Heidelberg, 18 November 2019 Photo-micropatterning advances structural cell biology Scientists in the Mahamid group, together with the Théry lab at CytomorphoLab, France, have developed a new technique that allows spatially controlled cell adhesion and the manipulation of cell shapes on cryo-electron microscopy grids. The photo-micropatterning technique – hailed as an important advance by the research community – is presented in a paper published in Nature Methods on 18 November. more

Heidelberg, 15 November 2019 ATTRACT: funding innovation in imaging technology In the first phase of ATTRACT funding, 170 projects – selected from over 1200 proposals – were awarded seed grants of €100,000 each. EMBL is a collaborator in four of the funded projects, and two of these are being led by EMBL researchers. They have one year to prove the scientific merit and innovation potential of their technologies, before presenting their results at a conference in Brussels in autumn 2020. An independent committee will then decide which of the projects will receive additional funding under ATTRACT Phase 2. The clock is ticking. more

General, 15 November 2019 Fostering links with Montenegro Since Montenegro joined EMBL as a member state in 2018, several events have taken place with the aim of fostering collaboration and introducing scientists from Montenegro to the research facilities and training offered by EMBL. more

Heidelberg, 14 November 2019 New perspectives on nuclear pores Two research groups at EMBL have recently published new studies involving the NPC, addressing very different questions. The Beck group has uncovered a previously unknown formation process for the NPC, while the Ries group describes its use as a reference standard for super-resolution microscopy. more

Heidelberg, 7 November 2019 Integrating imaging research across Europe The European Commission has officially established Euro-BioImaging – which provides life scientists with open access to a broad range of technologies and resources in biological and biomedical imaging – as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). Since Euro-BioImaging was initiated at EMBL in 2007, this adds yet another remarkable achievement to EMBL’s mission of integrating European life sciences. more

Heidelberg, 6 November 2019 Courage to succeed: EMBL Women’s Night 2019 EMBL Women’s Night provides an opportunity for women from academia, business and politics to connect and share ideas. This year, the event marks the launch of a mentoring programme for the advancement of women in science, which is supported by donations from the Friends of EMBL. Teresa Rodó, Head of Global Healthcare Operations at Merck Group, will be among the speakers at the event, which takes place at EMBL Heidelberg on 14 November. Here, she shares some insights gained from a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. more

Heidelberg, 5 November 2019 Edith’s inauguration On 17 October, representatives from the EMBL member states, EMBL faculty, and other distinguished guests gathered for the inauguration of EMBL Director General Edith Heard. more

Heidelberg, 4 November 2019 EMBL spins the Sleeping Beauty transposase EMBL scientists have developed a new variant of the Sleeping Beauty transposase. It has dramatically improved biochemical features, including enhanced stability and intrinsic cell penetrating properties. This transposase can be used for genome engineering of stem cells and therapeutic T cells. As such it is extremely valuable for use in regenerative medicine and cancer immunotherapy. The underlying genome engineering procedures will in the future also reduce costs and improve the safety of genome modifications. more

Rome, 30 October 2019 Fallingwater filled with mice In EMBL Rome's 20th anniversary year, Nadia Rosenthal, Head of EMBL Rome 2001–2012 (initially known as the EMBL Mouse Biology Programme; later as EMBL Monterotondo), describes how she built EMBL Rome’s mouse house more

Heidelberg, 29 October 2019 EMBL Fellows’ Career Service launched In September, EMBL launched a new career service for predocs and postdocs. EMBL career advisors Rachel Coulthard-Graf and Patricia Cabezas give an overview of what the new service offers and how it supports fellows. more