Monterotondo celebrates mouse house ...page 8

If you couldn’t find a good physics or biology teacher during the second weekof November, it’s because they had all ridden the train, flown, or biked toNoordwijk on the coast of Holland. Their destination was the campus of theEuropean Space Agency, where they made loud noises, blew things up,explored bizarre uses of magnetism, or put on performances to demonstratethe best of European high school science teaching. (Not to forget the liquidnitrogen ice cream.) This was the third Physics on Stage, sponsored by theEIROforum (that includes EMBL) and the European Commission. EMBL ishelping to collect the products – a set of unique classroom teaching resources– into a public on-line collection. A good time was had by all, especially by EricKarsenti, who explained the wonders of microtubules and self-organization inthe keynote speech. Find out more at the EIROforum website: www.eiroforum.org

3D microscopy 3

molecular medicine 3

strategic forward look 4

science and society 6

PhD student symposium 7

the EMBO corner 9

news & events 11

people@EMBL 12

18December 2003EMBL&cetera

Newsletter of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Under the 3D microscope ...page 3 EMBL DG joins Pontifical Academy ...page 5

in this issue...

We know that lots of you have been waiting to do your “dream” inter-disciplinary research project – if you could just link up to the right collaborators,get input from a group in a dark corridor way down behind the MosquitoFeeding Room, and ...what was that other thing? Oh yes, funding. Well, here’syour chance. EMBL is establishing several new thematic “Centres” to moreactively encourage new projects across disciplines and EMBL Units.Coordinators of the Centres are currently soliciting project proposals. Find outmore on page 2

The European Union is making history by involving citizens in composing a newConstitution – and science is mentioned. The new treaty will have an impact onEuropean research policy and its implementation. Claus Madsen from theEuropean Southern Observatory and Christian Boulin explain on page 4

Science in the European Constitution

In October, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation announced the first 14 scientific challenges that willbe the focus of the “Grand Challenges in Global Health” initiative – a $200-mil-lion medical research project which aims to help overcome roadblocks and leadto rapid progress against diseases affecting the developing world. EMBLDirector-General Fotis C. Kafatos was one of three European experts to partici-pate on the project’s scientific board. Learn more about this exciting initiative atwww.embl.de/ExternalInfo/oipa/pr2003/pr171003.html

Grand challenges in global health

There must be somethingin the water at EMBL

A creative approach to “Physics and Life”

“Centres” to promote cross-Unit research

Five of them were born in Monte-rotondo in the past year alone, andanother’s on the way... Photos withbirth dates, birth weights and othermeasurements are taking overProgramme announcement boards.Practically the entire Mattaj labseems to have been infected with thevirus...

Across the EMBL sites kiddywinks,Nachwuchs, bambini and enfants terri-bles are popping up everywhere.EMBL is undergoing a veritable babyboom. Is it something in the water?

EMBL&cetera contributor SeleneStates investigates... on page 10

EMBL&cetera Issue 18 - December 2003

Joint appointments and Centres to strengthen EMBL’s cross-disciplinary researchAs research in the life sciences movestoward Systems Biology (a shift away from“one gene - one function” thinking towardsviewing living systems as based on integrat-ed molecular complexes), EMBL finds itselfwell positioned to face new challenges.Though the Laboratory has a strong tradi-tion in fostering collaborative research, mostcollaborations involve only two groups andhappen within Units more often than acrossthem. EMBL has introduced two mecha-nisms to promote interdisciplinary activitiesmore widely, systematically and effectively:

1. Joint appointments. More than 20 GroupLeaders have now been appointed to twodifferent EMBL Units, strengtheningexchange across the Laboratory.

2. EMBL Centres. EMBL is establishing anumber of thematic “Centres” to promotenew projects across disciplines and EMBLUnits. They will involve many scientists(from Group Leaders to PhD students), incritical areas that cut across EMBL’s verticalstructure represented by the Units.

