{"id":13173,"date":"2018-04-18T16:28:49","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T14:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.embl.de\/?p=13173"},"modified":"2024-03-22T23:10:43","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T22:10:43","slug":"serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>According to Descartes\u2019 famous line, \u2018to think is to be\u2019. For modern-day biologists, it\u2019s increasingly a case of \u2018to metabolise is to be\u2019. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crick.ac.uk\/research\/a-z-researchers\/researchers-p-s\/markus-ralser\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Markus Ralser<\/a>, who will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.de\/training\/events\/2018\/EAE18-01\/speakers_organisers_gallery\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems<\/a>\u2019 at EMBL this October, shares how a fluke finding gave him insights into the origins of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a biochemist, you could say the definition of life is metabolism,\u201d Ralser quips. Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions within cells that sustain life. It is a complex and dynamic network of reactions that allows organisms to grow, reproduce, maintain their structures and respond to their environments. Researchers\u2019 interest in metabolism is growing, with the advent of techniques like <a href=\"https:\/\/news.embl.de\/science\/1703-metabolism-matters\/\">metabolomics<\/a> \u2013 the systematic study of metabolic processes and products. In his lab at the Francis Crick Institute, Ralser is trying to reconstruct the rules behind cell metabolism and \u2013 with a bit of luck \u2013 how life began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-13177 vf-u-width__50\"><figure class=\"vf-figure  | vf-figure--align vf-figure--align-inline-start  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"425\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/news.embl.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Ralser_portrait.jpg\" alt=\"Markus Ralser will be a keynote speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019, hosted at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October. Credit: Meryem Ralser\" class=\"wp-image-13177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Ralser_portrait.jpg 310w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Ralser_portrait-219x300.jpg 219w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><figcaption class=\"vf-figure__caption\">Markus Ralser will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019, hosted at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October. PHOTO: Meryem Ralser<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Together with his team, Ralser is using a simple model \u2013 yeast \u2013 to answer the very complicated question of how metabolism works. Another question that has long intrigued him is <em>why<\/em> metabolism works the way it does, and how it arose in the first place. This question of where metabolic networks come from was in the back of Ralser\u2019s mind for a few years, until Markus Keller, then a postdoc in Ralser\u2019s lab at the University of Cambridge, made a serendipitous discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While preparing the media \u2013 the mix of nutrients in which cells are grown in the lab \u2013 for their yeast cells, Keller noticed something unexpected: the media contained pyruvate. Pyruvate is the end product of an important metabolic reaction sequence, called glycolysis, by which cells break down glucose into smaller sugars and obtain energy. Since there were no cells in the media, the sugars must have interconverted in the absence of enzymes \u2013 proteins that cells use to speed up chemical reactions. After some quality checks, the researchers realised the metabolite had formed during a routine heating of the growth media. Intrigued, Ralser and Keller set out to determine how exactly the pyruvate had formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keller replicated the reactions and realised that they didn\u2019t just form pyruvate; a complex network of chemical reactions had spontaneously occurred. This network was very similar to the glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathways, two reaction systems \u2013 or variants thereof \u2013 which are central to our cells. Pentose phosphate is one of the building blocks of DNA and RNA, the molecules that store genetic information, while the glycolysis pathway is central to generating energy and producing the building blocks for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although many details are still unclear, life \u2013 and metabolism \u2013 probably came into existence from simple environmental reactions in the early Archaean Eon, some four billion years ago. The Archaean seas were very different from the ones we know today, so Ralser approached Alexandra Turchyn, from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, who is an expert on the world\u2019s early oceans. In an extensive collaboration, the two labs figured out what had replaced the metabolic enzymes in the reactions in the growth media: ferrous iron. Iron is found at high concentrations in Archaean sediments and believed to have been highly concentrated in oceans and other aquatic environments of the Archaean world. The reactions Ralser and Keller had found in the growth media \u2013 glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathways \u2013 hence replicate the reactions sugar phosphates undergo in the presence of ferrous iron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat&#8217;s how we think metabolism might have started,\u201d explains Ralser. The high concentration of metals in the Archaean seas formed a chemical landscape that enabled a series of chemical reactions that we now find in cells. \u201cWe can reconstruct quite a lot of cells\u2019 metabolism without enzymes,\u201d Ralser points out. \u201cThis hints that metabolism emerged from a chemistry that did already exist before cells were able to pass on genetic information.\u201d Later, these reactions were exploited by our cells to interconvert carbohydrates and eventually became the basis of life\u2019s metabolism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Earth\u2019s atmosphere now contains a lot more oxygen, there aren\u2019t many environments on Earth where iron is as abundant as it was in the ancient Archaean seas. In contrast, the inside of cells is quite rich in many metals like iron. So why do cells expend so much energy making their inner chemistry different from the world around them? To Ralser, a likely answer is that \u201ccells spend a lot of energy generating the chemical environment necessary to exploit their genetic machinery and to conduct metabolism. It is highly likely that their interior has been shaped by the environments where they started to evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Markus Ralser is a Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute and is affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge. His lab studies the metabolic networks inside the cell and how cells exchange metabolites. He will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019, hosted at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Markus Ralser, upcoming EMBO workshop speaker, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":13192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,17593],"tags":[203,92,43,490,559],"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-13173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-people-perspectives","tag-embo","tag-event","tag-heidelberg","tag-metabolism","tag-origin"],"acf":{"article_intro":"<p>Markus Ralser, upcoming EMBO workshop speaker, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life<\/p>\n","related_links":[{"link_description":"","link_url":""},{"link_description":"","link_url":""}],"article_sources":[{"source_description":"<p>M