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Science in a New Light Last Experiment on the DORIS Synchrotron, P-CUBE Draws to a Close, and the Story Behind a New Crystal Harvesting Technology

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Science in a New Light Last Experiment on the DORIS Synchrotron, P-CUBE Draws to a Close, and the Story Behind a New Crystal Harvesting Technology The Newsletter of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory EMBL Issue 72 • December 2012 • www.embl.org/newsletter etcetera Science in a new light Last experiment on the DORIS synchrotron, P-CUBE draws to a close, and the story behind a new crystal harvesting technology Balancing act More than 300 scientists, journalists and members of the public convened at EMBL Heidelberg 9–10 November to discuss one of the most challenging DORIS retired, page 4 issues facing mankind: the increas- ing number of species of plants and animals under threat of extinction. The diverse programme for this year’s Science and Society conference brought together expertise from areas including research, policy, public health and philosophy. The event gave participants the opportunity to voice opinions, hopes and concerns in rela- Crystal harvesting, page 5 P-CUBE legacy, page 3 tion to biodiversity. See page 10 Reviews, rewards and renewals Important decisions made at Winter Council Meeting in November An eventful Winter Council Meeting took place in Hamburg, with delegates discussing and voting on a large number of lab-based issues. Highlights included the announcement of positive reviews of EMBL Heidelberg’s Genome Biology Unit and EMBL Monterotondo’s Mouse Biology Unit, a special contribution from the Luxembourg government to fund joint projects, agreement to take the next steps towards a new outstation, and the appointment of Claudio Sunkel as the new Chair of Council. Find out more on page 2 Meet the new John Kendrew The greatest story What sci-fi head of EMBL Award winner never told? stocking filler 7 Monterotondo 9 11 12 would you give? Winter Council Meeting: Reviews, rewards and renewals Delegates took part in an eventful Winter finance research projects jointly selected by Council Meeting in Hamburg, 27–28 Novem- EMBL and Luxembourg’s National Research ber, where they approved EMBL’s 2013 budget Fund (FNR). and discussed, voted on, and announced key Steps towards an outstation in Spain lab-related developments, including: SAC gave support for moving forward with a First-rate unit reviews proposal to establish a new EMBL outstation The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) focused on tissue biology and disease model- announced that their recent review of ling in Spain. Council approved the develop- EMBL Heidelberg’s Genome Biology Unit ment of a detailed financial plan and draft found research “of the highest calibre, host site agreement for future assessment. comparing favourably with the best work of this type being executed at other lead- New lab equipment ing biomedical research institutes around Scientists in the lab are to benefit from some the world.” Meanwhile, a recent review of new tools, including a third-generation EMBL Monterotondo found the productiv- sequencer; a Thermo TSQ Vantage mass spec- ity of EMBL’s Mouse Biology Unit “out- trometer; and an upgrade of the Titan Krios standing”, with the SAC panel acknowledg- Camera and Zeiss 2 Photon microscope. ing the significant contribution of former Comings and goings head Nadia Rosenthal to the success of the EMBL Director General Iain Mattaj thanked Unit (see page 7). outgoing Council Chair Eero Vuorio Special Luxembourg contribution (Finland) on behalf of the lab for chairing Council welcomed a special contribution of Council over the past four years. Claudio 500 000 Euro from the Luxembourg govern- Sunkel (Portugal) has been elected as the ment to promote scientific collaborations new Chair. Iain also paid tribute to a host of Clockwise from top: EMBL staff and Council between scientists from Luxembourg and outgoing and incoming SAC members and members gathered in Hamburg; new Council EMBL. The funding will be used to co- Council delegates. Chair, Claudio Sunkel; outgoing Chair, Eero Vuorio Prestigious grant-funded projects Sustaining science funding Can your gut bacteria make you chronically ill? The directors of EIROforum have emphasised EMBL Heidelberg’s Peer Bork is a key partner in METACARDIS, a the importance of secure funding for science European funded project coordinated by Inserm that aims to shed in Europe to promote innovation, productiv- light on possible correlations between the gut microbiome and ity and competitiveness. After gathering to chronic illness. The five-year project has 14 partners from six coun- mark the 10th anniversary of the organisation tries. Aims include the location of bio-markers that could inform – a partnership of the eight largest Euro- treatment and enhanced understanding of pathways. pean inter-governmental scientific research organisations – its leaders, including