The Centres will be virtual, rather than lim-ited to one EMBL site, catalysing the creationof electronic as well as "in person" discussiongroups, seminar series, workshops, andretreats of faculty members in different Unitswho have similar or complementary techni-cal and intellectual interests. Centre websiteswill provide information, expertise, and ameans of communication.

Centres will also facilitate the developmentof methods and rapid technology exchangeacross the Laboratory. They will provideimportant input to the development of theLaboratory’s core facilities.

Currently the Units administer mostresearch resources: personnel, budgets andshared equipment. Centres should be moreflexible and dynamic, open to new partici-pants, quickly adapting to changes ofemphasis within molecular biology. Newprojects will be supported by modest fundsfrom the Lab, matched by the Units of theparticipating groups. Through the Centres,Units will have the chance to invest in larg-er-scale collaborative research projects thatthey want to do, but might not be able to doon their own.

Coordinators of the Centres are currentlysoliciting ideas for activities. Project propos-als will be discussed and decided upon bythe end of this year. If you are interested inparticipating, contact a coordinator.

The Centres currently being developed are:

Computational Biology. This Centre willinclude scientists whose major focus is theuse and development of computationaltools, and experimentalists whose researchinterests now heavily depend on computa-tional approaches. The major goals are theefficient and wide dissemination of softwaretools and the spread of advanced computa-

tional know-how throughout all Units ofEMBL. (Coordinators: P. Bork, V. Lamzin, J.Thornton)

Disease Mechanisms. This Centre willextend and reinforce the laboratory’s currentMolecular Medicine activities and strength-en initiatives of EMBL faculty members inthe use of mammalian and lower organismmodels to investigate the mechanisms ofhuman diseases. (Coordinators: M. Hentze, N.Rosenthal, M. Pasparakis, J. Wittbrodt)

High-Throughput Functional Genomics.This Centre aims to promote and facilitatehigh-throughput approaches essential forefficient studies on functional genomics.Participants will share and cooperativelydevelop their expertise in all aspects of high-throughput biology, and will reinforce theshared infrastructure of EMBL. (Coordinators:E. Furlong, F.C. Kafatos, L. Steinmetz)

Molecular and Cellular Imaging. Imagingis now a crucial technology for research at alllevels of biological organisation, from theatom to the organism. This Centre will makeimaging tools and training widely availableacross the Laboratory. It will integrate thebest software packages and algorithms intoan appropriate computing infrastructure,and thus produce a valuable and evolvingset of tools of use to structural, cell, develop-mental and computational biologists.(Coordinators: J. Ellenberg, M. Wilmanns)

reportfrom the heads of units meeting

The Heads of EMBL’s Units (Research Prog-rammes in Heidelberg and Monterotondo,plus the Outstations) meet regularly to dis-cuss developments affecting the Laboratory.Their last session was held on November 6-7 at EMBL-Monterotondo. Here are somekey points that were discussed:

1. EMBL Centres. Following a status reporton the development of the Centres, (seeabove), coordinators of the Centres wereasked to identify interested participants(Group Leaders, postdocs, PhD students)and gather project proposals to be discussedand decided upon by the end of this year.Web sites will be introduced to support com-munication within the virtual Centres.Mechanisms to improve internal communi-cations throughout the Lab were also dis-cussed.

2. Key dates for next year. Lab Day will takeplace on June 15-16, 2004, at the mainLaboratory in Heidelberg.

The Faculty Retreat will take place onDecember 3-5, 2004, near Grenoble, and willinclude both strategic and scientific topics.

Christoph Müller, Pernille Rørth and RolfApweiler will organize both activities.

3. Beamline scientists to meet. Beamline sci-entists working at different EMBL sites willnow hold regular meetings in order to coor-dinate efforts. When possible, meetings willtake place in conjuction with other eventssuch as Lab Day or SPINE meetings. Thefirst will be coordinated by Stephen Cusackand Matthias Wilmanns. The possibility ofextending these meetings to include otherEMBL staff working on instrumentation willbe discussed.

4. In an effort to integrate IT projects andexperience and needs throughout theLaboratory, IT staff from across EMBL siteswill hold regular meetings. The proposedfirst topic of discussion is IBM servers. PeterStoehr (EBI) will head up this initiative.

