EMBL

A single viral enzyme can target thousands of host proteins, assisting infection by shutting down host defences, a new study by EMBL researchers shows. Phages are viruses that attack bacteria, and the two exist in a perpetual evolutionary arms race. New research from Nassos Typas and Mikhail Savitski’s research groups at EMBL Heidelberg sheds light on a creative strategy one such phage – T7 – uses to overcome bacterial defence pathways. The strategy relies on T7 kinase, a bacterial enzyme that modifies bacterial proteins, particularly targeting DNA-binding proteins that form a core part of bacterial immune mechanisms. The study provides novel insights into bacteria-virus interactions and opens up new possibilities for bioengineering for phage therapy. https://lnkd.in/ev_cbhpA Mikhail Savitski | Tara Bartolec | Nassos Typas | Karin Mitosch | #antimicrobialresistance | #phageresearch

In humans, pregnancy lasts around nine months. In mice, only 20 days, and in rhinoceroses, as long as 17 months. Although many mammalian species go through the same stages during embryo development, the speed of development differs substantially across animals. A recent EMBL study published in Developmental Cell by Cell Press helps explain why humans develop slower than mice. The teams at EMBL Barcelona and EMBL Heidelberg found that there is a clear tendency for protein degradation in humans to be slower than in mice. During embryo development, protein degradation is important because it contributes to the pace of the segmentation clock. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ek9hsrUy Miki Ebisuya-Matsuda Mikhail Savitski Mitsuhiro Matsuda Henrik Hammarén

Welcome, Athanasios Athanassiadis! Joining as EMBL’s new Head of Scientific Instrumentation Workshops, Thanasi is hoping to work together with scientists and engineers across the six EMBL sites to design, implement, and improve customised experimental setups that open up exciting new research avenues. Read this interview to learn more about Thanasi’s background, his plans in this new role, and why he believes scientific instrumentation workshops play a critical role in enabling cutting-edge science.

✨Meet the EMBL researchers who are developing and applying AI to answer some of the biggest questions in biology. From identifying patterns of infectious diseases to investigating how cancer genomes evolve, EMBL AI’s initiative aims to transform life sciences research by comprehensively integrating artificial intelligence. Swipe through to discover how these scientists use AI in their research, and scan the QR code at the end to watch the full videos! Are you also looking for an opportunity to work with AI in biology to solve complex interdisciplinary challenges? Check out this still-open senior position at EMBL Heidelberg: 📌 Group Leader: AI in Biology https://lnkd.in/ek8X-63S #EMBL_AI 

Meet Sam Shingles 🇬🇧, who helps connect local communities with the world of genomics and biological data. As a Public Engagement Officer at EMBL-EBI, Sam brings a unique background in planetary science to the life sciences, focusing on demystifying data and creating a culture of open dialogue. Sam shares his insights on why effective engagement must be a two-way conversation, the importance of building trust with the public, and how he is currently working with local community partners to explore complex topics like AI and coding. Outside of work, Sam stays active playing field hockey and spending time with his cat, Nala 🐈 https://lnkd.in/ebdnnCMi #PublicEngagement #WeAreEMBL

EMBL is helping create important research centres in Portugal and Latvia, thanks to European Commission Horizon Europe ‘teaming’ grants. The projects establish Centres of Excellence, enabling these countries to raise their research impact on genomic medicine and wastewater monitoring, respectively. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ekHKKsFx i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde | Latvian Biomedical Research & Study centre | Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte (Riga Technical University) | Valsts zinātniskais institūts BIOR | University of Dundee | Ipatimup | CGPP-IBMC |

Big news for European biodiversity conservation. Three major scientific communities (ERGA - European Reference Genome Atlas, iBOL Europe and CETAF - Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities) have signed a landmark agreement through the Biodiversity Genomics Europe plus (BGE+) initiative to build a continent-wide infrastructure for biodiversity genomics. As European researchers scale up data production, EMBL-EBI serves as the coordination and public repository layer to make these data openly accessible, searchable, and future-proof. Beyond hosting, we run extensive analysis on these genomes to add deeper value to the raw data. Our resource teams are collaborating to handle this incoming wave of data:  ➡️ European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) archives sequence data and annotations,  linking barcodes with whole genomes and source information. ➡️Ensembl develops automated pipelines that help interpret complex plant and animal evolutionary traits. ➡️ERGA Portal pulls these diverse streams into a platform for researchers and policy makers. By standardising and openly displaying these data, we are turning raw laboratory data into public knowledge that actively informs European policy and boosts research. https://lnkd.in/eiE_5mPp #biodiversity

Behind every great scientist is a great community! Lisa Maier, EMBL's 2026 John Kendrew Award recipient, reflects on how mentorship and support at EMBL shaped her journey into pioneering microbiome research. Read more about her journey 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMVN-msH

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