMBL scientists are using GPU computing to push biology forward
2018
sciencescience-technology
Managing chronic pain with light
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL Rome develop new method that uses light to manage neuropathic pain in mice
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Anna Kreshuk
People & Perspectives New Heidelberg group leader creates tools to help biologists work faster and better
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Dog microbiome closer to humans’ than expected
People & Perspectives Dog and human gut microbiomes have more similar genes and responses to diet than previously thought
2018
people-perspectivesscience
New software makes 3D imaging accessible
Science & Technology Open-source software allows standard microscopes to accurately image 3D structures
2018
sciencescience-technology
Counting condensins on chromosomes
Science & Technology EMBL scientists count and locate chromosomal proteins during cell duplication
2018
sciencescience-technology
PDX Finder – Free global portal for cancer models
Science & Technology Launch of the first free global online catalogue of PDX models
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Virginie Uhlmann
People & Perspectives New EMBL-EBI Group Leader will make sense of bioimaging data
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Captured: microglia nibbling on brain synapses
Science & Technology For the first time, EMBL Rome researchers have captured microglia nibbling on brain synapses on film.
2018
sciencescience-technology
New method probes gene expression by cell location
Science & Technology What does a cell's location tell us?
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Maria Garcia Alai
People & Perspectives The new head of facility at EMBL Hamburg will help users solve protein puzzles
2018
people-perspectivesscience
From blood vessels to blood stem cells
Science & Technology EMBL scientists discover how blood vessel cells become blood stem cells during embryonic development
2018
sciencescience-technology
Commonly used drugs affect our gut bacteria
Science & Technology One in four drugs with human targets inhibit the growth of bacteria in the human gut, and may promote antibiotic resistance, EMBL researchers report in Nature
2018
sciencescience-technology
Molecular cuisine for gut bacteria
Science & Technology EMBL scientists show how to grow a wide range of gut bacteria in the lab
2018
sciencescience-technology
Potential way to limit antibiotic resistance
Science & Technology EMBL scientists unravel the molecular basis of a major antibiotic resistance transfer mechanism
2018
sciencescience-technology
How drugs affect the life and death of proteins
Science & Technology Scientists at EMBL and Cellzome develop technology to monitor the effects of drug treatments on protein degradation and synthesis
2018
sciencescience-technology
Chromatin usage reveals developmental trajectories
Science & Technology EMBL scientists show how chromatin usage in individual cells reveals developmental trajectories
2018
sciencescience-technology
Axon guidance and bundling are linked
Science & Technology EMBL scientists discover how two guidance cues work together when neurons project axons across the midline
2018
sciencescience-technology
The genetic risk factors for depression
Science & Technology Is depression in your genes?
2018
sciencescience-technology
Origins at EMBL
Science & Technology Join us in our new editorial theme as we ask how everything began
2018
sciencescience-technology
Insights into early cell life
Science & Technology New technique offers insight into early cell life
2018
sciencescience-technology
New cryo-EM service at EMBL Heidelberg
Science & Technology Access to state-of-the-art microscopes and outstanding expertise
2018
sciencescience-technology
Loops, loops and loops: how DNA gets organised
Science & Technology Researchers from Delft University and EMBL crack the mystery of condensin’s neat DNA loop extrusion
2018
sciencescience-technology
Synchronised waves control embryonic patterning
Science & Technology EMBL scientists show that the rhythm between Wnt and Notch waves enables patterning in embryos.
2018
sciencescience-technology
Insights into the evolution of a signalling molecule
Science & Technology EMBL scientists discover how a molecule’s role changes from simple metabolite to instructive signal
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Sara Cuylen-Häring
People & Perspectives New EMBL group leader explores biophysical properties of chromosomes and other cellular assemblies
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Life and death of proteins
Science & Technology EMBL scientists create a turnover catalogue of almost 10.000 proteins from primary cells
2018
sciencescience-technology
Study identifies new diabetes genes
Science & Technology Network of genes linked to development of diabetes
2018
sciencescience-technology
On the orchids of Darwin
Science & Technology How Darwin’s work revealed the intimate relationship between orchids and insects
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Arnaud Krebs
People & Perspectives EMBL’s new group leader studies how gene expression is controlled
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Multipurpose enhancers and promoters in embryonic development
Science & Technology EMBL scientists show that some promoters can act as enhancers and vice versa
2018
sciencescience-technology
Belgian PhD student decodes DNA and wins a Bitcoin
Science & Technology Nick Goldman of EMBL-EBI issued a challenge in 2015. In 2018, a winner emerged just in time.
2018
sciencescience-technology
Pol III enzyme grips DNA and begins reading fast
Science & Technology EMBL researchers uncover how a key enzyme that helps cells make new proteins starts its work
2018
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Matthieu Boulard
People & Perspectives New EMBL group leader investigates the mystery of heritable gene silencing
2018
people-perspectivesscience
Welcome: Aissam Ikmi
People & Perspectives New group leader studies sea anemones to investigate why some animals regenerate better than others
2018
people-perspectivesscience
One way crossing across the midline
Science & Technology EMBL researchers solve a decades-long debate on a key process for brain and embryo-development
2018
sciencescience-technology
Loops in DNA affect which proteins are coded
Science & Technology EMBL scientists unveil how 3D chromatin structure affects RNA splicing
2017
sciencescience-technology
Mapping molecules on people, fields and ATMs
Science & Technology Molecule mapping method raises interest in forensics, agriculture and microbiome studies
2017
sciencescience-technology
Curious genomes
Science & Technology What are the strangest genomes in EMBL-EBI's Ensembl?
2017
sciencescience-technology
Futures: Unravelling influenza
Science & Technology ERC grantee Stephen Cusack shares his vision for the next ten years
2017
sciencescience-technology
Chromosomes don’t need key protein for all their folds
Science & Technology New research reveals that two different mechanisms are responsible for chromosome folding
2017
sciencescience-technology
Enzymes’ superimposable structures revealed
Science & Technology EMBL scientists superimpose structures of two-metal-ion enzymes and reveal new potential drug targets
2017
sciencescience-technology
Cells grow pores from shrinking holes
Science & Technology New research shows how pores form in the membrane that surrounds a cell’s nucleus
2017
sciencescience-technology
Exploring 3D macromolecules in a flash
Science & Technology High resolution 3D protein structures in a giffy with PDBe
2017
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Eva Kowalinski
People & Perspectives New group leader based in Grenoble aims to unveil the mechanisms of RNA editing
2017
people-perspectivesscience
BioModels performance boost, new model formats
Science & Technology New BioModels infrastructure supports significantly more model formats and offers improved search
2017
sciencescience-technology
New technique for imaging the life aquatic
Science & Technology New method for 3D imaging microorganisms lends insight into the creatures that inhabit our oceans
2017
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Julia Mahamid
People & Perspectives The Mahamid group studies meso-scale molecular assemblies in intact cells and model organisms at molecular resolution
2017
people-perspectivesscience
How malaria springs to action in mosquitoes
Science & Technology Insights into the reproduction of Plasmodium parasites in mosquitoes reveal rapid and broad activity
2017
sciencescience-technology
High-res Ebola model could spark new questions
Science & Technology EMBL researchers create highest resolution 3D model of important structure within Ebola virus
2017
sciencescience-technology
CSSB: A new approach to infectious disease
Science & Technology Inside the Centre for Structural Systems Biology
2017
sciencescience-technology
Research highlights
Science & Technology A summary of recent research highlights from EMBL
2017
sciencescience-technology
Supercool structures: new cryo-EM facility
Science & Technology As a new cryo-EM facility is inaugurated, EMBL’s Michael Hons describes his role in the project
2017
sciencescience-technology
A smart cabinet of curiosities
Science & Technology How open data is changing our pursuit of discovery
2017
sciencescience-technology
Science at sea
Science & Technology A talent for organisation has taken EMBL’s Steffi Kandels-Lewis across the globe
2017
sciencescience-technology
What bizarre flies have taught us
Science & Technology Five things researchers have learned from bizarre fruit flies
2017
sciencescience-technology
What is EMBL curious about?