5. The Spanish Ministry will fund threenew postdoctoral fellowships to enableSpanish researchers to join groups at EMBLworking in one of four specific researchareas: systems biology, structural biology,bioinformatics, and structural genomics.

On Saturday, November 15, 2003,Clemens Grabher and Thomas Vaccarireceived their joint PhD degrees withHeidelberg University during a festiveceremony in the magnificent “AlteAula.” These degrees are the first to beawarded jointly by EMBL and Heidel-berg University since the two institutessigned a partnership agreement inDecember 2002. Uli Wiehe also receivedhis degree from the University duringthe ceremony. From left to right are: NilsMetzler-Nolte (Vice-Dean, HeidelbergUniversity), Clemens, Matthias Hentze(Dean of EMBL's Graduate StudiesProgramme), Thomas and Uli.

First joint PhD degrees from EMBLand Heidelberg University awarded

3

EMBL biophysicist Ernst Stelzer wouldrather walk around a cell and admire it as asculpture than look at it flat and painting-like or pressed onto a coverslip. “Scientistslike myself are so used to squashing samplesonto slides,” he says, “that we might noteven think of looking at them in suspension,in their physiological context.”

Ernst, Jim Swoger and Jan Huisken showedme a fundamentally new type of 3D micro-scope that they have just developed. It can,they assured me, provide just such a view oftissues or even whole organisms.

Ernst says the method is surprisingly sim-ple. A sample expressing a protein with afluorescent tag is suspended in agar andplaced in a cuvette. A laser beam passesthrough a cylindrical lens, causing an illumi-nation of a single plane in the cuvette. Thesample is then moved through this sheet oflight, so that the observer, looking perpen-dicularly to the laser, sees consecutive slicesthrough the specimen. Fluorescent imagesare then recorded from several differentdirections.

Conventional microscopes see confusingmultiple layers in the tissue. One of the chiefadvantages of the 3D system is that the laserfocuses on a single optical section, and noother region in the specimen, at a time. Thisgreatly increases the information content ofthe final image.

A major disadvantage in observing fluores-cently tagged proteins in ordinary scanningmicroscopes is that over time, the fluores-cent signal becomes weaker, due to “photo-bleaching.” However, since the 3D micro-scope illuminates only one sheet of the spec-imen at once, instead of “scanning” with alaser point, exposure time to the laser andthe resulting photobleaching is kept at aminimal level. Therefore, it is possible tocarry out live-imaging for a relatively longperiod of time, and to take more pictures.

Another important property of the system isthat a high axial resolution is achieved,which is equal to that in both the X and Yaxes, whereas in the conventional confocalmicroscope, the resolution of one axis isalways lower due to the properties of a sin-gle lens. In fact the 3D microscope canresolve up to 200-300 nm in all three dimen-sions. To demonstrate this, Jim showed me abeautiful image of a spherical pollen, 12micrometers in diameter.

The microscope is not difficult to use, saysJan – just put your sample in and look!Anyone in EMBL may ask Ernst’s group forpermission to use it. In the future, they areplanning to integrate additional features forlaser cutting, and FRAP.

"Looking at a 3D object in space instead oftrying to project it into 2D, seems like anobvious method. Why has nobody else comeup with this idea before?" I asked.

"I've always wondered that myself," Ernstreplied.

It just goes to show that we biologists needthe physicists at EMBL to bring in a freshperspective!

– Cleopatra Kozlowski, EMBL predoc

A new perspective on microscopy: Ernst Stelzer takes a 3D view

A Drosophila embryo recorded from four differentdirections with Ernst Stelzer’s new 3D microscope.The bottom image combines the views and revealsotherwise hidden details.The sample was provided byH. Varmak & G. Gonzalez.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) and other secretorydefects were the topic of EMBL’s 6thMolecular Medicine symposium, held thisautumn. CF is a genetic disease that affectsabout 60,000 Caucasians throughout theworld. The defect is caused by point muta-tions, the most common being δF508, in thecystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator(CFTR) that prevents proper folding of theprotein and leads to premature ubiquinationand degradation. The CFTR is normallyabundant in all epithelia and is essential forion conductance and the water balance inlungs, gut, etc. Accordingly, CF, the CFTR,and ion secretion received the most attentionof the physiologists, molecular biologists,and physicians from eight European coun-tries and the US present at the meeting.

