EMBL

EMBL congratulates David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper on the 2024 #NobelPrize in Chemistry for their seminal discoveries and developments on protein structures. While David Baker developed computational methods that can create new proteins, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper helped develop the revolutionary AI tool AlphaFold, which can successfully predict the three-dimensional structure of a protein from a sequence of amino acids. Knowing a protein’s structure offers clues about the protein’s role, its link to health and disease, and its interactions with other molecules or drugs. EMBL partnered with Google DeepMind to make the AlphaFold 2 predictions freely and openly available to all, through the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database. The AlphaFold Database, which launched in July 2021, has a staggering 200 million protein structures, from over one million organisms. AlphaFold demonstrates the virtuous circle of open data – by sharing data, scientists are enabling future discoveries. The Nobel Prize | #chemnobel | #alphafold | Google DeepMind

Scientists from the University of Texas, the University of Copenhagen, The Scripps Research Institute and EMBL Barcelona have identified human antibodies that could prevent the malaria parasite from causing life-threatening infections. This breakthrough could pave the way for future vaccines or treatments to protect people from severe malaria. Malaria, particularly in its severe forms, remains a global health and economic burden, causing deaths of more than 600,000 people every year – most of them African children under five. The culprit is the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum which infects and modifies red blood cells, causing them to stick to the walls of tiny blood vessels in the brain. “We used a chip to recreate brain microvessels in 3D, which we then infected with malaria parasites. We introduced the two antibodies into the vasculature and were impressed at how well they prevented infected blood cells from sticking to the vessels,” said Viola Introini, Marie-Skłodowska Curie postdoctoral fellow in Maria Bernabeu’s Group at EMBL Barcelona and co-first author of the work. Maria Bernabeu Viola Introini Parc de Recerca Biomedica de Barcelona Nature Magazine The University of Texas at Austin Scripps Research University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet) https://lnkd.in/d4AHinqp

In October, I2SL: International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories recognised EMBL with its Outstanding Lab Programs and Initiatives Award for 2024. EMBL’s Head of Sustainability shares the steps the institute has taken to make its research more sustainable and its continuing actions towards this goal: https://lnkd.in/e8YUAwQR

From head to tail: how cells give rise to our body plan We all start our lives as a symmetric ball of cells. In humans, during the initial weeks after fertilisation, embryonic cells undergo several rounds of division. Then comes gastrulation, a process that establishes our body plan. The Trivedi Group at EMBL Barcelona has now published a study in the journal Development that may enhance our understanding of the autonomous behaviour of mouse embryonic stem cells during early development. “It is believed that the anterior–posterior axis of our body, that means our head-to-feet structure, requires external signals to be developed. In our study, we show that cells can independently orchestrate the first steps of symmetry breaking, without any external input”, said Vikas Trivedi, Group Leader at EMBL Barcelona. Vikas Trivedi Nicola Gritti The Company of Biologists https://lnkd.in/djPh2bnh

Applications for the EIPOD-Linc Postdoctoral Fellowships Programme are open! Apply if you’re interested in working on self-designed interdisciplinary research, want to explore cutting-edge science, gain transferable skills, and work on projects related to human and planetary challenges. 🌍 For more information and application, visit: https://lnkd.in/e8T4Vm_p

It was EMBL Barcelona’s turn to celebrate #EMBL50 last week. And just like other Bodas de Oro, the event featured commemorative speeches, video montages, and many ‘family’ and friends – but with a scientific twist. To celebrate these five decades of ground-breaking research, EMBL Barcelona brought together political leaders, members of the Spanish scientific community, and EMBL alumni. Hosted by EMBL Director General Edith Heard, Head of EMBL Barcelona James Sharpe, and PRBB Director Jordi Cami, the event welcomed more than 200 people, including prominent figures such as Eva Ortega-Paino, the Spanish Secretary General for Research and Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor for Economic Innovation of Barcelona. PRBB (Barcelona Biomedical Research Park) Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain Barcelona City Council https://lnkd.in/dtdjYgak

Yuvarani Masarapu, a junior bioinformatician and doctoral student at SciLifeLab in Stockholm, spent a week with EMBL collaborators, finding solutions to research challenges and expanding her scientific perspective. She is one of several examples of how SciLifeLab and EMBL’s partnership continues to grow. Stefania Giacomello Yuvarani Masarapu Georg Zeller KTH Royal Institute of Technology SciLifeLab European Research Council (ERC) https://lnkd.in/eJUhdxUi

Scientists from EMBL Hamburg and Centre for Structural Systems Biology CSSB have revealed key insights into the cellular process of clathrin-mediated endocytosis.   The cellular membrane controls the passage of substances in and out of the cell. Some larger cargo, such as membrane proteins, nutrients, and pathogens, enter the cell via a process known as clathrin-mediated endocytosis.   During clathrin-mediated endocytosis, adaptor proteins bind to the cell membrane and to the protein clathrin, assisting in engulfing the cargo in a clathrin-coated vesicle. The scientists used structural biology, biophysics, and microscopy techniques to investigate the role of these adaptor proteins. They discovered that two such proteins, Ent1 and Ent2, which were thought to be redundant in the past, have in fact differences in how they interact with clathrin, which underlies their functional specialisation.   https://lnkd.in/dCk3YVid Lucas Defelipe

Ever wondered exactly how many bacteria live in your gut? EMBL researchers have developed a machine-learning model that estimates the density of microbes in faecal samples based on microbial composition and used it to show that microbial load can strongly influence disease-microbe associations in gut microbiome studies. https://lnkd.in/e3jyq9GE

Scientists at EMBL Grenoble and the ESRF - The European Synchrotron have developed a new method to study the structures of macromolecules using in-situ serial crystallography. Nicolas Foos led the development of this method during his three-year ARISE fellowship at EMBL Grenoble – a programme that supports the development of new technologies and methods in the life sciences. In this interview, he reflects on the unique environment of the ARISE programme, being part of the first generation of fellows, and what this new method will bring to structural biology and drug design research. https://lnkd.in/ePHA_-Fw