Researchers at EMBL Heidelberg have identified sequences in human proteins that might be used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells. They have discovered that.
Summary of evidence from the U.K.
This document has been prepared by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory to provide a summary of epidemiological information for public health officials and governments. The lead author is Dr Moritz Gerstung, of EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) at the Wellcome Genome Campus in the United Kingdom. Other contributors include Deputy Director General and EMBL-EBI Director Dr Ewan Birney FRS and EMBL-EBI Director Dr Rolf Apweiler.
The B.1.1.7 lineage was first discovered on September 20 in Kent by the U.K.’s Coronavirus Genome consortium COG-UK, which has sequenced more than 170,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes [1,2]. It has since spread to nearly every British local authority and 57 other countries [3]. While B.1.1.7 is not evidently causing more severe disease [4], it is approximately 30-50% more transmissible as evidenced by epidemiology [5,6] and contact tracing [7]. This higher transmissibility has led to a massive surge in cases i
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EMBL courses and conferences: learning lessons and looking ahead
The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for those trying to organise scientific courses and conferences. As the scale of the disruption first became clear, EMBL moved quickly to ensure that its events could still go ahead EMBL’s courses and conferences are accessible from your desk.
From the earliest days of the pandemic, the uncertainty of the situation and the requirement for physical distancing created a host of challenges. It also raised major questions about new formats. Would the technology stand up to running a conference entirely online? How would participants respond to a virtual course? Would attendees still feel engaged while sat at home?
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Toadlet peptide transforms into a deadly weapon against bacteria
Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and EMBL Hamburg have discovered remarkable molecular properties of an antimicrobial peptide from the skin of the Australian toadlet. The discovery could inspire the development of novel synthetic drugs to combat bacterial infections The peptide uperin 3.5 is secreted by the Australian toadlet’s skin. When exposed to bacterial membranes, it rapidly changes its structure and transforms into a deadly antimicrobial weapon. The pictures were taken using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) in the Electron Microscopy Centers in the Technion Department of Materials Science and Engineering and in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The cross-α atomic structure was determined by data collected at the ESRF synchrotron. Credit: Nir Salinas/Technion