Organs-on-chip: new horizons for disease research
EMBLetc EMBL Barcelona researchers are studying how tissues develop in health and disease using organoids and 3D multicellular systems to mimic human organs and their functions.
2023
MAPLE: a phylogenetic tool for pandemic-scale genome data
Research highlights, Science EMBL-EBI researchers have developed a new tool capable of performing state-of-the-art phylogenetic inference on larger datasets than previously thought possible.
2023
research-highlightsscience
Supporting scientists across Europe: the SPC Facility at EMBL Hamburg
Lab Matters EMBL Hamburg’s Sample Preparation and Characterisation (SPC) Facility offers scientists access to almost all available biophysics technologies. The facility’s staff provides advice and support with experiments and data analysis. The facility is conveniently located just next to the EMBL…
2023
lab-matters
How structural biology helps to make RNA vaccines
Science RNA vaccines, such as the ones for COVID-19, represent a new approach in vaccine technology. Cy Jeffries, faculty staff scientist at EMBL Hamburg, explains the clever technology behind RNA vaccines, and how structural biology contributes to its development. EMBL Hamburg collaborated on several…
2021
science
BY-COVID – a new EU project for pandemic preparedness
Science The BY-COVID project aims to make infectious disease data, including COVID-19, openly available to everyone.
2021
science
Genomic tracking of the COVID-19 pandemic in England
Science Largest in-depth analysis of genomic data tracks the spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in England.
2021
science
Six Ways to Protect the Planet Against Pandemics*
Events EMBL will host a conference to look at the state of the pandemic, lessons learned, and ways to improve pandemic preparedness. Here’s a sneak peek into what promises to be another interesting and informative EMBL conference.
2021
events
MASSIF-1 beamline in Grenoble supports COVID-19 drug discovery
Lab Matters MASSIF-1, run jointly by EMBL Grenoble and the ESRF, is a beamline for macromolecular crystallography. It is used by the research community to study the 3D structure of proteins, which is important for drug development.
2021
lab-matters
Studying coronavirus proteins using small-angle X-ray scattering at European XFEL
Science A collaboration led by EMBL Hamburg’s Svergun Group used small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at the European XFEL to obtain data on samples containing coronavirus spike proteins and antibodies that bind them.
2021
science
Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in England
Science The largest in-depth analysis of genomic surveillance data mapping out the dynamics of 62 lineages of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
2021
science
Just the gist: Big data and pandemics in seven key points
Events EMBL’s most recent Science and Society seminar explored how best to harness big data to address multi-faceted issues of a pandemic.
2021
events
SARS-CoV-2 curtails immune response in the gut
Science EMBL scientists, together with collaborators from Heidelberg University, have provided further evidence of the gut’s role in COVID-19.
2021
science
Different immune responses identified in patients with COVID-19
Science Researchers identify differences in immune response in asymptomatic COVID-19 cases compared to those with severe symptoms
2021
science
Combating emerging infectious diseases: lessons from COVID-19
Events EMBL and Portugal are bringing together leading scientists to highlight the role of fundamental research in tackling infectious diseases.
2021
events
Variations on a spike
Picture of the week What does coronavirus’s spike protein look like in 3D? EMBL scientists and colleagues used cryo-electron tomography and molecular dynamics simulations to find out.
2021
picture-of-the-week
The value of open data for Latin American science
Science Scientists from the CABANA project explore how open data is benefiting global research efforts.
2021
science
Repurposing drugs to manage COVID-19 progression
Science Researchers use large-scale human genetic studies to identify drug targets important for managing COVID-19 in its early stages
2021
science
Finding coronavirus’s helper proteins
Science A team of EMBL scientists and colleagues have analysed how the novel coronavirus affects proteins in human cells. They identified several human proteins as potential drug targets to prevent viral replication.
2021
science
Protein sequences provide clues to how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells
Science Researchers at EMBL Heidelberg have identified sequences in human proteins that might be used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells. They have discovered that the virus might hijack certain cellular processes, and they discuss potentially relevant drugs for treating COVID-19.
2021
science
Show your support for open COVID-19 data
Lab Matters Open letter galvanises life science community in support of open COVID-19 data
2021
lab-matters
Insights into the new B.1.1.7 coronavirus lineage
Science A new lineage of coronavirus was first identified in the UK, but why is it spreading much more rapidly within the population?