Science & Technology Find out how curiosity is driving some of the work we do here at EMBL
2017
sciencescience-technology
Looping the loops: how chromosomes form
Science & Technology EMBL researchers and collaborators unravel how chromosomes form
2017
sciencescience-technology
Jacques Dubochet awarded Nobel Prize for chemistry
EMBL Announcements EMBL alumnus recognised for cryo-electron microscopy work
2017
embl-announcementsscience
Welcome: Jan Kosinski
People & Perspectives EMBL’s new group leader based in Hamburg aims to create models of infection cycles
2017
people-perspectivesscience
Welcome, Andrew Leach
People & Perspectives Q&A with EMBL-EBI's Head of Chemical Biology data services
2017
people-perspectivesscience
How wine-making yeast can feed wine-spoiling bacteria
Science & Technology How microbes can create niches for each other
2017
sciencescience-technology
Fish on fire
Science & Technology New study by Paola Kuri and Maria Leptin shows how inflammation happens in zebrafish in real time
2017
sciencescience-technology
The future is bright as XFEL opens its doors
Connections Newly opened European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser celebrates start of user operations
2017
connectionsscience
Computational models of cancer available
Science & Technology How patient-derived computational models can help researchers understand cancer
2017
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Justin Crocker
People & Perspectives Meet Justin Crocker, EMBL’s new group leader in gene regulation during evolution and development
2017
people-perspectivesscience
Welcome: Evangelia Petsalaki
People & Perspectives A new group at EMBL-EBI aims to decipher cell signalling networks
2017
people-perspectivesscience
Welcome: Zamin Iqbal
People & Perspectives The Iqbal research group hopes to build a 'Google of bacteria' to help better interpret the genome
2017
people-perspectivesscience
UK Biobank partners with the EGA
Connections Genetic data from a major cohort now distributed via EMBL-EBI
2017
connectionsscience
EIROforum, a driver for international science
Connections EMBL’s Iain Mattaj, the new Chair of EIROforum, on EIROforum’s role
2017
connectionsscience
The sexual dimorphism dilemma
Science & Technology IMPC explains how much the sex of animals is misdirecting research results
2017
sciencescience-technology
Mouse genes could help decipher disease
Science & Technology EMBL-EBI and IMPC characterised over 3000 mouse genes, revealing new gene associations with disease
2017
sciencescience-technology
Open imaging data for biology
Science & Technology The Image Data Resource - prototype of the first open repository linking imaging and molecular data
2017
sciencescience-technology
Senses: Fathoming fear
Science & Technology EMBL’s Cornelius Gross wants to understand fear responses and the brain circuitry that governs them
2017
sciencescience-technology
Mapping gene expression, cell by cell
Science & Technology EMBL researchers complete a molecular atlas showing gene expression in all cells in an entire animal
2017
sciencescience-technology
Senses: Silencing noise
Science & Technology Two EMBL researchers are exploring new ways to filter out noise and get to the data they need
2017
sciencescience-technology
Senses: What you see is how you feel
Science & Technology EMBL’s Hiroki Asari investigates how our internal state can change the way our eyes work
2017
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: James Sharpe
People & Perspectives Meet the head of EMBL's new Barcelona site, James Sharpe
2017
people-perspectivesscience
Sorting out HIV
Science & Technology An EMBL collaboration devises a new method that could speed up vaccine development for HIV
2017
sciencescience-technology
Cell changes drive breast cancer relapse
Science & Technology Hallmarks of residual breat cancer cells suggest new approaches for preventing relapse
2017
sciencescience-technology
HipSci: The human stem cell bank
Science & Technology Introducing one of the largest collections of high-quality human induced pluripotent stem cells
2017
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Jamie Hackett
People & Perspectives Meet Monterotondo’s new group leader for epigenetic reprogramming and inheritance, Jamie Hackett
2017
people-perspectivesscience
Futures: Phosphatases
Science & Technology ERC grantee Maja Köhn shares her vision for the next ten years
2017
sciencescience-technology
Illuminating insulin release
Science & Technology EMBL researchers develop an optical method for measuring the release of insulin from single cells
2017
sciencescience-technology
Embryos use ancient viral DNA
Science & Technology EMBL scientists detect important function of genetic sequence our ancestors assimilated from a virus
2017
sciencescience-technology
A race against the ageing clock
Science & Technology EMBL-EBI researchers identify mouse epigenetic clock that could help scientists understand ageing
2017
sciencescience-technology
Structure of key system for TB infection
Science & Technology EMBL scientists add crucial knowledge to understanding of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis
2017
sciencescience-technology
Blood stem cell differentiation is continuous
Science & Technology Study by EMBL and DKFZ researchers means origins of myeloid leukaemias may need rethinking
2017
sciencescience-technology
Ageing: cell coordination breakdown
Science & Technology Researchers use single-cell sequencing to understand how cells age
2017
sciencescience-technology
Futures: The dark proteome
Science & Technology ERC grantee Edward Lemke shares his vision for the next ten years
2017
sciencescience-technology
Futures: Brain evolution
Science & Technology ERC grantee Detlev Arendt shares his vision for the next ten years
2017
sciencescience-technology
Futures: Genome regulation
Science & Technology ERC grantee Eileen Furlong shares her vision for the next ten years
2017
sciencescience-technology
Cell division offers hope to fight antibiotic resistance
Science & Technology Keeping bacterial chromosomes tangled could lead to new approaches to treatment
2017
sciencescience-technology
Fresh insight into how immune cells fight malaria
Science & Technology Reconstructing T-cell development in high resolution
2017
sciencescience-technology
Unlocking the secrets of nuclear movements
Science & Technology EMBL researchers develop a computer model to explore the movement of nuclei in a multinuclear cell
2017
sciencescience-technology
Metabolism matters
Science & Technology Differentiated and undifferentiated cells get energy in different ways, sensor made at EMBL shows
2017
sciencescience-technology
Lipids in real time
Science & Technology A new technique developed at EMBL reveals the way fats interact with other molecules in cells
2017
sciencescience-technology
Genetic switches can change shape
Science & Technology EMBL scientists discovered that common mutations can change the shape of gene promoters
2017
sciencescience-technology
Genetics of ‘room-mate’ influences health
Science & Technology Healing and anxiety are influenced by the genetics of one’s social partners
2017
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Wojciech Galej
People & Perspectives New group leader Wojciech Galej investigates RNA-protein complexes involved in gene expression
2017
people-perspectivesscience
Buffering mechanism protects embryonic development
Science & Technology New mechanism revealed
2017
sciencescience-technology
Neural connection keeps instincts in check
Science & Technology EMBL scientists find out how the prefrontal cortex puts a break on instinctive behaviours
2017
sciencescience-technology
How flu steals your RNA
Science & Technology Understanding how the flu virus steals host RNA offers hope of new drugs
2016
sciencescience-technology
New insights into receptor balancing
Science & Technology Inducible mechanism found by EMBL scientists links receptor degradation and replenishment
2016
sciencescience-technology
Structure of HIV capsid within virus visualised
Science & Technology EMBL scientists use new techniques to describe the architecture of conical HIV capsids
2016
sciencescience-technology
Study offers approach to treating pain
Science & Technology Research on the effect of nerve cell stiffness on sensitivity to touch could lead to new painkillers
2016
sciencescience-technology
Cycle of life
Science & Technology Paul Nurse’s failed experiment inspired a career that would uncover key mechanisms of cell division
2016
sciencescience-technology
Omnipath for signalling pathways
Science & Technology New method combines signalling pathway data resources to improve systems biology research
2016
sciencescience-technology
Catching the chaperone in the act
Science & Technology How Christian Löw’s failed experiment led to an unexpected scientific journey
2016
sciencescience-technology
What would it take to regrow an arm?
Science & Technology Exploring what it would take to regrow a lost limb, and what we might learn along the way
2016
sciencescience-technology
Toxoplasma’s balancing act explained
Science & Technology Parasite’s method of rewiring our immune response leads to novel tool for drug tests
2016
sciencescience-technology
BLUEPRINT project delivers
Science & Technology BLUEPRINT: EMBL-EBI and the push to decipher the blood epigenome
2016
sciencescience-technology
New insights into RNA Polymerase I
Science & Technology Cryo EM reconstruction of RNA Polymerase I reveals details of how molecule binds and transcribes DNA
2016
sciencescience-technology
Improving data analysis in imaging mass spec
Science & Technology Open source bioinformatics method for finding metabolites makes experiments comparable across labs
2016
sciencescience-technology
Collaboration is beautiful
Science & Technology Where design meets bioinformatics, new scientific perspectives abound.
2016
sciencescience-technology
Spiral growth
Science & Technology What happens when plant's leaf-placing feedback loop isn't quite right
2016
sciencescience-technology
Welcome to EMBL: Robert Prevedel
People & Perspectives Robert Prevedel develops deep-tissue microscopy for scientists to peer deep inside living organisms
2016
people-perspectivesscience
MultiBacTAG: A protein production platform
Science & Technology New platform useful for studies of protein binding, human tissue and more
2016
sciencescience-technology
Drivers of evolution hidden in plain sight
Science & Technology A rapid, versatile mechanism that modifies proteins is revealed to be crucial for the evolutionary process
2016
sciencescience-technology
In pursuit of flat growth in leaves
Science & Technology EMBL scientists investigate how leaves grow flat to efficiently capture sunlight
2016
sciencescience-technology
‘Essential genes’ help focus research
Science & Technology IMPC study identifies 410 genes essential to life in the mouse, providing a window on human disease
2016
sciencescience-technology
Turning up the heat on drug side effects
Science & Technology Side-effects of leukaemia drug explained, reveal possibility of repurposing to treat other diseases
2016
sciencescience-technology
Welcome to EMBL: Mikhail Savitski
People & Perspectives New head of Proteomics Core Facility also runs stability proteomics lab
2016
people-perspectivesscience
Watching nuclear pores in growing nuclei
Science & Technology Puzzle of nuclear pore formation in growing nuclei solved
2016
sciencescience-technology
New drug candidate unleashed for TB
Science & Technology EMBL researchers help to design a lead compound active against four different pathogens
2016
sciencescience-technology
Taking crystallography to the fourth dimension
Science & Technology Collaborating to take crystallography into a new time dimension
2016
sciencescience-technology
See data in a new light
Science & Technology 3D printing, gaming, virtual reality and lenticular posters bring new perspectives to research
2016
sciencescience-technology
Gene editing 3.0
Science & Technology Emmanuelle Charpentier sheds light on how CRISPR–Cas9 went from side project to global revolution
2016
sciencescience-technology
Atomic proportions
Connections EMBL and ESRF scientists and mechanics work together on upgrade for one of Europe’s big X-ray sources
2016
connectionsscience
Form follows function
Science & Technology 'The PDB plays a crucial role in structural biology research and development'
2016
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Georg Zeller
Science & Technology Team leader investigates how the gut microbiome could relate to human diseases
2016
sciencescience-technology
Life in the periphery
Science & Technology Storage of pre-made nuclear pores allows for rapid cell division in fruit fly embryos
2016
sciencescience-technology
Blocking the waste disposal unit
Science & Technology Detailed structure paves the way for more effective cancer therapies
2016
sciencescience-technology
The force is strong with embryo cells
Science & Technology Strength of contraction determines whether cells become embryo or placenta
2016
sciencescience-technology
New tool to control information relay in cells
Science & Technology Molecular messengers synthesised to help study how cells respond to outside stimuli
2016
sciencescience-technology
Discovering protein smartphones
Science & Technology New technique reveals uncharted docking sites in RNA-binding proteins
2016
sciencescience-technology
How new HIV drugs lock virus in immaturity
Science & Technology Study provides insights into workings of new HIV drugs and how virus becomes resistant
2016
sciencescience-technology
CTLS: a professional association for core facilities
Science & Technology Core Technologies in Life Sciences (CTLS) association will be key resource for facility professionals
2016
sciencescience-technology
Mapping early development
Science & Technology “Like getting hold of a microscope for the first time”
2016
sciencescience-technology
Scientific twins
Science & Technology Collaborations shorten distance between EMBL Heidelberg, Germany, and CEITEC in Brno, Czech Republic
2016
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Alba Diz-Muñoz
People & Perspectives New group leader combines physics and biology to answer the 'hows' of cell movement
2016
people-perspectivesscience
Found in translation
Science & Technology Studying at EMBL in Grenoble helps Japanese postdoc see her native country through different eyes
2016
sciencescience-technology
How cells bag their rubbish
Science & Technology How cells eliminate protein deposits that can lead to neurodegenerative disorders
2016
sciencescience-technology
Leading the way in time-resolved crystallography
Science & Technology Establishing a programme of research, development and user services for time-resolved crystallography
2016
sciencescience-technology
Microbiomes: Our humble overlords
Science & Technology What's a microbiome? How on Earth do they work?