The symposium was opened by PaulQuinton from the University of California, apioneer in the field of CF. Paul works on theeffects of the genetic defect in the sweat duct.He surprised listeners with the finding thatglutamate acts intracellularly in sweatglands, thereby modulating the chloride

conductance to bicarbonate absorption. Thesession was continued by talks about therole of ion channels, including that of CFTR,on intestinal transport.

The afternoon session was devoted to talksand discussions about the complicated inter-play of the various ion channels as well asprotein trafficking and various mouse mod-els. The latter was presented by Huge deJonge from Rotterdam.

Saturday’s talks covered the regulation ofkidney ion channels, pancreatic exocytosisas well as the interplay between CFTR andanion exchanger proteins. Saturday morningconcluded with two talks on mucins, theirsecretion, and their role in CF-relatedinflammation. After lunch, discussionfocussed on calcium-activated chloridechannels, which are considered one of themore promising targets for a potential thera-py of CF, because these appear to be the onlyanion channels not affected by the disease.The meeting concluded with a session onnovel experimental forms of CF treatment,

ranging from drug candidates that interferewith intracellular signalling to high-throughput approaches, to promisingattempts with natural compounds.

The meeting, held on November 7-8 at themain Laboratory in Heidelberg, was co-organized by Carsten Schultz (EMBL) andFrank-Michael Müller (Cystic FibrosisCenter, University of Heidelberg) with enor-mous help from EMBL’s Course andConference Office. The Molecular Medicinesymposium series is held on a regular basis,across the different EMBL sites. The previ-ous symposium on cardiovascular diseasestook place in Monterotondo in May. Groupleaders interested in bringing a medical sub-ject forward by organizing a symposiumwithin the series are invited to contactMatthias Hentze and the new Centre forDisease Mechanisms (for more on this newinitiative, see page 2).

– Carsten Schultz

Cystic fibrosis researchers meet at EMBL for molecular medicine symposiummolecular medicine mini-report:

EMBL&cetera Issue 18 - December 2003

In the political incubator: What will a European Constitution mean for scientific research?

Over the course of 17 months, 105 wise men andwomen have been preparing a proposal for aEuropean Constitution. This work is likely tohave a direct bearing on European science.

The legal basis of the European Union is apatchwork of four treaties. In December2001, the European Council called for aConvention for the Future of Europe to“consider the key issues arising for theUnion’s future development and try to iden-tify the various possible responses.” Meetingfor the first time in February 2002, chaired byValery Giscard d’Estaing, the Conventionwas charged with making proposals for asubstitute for the treaties and finding waysto ensure the further development of theUnion as it expands to 25+ countries.

The result came in July 2003, with a draft fora Constitutional Treaty for the EuropeanUnion, composed by the Convention's 105members, representing the Member-Stateand Accession-State governments and par-liaments, the European Parliament and theCommission, and 13 official observers.Furthermore, it was supported by a“Forum” which enabled wider consultationsand debates with the civil society by meansof hearings and a website.

Not surprisingly, both the work style and theconclusions of the Convention were subjectto intense public debate and, often, disagree-ment. However, what the EU has tried is his-toric, never done before: writing a constitu-tion in public.

Another historic aspect of the Constitution isits treatment of science, and here our com-munities have contributed. Under the chair-manships of Luciano Maiani (CERN) and

Fotis Kafatos (EMBL), the EIROforum hasplayed a proactive role in the processthrough both verbal and written submis-sions to the Convention, drawing attentionto the crucial importance and specific needsof science in Europe.

