News and Events

D-BSSE wishes all members and friends a joyful holiday season and a wonderful start to a happy and successful year 2026! At the Townhall on 27 January, we will review the year 2025 and look into the future, putting a spotlight on our quest to advance molecular and cellular systems engineering and its translation into medicine and other applications. Until then: Stay safe and all the very best!

Scientists from the Bioanalytics group led by Petra Dittrich have introduced a groundbreaking approach for writing information inside liquids – an advance that could reshape data storage, materials design, and biochemical sensing. Published this week in Advanced Materials, the study presents “liquid-in-liquid printing,” a technique that arranges thousands of microscale droplets into precisely patterned, information-rich arrays.

Andreas Moor, head of the Systems Physiology lab, and Randall Platt, head of the Biological Engineering Lab, receive ERC Consolidator Grants for their research on cellular networks in colorectal cancer and on protein-engineering technologies, respectively. Congratulations!

A new paper published in Nature Neuroscience shows that the human brain may develop fundamental patterns of activity long before it receives any external input. Research – led by scientists from the University of Santa Cruz in California in a collaboration with the Hierlemann lab – demonstrates that developing brain organoids, i.e. tiny, lab-grown models of the human brain, naturally generate structured sequences of neuronal firing that closely resemble patterns seen in brains of newborn mice.

On 25 November, the Computational Biology lab of Niko Beerenwinkel together with the Genomics Facility Basel opened their doors to the public to share insights on the enormous molecular diversity between tumour cells and the potential of DNA sequencing for personalised treatments in cancer therapy. After a short introduction by Niko and three of his doctoral students, Christian Beisel invited the visitors to learn about the workflow and the data analyses in the in-house sequencing labs. 

The Golden Owl honours lecturers distinguished by exceptional teaching and motivates them to continue with their excellent teaching. The Owl is awarded by ETH Zurich’s student association. This year, the Owl was awarded to Dr Zhisong He, Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Quantitative Developmental Biology lab of Barbara Treutlein. Zhisong teaches Systems Genomics. Congratulations, Zhisong! 

On 25 November, 6:15pm, D-BSSE again opens a lab to the public: On a guided tour you will learn about the enormous molecular diversity between tumour cells and how DNA sequencing of individual cancer cells facilitates individualised treatments in personalised cancer therapy. This event reflects the collaboration between the Computational Biology lab of Niko Beerenwinkel and the Genomics Facility Basel. Registration is open now!

The SWISS BRIDGE Foundation selected Andreas Moor’s project for its innovative approach in the field of precision oncology. The prize money is intended to contribute to the development of more targeted and effective cancer therapies. In his research, Andreas focusses on cellular interactions in cancer with the aim to identify new targets and biomarkers. Congratulations, Andreas!

Once a sperm has broken through to an egg cell in order to fertilise it, the two cells need to hold together tightly. This occurs via a type of protein binding that is among the strongest in biology – and it is also unique.