2021
science
The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage
Science A note on the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which has first been described in the U.K. and has spread to 57 countries. The note summarises epidemiological information about the spread of B.1.1.7 in the U.K. collated and in part conducted by researchers from EMBL-EBI.
2021
science
EMBL facilities support development of RNA vaccines
Science Biotechnology company BioNTech and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz conduct collaborative research with EMBL scientists at the beamline P12 in Hamburg
2020
science
Replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2 in 3D
Science Researchers have studied SARS-CoV-2 replication in cells and obtained detailed insights into the alterations induced in infected cells. This information is essential to guide the development of urgently needed therapeutic strategies for suppressing viral replication and induced pathology.
2020
science
Scientists identify synthetic mini-antibody to combat COVID-19
Science By screening hundreds of sybodies (synthetic mini-antibodies), scientists have identified one that might stop SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells. This work, which holds promise for treating COVID-19, was conducted by EMBL Hamburg and collaborators from the Centre for Structural Systems Biology…
2020
science
Open data sharing accelerates COVID-19 research
Science Open access data benefits millions of scientists around the world and is essential for a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020
science
Repurposing drugs for a pan-coronavirus treatment
Science Scientists from the Beltrao Group at EMBL-EBI and collaborators identified drug targets common to SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, and MERS-CoV, three pathogenic coronaviruses. They also found potential drugs that could be repurposed as COVID-19 treatments, and against emerging coronavirus strains in the…
2020
science
Flexible and protected – new findings on SARS-CoV-2 protein shed light on virus’s ability to infect cells
Science Researchers studied the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With its spikes, the virus binds to human cells and infects them. The study gave surprising insights into the spike protein, including an unexpected freedom of movement and a protective coat to hide it from antibodies.
2020
science
Funding to predict the risk of infectious disease outbreaks
Lab Matters European collaboration receives funding to explore risks and impact of future infectious disease outbreaks.
2020
lab-matters
What COVID-19 is teaching us
Events The virtual EMBL Conference ‘SARS-CoV-2: Towards a New Era in Infection Research’ explored the importance of fundamental research, collaboration, and data science in containing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and discussed opportunities to improve our response to pandemics in the future.
2020
events
Editing the mouse genome to study SARS-CoV-2 infection
Science To study how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells, the Gene Editing and Embryology Facility (GEEF) at EMBL Rome will generate mice that express a human version of a protein called ACE2. The mouse line will be shared with preclinical research collaborators carrying out vaccine and antibody trials, and with the…
2020
science
Existing drugs can prevent SARS-CoV-2 from hijacking cells
Science Researchers evaluate how the new coronavirus rewires human proteins for its own replication, and identify several antiviral drugs ready for clinical trials
2020
science
Silencing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor with epigenetic modifications
Science EMBL scientists develop a new molecular tool to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. This tool is able to cause targeted epigenetic modifications of specific genes in specific cell populations. They will use it in mice to target airway cells that express the ACE2 protein – the receptor that…
2020
science
Investigating the structure and mechanisms of coronavirus biomolecules
Science While global research on coronaviruses has shed light on the function of many SARS-CoV-2 proteins, the role of some crucial components remains unknown. Researchers at EMBL Grenoble will use a range of structural biology methods to try to solve some of the puzzles of the molecular mechanics of…
2020
science
Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 behaves in the gut
Science Scientists at EMBL and Heidelberg University Hospital are studying how the novel coronavirus behaves in the gut to try to better understand its epidemiology and prevent its spread. To do this, they are combining advanced imaging and sequencing technologies to study coronavirus in human intestinal…
2020
science
Improving our response to emerging pandemics
Events The emergence of previously unknown pathogens, such as the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, raises many questions. To explore these questions in an international scientific forum, EMBL will host the virtual conference ‘SARS-CoV-2: Towards a New Era in Infection Research’ on 3 July. Invited…
2020
events
Shining high-brilliance beams on coronavirus structure
Science EMBL researchers are studying COVID-19-related molecules by exposing them to high-brilliance X-ray beams. The Svergun group at EMBL Hamburg is using biological small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) as part of a global effort by scientists to elucidate the structural organisation of SARS-CoV-2…
2020
science
Facilitating COVID-19 structural biology research
Science EMBL and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) restart the activities of the Joint Structural Biology Group in Grenoble to support coronavirus-related projects. A new initiative will allow users to be granted access to the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL and to a…
2020
science
Distinguishing coronavirus genome mutations from inadvertent errors
Science EMBL scientists have performed a large-scale analysis of over 4700 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences. They found that many of the most interesting changes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that have been reported so far are likely to be technical artefacts, rather than biological mutations.
