A paradigm shift focusing on molecular factories, cellular systems and the improvement of health.
Injuries to the articular cartilage in different joints, including the knee, are painful and limit mobility. Therefore, researchers in the martin group are developing cartilage implants using cells from the patient’s nasal septum. A recent study shows that giving these cartilage implants more time to mature significantly improved clinical efficacy, even in patients with complex cartilage injuries. This suggests that the method could also be suitable for the treatment of degenerated cartilage in osteoarthritis.
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Researchers around Martin Fussenegger from the D-BSSE have developed a new gene switch that can be activated using a commercially available nitroglycerine patch applied to the skin. One day, researchers want to use switches of this kind to trigger cell therapies for various metabolic diseases.
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Murielle Delley, project leader at NCCR MSE, has been awarded the Ruzicka Prize 2024 for her work on deciphering the molecular life of catalysts.
The Ruzicka Prize is awarded to a young researcher for outstanding research in the field of chemistry, and is considered one of the most important awards in the field of chemistry in Switzerland.
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The Palivan team from the University of Basel, together with the Lörtscher team from IBM Research Zurich, have succeeded in synthesizing simple, environmentally sensitive cells complete with artificial organelles. For the first time, the researchers have also been able to emulate natural cell-cell communication using these protocells – based on the model of photoreceptors in the eye. This opens up new possibilities for basic research and applications in medicine.
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Botond Roska, Project Leader at NCCR MSE and Professor at the University of Basel and Director of the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), won the Wolf Prize 2024 in the field of medicine.
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Researchers from the Ward group describe in Nature Synthesis a whole-cell hybrid biocatalytic cascade comprising a natural decarboxylase and an artificial ‘metathase’ enzyme that are targeted to different cellular locations, for the production of cycloalkenes from fatty diacids. This is a major step forward towards microbial cell factories augmented with abiological chemistry.
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New pharmaceuticals, cleaner fuels, biodegradable plastics: in order to meet society’s needs, chemists have to develop new synthesis methods to obtain new products that do not exist in their natural state. The Matile group, in collaboration with Cardiff University, has discovered how to use an external electric field to control and accelerate a chemical reaction, like a ‘‘switch’’. This work could have a considerable impact on the development of new molecules, enabling not only more environmentally friendly synthesis, but also very simple external control of a chemical reaction.
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Researchers from the Platt group have developed a method that lets them genetically modify each cell differently in animals. This allows them to study in a single experiment what used to require many animal experiments. Using the new method, the researchers have discovered genes that are relevant for a severe rare genetic disorder.
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Barbara Treutlein, NCCR MSE Project Leader and Head of the Quantitative Developmental Biology Lab at the D-BSSE, has been awarded the Cloëtta Jubilee Prize for her outstanding achievements in biomedical and developmental biology research.
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"We will rock you": NCCR MSE researchers from the Fussenegger group are developing a gene switch that triggers insulin release in designer cells by playing certain rock and pop songs. The insulin-producing designer cells were equipped with an ion channel of a bacterium that reacts to mechanical stimuli like sound waves.
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As part of our Equal Opportunities activities, we are planning a video campaign on women in science to be broadcast on social media and our NCCR MSE website. The videos will address topics women in their careers often face, with a special focus on the challenges and successes they have experienced during their academic life.
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Are you intrigued by the intersection of art and science? Do you seek to enhance your proficiency in science communication? Are you keen to collaborate with over 250 international audio-visual experts and foster innovative ideas for your research endeavors? If so, this is your chance! We invite YOU to join this year's cohort of NCCR MSE Ambassadors of Science.
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2024 marks the 10th anniversary of NCCR MSE. In our podcast series "10 Years in 5 Minutes" (10Y5M), researchers, friends and associates look back on a decade of groundbreaking research, recalling encounters and scientific achievements within this outstanding scientific consortium.
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From 7 – 18 August 2024 our NCCR sent a group of young "science ambassadors" (PhD/Postdoc level) to participate in the renowned Locarno Film Festival - the world capital of auteur cinema. In this clip they share their experience of spending 10 days at the shore of the Lago Maggiore.
NCCR MSE’s exciting collaboration with the Locarno Film Festival has inspired all stakeholders to take this initiative to the next level: “Bridging Horizons - Art and Science's Creative Collision” is our latest art-science exchange program, which will be launched in March 2024.