2016
sciencescience-technology
Supporting science at sea
People & Perspectives Dozens of postdocs boosted their careers with a voyage aboard the Tara Oceans research schooner
2016
people-perspectivesscience
Making cells move towards the light
Science & Technology New method enables scientists to use light to direct where cancer cells go
2016
sciencescience-technology
Unexpected link in protein production
Science & Technology From shared interests at a conference to a surprising discovery
2016
sciencescience-technology
Enzyme with a dual-purpose loop
Science & Technology Unexpected results: structure of DAPK enzyme reveals dual-purpose loop
2016
sciencescience-technology
The pheromones behind romance
Science & Technology A perfect match: behaviourist Takefumi Kikusui visits the Gross group to explore animal attraction
2016
sciencescience-technology
Towards personalised breast cancer treatment
Science & Technology Largest-ever study of breast cancer genomes reveals new genes and mutations
2016
sciencescience-technology
Poo transplants better understood
Science & Technology Stool transplants: finding the right match important, EMBL study shows
2016
sciencescience-technology
The rhythms in life
Science & Technology How EMBL scientists are discovering and understanding the waves and rhythms inside us
2016
sciencescience-technology
The man behind the machine
Science & Technology Florent Cipriani talks about his passion for developing beamline instrumentation
2016
sciencescience-technology
Light control
Science & Technology EMBL PhD project puts development in a new light
2016
sciencescience-technology
Crystals in the beamlight
Science & Technology CrystalDirect, developed at EMBL, automates crystal preparation for X-ray analysis
2016
sciencescience-technology
Revealing structure of nuclear pore’s inner ring
Science & Technology First detailed structural description of all the rings of nuclear pores
2016
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Hiroki Asari
People & Perspectives Why does a cookie look different depending on how hungry you are? Neuroscientist Asari wants to find out
2016
people-perspectivesscience
Designing gene therapy
Science & Technology Information on structure of molecule used for genome engineering yields increased efficiency
2016
sciencescience-technology
Foetus, or placenta?
Science & Technology Subtle genetic differences destine cells to placenta or animal, very early in embryo development
2016
sciencescience-technology
Better tools for exploring TB protein structures
Science & Technology How an EMBL team is making and sharing tools to explore tuberculosis protein structures
2016
sciencescience-technology
Supporting the bioimaging revolution
Science & Technology Commentary in Nature Methods introduces the EMPIAR resource and gives glimpse of future developments
2016
sciencescience-technology
Mothers and daughters
Science & Technology 1st real-time video of starfish egg cell eliminating crucial structures, to ensure embryo viability
2016
sciencescience-technology
Finding the way with X-Ray
Science & Technology New technique uses X-rays to find landmarks when combining fluorescence and electron microscopy
2016
sciencescience-technology
Forgetting to learn
Science & Technology Neural mechanisms in mouse brains indicate that we actively forget as we learn
2016
sciencescience-technology
![A new tool for single-cell genomics helps us better understand differences between T cell populations. [Illustration: Spencer Phillips, EMBL-EBI]](https://www.embl.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TCell_news_EMBL-e1457443531496-300x205.jpg)
Immunology meets single-cell sequencing
Science & Technology TraCeR: new method for studying T cells opens up opportunities to explore immune responses
2016
sciencescience-technology
A cohesive structure
Science & Technology Structural insights into how cohesin keeps DNA together during the cell cycle
2016
sciencescience-technology
Mapping malaria
Science & Technology First detailed atlas of start points for genes expression in malaria-causing parasite
2016
sciencescience-technology
DREAM shadows: chasing down disease networks
Science & Technology “It’s a bit like drawing a picture of an intricate object just by looking at its shadow on the wall."
2016
sciencescience-technology
Forever young
Science & Technology How stem cells resist change
2016
sciencescience-technology
In sync
Science & Technology What do cells in an embryo have in common with schools of fish, swarms of fireflies, and applauding audiences?
2016
sciencescience-technology
True Love
Science & Technology How transcription factors interact to create a heart
2016
sciencescience-technology
The carbon hijacking network
Science & Technology Plankton network linked to ocean's biological carbon pump revealed
2016
sciencescience-technology
How to make a protein happy
Science & Technology Protein screens developed at EMBL Hamburg now commercially available
2016
sciencescience-technology
The cellular crystal factory
Science & Technology Hamburg collaborators analyse protein crystals inside the cells that made them.
2016
sciencescience-technology
One gene, two proteins, one complex
Science & Technology Further insights into how viral enzymes degrade the cell walls of Clostridia bacteria.
2016
sciencescience-technology
Linking DNA modification and gene expression
Science & Technology New method is first to enable parallel profiling of the transcriptome and epigenome of a single cell.
2016
sciencescience-technology
SPIM doctors
Science & Technology From initial development to a start-up company: Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) at EMBL.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Turning point of a lifetime
Science & Technology New microscope can record the first days of a mouse embryo’s life
2015
sciencescience-technology
Periodic table of protein complexes
Science & Technology Making it easier to visualise, understand and predict how proteins combine to drive biological processes.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Drugging bacteria
Science & Technology Commonly used diabetes drug metformin impacts gut bacteria more than disease itself
2015
sciencescience-technology
Pol III: Completing the family album
Science & Technology CryoEM solves 3D atomic structure of largest and most elusive RNA polymerase.
2015
sciencescience-technology
What makes us human? Or not…
Science & Technology From jumping genes to organ transplants, the non-human features that make us human.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Lighting up development
Science & Technology Using lasers to shed light on how tissues get into shape
2015
sciencescience-technology
Unpacking embryonic pluripotency
Science & Technology Embryology, genomics and bioinformatics combine to identify factors regulating mammalian pluripotency.
2015
sciencescience-technology
One hard pull
Science & Technology Fibres that pull membrane to form a vesicle exert a force that’s 2500 times a yeast cell’s own weight
2015
sciencescience-technology
Allergy: the price of immunity?
Science & Technology Findings help demonstrate the evolutionary basis for allergy.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Enzyme research made easier
Science & Technology Enzyme Portal makes it easier to explore all enzyme-related data in EMBL-EBI’s public resources.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Mini DNA sequencer tests true
Science & Technology Evaluation of MinION™ sequencer finds performance and reliability consistently good.
2015
sciencescience-technology
A snapshot of stem cell expression
Science & Technology Study of mouse embryonic stem cells reveals new genes involved in the stem-cell regulatory network.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Floppy but fast
Science & Technology Spaghetti-like proteins are surprisingly effective 'keys'
2015
sciencescience-technology
A lasting legacy
Science & Technology 1000 Genomes Project pushed technologies and knowledge forward to understand what is 'normal' human genetic variation
2015
sciencescience-technology
Marine mysteries
Science & Technology From the role of diatoms to how life evolved - scientists' pressing questions about life in the sea.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Finding links and missing genes
Science & Technology Missing a gene may not be a big deal – a conclusion from global catalogue of genetic changes.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Checkpoint architecture
Science & Technology A nuclear pore riddle: how can you use the same number of pieces to form two rings that fit inside each other?
2015
sciencescience-technology
MASSIFly efficient
Science & Technology MASSIF-1 processes its 10,000th crystal, less than one year after the beamline became operational.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Ages apart
Science & Technology Multifaceted approach reveals how brain and liver age, helps explain why ageing brain loses plasticity.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Clearing a path for cancer research
Science & Technology New computational method to study biological signalling networks in healthy and cancer cells.
2015
sciencescience-technology
It’s the economy, stupid
Science & Technology Theodore Alexandrov is using mathematics to analyse the countless molecules produced by our cells.
2015
sciencescience-technology
An ocean odyssey
Science & Technology A journalist who spent six weeks aboard Tara reflects on the expedition’s extraordinary outcomes.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Life in 3D
Science & Technology EMBL scientists map ‘switches’ for distant control of gene expression.
2015
sciencescience-technology
First, find your membrane
Science & Technology Collaboration between scientists reveals collaboration between lipids.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Life is but a DREAM
Science & Technology Crowd sourcing initiative to predict effects of toxic compounds: results of 2013 DREAM Challenge.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Theodore Alexandrov
People & Perspectives A mathematician who got ‘sucked in’ to biological problems, meet new team leader Theodore Alexandrov.
2015
people-perspectivesscience
From patients to the lab (and back)
Science & Technology Multidisciplinary research provides clues to new treatments for deadly form of leukaemia in children
2015
sciencescience-technology
Know your cells
Science & Technology How T-cells are trained on what not to kill
2015
sciencescience-technology
Iron regulators join war on pathogens
Science & Technology Iron regulatory proteins play important role in combatting infection, protecting against Salmonella.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Oskar’s structure revealed
Science & Technology 3D structure of Oskar protein gives first molecular insight into how it functions.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Cell machinery wears complex coat
Science & Technology 3D imaging unravels COPI coat of cells' transport vesicles.
2015
sciencescience-technology
The genome in the cloud
Science & Technology Jan Korbel and colleagues publish commentary on risks and rewards of genome cloud computing.
2015
sciencescience-technology
DNA protection, inch by inch
Science & Technology European team identify mechanism for producing piRNAs that silence jumping genes in germline cells.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Decades-old cell biology puzzle solved
Science & Technology Behaviour of clathrin proteins, crucial for endocytosis, is clarified using new imaging techniques.
2015
sciencescience-technology
The curious case of the bi-specific enzyme
Science & Technology A puzzling peculiarity resolved by Hamburg’s Sample Preparation and Characterisation facility.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Large-scale genetic analysis made easier
Science & Technology Researchers at EMBL-EBI speed up complex GWAS analyses with new method and algorithm.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Dancing with the cells
Science & Technology Cells 'dance' as they draw together during early embryo development.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Decaying RNA molecules tell a story
Science & Technology Decaying RNA molecules tell a story that could add more chapters to the study of ribosomes.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Oceans endeavour charts 40 million genes
Science & Technology Tara Oceans results reveal climate change insights, and a treasure trove of novel species and genes.
2015
sciencescience-technology
It runs in the family
Science & Technology Detailed structural study shows distantly related viruses share a common machinery for replication.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Sense of space
Science & Technology EMBL scientists demonstrate that spatial constraints are a key factor in determining nucleus size.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Are protein domains indivisible?
Science & Technology New research shows that some proteins domains can function even with big parts missing.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Destined for the brain
Science & Technology Not all embryonic macrophages are the same, and only some are destined to become microglia.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Taking out the trash
Science & Technology Unveiling the shape of... the 'molecular bin man' – cryoEM helps reveals p62 polymer in 3D.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Destination collaboration
Science & Technology Stanford University biophysicist KC Huang on his collaboration with the Typas group in Heidelberg.
2015
sciencescience-technology
When microbes feed each other
Science & Technology Cooperate or compete? Microbes show us that getting along is the better choice for communities.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Element of surprise
Science & Technology Radiocarbon studies are helping researchers shine light on how neurons stay stable yet adaptable.
2015
sciencescience-technology
How cells have got molecules surrounded
Science & Technology Ground-breaking microscopy technique gives unprecedented insight into endocytosis.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Towards an expression atlas for an entire brain
Science & Technology New single-cell genomics techniques bring ‘omics to evolution and development research.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Bypassing errors
Science & Technology Coin toss inspires CorMap: a new statistical test that sidesteps need for error estimation.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Team spirit in the genome
Science & Technology Go Team Genome! New method reveals genetic teamwork in drosophila genome.
