Edit

Tag:

dna

Showing results out of

Year
18 July 2022 Large, elongated purple molecule has an on/off switch on it pointed to on.

The retron switch

EMBL researchers now understand the function of an elusive small DNA in bacteria and have developed a tool that can be used to better understand what might ‘switch on’ bacterial immune defences.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2022

sciencescience-technology

4 March 2022 Science art expressing the concept of transcriptional neighbourhoods regulating transcript isoform lengths and expression levels.

Understanding genomes, piece by piece

Genomes are made up of thousands of individual pieces – genes – which are expressed at different levels. Researchers at EMBL have shed light on how the placement of a gene affects its expression, as well as that of its neighbours.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2022

sciencescience-technology

2 February 2021 A bacterial cell with the parts needed for information flow from DNA to messenger RNA to protein highlighted in different colours.

The central dogma of molecular biology

This colourful image shows biological information flow in action: It’s a supramolecular assembly of DNA, RNA and proteins, observed directly inside a bacterial cell while turning genetic information into protein.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2021

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

15 January 2021 young man with beard and mustache stands in front of window with blurry background

Welcome: Olivier Duss

One of EMBL’s newest group leaders, Olivier Duss, will explore how RNA folds into functional structures and how it works with proteins to control a diverse range of activities in the cell.

LAB MATTERSPEOPLE & PERSPECTIVES

2021

lab-matterspeople-perspectives

28 July 2020 Small dots. Some in bright yellow.

An ocean of droplets

Bacterial cells are embedded in microfluidic droplets in oil. The fluorescence indicates the presence of the targeted DNA strain with the help of a characteristic DNA sequence.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

2 July 2020 epigenetic reprogramming, epigenetic memory, Hackett group

Unravelling epigenetic reprogramming

A study conducted by the Hackett group at EMBL Rome has identified key factors controlling the complex system of gene regulation during early embryo development, shedding new light on the mechanisms behind these events and on their evolutionary implications. Their findings are published in Nature…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

17 December 2019

Reshaping our DNA

DNA is present in each cell of our body. If all the DNA from one human cell was removed and aligned in a single strand, it would in theory add up to a total length of about two metres. In order to fit into the nucleus of a cell, DNA has to be compressed by […]

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2019

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

10 September 2019

Tracking the beginning of life

All mammalian life starts with the fusion of egg and sperm, resulting in the creation of a single cell called a zygote. This develops into an embryo through a series of cell divisions, in which the number of cells doubles at each step. Todays’ Picture of the Week was taken by Manuel Eguren of the…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2019

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

14 May 2019

Walking on DNA

EMBL is a world-leading organisation for life science research. Its scientists work in diverse research fields spanning the whole of molecular biology. While the molecules the researchers are working on are often microscopic and impossible to see with the naked eye, one research topic clearly…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2019

picture-of-the-weekscience-technology

27 September 2012 Diagram showing looping DNA

Loop the loop, DNA style

In a nutshell: Looping and unlooping DNA adjusts readout from gene and spread of regulation throughout the genome When a gene forms a loop, its output increases, as the transcription machinery that reads it is trapped into moving only along that gene When the gene loop is undone, transcription…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2012

sciencescience-technology

17 June 2011 Condensin loops around several strands of DNA, keeping it coiled up and easier to transport. (Artistic impression) Image credits: EMBL/ P. Riedinger

Keeping it together

As any rock-climber knows, trailing a long length of rope behind you is not easy. A dangling length of rope is unwieldy and hard to manoeuvre, and can get tangled up or stuck on an outcropping. Cells face the same problem when dragging chromosomes apart during cell division. The chromosomes are…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2011

sciencescience-technology

4 November 2009 fluorescence microscopy images of fruit fly embryos

Deciphering the regulatory code

Embryonic development is like a well-organised building project, with the embryo’s DNA serving as the blueprint from which all construction details are derived. Cells carry out different functions according to a developmental plan, by expressing, i.e. turning on, different combinations of genes.…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2009

sciencescience-technology

13 August 2009

Raising the alarm when DNA goes bad

Our genome is constantly under attack from things like UV light and toxins, which can damage or even break DNA strands and ultimately lead to cancer and other diseases. Scientists have known for a long time that when DNA is damaged, a key enzyme sets off a cellular ‘alarm bell’ to alert the…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2009

sciencescience-technology

20 June 2008

Scientists fix bugs in our understanding of evolution

What makes a human different from a chimp? Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have come one important step closer to answering such evolutionary questions correctly. In the current issue of Science they uncover…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2008

sciencescience-technology

7 May 2008

Platypus genome sequence published

UK-based researchers at the Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit in Oxford and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge have revealed the genetic makeup of the one of the world’s strangest mammals. They have analysed the DNA…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2008

sciencescience-technology

14 June 2007

New findings challenge established views about human genome

The ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE), an international research consortium organised by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today published the results of its exhaustive, four-year effort to build a “parts list” of…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2007

sciencescience-technology

2 February 2007

Investigating the invisible life in our environment

Microorganisms make up more than a third of the Earth’s biomass. They are found in water, on land and even in our bodies, recycling nutrients, influencing the planet’s climate or causing diseases. Still, we know surprisingly little about the smallest beings that colonise Earth. A new…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2007

sciencescience-technology

24 November 2005

The earliest animals had human-like genes

Species evolve at very different rates, and the evolutionary line that produced humans seems to be among the slowest. The result, according to a new study by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL], is that our species has retained characteristics of a very ancient ancestor…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2005

sciencescience-technology

25 August 2005

A double punch for female survival

Achieving equality between the sexes can be a challenge even for single cells. Since evolution began removing bits of male DNA to create the ‘Y’ chromosome, males have had a single copy of certain key genes on the X chromosome, whereas females have two. Normally this would lead females…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2005

sciencescience-technology

No results found

News archive

E-newsletter archive

EMBLetc archive

News archive

For press

Contact the Press Office

Follow us

Edit