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In an interview with the regional news agency, ETH president Joel Mesot explains the importance of ETH Zurich's research in Basel: "At D-BSSE, 20 professors and over 300 staff members conduct top-notch science. That is Champions League!" And: "With Basel, ETH Zurich has more contact points than with the MIT - the Basel location is extremely important". Read news article in German.

At its 32nd conference on natural products, the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA) honours the research presented by Steven Schmitt from the Bioprocesses Lab of Sven Panke. Inspired by Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, the first antibiotic substance identified in history, Steven modernised and miniaturised the Fleming’s method, to allow for high-throughput screening of micro-organisms and the antimicrobial substances they produce.

Immune cells do not only safeguard us from pathogens but turn out to be important sensors of physiological states. Researchers from the lab of Renato Paro together with colleagues from the Diabetes Lab at the University Hospital Basel used transcriptomic analysis to find out that even a single feeding activates innate immune cells - specifically adipose tissue macrophages. This new finding suggests that macrophages, previously implicated in obesity and diabetes, also regulate healthy adipose tissue.

In a review paper published by Genome Biology, researchers from the group of Niko Beerenwinkel together with experts from across the world compiled the state of knowledge in the rapidly emerging field of single-cell data science - and identified the grand challenges in analysing the massive data that results from the booming of high-throughput single-cell sequencing technology.

Combating viral infections requires a better understanding of the evolution of antibodies during chronic and ongoing infections. The lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in mice represents a useful model to study acute and chronic viral infection and the subsequent antibody immune response it initiates. The ETH Zurich research groups of Sai Reddy, Tanja Stadler and Annette Oxenius now found that chronic viral infection induces a personalized (animal-specific) antibody evolution response.

The top levels of BSS are being finalised: Level 5 is hosting the Science Lounge and restaurant with its 200m² roof-top terrace and level 6 bears the building's technology. Works on the facade and glassing have begun. The glass dome will soon be deployed. Watch the time-lapse video - and enhance your anticipation!

On 26 February, the "D-BSSE meets industry" initiative is welcoming DSM for a Meet & Match programme aiming explicitly at recruiting D-BSSE talent for current open positions. Together with her DSM colleagues, D-BSSE alumna Patrizia Spoerri will share her experiences in transitioning from science into industry. Registration is required via the website: https://bit.ly/38vmKjs.

Colorectal cancer is a major public health burden. Understanding the transition from benign polyps to malignant carcinomas can help to improve colorectal cancer screenings. Researchers from Niko Beerenwinkel’s group combined large-scale epidemiological datasets and applied new mathematical and computational modelling to estimate cancer development. The new method also provides a tool for predicting the risk of the presence of cancer cells for each screened patient.

Statistical analysis of complex data is a common challenge in all D-​BSSE disciplines. Jack Kuipers from the Computational Biology group and Hans-​Michael Kaltenbach from the Computational Systems Biology group initiated the monthly "D-​BSSE Statistics Clinic" to provide advice on data visualisation, data exploration and summaries, statistical models, and experimental design. Don't miss the next opportunity on 18 February, 9:45-​10:30 AM in the Science Lounge!

At its most recent Town hall forum held on 4 February 2020, the ETH Executive Board reported on the progress in the development of the "rETHink" project and its individual work streams. ETH members are invited to actively contribute to this ongoing change-making process. Watch the video recording (in German).