2015
sciencescience-technology
No humans required
Science & Technology New fully automated technique enables scientists to chart complex protein networks in living cells.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Best of three worlds
Science & Technology Combining three different kinds of microscopy to determine how molecules move during endocytosis.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Under pressure
Science & Technology How strong does a spindle need to be? Videos put cell’s chromosome-separating machinery to the test
2015
sciencescience-technology
Attack from all sides
Science & Technology Hamburg-led tuberculosis study demonstrates the power of collaboration.
2015
sciencescience-technology
How to crowdsource a paper
Science & Technology Tried and tested do's and don'ts of crowdsource writing.
2015
sciencescience-technology
The battle for iron
Science & Technology New way mice starve pathogens raises alternative approach to treatments for anaemia of chronic disease
2015
sciencescience-technology
Beyond sequencing
Science & Technology New microscopy-based method goes beyond gene sequencing, pinpointing the cause of disease.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Why is a dolphin not a cat?
Science & Technology How repurposing non-coding elements in the genome gave rise to the great ‘mammalian radiation’.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Barcoding epigenetics
Science & Technology New Bar-ChIP method makes it easier to search for epigenetic marks in many samples at once
2015
sciencescience-technology
Come together
Science & Technology First experimental proof that a key cellular machine forms by uniting pre-assembled modules.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Miraculous microscopes: a brief history
Science & Technology A brief history of microscopes, from van Leeuwenhoek to Betzig, Hell and Moerner.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Light years ahead
Science & Technology As EMBL Hamburg celebrates 40 years, we explore the past, present and future of crystallography.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Cell control in a flash
Science & Technology From using light to control brain activity to illuminating fruit fly development and mice’s sense of touch
2015
sciencescience-technology
Hidden cell types revealed
Science & Technology New statistical method for RNA-seq analysis creates order out of seeming chaos.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Marco Marcia
Science & Technology New group leader Marco Marcia aims to broaden horizons while mapping molecules.
2015
sciencescience-technology
‘Hairclip’ protein mechanism explained
Science & Technology Research led by Teichmann group identifies fundamental mechanism for controlling protein function.
2015
sciencescience-technology
Bacteria’s barrel-building challenge
Science & Technology How do E.coli and similar bacteria grow safely? By using barrel-plugs as sensors.
2014
sciencescience-technology
How to fix a cellular powerhouse
Science & Technology Compound that can restore the function of poorly working mitochondria, with therapeutic potential.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Delighting in detail
Science & Technology Unprecedented detail in images of mouse neurons thanks to new SNAP-tagging microscopy technique.
2014
sciencescience-technology
What makes a mosquito deadly?
Science & Technology Genome-based insights into evolution of malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquitoes.
2014
sciencescience-technology
MASSIF step forward
Science & Technology In two months, 2.3 million diffraction images collected on new, fully automated ESRF/EMBL beamline.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Record parasitic worm dataset
Science & Technology Largest collection of helminth genomic data ever assembled, in new open-access WormBase ParaSite.
2014
sciencescience-technology
20 years in the making
Science & Technology First complete picture of flu virus polymerase. A story of two decades of blood, sweat and sneezes.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Welcome: Kyung-Min Noh
People & Perspectives The important thing is forming good biological questions, says new group leader in Genome Biology.
2014
people-perspectivesscience
Welcome: Judith Zaugg
People & Perspectives Whether it’s information or people, the art of connecting is key to new group leader Judith Zaugg
2014
people-perspectivesscience
Building an EMPIAR
Science & Technology EMPIAR lets researchers take a closer look at the images used to build 3D molecular structures.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Same pieces, different picture
Science & Technology Unprecedented detail on HIV structure continues virus’ string of surprises.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Computational modelling resource
Science & Technology New, open repository helps researchers share computational models of disease.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Kidney cancer in Central Europe
Science & Technology Kidney cancer linked to exposure to aristolochic acid, an ingredient in some herbal remedies.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Chamber of secrets
Science & Technology Like sports teams, cells can huddle to communicate in secret and organise group behaviour
2014
sciencescience-technology
Protecting us from our cells
Science & Technology Growth factor IGF-1 boosts natural defence against type-1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis
2014
sciencescience-technology
European Variation Archive launches
Science & Technology European Variation Archive makes it easier to explore detailed information about genetic variation.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Breaking boundaries
Science & Technology How Nobel-winning work by alumnus Stefan Hell shapes and inspires current EMBL scientists' research.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Superstars of science
Science & Technology From anemones to starfish, sea creatures are helping understand development, evolution and more.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Go with the flow
Science & Technology Flow cytometry: finding needles in haystacks
2014
sciencescience-technology
10 notable Hungarian scientists
From vitamin C to safe matches, a sample of notable scientists from our newest prospect member state.
2014
science
How plankton gets jet lagged
Science & Technology How plankton gets jet lagged: the same hormone governs our sleep patterns and a daily marine migration.
2014
sciencescience-technology
From worm muscle to spinal discs
Science & Technology Evolutionary surprise: notochord likely evolved from muscle, earlier than assumed.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Major advance in stem cell technology
Science & Technology Researchers produce pristine stem cells, which can be precisely changed into clinically relevant cell types.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Gibbon genome joins Ensembl
Science & Technology Gibbon genome gives insights into evolution of this singing, swinging, tree-dwelling ape.
2014
sciencescience-technology
RNAcentral Station
Science & Technology RNAcentral is the first unified resource for all types of non-coding RNA data.
2014
sciencescience-technology
How do animals become domesticated?
Science & Technology Bronwen Aken discusses what research into the rabbit genome reveals about animal domestication.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Binding bracelet
Science & Technology Vasa protein preserves pieces of 'enemy' DNA to help protect the genes of future generations.
2014
sciencescience-technology
International connections
Science & Technology How a single molecule can attract and repel growing brain connections
2014
sciencescience-technology
New, improved human genome
Science & Technology Ensembl has incorporated a vast amount of knowledge into a fully annotated reference human genome
2014
sciencescience-technology
Unpacking iron overload
Science & Technology A rare form of an iron overload disorder kills pancreatic function, Heidelberg scientists find
2014
sciencescience-technology
Clarity in the cold
Science & Technology How fruit flies beat the cold, plus the value of precisely controlled experiments and detailed analysis
2014
sciencescience-technology
On editing the genetic code
Science & Technology Edward Lemke edits special issue of ChemBioChem on boom of technology for genetic code expansion
2014
sciencescience-technology
Fighting bacteria – with viruses
Science & Technology Molecular switch enables viruses to destroy C.diff bacteria – potential alternative to antibiotics
2014
sciencescience-technology
Shedding light on chimeral twins
Science & Technology Marmoset genome provides insights into chimerism: data available in Ensembl genome explorer
2014
sciencescience-technology
Embracing cellular complexity
Science & Technology Cell biologists "underestimate the complexity" of protein interactions, says Toby Gibson.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Bringing chemistry to life (science)
Science & Technology Embed chemists in biology departments, asking their own biological questions, says Carsten Schultz
2014
sciencescience-technology
Surprisingly stable long-distance relationships
Science & Technology Surprising finding: enhancers find their targets long before activation in Drosophila embryos
2014
sciencescience-technology
The future’s bright
Science & Technology Surprising protein from a flu-like virus is 10 000th ESRF structure
2014
sciencescience-technology
Nothing but blue skies
Science & Technology Focusing on basic research is crucial for the development of more advanced genetics techniques
2014
sciencescience-technology
The shape of things to come
Science & Technology New ways of handling and distributing data at PDBe to tackle ever larger and more complex proteins
2014
sciencescience-technology
Chain reactions
Science & Technology Scientists determine the structure of auxin response factors: daisy-chains that regulate gene expression
2014
sciencescience-technology
Taken out of context
Science & Technology Enabling neighbours: intact genes can cause cancer when placed near "enhancing" regions of DNA
2014
sciencescience-technology
Capturing marine biodiversity
Science & Technology Data from first ever worldwide Ocean Sampling Day will be shared via EMBL-EBI resources this autumn.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Sheep genome provides rich resource for agricultural research
Science & Technology Reference sheep genome, published by International Sheep Genomics Consortium, available in Ensembl
2014
sciencescience-technology
Picky eaters: how microglia capture their prey
Science & Technology A kaleidoscope of molecules is needed to clean up dead brain cells, and failure can have disastrous consequences
2014
sciencescience-technology
Insights into genetics of cleft lip
Science & Technology How a DNA stretch influences face formation and contributes to common congenital malformations
2014
sciencescience-technology
HIV: hacking, immaturity and viruses
Science & Technology High-resolution structure reveals crucial interactions for HIV maturation
2014
sciencescience-technology
First, catch your DNA
Science & Technology DNA-coralling protein complex in an unexpected bind
2014
sciencescience-technology
How immune cells use steroids
Science & Technology Genome Campus researchers discover that some immune cells turn themselves off by producing a steroid.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Remodelling the cell
Science & Technology The balance behind membrane changes that turn one cell into 6000 as a fruit fly embryo develops
2014
sciencescience-technology
Tsetse fly genome sequenced
Science & Technology Tsetse fly genome sequenced; scientists hope to find new ways to control sleeping sickness.
2014
sciencescience-technology
Making your brain social
Science & Technology In many people with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, different parts of the brain don’t talk to each other very well. Scientists have now identified, for the first time, a way in which this decreased functional connectivity can come about. In a study published online today…
2014
sciencescience-technology
What are you scared of?
Science & Technology What do bullies and sex have in common? Based on work by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, it seems that the same part of the brain reacts to both. In a study published today in Nature Neuroscience, the researchers found that – at least in…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Bigger, better, faster
Science & Technology The molecular machine that makes essential components of ribosomes – the cell’s protein factories – is like a Swiss-army knife, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas in Madrid, Spain, have found.…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Choreographed origami
Science & Technology An important step in building ribosomes – the cell’s protein factories – is like a strictly choreographed dance, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered. To build these factories, other ‘machines’ inside the cell have to…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Without a trace
Science & Technology Migrating cells, it seems, cover their tracks not for fear of being followed, but to keep moving forward. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have now shown that cells in a zebrafish embryo determine which direction they move in by effectively…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Potential new drug target for cystic fibrosis
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and Regensburg University, both in Germany, and the University of Lisboa, in Portugal, have discovered a promising potential drug target for cystic fibrosis. Their work, published online today in Cell, also uncovers a…
2013
sciencescience-technology
From fireman to arsonist
Science & Technology Like a fireman who becomes an arsonist, a protein that prevents cells becoming cancerous can also cause tumours, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, have discovered. The finding, published today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, stems…
2013
sciencescience-technology
PS: It’s not cholesterol
Science & Technology How our body processes cholesterol has a well-known impact on our health, but it turns out that another ‘fat molecule’ – or lipid – may be at the heart of some diseases which were thought to involve cholesterol. A group of proteins linked to conditions such as metabolic syndrome and some…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Cells eat themselves into shape
Science & Technology The process cells use to ‘swallow’ up nutrients, hormones and other signals from their environment – called endocytosis – can play a crucial role in shaping the cells themselves, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found. The study,…
2013
sciencescience-technology
How to build your gate
Science & Technology It’s a parent’s nightmare: opening a Lego set and being faced with 500 pieces, but no instructions on how to assemble them into the majestic castle shown on the box. Thanks to a new approach by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany,…
2013
sciencescience-technology
But what does it do?