The draft is now being discussed by theIntergovernmental Conference (IGC), aim-ing to arrive at a new Treaty by the year’send. To come into force, it will have to be rat-ified by all Member-State parliaments, insome cases involving national referenda: thismay last until 2006, and will certainly lead tochanges. Nonetheless, the community needsto be informed about the current draft text;in its final form, the Constitution will have adirect impact on science policy and EC sup-port for research for years to come.

Science in the Draft Convention Text

The text is divided into three main parts.Article I-3 sets out the objectives of theUnion and determines that “it shall promotescientific and technological advance.”(Article I-3.3). This is both very importantand possibly unique: few constitutions, ifany, promote advancement in science as akey objective.

Title III of Part I determines the competencesof the Union. Article I-13 lists the policyareas which are shared between the Unionand the Member States. Article I-13.3 stipu-lates that “In the areas of research, techno-logical development and space, the Unionshall have competence to carry out actions,in particular to define and implement pro-grammes; however, the exercise of that com-petence may not result in Member Statesbeing prevented from exercising theirs.”

This has direct relevance for our organiza-tions. Because science is still predominantlyfunded by Member States, there must be aneffective balance between national initia-tives, intergovernmental organizations (suchas EMBL) and communal actions (such asdirect EC support for specific scientific proj-ects). The article not only secures the rightsof the Member States but also touches on thepossibility of “enhanced cooperation,” collo-quially known as “variable-geometry solu-tions.” This is important: experience showsthat such solutions, i.e. when some countrieshave agreed to undertake a particular action,provide dynamic into the political process. AEuropean research policy that allows for andsupports dynamic is certainly called for.

Fundamental Rights and science

Part II defines and describes the fundamen-tal rights of [the citizens] of the Union. Withanother historically-unique reference to sci-ence, Article II-13 determines that “the artsand scientific research shall be free of con-straint. Academic freedom shall be respect-ed.” While there are no direct qualifications,this statement does not, of course, implyunlimited freedom. Article II-52 sets the gen-eral scope and interpretation of rights andprinciples; the second paragraph constituteswhat legal experts call a “watertight referralclause,” limiting the application of theCharter vis-à-vis Member States and otherparts of the Constitution. The significance ofArticle II-13 is that it introduces this freedomat the level of the Union.

Strategic Forward Look 2006-2015 sets stage for Laboratory for next decadeIn November, EMBL published a document called the “StrategicForward Look, 2006-2015.” Written by Director General FotisKafatos and Scientific Director Iain Mattaj, in consultation with aSteering Committee appointed by Council, the SFL is intended toserve as a broad outline of the directions in which the Laboratory’sactivities should develop over the next ten years. The documentincludes a discussion of EMBL’s founding principles, a reaffirmationof its missions and an analysis of the Laboratory’s scientific andadministrative objectives for the coming decade.

Unlike the Laboratory’s official Scientific Programme and IndicativeScheme, the SFL is not a request to the Members States for funding.It is a strategy paper designed to provide information to, and garnerfeedback from, the Member States and the scientific community.

Another important function of the SFL is to aid the search commit-tee in recruiting the Laboratory’s next Director General, who willtake office in May 2005.

The full text of the Strategic Forward Look, 2006-2015 is available atwww.embl.de/ExternalInfo/EMBLabout/emblsfl.pdf.

The EMBL missions revisted:EMBL is a large-scale project for Europe. It was set up in order topromote molecular biology across Europe, and provide an attractivealternative to the United States as a workplace for Europe’s leadingyoung molecular biologists. To accomplish this, EMBL has pursuedfour major missions which are reaffirmed as part of the SFL:

a) To be a flagship laboratory for basic, investigator-driven researchin molecular biology.

b) To develop and help disseminate cutting edge technologies andinstrumentation for molecular biology.

c) To provide facilities and services for the scientific community.

d) To provide advanced training to individual scientists at all levels,from PhD students to independent investigators.

From the beginning, it was foreseen that EMBL would need todevelop both critical mass and excellence in many facets of molecularbiology. Once these goals were achieved, the Laboratory was intendedto develop a philosophy of looking outward into the scientificcommunity and to share widely its knowledge and expertise, to thebenefit of molecular biology in all its Member States.

