Press Releases 2009

Heidelberg, 10 December 2009 The Battle of the Sexes EMBL scientists uncover the gene responsible for keeping females female more

Press Coverage

• Spektrum der Wissenschaft , 10 December 2009 'Wächter der Weiblichkeit’
• The Independent (UK) , 11 December 2009 ‘From Minnie to Mickey (and all they did was turn off a gene)’
• Financial Times , 11 December 2009 ‘Study hints at gender rethink’

Monterotondo, 10 December 2009 From fruit fly wings to heart failure. Why Not(ch)? Scientists at EMBL Monterotondo are the first to prove that the Notch signalling pathway targets heart muscle cells, thus revealing its crucial role in heart development and repair. more

Heidelberg, 26 November 2009 First-ever blueprint of a minimal cell is more complex than expected In three papers published back-to-back today in Science, scientists in a partnership between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Centre de Regulacio Genòmica (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain provide the first comprehensive picture of a minimal cell, based on an extensive quantitative study of the biology of the bacterium that causes atypical pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The study uncovers fascinating novelties relevant to bacterial biology and shows that even the simplest of cells is more complex than expected. more

Press Coverage

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , 2 December 2009 ‘Der künftige Star unter den Bakterien’
• New Scientist , 26 November 2009 'Simple' bacterium shows surprising complexity
• Nature , 26 November 2009 ‘Single-celled life does a lot with very little’
• Spektrum der Wissenschaft , 26 November 2009 ‘Gläsernes Bakterium’
• Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany) , 27 November 2009 ‘Es lebt’

Grenoble, 8 November 2009 Drought resistance explained Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) in Valencia, Spain discovered that the key to plants' responses to drought lies in the structure of a protein called PYR1 and how it interacts with the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA). Their study, published online today in Nature, could open up new approaches to increasing crops’ resistance to water shortage. more

Press Coverage

• El País , 9 November 2009 'La mano y la pelota'

Heidelberg, 4 November 2009 Deciphering the regulatory code Thanks to scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, it is now possible to accurately predict when and where different CRMs will be active. The study, published today in Nature, is a first step towards forecasting the expression of all genes in a given organism and demonstrates that the genetic regulation that is crucial for correct embryonic development is more flexible than previously thought. more

Heidelberg, 1 October 2009 From foe to friend: mosquitoes that transmit malaria may help fight the disease In a study published today in Science, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) in Strasbourg, France, discovered that variations in a single gene affect mosquitoes’ ability to resist infection by the malaria parasite. more

Press Coverage

• Thüringer Allgemeine , 3 October 2009 Resistant gegen Malaria
• SWR2 Campus , 6 October 2009 Vom Feind zum Freund
• BBC World Service , 2 October 2009 Science in Action
• Sueddeutsche Zeitung , 2 October 2009 Helfer-Mücken

Heidelberg/Grenoble, 30 September 2009 Putting the squeeze on sperm DNA Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and Grenoble, the Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS) and the Institut Albert Bonniot, both also in Grenoble, have been studying the secrets of speedy sperm. Their work, published today in Nature, shows how a protein only found in developing sperm cells, Brdt, directs tight re-packaging of sperm DNA. more

Press Coverage

• France 3 , 6 October 2009 Journal 19/20 Grenoble

Monterotondo, 21 September 2009 To regenerate muscle, cellular garbage men must become builders In a study published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), EMBL scientists provide conclusive proof that, when a muscle is injured, white blood cells called macrophages play a crucial role in its regeneration and uncovered the genetic switch that controls this process. more

Press Coverage

• Diario Médico (Spain) , 24 September 2009 'La proteína C/EBP, ligada a la rehabilitación del daño muscular'

Monterotondo, 13 September 2009 How stem cells make skin Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, in collaboration with colleagues at the Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT) in Madrid, have discovered two proteins that control when and how stem cells switch to being skin cells. more

Hinxton, 25 August 2009 UK leads European research programme with £10M investment in bioscience data handling capacity The UK has made its first substantial commitment to a major emerging pan-European science project with a £10M investment (25 August) by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). more

Heidelberg, 13 August 2009 Raising the alarm when DNA goes bad Scientists have known for a long time that when DNA is damaged, a key enzyme sets off a cellular ‘alarm bell’ to alert the cell to start the repair process. In a study published today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have identified a whole family of proteins capable of a direct response to the alarm signal. more