Science & Technology Although we know the tool’s general purpose, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if a specific pair of precision tweezers belongs to a surgeon or a master jeweller. It is now easier to solve similar conundrums about a type of protein that allows cells to react to their environment, thanks to…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Pushing the boundaries of transcription
Science & Technology Like musicians in an orchestra who have the same musical score but start and finish playing at different intervals, cells with the same genes start and finish transcribing them at different points in the genome. For the first time, researchers at EMBL have described the striking diversity of…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Havoc in biology’s most-used human cell line
Science & Technology HeLa cells are the world’s most commonly used human cell lines, and have served as a standard for understanding many fundamental biological processes. In a study published today in G3: Genes, Genomes and Genetics online, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in…
2013
sciencescience-technology
DNA’s twisted communication
Science & Technology During embryo development, genes are dynamically, and very precisely, switched on and off to confer different properties to different cells and build a well-proportioned and healthy animal. Fgf8 is one of the key genes in this process, controlling in particular the growth of the limbs and…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Zeroing in on heart disease
Science & Technology Studies screening the genome of hundreds of thousands of individuals (known as Genome-wide association studies or GWAS) have linked more than 100 regions in the genome to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the…
2013
sciencescience-technology
One disease, two mechanisms
Science & Technology While prostate cancer is the most common cancer in elderly Western men it also, but more rarely, strikes patients aged between 35 and 50. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, in collaboration with several other research teams in Germany*, have…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Learning from the linker
Science & Technology Mature cells can be reprogrammed to pluripotency and thus regain the ability to divide and differentiate into specialized cell types. Although these so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) represent a milestone in stem cell research, many of the biochemical processes that underlie…
2013
sciencescience-technology
The mutation police
Science & Technology Scientists at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the UK have discovered how our genome keeps the effects of mutations in check. The discovery, published in the journal Cell, will help in the study of diseases such as cancer and…
2013
sciencescience-technology
EMBL-EBI researchers make DNA storage a reality
Science & Technology Researchers at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have created a way to store data in the form of DNA – a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method, published today in the journal Nature, makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of…
2013
sciencescience-technology
The cell that isn’t
Science & Technology This may look like yet another video of a dividing cell, but there’s a catch. You are looking at chromosomes (red) being pulled apart by the mitotic spindle (green), but it’s not a cell, because there’s no cell membrane. Like a child sucking an egg out of its shell, Ivo Telley from the…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Protein production: going viral
Science & Technology A research team of scientists from EMBL Grenoble and the IGBMC in Strasbourg, France, have, for the first time, described in molecular detail the architecture of the central scaffold of TFIID: the human protein complex essential for transcription from DNA to mRNA. The study, published today…
2013
sciencescience-technology
Sync to grow
Science & Technology Gene expression wave in the lower part of the future vertebrae column of a mammalian embryo. As the wave goes forward, new pre-vertebrae are formed and the future vertebrae column elongates. (Image and video credit: Nature) In a nutshell: The size of pre-vertebrae in a mammalian embryo is…
2012
sciencescience-technology
My microbes
Science & Technology In a nutshell : The gut metagenome is the collection of all the genomes of all the microbes in the human intestinal tract : it is specific to each human, like a second genetic signature At least in healthy humans, this personal metagenome is stable over time The gut metagenome is…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Spot the difference
Science & Technology In a nutshell: 1st map combining human genetic variation at different scales – from single letters to large chunks Based on genomes of 1092 healthy people from Europe, the Americas and East Asia Could help identify genetic causes of disease, rather than just links Data made freely available in…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Loop the loop, DNA style
Science & Technology In a nutshell: Looping and unlooping DNA adjusts readout from gene and spread of regulation throughout the genome When a gene forms a loop, its output increases, as the transcription machinery that reads it is trapped into moving only along that gene When the gene loop is undone, transcription…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Cellular eavesdropping made easy
Science & Technology In a nutshell: New method allows precise analysis of proteins released by cells over time (distinguishes them from proteins in the cells’ culture serum) Advantages: cells don’t have to be starved: avoids bias and allows more cell types to be studied; can follow fast reactions like immune…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Fast forward for biomedical research
Science & Technology Today, an international team of researchers reveal that much of what has been called ‘junk DNA’ in the human genome is actually a massive control panel with millions of switches regulating the activity of our genes. Without these switches, genes would not work – and mutations in these regions…
2012
sciencescience-technology
How the cell swallows
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have combined the power of two kinds of microscope to produce a 3-dimensional movie of how cells ‘swallow’ nutrients and other molecules by engulfing them. The study, published today in Cell, is the…
2012
sciencetechnology-and-innovation
Catching the cap-snatcher
Science & Technology Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, have determined the detailed 3-dimensional structure of part of the flu virus’ RNA polymerase, an enzyme that is crucial for influenza virus replication. This important finding is published today in PLoS…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Of flies and men
Science & Technology What do you get when you dissect 10 000 fruit-fly larvae? A team of researchers led by the EMBL- European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in the UK and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI) in Germany has discovered a way in which cells can adjust the activity of many…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Italy pledges to be part of ELIXIR research infrastructure
Connections Italy has pledged to participate in ELIXIR, a major undertaking to safeguard the results of life science research in Europe. With one of Europe’s larger economies now demonstrating its commitment to ELIXIR, this burgeoning research infrastructure is well placed to continue its excellent progress.…
2012
connectionsscience
Stop and go
Science & Technology A traffic policeman standing at a busy intersection directing the flow of vehicles may be a rare sight these days, but a similar scene appears to still frequently play out in our cells. A protein called Lem4 directs a crucial step of cell division by preventing the progress of one molecule while…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Flu fighters
Science & Technology Savira pharmaceuticals GmbH, a spin-off of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) based in Vienna, Austria, has signed a collaboration and license agreement with Roche, thus further strengthening the links between fundamental research and major pharmaceutical development companies. This…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Shape-shifting shell
Science & Technology As a retrovirus matures, the two parts of its shell protein (red and blue or yellow and blue) dramatically rearrange themselves, twisting and moving away from each other. (Credit: EMBL/T.Bharat) Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have for the…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Video Release: Filming life in the fast lane
Science & Technology “This video shows a fruit fly embryo from when it was about two-and-a-half hours old until it walked away from the microscope as a larva, 20 hours later,” says Lars Hufnagel, from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. “It shows all the hallmarks of fruit fly…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Export extravaganza
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have conducted the first comprehensive census of human cells’ export workers. In a study published online today in Nature Cell Biology, they found an unexpected variety of genes involved in transporting…
2012
sciencescience-technology
The cell’s ‘New World’
Science & Technology In one of the most famous faux pas of exploration, Columbus set sail for India and instead ‘discovered’ America. Similarly, when scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, set out to find enzymes – the proteins that carry out chemical…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Locating ground zero
Science & Technology Like emergency workers rushing to a disaster scene, cells called microglia speed to places where the brain has been injured, to contain the damage by ‘eating up’ any cellular debris and dead or dying neurons. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany,…
2012
sciencescience-technology
A matter of priorities
Science & Technology Just as banks store away only the most valuable possessions in the most secure safes, cells prioritise which genes they guard most closely, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have found. The study, published online today…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Need for speed
Science & Technology Like any law-abiding train passenger, a molecule called oskar RNA carries a stamped ticket detailing its destination and form of transport, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found. They show that for this molecule, moving in the…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Flying high in Europe
Science & Technology Today a consortium of leading IT providers and three of Europe’s biggest research centres (CERN, EMBL and ESA) announced a partnership to launch a European cloud computing platform. ‘Helix Nebula ‐ the Science Cloud’, will support the massive IT requirements of European…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Making the most of what you have
Science & Technology The bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes atypical pneumonia, is helping scientists uncover how cells make the most of limited resources. By measuring all the proteins this bacterium produces, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and…
2012
sciencescience-technology
New distributed research infrastructure for structural biology
Science & Technology Breakthroughs in biomedical science are a step closer today, with the launch of a new distributed research infrastructure for the science of structural biology: Instruct. The launch of Instruct will give academic and commercial scientists across Europe access to a full portfolio of integrated…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Trapped in a ring
Science & Technology In fairy tales, magic rings endow their owners with special abilities: the ring makes the wearer invisible, fulfils his wishes, or otherwise helps the hero on the path to his destiny. Similarly, a ring-like structure found in a protein complex called ‘Elongator’ has led researchers at the…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Stretching helices help keep muscles together
Science & Technology Myomesin stretching to 2.5 times its length. Credit: EMBL/Wilmanns. In this video, a protein called myomesin does its impression of Mr. Fantastic, the leader of the Fantastic Four of comic book fame, who performed incredible feats by stretching his body. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Collective action
Science & Technology If you wanted to draw your family tree, you could start by searching for people who share your surname. Cells, of course, don’t have surnames, but scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found that genetic switches called enhancers, and the…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Rigged to explode?
Science & Technology An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Evolution by ‘copy-paste’
Science & Technology A team of geneticists and computational biologists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Cancer Research UK reveal how an ancient mechanism is involved in gene control and continues to drive genome…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Tracking genes’ remote controls
Science & Technology As an embryo develops, different genes are turned on in different cells, to form muscles, neurons and other bodily parts. Inside each cell’s nucleus, genetic sequences known as enhancers act like remote controls, switching genes on and off. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory…
2012
sciencescience-technology
Intruder detected: raise the alarm!
