EMBL

Imagine a tool that lets you test-drive gene expression inside a living cell. Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg's Krebs Group have developed a new method, called mCHIRA, to understand how the binding of proteins called transcription factors to specific regulatory DNA sequences regulates gene expression. Through this synthetic biology approach, researchers can easily test the consequences of small sequence variations on gene regulation while controlling for confounding factors. The scientists found that when multiple transcription factors bind to an enhancer, it increases the probability of an enhancer gene becoming accessible, much more than single transcription factors can achieve alone. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eMeZnyFq Arnaud Krebs | Guido Barzaghi | Valentina Baderna | Judith Zaugg

EMBL researchers and their collaborators have found a new layer of control over DNA repair, one that operates outside the nucleus, at the Golgi Complex. The new study, published in the Journal of Cell Biology, shows that a network of DNA-repair proteins is held at the Golgi and recruited to the nucleus when DNA is damaged. Disruption of this mechanism impairs DNA repair. It’s the first evidence that an organelle like the Golgi actively takes part in DNA repair, opening up new opportunities to modulate DNA repair and target diseases involving DNA damage, such as cancer. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gPpsy-Qz George Galea | Karolina Kuodyte | Rainer Pepperkok | Emma Lundberg | Stanford University | Human Protein Atlas

💭 Malaria is a growing global health concern, affecting over 280 million people each year. Understanding the biology of the malaria parasite and its vectors – mosquitoes – is critical to devising better treatment and control strategies. And this is an area where AI could help researchers make sense of large and complex datasets. Prisca Kweyamba, who recently visited EMBL Heidelberg’s Huber Group through an EMBL-UNESCO fellowship, explains how she uses AI to investigate how mosquitoes interact with malaria parasites and adapt to insecticides. Combined with technologies such as single-cell transcriptomics and CRISPR gene editing, AI can help researchers uncover new insights into mosquito biology and develop more effective malaria control strategies. #EMBL_AI

EMBL researchers are helping uncover what satellites can't see: the hidden microbial communities beneath tropical forests. Together with international collaborators, they recently collected soil samples at the Barro Colorado National Monument in Panama. The team now aims to combine microbial DNA and RNA sequencing with airborne and satellite observations to give satellites a ’microbial sense’ of forests. The resulting molecular dataset will help scientists calibrate satellite observations, turning images into more reliable insights into forest health, biodiversity and environmental change. Check the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dEfpX8dq Santiago Lago | Kiley Seitz | Caroline Juery | Thomas HAIZE | Josipa Bilic Zimmermann | NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) | University of Zurich

EMBL and collaborators present spatialproteomics, an open-source software that helps researchers decode the cellular architecture of tumours. Cancer is shaped not just by tumour cells, but by the surrounding ecosystem of immune cells, blood vessels, and connective tissue. In lymphoma and beyond, understanding how these cells are organised in space can reveal important clues about disease progression and treatment response. Spatialproteomics brings microscopy image analysis into a single, more accessible workflow — from segmentation and annotation to spatial analysis — making complex analysis workflows more reproducible and scalable. In a study published in Nature Methods, the team showed how the tool can identify spatial signatures in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and help distinguish between indolent and aggressive samples. University of Düsseldorf https://lnkd.in/dJBEKPhf

European Researchers’ Night is returning to Heidelberg! EMBL, in partnership with Merck Group, is excited to bring the European Researchers’ Night back to the EMBL Heidelberg campus in 2026 and 2027. The next edition – Festival of Science and Curiosity | Festival der Wissenschaft und Neugier – will take place on 25 September 2026, from 15:00 to 22:00. Visitors of all ages will be invited to experience science up close through hands-on activities, demonstrations, exhibitions, campus tours, laboratory visits, microscopy experiments, creative workshops, and conversations with EMBL scientists. A special highlight will be Merck’s Curiosity Cube™, an interactive mobile science lab that travels around the world and will stop at EMBL Heidelberg for the event. Visitors will be able to experiment, explore cutting-edge technologies, and step into the role of researchers for the day. The Festival will also connect science and art through the Theatre of Curiosity, featuring panel discussions, performances, and creative activities. Funded as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under the European Commission, the event will celebrate curiosity, discovery, and the many ways science shapes our everyday lives. The event will be inclusive and open to all age groups, with activities in multiple languages and a designated quiet time for visitors who prefer a calmer environment. More details and the full programme will be published soon. https://lnkd.in/exWMRUJ7 #SPARKCuriosity 

The recent launch of Epitome Therapeutics, a new EMBL spin-off, marks an exciting step in translating cutting-edge research in epigenome editing into the next generation of precision medicines. Co-founded by EMBL group leader Jamie Hackett, Epitome Therapeutics builds on pioneering research from EMBL Rome to develop therapies that precisely regulate gene expression, without altering the underlying DNA sequence. The spin-off was established with support from EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer GmbH. With €4 million in initial funding, Epitome Therapeutics will advance its proprietary CADENCE platform, designed to fine-tune gene activity to the levels needed for healthy function, opening up new possibilities for treating rare genetic, metabolic, and other diseases driven by dysregulated gene expression. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e-7CQ6he XISTA Science Ventures | NAVEC Investment Management | caesar. | Austria Wirtschaftsservice | FFG Austrian Research Promotion Agency

It’s been five years since the #AlphaFold Database made protein structure predictions free for everyone to use. This was only possible thanks to a close collaboration with Google DeepMind. Today, the database contains more than 260 million predicted protein structures, covering nearly all catalogued proteins known to science. Over 3.5 million researchers in 190 countries use the database to inform their research, to plan their next experiment, or to develop new hypotheses. Scientists around the world are using the database to help make a difference, from tackling antimicrobial resistance and developing disease-resistant crops to understanding heart disease and engineering plastic-eating enzymes.

How can AI help researchers extract meaningful insights from the enormous amounts of data generated by advanced techniques like large-scale X-ray imaging? Lorenzo D'Amico, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Duke Team at EMBL Hamburg, shares his experience using AI to identify key features in complex 3D X-ray imaging data. Such analysis is highly time-consuming and error-prone when performed manually.  The approach D'Amico is using enables more efficient and reliable analysis, helping researchers make sense of large and complex datasets. Watch the video to learn more 👇 #EMBL_AI 

💭 What if you could pick out a single resident in a metropolis of millions, just by looking down from a skyscraper? That's the challenge EMBL scientists are solving when trying to identify specific molecules inside the crowded world of a cell. EMBL researchers and their collaborators have developed a new synthetic protein tag, called NovoTags, using the Nobel-Prize-winning, AI-driven de novo protein design approach developed by the Baker Lab at the University of Washington. This new tagging system allows scientists to zoom in on specific proteins inside human cells by using fluorescence microscopy. Curious how NovoTags will help scientists map the cell's busiest alleyways? Check here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKFcJsPT Dr. Steffen Klein | David Baker | Baker Lab | University of Washington