5

Operational Clauses

Part III of the draft text is entitled “ThePolicies and Functioning of the Union.” In asense this is the operational part of theTreaty. Section 9 (Articles 146-156) is devotedto “Research and Technological Develop-ment, and Space.”

Article III-146 sets the general scene for EUresearch activities, stating that “The Unionshall aim to strengthen the scientific andtechnological bases of Union industry andencourage it to become more competitive atinternational level, while promoting all theresearch activities deemed necessary byvirtue of other Chapters of theConstitution.”

The text of this article is not new: it is identi-cal to Article 163 in the current Treaty. Thekey is its interpretation: until now, the texthas been used as a justification to de factoexclude EU support for fundamentalresearch. While in many areas of science, it isimpossible to draw a distinction betweenfundamental and applied research, this for-mulation remains an issue of concern for us,and EIROforum has proposed modificationsto the wording of this article. Should thisproposal not be adopted by theIntergovernmental Conference, then wehope that at least a less restrictive interpreta-tion can be used in the future.

Article III-149 proscribes that EU researchactivities must be part of a “multiannualframework programme”, that “shall beenacted by European laws.” This is basicallyidentical to the current system, which com-prises a “Framework Programme,” the“Specific Programmes,” the Rules forParticipation and the “Work Programmes.”

According to the draft text, the FrameworkProgramme itself and the Rules for

Participation (as well as the rules governingthe dissemination of research results) areEuropean legal acts, hence subject toapproval by the European Parliament andsubsequent agreement/confirmation by theEuropean Council. The “Specific Program-mes,” on the contrary, do not require parlia-mentary approval.

Other articles aim to support coordinationbetween the Member States and allow theCommission to “take any useful initiative topromote the coordination.”

The draft text clearly supports the notion ofthe European Research Area, though, sur-prisingly, the ERA is not explicitly men-tioned. Article III-151 opens the possibilityfor European laws to establish supplemen-tary programmes in which some (but not all)Member States participate; those states willfinance the programmes, but with participa-tion by the Union.

Along the same lines, Article III-152 enablesthe EU to participate in research and devel-opment programmes undertaken by severalMember States, including participation inthe structures created for the execution ofthose programmes, as well as cooperationwith third countries and international organ-isations (Article III-153). Article III-152 corre-sponds to the current Article 169. It has beendescribed as a potentially powerful way ofboosting European cooperation in science,but so far, only one programme (concerningclinical tests in Africa) has been agreedunder FP-6 and we have yet to see howeffective this option is in stimulating jointresearch programmes.

Article III-154 provides for the Council ofMinisters to adopt European regulations ordecisions to set up joint undertakings or anyother structure necessary for the efficient

execution of the Union's research. Thiscould, for example, open the door for aEuropean Research Council (ERC), currentlyunder discussion both in the scientific com-munity and, increasingly, at the Europeanpolitical level.

Three other points are worth mentioning:

Marking the definitive entry of the EU intothe area of outer space, Article III-155 deter-mines that the Union shall draw up aEuropean space policy, including “supportresearch and technological development andcoordinate the efforts needed for the explo-ration and exploitation of space.”

Article III-212 constitutes the legal underpin-ning of a European Armaments, Researchand Military Capabilities Agency, whichshould “support defence technologyresearch, and coordinate and plan jointresearch activities and the study of technicalsolutions meeting future operational needs.”

Article III-157 (Section 10: “Energy”) saysthat the EU shall “promote … the develop-ment of new and renewable forms of ener-gy.” Finally, according to the draft text, theEuropean Atomic Energy Community willcontinue as a separate legal framework, withsome amendments to the EURATOM Treaty.The relationship between this and theConstitutional Treaty is a sensitive, difficultissue that must be solved.

It is certain that the changes in the text willbe proposed and perhaps adopted. Scienceand education are already firm constituentsof the European political agenda. The Treaty– when ratified – will provide the legal andoperational framework for European sciencepolicy initiatives in the years to come.