Heidelberg, 2 August 2009 Scientists open doors to diagnosis of emphysema Work by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit (MMPU) with the University of Heidelberg, Germany, has shed new light on the underlying disease process of emphysema using a technique which could in future be adapted for use in diagnosis. more

Heidelberg, 7 July 2009 Scientists identify cholesterol-regulating genes Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. more

Grenoble, 26 June 2009 New interdisciplinary structural biology centre for virus research and technology platforms On June 26 2009 the joint international Unit for Virus and Host Cell Inter actions (Unité Mi x te Internationale) was formally established in Grenoble. more

Heidelberg, 25 June 2009 Uncovering how cells cover gaps Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, came a step closer to understanding how cells close gaps not only during embryonic development but also during wound healing. more

Heidelberg, 23 June 2009 New electron microscopy images reveal the assembly of HIV Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, have produced a three-dimensional reconstruction of HIV more

Press Coverage

• Spiegel Online , 26 June 2009 Wie sich Aids-Viren selbst bauen

Monterotondo, 22 June 2009 European centre of excellence for mouse biology celebrates its 10th anniversary Today the EMBL Mouse Biology Unit in Monterotondo, close to Rome in Italy, celebrates its 10th anniversary. more

Heidelberg, 9 June 2009 New EMBL service makes web browsing efficient for biologists The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) now offers a new free service to help researchers, teachers and students keep up-to-date with scientific literature on the web, especially when researching unfamiliar molecules. more

Heidelberg, 28 May 2009 Sugarcoating fruit fly development 25 years after the first discovery of proteins, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have now gained insight into the role of one of these tags, a small sugar residue, that is found on many different proteins across species. more

Press Coverage

• Cell , 26 June 2009 Developmental Biology Select

Grenoble, 4 May 2009 Getting a grip on complexes: EMBL scientists develop first fully automated pipeline for multiprotein complex production Most cellular processes are carried out by molecular machines that consist of many interacting proteins. These protein complexes lie at the heart of life science research, but they are notoriously hard to study. Their abundance is often too low to extract them directly from cells and generating them with recombinant methods has been a daunting task. A new technology to produce multiprotein complexes, developed by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen, Switzerland, now makes the biologist's life easier. more

Heidelberg, 30 April 2009 Recycler protein helps prevent disease Recycling is important not only on a global scale, but also at the cellular level, since key molecules tend to be available in limited numbers. This means a cell needs to have efficient recycling mechanisms. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Heidelberg University, Germany, have now uncovered the first step in the recycling of a crucial molecular tag which ensures the instructions encoded in our genes are correctly carried out. more

Heidelberg, 23 April 2009 New study reveals the protein that makes phosphate chains in yeast It can be found in all life forms, and serves a multitude of purposes, from energy storage to stress response to bone calcification. This molecular jack-of-all trades is polyphosphate, a long chain of phosphate molecules. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] in Heidelberg, Germany, are now the first to uncover how this chain is assembled in eukaryotes [organisms whose cells have a nucleus]. more

Heidelberg, 24 February 2009 Picture Release The two images of Medaka juveniles, a full body shot and a head close-up, were taken at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), with a newly developed microscope called Digital Scanned Laser Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscope. more

Grenoble, 4 February 2009 New findings reveal how influenza virus hijacks human cells Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the joint Unit of Virus Host-Cell Interaction (UVHCI) of EMBL, the University Joseph Fourier (UJF) and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Grenoble, France, have now precisely defined an important drug target in influenza. more

Press Coverage

• Reuters , 4 February 2009 Experts identify key area of bird flu virus
• El Mundo , 4 February 2009 Descubierto el 'disfraz' del virus de la gripe
• Spektrum der Wissenschaft , 4 February 2009 Aussicht auf neues Grippe-Medikament?
• Le Scienze , 5 February 2009 Influenza, un fattore cruciale per l'infezione
• El Pais , 11 February 2009 Hallada la llave que propaga el virus de la gripe

Heidelberg/Hinxton, 25 January 2009 Re-write the textbooks: transcription is bidirectional Researchers in the groups of Lars Steinmetz at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and Wolfgang Huber at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton, UK, have now unravelled how yeast generates its transcripts and have come a step closer to understanding their function. more

Press Coverage

• Spektrum der Wissenschaft , 27 January 2009 Einbahnstraße in zwei Richtungen