Hamburg

A model of Glycine Transporter 1, which is located in the cell membrane. In its lower-middle part, it is bound by its inhibitor, which is a much smaller molecule. At its top, Glycine Transporter 1 is bound by a synthetic mini-antibody, called a sybody.

New perspectives for treating psychiatric disorders

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

6 April 2021

A close-up photo of a shiny droplet of liquid that has been placed into one of the wells of a crystallisation plate.

Droplet beauty

Scientists at EMBL Hamburg use droplets of protein solution to grow protein crystals. By exposing the crystals to X-rays, they are able to determine…

30 March 2021

A scientist (only their hand is visible) inserting a 96-well plate into a sample dispensing device in the Sample Preparation and Characterisation Facility in Hamburg.

SPC Facility in Hamburg supports a new pan-European consortium

The Sample Preparation and Characterisation (SPC) Facility at EMBL Hamburg is one of the founding members of the Molecular-Scale Biophysics Research…

22 February 2021

Lab Matters

Two X-ray mirrors installed in the macromolecular crystallography beamline P14 at EMBL Hamburg. The mirrors are visible in the photo as dark rectangular crystal blocks, with two metal holders supporting the crystals in a stress-free position. The mirrors are inserted into a vacuum-compatible stainless steel vessel.

Mirror, mirror

Scientists at EMBL Hamburg use specially designed mirrors to reflect and focus X-ray beams onto tiny crystals made of proteins or other biological…

26 January 2021

An electron microscopy photo shows two bacterial cells surrounded by several white fibrils of the amphibian peptide.

Toadlet peptide transforms into a deadly weapon against bacteria

Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and EMBL Hamburg, in collaboration with scientists in Israel and Spain, have…

14 January 2021

Three images showing close-ups of different EMBL facilitites.

EMBL becomes newest Instruct Centre

EMBL’s sites in Grenoble, Hamburg, and Heidelberg form the newest Instruct Centre. The new centre offers users access to a broad range of…

12 January 2021

By Mathias Jäger

Lab Matters

Homage to a vital tool

Structural biologists want to study proteins at the atomic level. The device shown in this Picture of the Week is essential for…

12 January 2021

By Mathias Jäger

The image shows the beamline P12 at EMBL Hamburg. In the centre, several cylindrical elements are connected into a pipe-like structure. In the front, it is connected to a white box-shaped device, and several smaller devices and cables visible around. There is also a grid visible around the beamline.

EMBL facilities support development of RNA vaccines

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

1 December 2020

Rainbow on a cloudy sky above technical buildings.

Rainbow over the Hanseatic city

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

1 December 2020

By Mathias Jäger

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

Scientists identify synthetic mini-antibody to combat COVID-19

By screening hundreds of sybodies (synthetic mini-antibodies), scientists have identified one that might stop SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells.…

4 November 2020

Meytal Landau is standing next to a lab bench. On the bench, laboratory equipment is visible, such as pipettes, flasks, bottles with reagents, a calculator, and more.

Welcome: Meytal Landau

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

16 October 2020