EMBL’s Molecular mechanisms of ageing Iain Mattaj, wrote an open letter emphasising A new EU-funded project coordinated by EMBL Heidelberg’s the positive impact of science investment on Anne-Claude Gavin will bring together an international network of economic growth, and urging the EU’s institu- experts to study ageing in adult stem cells at the systems level. The tions and member states to ensure that the five-year, 6 million Euro SyStemAge project will integrate a wide science budget remains strong. range of technologies from academia and industry with the aim of Hosted at the Institut Laue-Langevin in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying ageing. Grenoble, which currently holds the rotational Understanding the integrity of the immortal lineage EIROforum presidency, the anniversary event was part of the General Assembly of the Di- A 1.5 million Euro grant has been awarded to EMBL Monterotondo’s rectors General of EIROforum. Anne Glover, Dónal O’Carroll to study the role of non-coding RNAs in mammalian Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of male germ cell development and spermatogonial stem cell homeosta- the European Commission, and Anneli Pauli, sis. Funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the five-year Deputy Director-General for Research and project seeks to address basic questions on the intersection of non- Innovation at the European Commission, coding RNA function and germ cell development and maintenance. took part in a special debate at the event. Genetics underlying complex traits Funded through an ERC Advanced Grant, EMBL Heidelberg’s Lars Steinmetz will study traits conditioned by multiple genetic and environmental factors, which underlie the vast majority of genetic diseases. The 2.5 million Euro award will enable the development of systematic genome-wide technologies that aim to identify all of the variants underlying a complex trait in a single step. 2 EMBL&cetera issue 72 • December 2012 ELIXIR gains momentum ELIXIR is developing a pan-European these applications will be considered research infrastructure for the sharing of life by ELIXIR’s Scientific Advisory Board at sciences data and continues to progress rap- their first meeting, which takes place as idly. EMBL and 14 member states have now EMBL&cetera goes to press. signed the Memorandum of Understanding, At its recent meeting, the ELIXIR Interim with Portugal being the latest country to Board agreed a Hub operating budget for demonstrate its commitment. the balance of 2012 and for 2013, which “Bioinformatics is critical to life science means that the search for ELIXIR’s Found- research, and is pivotal to Portugal’s long- ing Director, who will manage all aspects and medium-term science and technology of the infrastructure, is strategy,” explains Miguel Seabra, President now under way. of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia As ELIXIR transitions in Lisbon. “Our government and national from the preparatory funding agencies are keenly aware of the to the implementation potential long-term benefits – both financial phase, technical work is and scientific – of participating in ELIXIR. beginning. Five technical As a pivotal research infrastructure, it sits at pilot projects have been the crossroads of health, natural resources initiated to act as test beds and marine biology – areas where Portugal for integrating services has particular interests.” between the nodes and The members of the ELIXIR Interim the hub. One such project Board are currently working towards the In- connects the Human ternational Consortium Agreement, which Proteome Atlas (HPA) will specify ELIXIR’s governance. Each of in Sweden with EMBL- the ELIXIR member states has submitted an EBI resources run application to operate an ELIXIR Node and from Hinxton. P-CUBE boosts access to protein production Users and providers participating in the covering areas such as cloning, expression EU-funded infrastructure access project and crystallisation. P-CUBE (protein production platform) P-CUBE, which ends next year, has convened at EMBL Heidelberg on 22 opened up access to facilities, expertise and October to discuss a wide range of scientific technologies at many labs, including EMBL projects completed through the platform. sites in Hamburg, Heidelberg and Grenoble, The well-attended meeting began with as well as the universities of Zurich and Ox- a rousing keynote lecture from Stephen ford. “P-CUBE has presented opportunities Knapp of Oxford University on the devel- for scientists in Europe to access facilities opment of selective chemical ligands by and expertise that have helped to support family-wide structural analysis of human some highly successful research projects. proteins. Presentations during the event A key aim now is to continue this legacy focused on research and service activities through other platforms such as BioStruct- developed during the four-year project, X,” says project manager Petra Lindemann.
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