Science & Technology When a thief breaks into a bank vault, sensors are activated and the alarm is raised. Cells have their own early-warning system for intruders, and scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, have discovered how a particular protein sounds that alarm when it…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Fishing games gone wrong
Science & Technology When an egg cell is being formed, the cellular machinery which separates chromosomes is extremely imprecise at fishing them out of the cell’s interior, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered. The unexpected degree of trial-and-error…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Live from the scene: biochemistry in action
Science & Technology Researchers can now watch molecules move in living cells, literally millisecond by millisecond, thanks to a new microscope developed by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. Published online today in Nature Biotechnology, the new technique provides…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Gardening in the brain
Science & Technology Gardeners know that some trees require regular pruning: some of their branches have to be cut so that others can grow stronger. The same is true of the developing brain: cells called microglia prune the connections between neurons, shaping how the brain is wired, scientists at the European…
2011
sciencescience-technology
A hot species for cool structures
Science & Technology A fungus that lives at extremely high temperatures could help understand structures within our own cells. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Heidelberg University, both in Heidelberg, Germany, were the first to sequence and analyse the genome of a heat-loving fungus,…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Keeping it together
Science & Technology As any rock-climber knows, trailing a long length of rope behind you is not easy. A dangling length of rope is unwieldy and hard to manoeuvre, and can get tangled up or stuck on an outcropping. Cells face the same problem when dragging chromosomes apart during cell division. The chromosomes are…
2011
sciencescience-technology
What’s your gut type?
Science & Technology In the future, when you walk into a doctor’s surgery or hospital, you could be asked not just about your allergies and blood group, but also about your gut type. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and collaborators in the international MetaHIT…
2011
sciencescience-technology
The informant: a jumping gene
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method for studying gene regulation, by employing a jumping gene as an informant. Published online today in Nature Genetics, the new method is called GROMIT. It enables researchers to…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Small code change, big effect
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method which enables researchers to label any protein of their choice with any of a wide variety of previously available compounds, in living cells, by introducing a single reactive…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Suggesting genes’ friends, facebook-style
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), both in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method that uncovers the combined effects of genes. Published online today in Nature Methods, it helps understand how different genes can…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Two in one
Science & Technology In a paper published online today in PNAS, scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg, Germany, reveal new insights into the workings of enzymes from a group of bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. The new findings…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Blood-clotting protein linked to cancer and septicaemia
Science & Technology In our not-so-distant evolutionary past, stress often meant imminent danger, and the risk of blood loss, so part of our body’s stress response is to stock-pile blood-clotting factors. Scientists in the Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit (MMPU), a collaboration between the European Molecular…
2011
sciencescience-technology
The human genome’s breaking points
Science & Technology A detailed analysis of data from 185 human genomes sequenced in the course of the 1000 Genomes Project, by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, in collaboration with researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, as well as the…
2011
sciencescience-technology
Intelligent microscopy
Science & Technology The sight of a researcher sitting at a microscope for hours, painstakingly searching for the right cells, may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to new software created by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. Presented today in Nature Methods, the…
2011
sciencescience-technology
How cells export and embed proteins in the membrane
Science & Technology Like an overprotective parent on the first day of school, a targeting factor sometimes needs a little push to let go of its cargo. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, have visualised one such hand-over. They were the first to determine the structure…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Better imaging from bench to bedside
Science & Technology From microscopy to computer tomography (CT) scans, imaging plays an important role in biological and biomedical research, but obtaining high-quality images often requires advanced technology and expertise, and can be costly. Euro-BioImaging, a project which launches its preparatory phase today,…
2010
sciencescience-technology
One-touch make-up – for our cells
Science & Technology The cells in the different parts of this video are always the same (grey), but, like actors using make-up to highlight different facial features, they have fluorescent labels that mark different cellular components in different colours: blue shows the nucleus, yellow shows tubulin (a component of…
2010
sciencescience-technology
1000 Genomes Project ushers in new era for human genetics
Science & Technology The 1000 Genomes Project, a major international collaboration to build a detailed map of human genetic variation, has completed its pilot phase. The results are now published in the journal Nature and freely available through the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Brainy worms: Evolution of the cerebral cortex
Science & Technology Our cerebral cortex, or pallium, is a big part of what makes us human: art, literature and science would not exist had this most fascinating part of our brain not emerged in some less intelligent ancestor in prehistoric times. But when did this occur and what were these ancestors? Unexpectedly,…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Freeze or run? Not that simple
Science & Technology Fear can make you run, it can make you fight, and it can glue you to the spot. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy and GlaxoSmithKline in Verona, Italy, have identified not only the part of the brain but the specific type of neurons that determine…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Constant overlap
Science & Technology During cell division, microtubules emanating from each of the spindle poles meet and overlap in the spindle’s midzone. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have uncovered the molecular mechanism that determines the extent of this overlap. In a…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Supply and demand
Science & Technology Most organisms need iron to survive, but too much iron is toxic, and can cause fatal organ failure. The same is true inside cells, where iron balance must also be maintained. In a study published today in Cell Metabolism, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg,…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Digital Embryo gains wings
Science & Technology The scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, who ‘fathered’ the Digital Embryo have now given it wings, creating the Fly Digital Embryo. In work published today in Nature Methods, they were able to capture fruit fly development on film, and were the…
2010
sciencescience-technology
A life-changing partnership
Science & Technology Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Max-Planck Institute of Immunobiology Freiburg have identified a novel protein complex that regulates around 4000 genes in the fruit fly Drosophila and likely plays an important role in mammals, too.…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Making enough red blood cells
Science & Technology Red blood cells, the delivery men that take oxygen to cells all around the body, have short lives. To keep enough of them in circulation, the human body produces around 2 million of these cells every second – even more in response to challenges like severe blood loss. In a study published today…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Tags on, tags off
Science & Technology During embryonic development, proteins called Polycomb group complexes turn genes off when and where their activity must not be present, preventing specialised tissues and organs from forming in the wrong places. They also play an important role in processes like stem cell differentiation and…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Variations on the genetic theme
Science & Technology Just like members of an orchestra are active at different times although playing the same piece of music, every cell in our body contains the same genetic sequence but expresses this differently to give rise to cells and tissues with specialised properties. By integrating gene expression data from…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Movies for the human genome
Science & Technology Name a human gene, and you’ll find a movie online showing you what happens to cells when it is switched off. This is the resource that researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and their collaborators in the Mitocheck consortium are making freely…
2010
sciencescience-technology
What makes us unique? Not only our genes
Science & Technology Once the human genome was sequenced in 2001, the hunt was on for the genes that make each of us unique. But scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and Yale and Stanford Universities in the USA, have found that we differ from each other mainly because…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Bacterial balance that keeps us healthy
Science & Technology The thousands of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that live in our gut are essential contributors to our good health. They break down toxins, manufacture some vitamins and essential amino acids, and form a barrier against invaders. A study published today in Nature shows that, at 3.3 million,…
2010
sciencescience-technology
MicroRNA: a glimpse into the past
Science & Technology The last ancestor we shared with worms, which roamed the seas around 600 million years ago, may already have had a sophisticated brain that released hormones into the blood and was connected to various sensory organs. The evidence comes not from a newly found fossil but from the study of microRNAs…
2010
sciencescience-technology
How to shoot the messenger
Science & Technology Cells rely on a range of signalling systems to communicate with each other and to control their own internal workings. Scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg, Germany, have now found a way to hack into a vital communications system, raising the possibility of…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Membrane-coat proteins: bacteria have them too
Science & Technology Although they are present almost everywhere, on land and sea, a group of related bacteria in the superphylum Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae, or PVC, have remained in relative obscurity ever since they were first described about a decade ago. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology…
2010
sciencescience-technology
Open access drug discovery database launches with half a million compounds
Science & Technology ChEMBLdb, a vast online database of information on the properties and activities of drugs and drug-like small molecules and their targets, launches today with information on over half a million compounds. The data lie at the heart of translating information from the human genome into successful new…
2010
sciencescience-technology
The Battle of the Sexes
Science & Technology Is it a boy or a girl? Expecting parents may be accustomed to this question, but contrary to what they may think, the answer doesn’t depend solely on their child’s sex chromosomes. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany and the Medical Research…
2009
sciencescience-technology
From fruit fly wings to heart failure. Why Not(ch)?
