wire - news in brief

The Catalyst Fund - supported by the Bertarelli Foundation - has selected six research projects to fund this year. Led by professors from EPFL and other Swiss Universities, these projects all aim to develop new treatment options for neurological disorders. Created by the Bertarelli Foundation in 2017, the Catalyst Fund aims to invest in translational projects targeting innovative approaches for diseases affecting the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nervous system and sensory organs.

On September 14, an expedition within the framework of the international project Ice Memory is setting out to carry out ice core drilling on the glacier of the mountain massif Grand Combin in the Swiss canton of Valais.

The FMI is a partner of the pan-European LifeTime initiative. In two publications, researchers involved with the initiative - including FMI group leader Susan Gasser - present a detailed roadmap of how to leverage the latest scientific breakthroughs and technologies over the next decade, to track, understand and treat human cells throughout an individual's lifetime.

Molecular glue degraders are a new class of drugs that work by facilitating an interaction between a disease-causing target protein and a ubiquitin ligase complex, tagging the target protein for degradation.

Organoid" was launched today. It aims at validating organoids as faithful models of human biology, combining single-cell profiling and organoid technology.

In the body, so-called programmed cell death prevents cells with irreparable damage from surviving and turning into cancer cells. In the "EMBO Journal", researchers at the University of Basel's Biozentrum, report how a certain protein variant thwarts the self-destruction and thus promotes the growth of breast cancer cells.

When our DNA breaks, cells use the so-called homologous recombination pathway to accurately repair the break, so that DNA is fixed and no mutations are introduced during the repair process. When multiple DNA molecules are broken, the recombination factors use a smart strategy to join only the DNA pieces originating from the same DNA molecules.

The University of Zurich is introducing five new University Research Priority Programs focusing on equal opportunities, human reproduction, rare diseases, digital religions and basic principles of learning.

SARS-CoV-2 virus analysis involves complex procedures and requires long waiting times.

Pushing the boundaries of implantable neuro-device development Today the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, Geneva, Switzerland and OSYPKA AG/OSYPKA Medtec, Rheinfelden, Germany and Longmont,

The software platform, NeuroKey, interfaces with multiple brain signal acquisition sources and devices, extending the reach of brain-computer interface applications GENEVA, SWITZERLAND & SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, USA - The Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering has granted a worldwide license to Blackrock Microsystems to commercialize its neural signal processing and decoding software platform for research and clinical applications.

An international team with researchers of the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) of the University of Bern and the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) showed that an endogenous protein prevents the virus from fusing with host cells.

In a project under Horizon 2020, researchers from seven European organizations will examine how the vision of visually impaired people can be restored using electrical stimulation of the brain.

Advances in next-generation-sequencing technology that allow researchers to look at billions of pieces of genetic information are changing the way a disease is diagnosed. Correct identification of changes in the human genetic code responsible for rare metabolic disorders provides scientists and physicians with fact-based guidelines for the treatment.

Despite the coronavirus lockdown, the renovation and extension of Früebüel research station in Walchwil (Canton of Zug) was completed nearly on schedule.

In a video (5'35'') combining interviews and figures, the team behind the latest collaboration from the Thomä and Schübeler labs - Alicia Michael, Ralph Grand and Luke Isbel - explain how they developed an assay identifying where the preferable sites for the transcription factor-DNA binding motif on the nucleosome were, so that they could build transcription factor-nucleosome complexes.

Vanesa Rocha Martin is studying how bacteria can be used to treat infant colic. As part of her Pioneer Fellowship, she is now turning her findings into a first-line therapy with a proven effect.

Systems biologist Paola Picotti receives this year's Rössler Prize for her groundbreaking work in the field of proteomics.

Parasitic wasps act as biological weapons against aphids in pest control. With the help of symbionts, however, some aphids try to defend themselves against the attacks. The struggle between these insects is one of the specialities of Christoph Vorburger, head of the "Aquatic Ecology" department and evolutionary ecologist Nina Hafer-Hahmann, postdoc in the same department.

At the invitation of the University of Bern, international experts worked out new recommendations for the design of animal studies. They encourage a paradigm shift to improve the reproducibility of scientific results and reduce animal numbers. Animal experiments are typically conducted under highly standardized laboratory conditions.

Around 500 different cichlid species are found in Lake Victoria. According to a study by scientists at Eawag and Bern University, whether closely related species can persist within the same area depends on the effect sizes of individual genes underlying key mate-choice traits. In several eastern African lakes, an immense variety of cichlid species evolved within just a few thousand years.

Hematopoietic stem cells from a healthy donor can help patients suffering from acute leukemia. However, the side effects of therapies are often severe. A group of researchers led by the University of Zurich have now shown how human healthy and cancerous hematopoietic stem cells can be more selectively eliminated using immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy in mice.

In shaking our society to its core, says Jaboury Ghazoul, Covid-19 shows that we must adopt a far broader perspective to tackle the complex socio-ecological problems humanity faces.

He can play a computer game using thought alone. Samuel Kunz, who has tetraplegia, is currently training with researchers from Zurich and Singapore for the next Cybathlon.

The deepwater charr Salvelinus profundus is a small, pale fish endemic to Lake Constance. With its large eyes and overbite, it is well adapted to life in the depths, where it feeds on bottom-dwelling worms and crustaceans. Up until the 1960s, it was a commercial species, but catches subsequently declined with the eutrophication of Lake Constance.

The University of Bern is welcoming six Marie Sk'odowska-Curie fellows this year. The "Marie Sk'odowska-Curie Individual Fellowships", awarded annually by the European Commission, give experienced researchers the opportunity to enrich their scientific careers with a stay abroad.

April 8, 2020 On April 8, 1970, the founding charter of the FMI was signed. For 50 years, the FMI has stayed true to its initial mission: To promote basic research in the fields of biochemistry and medicine, and to train young scientists.

Genes that time the transition to adulthood are well-studied in the roundworm C. elegans, and at least partially conserved in mammals, where they regulate the onset of puberty.

ETH Zurich has been in lockdown for more than two weeks now. Although many projects have been put on hold, research relevant to the coronavirus has gathered speed.

What is life? This question is the starting point not for a philosophy lecture, but for the newly designed Bachelor's degree programme in biology at ETH Zurich.

An EPFL professor of Microbiology, Melanie Blokesch reminds us why we need to take infectious diseases more seriously - and be better prepared for future outbreaks.

Jacques Fellay, a professor at EPFL's School of Life Sciences, talks about mutations of the novel coronavirus, variants in the human genome, and how they might affect the current pandemic. Has the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutated by now? Like all viruses, SARS-CoV-2 evolves over time through random mutations of its genome (which is made of single-stranded RNA).

In a short clip, Rosalba Morese, postdoc assistant at the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society and at the Institute of Public Health of USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, talks about our emotional reactions to social distance, an aspect that we need to deal with in our daily lives.

How is teaching at ETH dealing with the explosion of information in research and technology? Besides developing specialist knowledge, teaching is increasingly concerned with interdisciplinary skills such as critical thinking and the ability to filter, understand and apply relevant information.

Coronavirus testing is an essential part of identifying infected people and curbing the spread of the pandemic. To speed up the testing process, the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zurich has made its laboratory equipment available to the canton of Thurgau. The first step of a coronavirus test is to swab the person's mouth, nose or throat.