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Together with the Embassy of Switzerland in the UK our NCCR MSE organized a Symposium about "Engineering Life - State of the Art and Ethical Challenges“ - held on Tuesday, 20 June 2023, at the Embassy in London.
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New biotechnologies are becoming more viable and have the potential to affect the lives of millions of people around the world. Issues emerging from their development may be considered under two main perspectives: the need i) for researchers and, more broadly, all the stakeholders involved in the translation from the lab to the real world to be aware of the ethical, legal, and political implications; and ii) to foster dialogue with the public on these implications. In this regard, it is crucial to inform citizens properly about these new technologies and their ethical implications. Equally important, all stakeholders must take into consideration citizens’ worries, doubts, and real needs to foster clarity and trust between them and the scientific community with respect to these delicate scientific developments.
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Chemistry Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann visited Switzerland in May 2022 giving a series of scientific lectures, and also presenting the world premiere of "Alchemy", a melodrama written by him together with Austrian composer Oliver Peter Graber.
In this podcast, Roald Hoffmann reveals some very personal episodes from his life which began in 1937 in his (then Polish) birthplace Złoczów and after World War II led to emigration to the United States.
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According to my 600 Euro smart watch I passed away three days ago somewhere between 1:51 AM and 3:20 AM. During that time span - I was sound asleep and do not recall any exciting dreams - my heartbeat rate (bpm) apparently exceeded 220 permanently and reached an all-time high of 300 beats per minute, prompting my online health data collection app to celebrate my passing by sending me an Email with a bouquet of flowers emoji: "Congratulations, Ralf! You have reached a milestone! 💐".
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To celebrate the 50th anniversary of women obtaining the right to vote in Switzerland, NCCR MSE joined forces with all the other NCCRs to introduce you to some of the women working in Swiss research institutes.
NCCR MSE is offering online professional coaching for free to all NCCR members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just contact Hala Helmy, who is a professional BSO certified coach and supervisor with over 10 years of work experience.
Prof. Nick Lane uses life as a guide to its own origins. Modern cells use electrical charges on membranes to drive their metabolism, which in turn makes the building blocks of genes and proteins.
Why do we lose female talents in top positions in the academia? What can we do to avoid this loss? What are the possible solutions and what are the advice of female group leaders? Achieving gender Equality and diversity in the Natural Sciences: The leaky pipeline phenomenon summarized in a new short video!
On May 6, 2022, NCCR MSE together with an audience of 100 guests witnessed an extraordinary world première of an opera written by Chemistry Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann (libretto) and Austrian composer Oliver Peter Graber.
Prof. Tom Welton discusses current academic, structural and institutional challenges universities face today to promote equality while assuring that a high level of scientific excellence is maintained.
On August 16, 2019 NCCR MSE staged one of the three "Locarno Talks la Mobiliare" and discussed "The ethical challenges of engineering life and the effects on human identity".
Our public Lab Concerto series premiered in 2019 in the chemistry labs at the University of Basel. The argovia philharmonic classical quartett played works by Händel, Britten, Tscherepnin, Dukas a.o. to an audience which had arrived from all over Switzerland. In between, our young researchers Alina Stein and Jaicy Vallapurackal showed some exciting lab experiments which helped our audience to better understand the research goals of the NCCR MSE.
"Maestro Method" is an out of the lab learning tool for our young as well as our experienced scientists. The idea behind it is that by gaining insight into work processes and methodological approaches implemented successfully by non-scientists we may enhance and improve our own professional skills.
Ralf Stutzki, Head Ethics, on scientific misconduct and integrity in research (in German).
Watch the interview with NCCR MSE fellow Benjamin Gaub from the Müller group talking about vision restoration in the SRF 1 show gesundheitheute.
This audio-visual production represents a milestone in the on-going cooperation between NCCR MSE and argovia philharmonic and a most unusual communication tool meant to stimulate the societal debate about the ethical challenges of synthetic biology.
American artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson has long studied the relationship between technological innovation and human identity. For her latest project she visited the NCCR MSE on October 27 to discuss art and its role in bridging the gap between science and the public.
Take a look at the projects exploring new horizons at the interface between science and art.