Science & Technology Almost a century after it was discovered in fruit flies with notches in their wings, the Notch signalling pathway may come to play an important role in the recovery from heart attacks. In a study published today in Circulation Research, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)…
2009
sciencescience-technology
First-ever blueprint of a minimal cell is more complex than expected
Science & Technology What are the bare essentials of life, the indispensable ingredients required to produce a cell that can survive on its own? Can we describe the molecular anatomy of a cell, and understand how an entire organism functions as a system? These are just some of the questions that scientists in a…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Drought resistance explained
Science & Technology Much as adrenaline coursing through our veins drives our body’s reactions to stress, the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is behind plants’ responses to stressful situations such as drought, but how it does so has been a mystery for years. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Deciphering the regulatory code
Science & Technology Embryonic development is like a well-organised building project, with the embryo’s DNA serving as the blueprint from which all construction details are derived. Cells carry out different functions according to a developmental plan, by expressing, i.e. turning on, different combinations of genes.…
2009
sciencescience-technology
From foe to friend: mosquitoes that transmit malaria may help fight the disease
Science & Technology For many years, the mosquitoes that transmit malaria to humans were seen as public enemies, and campaigns to eradicate the disease focused on eliminating the mosquitoes. But, as a study published today in Science shows, the mosquitoes can also be our allies in the fight against this common foe,…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Putting the squeeze on sperm DNA
Science & Technology In the quest for speed, olympic swimmers shave themselves or squeeze into high-tech super-suits. In the body, sperm are the only cells that swim and, as speed is crucial to fertility, have developed their own ways to become exceptionally streamlined. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology…
2009
sciencescience-technology
To regenerate muscle, cellular garbage men must become builders
Science & Technology For scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, what seemed like a disappointing result turned out to be an important discovery. Their findings, published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provide…
2009
sciencescience-technology
How stem cells make skin
Science & Technology Stem cells have a unique ability: when they divide, they can either give rise to more stem cells, or to a variety of specialised cell types. In both mice and humans, a layer of cells at the base of the skin contains stem cells that can develop into the specialised cells in the layers above.…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Raising the alarm when DNA goes bad
Science & Technology Our genome is constantly under attack from things like UV light and toxins, which can damage or even break DNA strands and ultimately lead to cancer and other diseases. Scientists have known for a long time that when DNA is damaged, a key enzyme sets off a cellular ‘alarm bell’ to alert the…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Scientists open doors to diagnosis of emphysema
Science & Technology Chronic inflammatory lung diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema are a major global health problem, and the fourth leading cause of death and disability in developed countries, with smoking accounting for 90% of the risk for developing them. Work by scientists at the European Molecular…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Scientists identify cholesterol-regulating genes
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. In a study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers identified 20 genes that are involved…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Uncovering how cells cover gaps
Science & Technology Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, came a step closer to understanding how cells close gaps not only during embryonic development but also during wound healing. Their study, published this week in the journal Cell, uncovers a fundamental…
2009
sciencescience-technology
New electron microscopy images reveal the assembly of HIV
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, have produced a three-dimensional reconstruction of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which shows the structure of the immature form of the virus at unprecedented detail. Immature HIV is…
2009
sciencescience-technology
New EMBL service makes web browsing efficient for biologists
Science & Technology The life sciences are scaling up and produce huge amounts of data and new literature at an amazing pace. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) now offers a new free service to help researchers, teachers and students keep up-to-date with scientific literature on the web, especially when…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Sugarcoating fruit fly development
Science & Technology Proteins are the executive agents that carry out all processes in a cell. Their activity is controlled and modified with the help of small chemical tags that can be dynamically added to and removed from the protein. 25 years after its first discovery, researchers at the European Molecular Biology…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Getting a grip on complexes: EMBL scientists develop first fully automated pipeline for multiprotein complex production
Science & Technology Most cellular processes are carried out by molecular machines that consist of many interacting proteins. These protein complexes lie at the heart of life science research, but they are notoriously hard to study. Their abundance is often too low to extract them directly from cells and generating…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Recycler protein helps prevent disease
Science & Technology Recycling is important not only on a global scale, but also at the cellular level, since key molecules tend to be available in limited numbers. This means a cell needs to have efficient recycling mechanisms. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Heidelberg University,…
2009
sciencescience-technology
New study reveals the protein that makes phosphate chains in yeast
Science & Technology It can be found in all life forms, and serves a multitude of purposes, from energy storage to stress response to bone calcification. This molecular jack-of-all trades is polyphosphate, a long chain of phosphate molecules. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Picture Release
Science & Technology ‘Useless fish with big eyes’. This is what Medaka, the name of the Japanese killifish in the pictures, means in Japan where it originally comes from. While its eyes are undeniably big, the fish has proven remarkably useful for scientists. It is a simple model organism, amenable to…
2009
sciencescience-technology
New findings reveal how influenza virus hijacks human cells
Science & Technology Influenza is and remains a disease to reckon with. Seasonal epidemics around the world kill several hundred thousand people every year. In the light of looming pandemics if bird flu strains develop the ability to infect humans easily, new drugs and vaccines are desperately sought. Researchers at…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Re-write the textbooks: transcription is bidirectional
Science & Technology Genes that contain instructions for making proteins make up less than 2% of the human genome. Yet, for unknown reasons, most of our genome is transcribed into RNA. The same is true for many other organisms that are easier to study than humans. Researchers in the groups of Lars Steinmetz at the…
2009
sciencescience-technology
Picture Release
Science & Technology Cell division is one of the most fundamental processes of life. It explains how one cell can give rise to an organism of several million cells, it determines the shape of different life forms and it underpins our body’s capacity to heal when injured. Often we only notice how important cell…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Uncovering secrets of life in the ocean
Science & Technology The best-selling novel The swarm captured the imagination of countless readers with the fascination of marine life. But it also showed how little we understand life in the depth of the ocean. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Max Planck Institute (MPI)…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Picture Release
Science & Technology What at the first sight could be pictures of planets or other cosmic structures are actually microscope images of balls (cysts) of human kidney cells. They were taken by Emmanuel Reynaud, in the group of Ernst Stelzer at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), with a widefield microscope.…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Digital zebrafish embryo provides the first complete developmental blueprint of a vertebrate
Science & Technology Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have generated a digital zebrafish embryo – the first complete developmental blueprint of a vertebrate. With a newly developed microscope scientists could for the first time track all cells for the first 24 hours in the life of a…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Pregnant mice block out unwelcome admirers to protect their pups
Science & Technology Mouse mothers-to-be have a remarkable way to protect their unborn pups. Because the smell of a strange male’s urine can cause miscarriage and reactivate the ovulatory cycle, pregnant mice prevent the action of such olfactory stimuli by blocking their smell. Researchers from the European…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Teaching old drugs new tricks
Science & Technology Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) discovered a new way to make use of drugs’ unwanted side effects. They developed a computational method that compares how similar the side effects of different drugs are and predicts how likely the drugs act on the same target…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Zooming in on genetic shuffling
Science & Technology Genetic recombination, the process by which sexually reproducing organisms shuffle their genetic material when producing germ cells, leads to offspring with a new genetic make-up and influences the course of evolution. In the current issue of Nature, researchers at the European Molecular…
2008
sciencescience-technology
New research sheds light on the molecular basis of crib death
Science & Technology Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that unexpectedly and unexplainably takes the lives of seemingly healthy babies aged between a month and a year. Now researchers of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo, Italy, have developed a mouse model of the so-called crib…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Scientists fix bugs in our understanding of evolution
Science & Technology What makes a human different from a chimp? Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have come one important step closer to answering such evolutionary questions correctly. In the current issue of Science they uncover…
2008
sciencescience-technology
X chromosome exposed
Science & Technology Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton, UK, have revealed new insights into how sex chromosomes are regulated. A chromatin modifying enzyme helps compensate for the fact that…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Platypus genome sequence published
Science & Technology UK-based researchers at the Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit in Oxford and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge have revealed the genetic makeup of the one of the world’s strangest mammals. They have analysed the DNA…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Getting wise to the influenza virus’ tricks
Science & Technology Influenza is currently a grave concern for governments and health organisations around the world. Now one of the tactics used by influenza virus to take over the machinery of infected cells has been laid bare by structural biologists at the EMBL, the joint Unit of Virus Host-Cell Interaction of…
2008
sciencescience-technology
An unexpected way to cause leukaemia
Science & Technology Leukaemia – cancer of blood or bone marrow – is caused by mutations that allow defective blood cells to accumulate and displace healthy blood. To devise effective therapies it is crucial to know which mutations cause leukaemia and which cell type gives rise to leukaemic cells. Researchers from…
2008
sciencescience-technology
New revelations in epigenetic control shed light on breast cancer
Science & Technology Epigenetic regulation – modifications to the structure of chromatin that influence which genes are expressed in a cell – is a key player in embryonic development and cancer formation. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg now gained new insight…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Europe’s most common genetic disease is a liver disorder
Science & Technology Much less widely known than the dangerous consequences of iron deficiencies is the fact that too much iron can also cause problems. The exact origin of the genetic iron overload disorder hereditary hemochromatosis [HH] has remained elusive. In a joint effort, researchers from the European Molecular…
2008
sciencescience-technology
Life savers in the gut
Science & Technology Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have discovered that proteins that regulate the body’s iron household play a vital role in making sure enough nutrients and water are absorbed in the intestine. Mice lacking these proteins suffer from weight loss and…
2008
sciencescience-technology
An ambulance man for muscle damage
Science & Technology It does not take much to injure a muscle. Sometimes one sudden, inconsiderate movement does the job. Unfortunately, damaged muscles are not as efficient at repair as other tissues such as bone. Researchers of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s Mouse Biology Unit (EMBL), Italy, and…
2007
sciencescience-technology
The closest look ever at native human tissue
Science & Technology Seeing proteins in their natural environment and interactions inside cells has been a longstanding goal. Using an advanced microscopy technique called cryo-electron tomography, researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have visualised proteins responsible for cell-cell…
2007
sciencescience-technology
How cells keep in shape
Science & Technology Cells in our body come in various shapes and sizes. Each cell is shaped in such a way as to optimise it for a specific function. When things go wrong and a cell does not adopt its dedicated shape, its function can be impaired and the cell can cause problems in the body. Researchers at […]
2007
sciencescience-technology
Scientists uncover how hormones achieve their effects
Science & Technology New insights into the cellular signal chain through which pheromones stimulate mating in yeast have been gained by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL]. Similar signal chains are found in humans, where they are involved in many important processes such as the…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A molecule that protects from neuronal disorders
Science & Technology Many neuronal disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia and lissencephaly ─ a form of mental retardation ─ result from abnormal migration of nerve cells during the development of the brain. Researchers from the Mouse Biology Unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Italy,…
2007
sciencescience-technology
New 3D light microscopy method reveals new perspectives on the dynamics of the cell’s skeleton
Science & Technology Scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have developed a new method to prepare and image biological samples in three dimensions with laser light-sheet based fluorescence microscopy. The technological advance, which is published in the current online issue of Nature…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A unique arrangement for egg cell division
Science & Technology Which genes are passed on from mother to child is decided very early on during the maturation of the egg cell in the ovary. In a cell division process that is unique to egg cells, half of the chromosomes are eliminated from the egg before it is fertilised. Using a powerful microscope, researchers…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Uncovering the secrets of the deep
Science & Technology The UniProt Consortium, which includes the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), has added a new database repository for metagenomic and environmental data to its family of protein sequence databases. Metagenomics is the large-scale genomic…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A stepwise retreat: how immune cells catch pathogens
Science & Technology To protect us from disease our immune system employs macrophages, cells that roam our body in search of disease-causing bacteria. With the help of long tentacle-like protrusions, macrophages can catch suspicious particles, pull them towards their cell bodies, internalise and destroy them. Using a…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A gene that protects from kidney disease