2020
science
The hunt for neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
Science Scientists hope that a legacy of the novel coronavirus in recovered COVID-19 patients – antibodies in their blood – could lead to drugs to treat others. The Merten group at EMBL Heidelberg has pivoted its microfluidics platform to support the search for neutralising antibodies that could…
2020
science
Understanding the role of our genes in SARS-CoV-2 infections
Science EMBL scientists will contribute to the new German COVID-19 OMICS Initiative to study the biological mechanisms contributing to coronavirus infections. EMBL group leaders Jan Korbel and Oliver Stegle, who is also affiliated with the DKFZ Heidelberg, will coordinate the set-up of IT infrastructures…
2020
science
EMBL SPC facility supports COVID-19 projects
Science The Sample Preparation and Characterisation Facility (SPC) at EMBL Hamburg reopens to support scientists working on Covid-19 research. The SPC Facility is one of the best equipped facilities in Europe is therefore in high demand from external users. Re-opening the facility also allows experts at…
2020
science
Responding to health threats posed by coronaviruses
Science By re-opening the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL Grenoble, EMBL is supporting structural biology projects to respond to the health threats posed by coronaviruses.
2020
science
Remote access to EMBL structural biology pipelines to support research on SARS-CoV-2
Science The Marquez Team has restarted operations at the High-Throughput Crystallisation (HTX) lab at EMBL Grenoble. The team has developed a fully automated protein-to-structure pipeline, which can be operated remotely and provides virtual access to the facilities.
2020
science
Taking a closer look at infected cells to better understand COVID-19
Science EMBL electron microscopy specialists collaborate with researchers from Heidelberg University Hospital to understand the changes occurring in cell structures upon SARS-CoV-2 infection.
2020
science
Understanding the influenza virus
Science The infectious disease commonly known as flu is caused by the influenza virus. It spreads around the world in seasonal outbreaks, causing millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Stephen Cusack, Head of EMBL Grenoble, has been studying different aspects of the influenza…
2020
science
Exploring synthetic antibodies to stop coronavirus
Science Scientists at EMBL Hamburg and Karolinska Institutet Stockholm aim to find synthetic antibodies – known as nanobodies – that bind a surface protein of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Nanobodies could prevent the virus from entering human cells and causing COVID-19.
2020
science
Helping researchers identify host proteins used by coronavirus
Science EMBL scientists working in the groups of Matthias Hentze and Wolfgang Huber have created RBPbase – a database of RNA-binding proteins – to assist the identification of proteins that interact with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome.
2020
science
Why share data during a pandemic?
Science In March 2020, planes were grounded, streets went quiet, and our lives changed forever. But while the world came to a halt, many scientists were ramping up their efforts to understand the new virus.
2020
science
EMBL-EBI launches COVID-19 Data Portal
Science The new collaborative space will help scientists, public health and healthcare professionals around the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
2020
science
Supporting international research on the structure of the coronavirus
Science EMBL Heidelberg reopens the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Service Platform to support coronavirus structural biology research.
2020
science
Helping to scale up coronavirus testing
Science Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg are contributing their expertise in a community effort to develop large-scale testing methods for coronavirus. Their goal is to increase the capacity and speed of testing, which is crucial for containing the pandemic.
2020
science
Identifying how potential COVID-19 drugs work
Science EMBL researchers are studying how drugs that have shown good results against COVID-19 work in living cells
2020
science
Producing proteins for coronavirus research
Science The Protein Expression and Purification Core Facility at EMBL Heidelberg will produce proteins for several coronavirus-related research projects, to assist the development of new strategies to fight the virus.
2020
science
Response to the resignation of ERC President Mauro Ferrari
Lab Matters EMBL Director General Edith Heard responds to the resignation of the President of the European Research Council (ERC)
2020
lab-matters
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