Keller, A Turchyn, M Ralser, <em>Molecular Systems Biology<\/em>, published online 25 April, 2014. DOI 10.1002\/msb.20145228<\/p>\n","source_link_url":"http:\/\/msb.embopress.org\/content\/10\/4\/725"}],"vf_locked":false,"featured":false,"color":"#007B53","show_featured_image":false,"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"source_article":false,"in_this_article":false,"press_contact":"None","article_translations":false,"languages":""},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings | EMBL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Markus Ralser, will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019 at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings | EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Markus Ralser, will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019 at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-18T14:28:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-22T22:10:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"425\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Berta Carre\u00f1o\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@embl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@embl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Berta Carre\u00f1o\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Berta Carre\u00f1o\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/3188b4d1fc563c4c62a41ab642fda2b5\"},\"headline\":\"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-18T14:28:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-22T22:10:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/\"},\"wordCount\":885,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"embo\",\"event\",\"heidelberg\",\"metabolism\",\"origin\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Events\",\"People &amp; Perspectives\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/\",\"name\":\"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings | EMBL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-18T14:28:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-22T22:10:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"Markus Ralser, will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019 at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg\",\"width\":620,\"height\":425,\"caption\":\"Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that sustain life. IMAGE: Fr. Kate Campbell\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory News\",\"description\":\"News from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"EMBL News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory\",\"alternateName\":\"EMBL\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":144,\"caption\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/embl\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embl_org\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/15813\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/emblmedia\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/3188b4d1fc563c4c62a41ab642fda2b5\",\"name\":\"Berta Carre\u00f1o\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9191068ca5e5980c4b4e72f04f7689c53d94c02733fdd9ee96f8fa3d2631efe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9191068ca5e5980c4b4e72f04f7689c53d94c02733fdd9ee96f8fa3d2631efe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Berta Carre\u00f1o\"},\"description\":\"Berta Carre\u00f1o a science writer at EMBL and has master\u2019s degrees in chemical engineering and science communication. She likes learning new things and sharing them with the world.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/author\/berta-carreno\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings | EMBL","description":"Markus Ralser, will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019 at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings | EMBL","og_description":"Markus Ralser, will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019 at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life","og_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/","og_site_name":"EMBL","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/","article_published_time":"2018-04-18T14:28:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-22T22:10:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":425,"url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Berta Carre\u00f1o","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@embl","twitter_site":"@embl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Berta Carre\u00f1o","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/"},"author":{"name":"Berta Carre\u00f1o","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/3188b4d1fc563c4c62a41ab642fda2b5"},"headline":"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings","datePublished":"2018-04-18T14:28:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-22T22:10:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/"},"wordCount":885,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg","keywords":["embo","event","heidelberg","metabolism","origin"],"articleSection":["Events","People &amp; Perspectives"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/","name":"A serendipitous window into life\u2019s beginnings | EMBL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg","datePublished":"2018-04-18T14:28:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-22T22:10:43+00:00","description":"Markus Ralser, will be a speaker at the EMBO Workshop \u2018Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems\u2019 at EMBL Heidelberg from 17-20 October, on how metabolism brought chemistry to life","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/events\/serendipitous-window-lifes-beginnings\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg","width":620,"height":425,"caption":"Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that sustain life. IMAGE: Fr. Kate Campbell"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/","name":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory News","description":"News from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization"},"alternateName":"EMBL News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization","name":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory","alternateName":"EMBL","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png","width":300,"height":144,"caption":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/","https:\/\/x.com\/embl","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embl_org\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/15813\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/emblmedia\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/3188b4d1fc563c4c62a41ab642fda2b5","name":"Berta Carre\u00f1o","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9191068ca5e5980c4b4e72f04f7689c53d94c02733fdd9ee96f8fa3d2631efe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9191068ca5e5980c4b4e72f04f7689c53d94c02733fdd9ee96f8fa3d2631efe9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Berta Carre\u00f1o"},"description":"Berta Carre\u00f1o a science writer at EMBL and has master\u2019s degrees in chemical engineering and science communication. She likes learning new things and sharing them with the world.","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/author\/berta-carreno\/"}]}},"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180418-profile-ralser.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13173"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22119,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13173\/revisions\/22119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13173"},{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=13173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}