Science & Technology Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Michigan have discovered a gene that protects us against a serious kidney disease. In the current online issue of Nature Genetics they report that mutations in the gene cause nephronopthisis (NPHP) in humans and…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Modern brains have an ancient core
Science & Technology Hormones control growth, metabolism, reproduction and many other important biological processes. In humans, and all other vertebrates, the chemical signals are produced by specialised brain centres such as the hypothalamus and secreted into the blood stream that distributes them around the body.…
2007
sciencescience-technology
New compound effectively treats fungal infections
Science & Technology A new mechanism to attack hard-to-treat fungal infections has been revealed by scientists from the biotech company Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., California, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] outstation in Grenoble, France. In the current issue of Science they describe…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Casting the molecular net
Science & Technology Scientists at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital (Canada), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Germany), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) have created a new computational method called NetworKIN. This method uses biological networks to better…
2007
sciencescience-technology
New findings challenge established views about human genome
Science & Technology The ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE), an international research consortium organised by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today published the results of its exhaustive, four-year effort to build a “parts list” of…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Researchers shed light on shrinking of chromosomes
Science & Technology A human cell contains an enormous 1.8 metres of DNA partitioned into 46 chromosomes. These have to be copied and distributed equally into two daughter cells at every division. Condensation, the shortening of chromosomes, allows the cell to handle such huge amounts of genetic material during cell…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Uncovering the molecular basis of obesity
Science & Technology Why does the same diet make some of us gain more weight than others? The answer could be a molecule called Bsx, as scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Institute for Nutrition (DIFE), Potsdam, and the University of Cincinnati report in the current issue of…
2007
sciencescience-technology
New insights into the neural basis of anxiety
Science & Technology People who suffer from anxiety tend to interpret ambiguous situations, situations that could potentially be dangerous but not necessarily so, as threatening. Researchers from the Mouse Biology Unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Italy have now uncovered the neural basis for…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Mechanism of microRNAs deciphered
Science & Technology Over 30% of our genes are under the control of small molecules called microRNAs. They prevent specific genes from being turned into protein and regulate many crucial processes like cell division and development, but how they do so has remained unclear. Now researchers from the European Molecular…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A matter of force
Science & Technology When a cell divides, normally the result is two identical daughter cells. In some cases however, cell division leads to two cells with different properties. This is called asymmetric cell division and plays an important role in embryonic development and the self-renewal of stem cells. Researchers…
2007
sciencescience-technology
The origin of the brain lies in a worm
Science & Technology The rise of the central nervous system (CNS) in animal evolution has puzzled scientists for centuries. Vertebrates, insects and worms evolved from the same ancestor, but their CNSs are different and were thought to have evolved only after their lineages had split during evolution. Researchers from…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Researchers identify molecular basis of inflammatory bowel disease
Science & Technology Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis, severely impair the lives of more than four million people worldwide. The development of effective therapies against these diseases requires an understanding of their underlying molecular mechanisms. Researchers from…
2007
sciencescience-technology
An architectural plan of the cell
Science & Technology Like our body every cell has a skeleton that provides it with a shape, confers rigidity and protects its fragile inner workings. The cytoskeleton is built of long protein filaments that assemble into networks whose overall architecture and fine detail can only be revealed with high resolution…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A clearer view on biology
Science & Technology The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) has developed a new computational tool that makes images obtained with cutting-edge microscopes even sharper. The technological advance and its applications are published in this week’s online issue of the journal Nature Methods. Since the…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A first glimpse of the influenza replication machine
Science & Technology In 1918, 50 million people died during a worldwide influenza pandemic caused by mutation of a bird-specific strain of the influenza virus. Recently H5N1, another highly infectious avian strain has caused outbreaks of bird flu around the world. There is great concern that this virus might also…
2007
sciencescience-technology
A signal that protects the liver from hepatitis and cancer
Science & Technology Liver cancer is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide; every year sees more than 400,000 new cases, and most of the victims die in less than one year. Despite extensive research, the underlying molecular mechanisms of the disease are poorly understood. A new study by researchers from the Mouse…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Putting an old drug to a new use
Science & Technology We all know that iron deficiencies are dangerous, but also too much iron is bad for our health. Our body stores excess iron in various tissues, where it can lead to organ failure and even death if not treated before irreversible damage has occurred. Researchers from the Innsbruck Medical…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Investigating the invisible life in our environment
Science & Technology Microorganisms make up more than a third of the Earth’s biomass. They are found in water, on land and even in our bodies, recycling nutrients, influencing the planet’s climate or causing diseases. Still, we know surprisingly little about the smallest beings that colonise Earth. A new…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Getting to the bottom of memory
Science & Technology Phone numbers, the way to work, granny’s birthday – our brain with its finite number of nerve cells can store incredible amounts of information. At the bottom of memory lies a complex network of molecules. To understand how this network brings about one of the most remarkable capacities of…
2007
sciencescience-technology
Roadworks on the motorways of the cell
Science & Technology A cell is a busy place. In a permanent rush hour, molecules are transported along a dynamic motorway system made up of filaments called microtubules. Microtubules constantly grow and shrink and are rapidly assembled wherever a cargo needs to go, but during this transportation process they need to…
2006
sciencescience-technology
Helping muscle regenerate
Science & Technology Muscle wasting can occur at all ages as the result of genetic defects, heart failure, spinal injury or cancer. A therapy to cure the loss of muscle mass and strength, which has a severe impact on patients’ lives, is desperately sought. Blocking a central signal molecule, researchers from the…
2006
sciencescience-technology
How nature tinkers with the cellular clock
Science & Technology The life of a cell is all about growing and dividing at the right time. That is why the cell cycle is one of the most tightly regulated cellular processes. A control system with several layers adjusts when key components of the cell cycle machinery are produced, activated and degraded to make sure…
2006
sciencescience-technology
Lost in the labyrinth
Science & Technology Blood cells have limited lifespans, which means that they must be continually replaced by calling up reserves and turning these into the blood cell types needed by the body. Claus Nerlov and his colleagues at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) unit in Monterotondo, Italy, in…
2006
sciencescience-technology
A wandering eye
Science & Technology Eyes are among the earliest recognisable structures in an embryo; they start off as bulges on the sides of tube-shaped tissue that will eventually become the brain. Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have now discovered that cells are programmed to make…
2006
sciencescience-technology
A switch between life and death
Science & Technology Cells in an embryo divide at an amazing rate to build a whole body, but this growth needs to be controlled. Otherwise the result may be defects in embryonic development or cancer in adults. Controlling growth requires that some cells divide while others die; their fates are determined by signals…
2006
sciencescience-technology
Alleviating the burden of Multiple Sclerosis
Science & Technology Depression, coordination and speech problems, muscle weakness and disability are just a few of the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Researchers from the Mouse Biology Unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Italy and the Department of Neuropathology at the Faculty of…
2006
sciencescience-technology
Cracking a virus protection shield
Science & Technology Ebola, measles and rabies are serious threats to public health in developing countries. Despite different symptoms all of the diseases are caused by the same class of viruses that unlike most other living beings carry their genetic information on a single RNA molecule instead of a double strand of…
2006
sciencescience-technology
New potential drug target in tuberculosis
Science & Technology Tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest threats to public health. Every year two million people die of the disease, which is caused by the microorganism Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Roughly one third of the world’s population is infected and more and more bacterial strains have developed…
2006
sciencescience-technology
A balancing act between the sexes
Science & Technology Recent research at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) reveals new insights into how cells achieve equality between the sexes. A new link discovered between the membrane surrounding the nucleus and the male X-chromosome in fruit flies may play a crucial role in determining how active…
2006
sciencescience-technology
A new tree of life allows a closer look at the origin of species
Science & Technology In 1870 the German scientist Ernst Haeckel mapped the evolutionary relationships of plants and animals in the first ‘tree of life’. Since then scientists have continuously redrawn and expanded the tree adding microorganisms and using modern molecular data, yet, many parts of the tree…
2006
sciencescience-technology
Waking a sleeping virus
Science & Technology A detailed structural picture of a molecule that plays a key role in activating the Epstein Barr Virus in human cells has now been obtained by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Institut de Virologie Moléculaire et Structurale (IVMS), associated with the…
2006
sciencescience-technology
The closest look ever at the cell’s machines
Science & Technology Today researchers in Germany announce they have finished the first complete analysis of the “molecular machines” in one of biology’s most important model organisms: S. cerevisiae (baker’s yeast). The study from the biotechnology company Cellzome, in collaboration with the…
2006
sciencescience-technology
The giant protein titin helps build muscles
Science & Technology Imagine grabbing two snakes by the tail so that they can’t wriggle off in opposite directions. Scientists at the Hamburg Outstation of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and collaborators from King’s College in London have now discovered that something similar happens to a…
2006
sciencescience-technology
A key that opens cells to the deadly malaria parasite
Science & Technology Researchers at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in India and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in France have made a key discovery about a molecule that helps the malaria parasite infect human cells. India is one of the countries…
2005
sciencescience-technology
The earliest animals had human-like genes
Science & Technology Species evolve at very different rates, and the evolutionary line that produced humans seems to be among the slowest. The result, according to a new study by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL], is that our species has retained characteristics of a very ancient ancestor…
2005
sciencescience-technology
Many needles, many haystacks
Science & Technology Most of what happens in cells is the work of machines that contain dozens of molecules, chiefly proteins. With the completion of human and other genomes, researchers now have a nearly complete ‘parts list’ of such machines; what’s lacking is the manual telling where all the pieces…
2005
sciencescience-technology
Limiting the damage in stroke
Science & Technology Scientists at the Universities of Heidelberg and Ulm and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, have discovered that a specific signal within brain cells may determine whether they live or die after a stroke. Their study, published online (November 13) by…
2005
sciencescience-technology
Defusing dangerous mutations
Science & Technology Mutations in genes are the basis of evolution, so we owe our existence to them. Most mutations are harmful, however, because they cause cells to build defective proteins. So cells have evolved quality control mechanisms that recognize and counteract genetic mistakes. Now scientists of the Molecular…
2005
sciencescience-technology
A new link between stem cells and tumors
Science & Technology Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the Institute of Biomedical Research of the Parc Científic de Barcelona (IRB-PCB) have now added key evidence to claims that some types of cancer originate with defects in stem cells. The study, reported this week in…
2005
sciencescience-technology
A double punch for female survival
Science & Technology Achieving equality between the sexes can be a challenge even for single cells. Since evolution began removing bits of male DNA to create the ‘Y’ chromosome, males have had a single copy of certain key genes on the X chromosome, whereas females have two. Normally this would lead females…
2005
sciencescience-technology
Actin moves chromosomes
Science & Technology Microtubules need a helping hand to find chromosomes in dividing egg cells, scientists have discovered. Although it was generally accepted that microtubules act alone as the cellular ropes to pull chromosomes into place, a new study by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)…
2005
sciencescience-technology
Trees, vines and nets: microbial evolution changes its face
Science & Technology EBI researchers have changed our view of 4 billion years of microbial evolution. Christos Ouzounis and colleagues have gained intriguing quantitative insights into how gene families are transferred, not only ‘vertically’ through passage from one organism to its progeny, but also…
2005
sciencescience-technology
A link between our body’s energy levels and a protein that wraps our DNA?
Science & Technology Living organisms need to sense the amount of energy that is available to them and regulate the activity of their genes accordingly. Scientists have made the unexpected finding that a histone protein, which wraps DNA into tight bundles and regulates gene activity, can bind a small molecule produced…
2005
sciencescience-technology
Whale bones and farm soil: Sequencing biodiversity
Science & Technology Instead of sequencing the genome of one organism, why not sequence a drop of sea water, a gram of farm soil or even a sunken whale skeleton? Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and their US collaborators have done just that, and the result is a new…
2005
sciencescience-technology
A new way to share models of biological systems
Science & Technology Today sees the launch of BioModels, the world’s first database of annotated biological models. BioModels is the result of a collaboration led by the European Bioinformatics Institute (UK) and the SBML Team, an international group that develops opensource standards to describe biological…
2005
sciencescience-technology
Biology in four dimensions
Science & Technology Most things that happen in the cell are the work of ‘molecular machines’ – complexes of proteins that carry out important cellular functions. Until now, scientists didn’t have a clear idea of when proteins form these machines – are these complexes pre-fabricated or put…
2005
sciencescience-technology
How do cells travel through our bodies?
Science & Technology One of the most basic yet least understood processes in our bodies is how cells crawl along tissues. This behavior is essential to the formation of an embryo and other processes, but it must be tightly controlled. A disturbance can lead to the spread of cancer cells or diseases like Spina…
2005
sciencescience-technology
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