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Not sure about the new rules and key parameters during Autumn Semester 2020? Find all information relevant to the D-BSSE on a dedicated Wiki-page: https://wiki-bsse.ethz.ch/x/grXBDQ (login required).

Barbara Treutlein, head of the Quantitative Developmental Biology lab, receives this year's Young Investigator Award given by the German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) for her "outstanding research in the field of single cell analysis and research into the development of human organs, such as the brain". Congratulations, Barbara!

Researchers have revealed a new molecular mechanism by which bacteria adhere to cellulose fibers in the human gut. Thanks to two different binding modes, they can withstand the shear forces in the body. Scientists from the lab of Michael Nash (affiliated with University of Basel and D-BSSE) and Zhaowei Liu (University of Basel) published their results in the journal Nature Communications.

D-BSSE researchers can predict how tightly a cell’s protein synthesis machinery will bind to RNA sequences - even when dealing with many billions of different RNA sequences. This binding plays a key role in determining how much of a specific protein is produced. The scientists are developing their prediction model using a combination of synthetic biology experiments and machine learning algorithms. The interdisciplinary study is first-authored by Simon Höllerer and Laetitia Papaxanthos.

In a long-term collaborative research partnership with Andreas Hierlemann’s Bio Engineering Lab, the 2009-founded spinoff InSphero announces that they have completed the licence agreement for a microphysiological system, engineered to enable pharmaceutical and academic researchers to integrate 3D spheroid models in single- and multi-tissue organ networks for preclinical drug efficacy and toxicity testing applications.  

The 2019-founded ETH spinoff deepCDR Biologics, which originated from the Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Immunology led by Professor Sai Reddy, develops a novel antibody discovery workflow, combining drug screening in mammalian cells with deep learning to generate thousands of optimised lead antibody candidates. The method will help advance the treatment of cancer, immunological disorders, and infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

Monday, 31 August sees the start of the next stage of the ETH Master Plan for restart, which mainly concerns the Autumn Semester 2020 and will last up to the end of the year. To keep the risk of coronavirus spreading as low as possible, everyone will be required to wear a facemask as soon as they enter any ETH building. This measure already applies from 24 August.

In a statement to the Swiss news TV, Tanja Stadler warns of lifting the ban on events with over 1’000 participants: “The number of COVID-19 cases has been on the rise on a few recent days, and lifting the ban may lead to an undamped growth in numbers, making contact tracing difficult”. Watch SRF Tagesschau from 11 August (in German).  

In collaboration with colleagues from Swiss hospitals and Canadian Universities, researchers from the D-BSSE Machine Learning and Computational Biology group conducted a large systematic review and meta-analysis of COVID-19 research publications. The study led by Catherine Jutzeler confirms earlier findings that older age and being male as well as different pre-existing comorbidities count as risk factors. Children and neonates appear to be the least vulnerable cohort.

The Open Innovation in Life Sciences (OILS) conference organised by Life Science Zurich will be held virtually this year on September 7 (Open Innovation Day) and 8 (Career Development Day). Submit your abstract before 14 August and register before 31 August. More information at https://oils20.b2match.io.