– Christian Boulin & Claus Madsen (ESO)

EMBL DG appointed to Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Vatican ceremonyFotis C. Kafatos has been appointed to thePontifical Academy of Sciences. He receivedthe papal insignia from Pope John Paul II onNovember 10, during the 400th anniversarycelebration at the Pontifical Academy ofSciences headquarters in the Vatican City.Since its establishment in Rome in 1603, thePontifical Academy of Sciences has becomean international and interdisciplinary scien-tific body with an increasing number of dis-tinguished scientist members. Its aim is topromote the progress of the mathematical,physical and natural sciences as well as thestudy of related epistemological questionsand issues. Members of the academy haveincluded Galileo Galilei, Max Planck, NielsBohr, Sir Alexander Fleming and MaxPerutz.

(Fotis is seated in the second row, to the rightof Pope John Paul II)P

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This year's EMBO/EMBL joint Science & Society con-ference “Genetics, Determinism andHuman Freedom,” held onNovember 14-15, attracted morethan 250 participants. This recordnumber of attendees made their wayto Heidelberg from 24 differentEuropean countries and the USA.Amongst them was a group of 30school students from the InternationalSchool of Stuttgart who actively partici-pated, asking questions and makingcomments. The ever-increasing interestfrom different parties in this conferenceshows that this meeting, which has alsobecome part of the predoc course at theEMBL, is a well-accepted tool to breakdown the barriers between non-scientistsand scientists. It does this by promotingmutual interest, understanding, and dialogueon subjects that concern everyone.

During the two days of the conference, theaudience and the panels actively discussed therole of genetic information in disease and behav-iour, and downstream access to this data, withreference to its impact on society. Subjects focused on:

• Technological revolutions in genetic informationgathering and application

• Genes and disease; the links and their conse-quences for human freedom

• The use and abuse of genetic information injustice, security and the information society

• Fast forward: human trait modulation,"Genomes'R'us", designer babies and geneticidentity cards

The dialogues were particularly interestingsince, as in the previous three years, theparticipants of the conference came from abroad variety of fields such as science, law,consumer associations, journalism, poli-tics, patient support groups and ethics.

"This was my first conference of thiskind, but I plan to attend many others.I became very motivated," said onePhD student.

Another participant commented, "Iwas inspired by Steven Rose's talk. I met a lot of

teachers and will continue to be involved in public dialogueand students events. And I'll try to be more politically active withinmy area of science." – Sandra Bendiscioli and Ellen Peerenboom

Science & Society

“Let me introduce you to my friend EdJackson. Ed is the local sheriff in a smalltown in Oklahoma, but he also runs a ranchwhere he farms goats for meat. Ed is anextraordinary character but his goats areeven more unusual. They are variouslyknown as stiff-legged goats, myotonic goatsor Tennessee fainting goats. This is becausewhen they are startled or excited their mus-cles seize up so that their legs get stiff andthey find it difficult to walk properly.Sometimes they even fall over. There are sto-ries of the whole herd collapsing simultane-ously when a train runs past their field andsounds its whistle. Or when a Tennesseemarching band walks past.”

The opening paragraph of a novel set in thedeep South? Or the introduction to a TV doc-umentary? Guess again: it’s the introductionto a scientific lecture on ion channels andhow they are responsible for the electricalactivity of nerve and muscle.

The author is Professor Frances Ashcroft,full-time physiologist at Oxford University,and part-time yarn-spinner. She visitedEMBL’s main Laboratory in Heidelberg inDecember to give a talk within the EMBLForum on Science and Society. She used theoccasion to share some of the difficulties and

delights she has experienced while learningto communicate science to the public.

“Most people haven’t the slightest idea whatan ion channel is but they are fascinated bystories of the goats and of people who sufferfrom the same condition,” she says, “So I usestories about human and animal disease tohelp explain something that is quite com-plex. I tell of pigs who shiver themselves todeath, of children who really can die offright, of mutations in ion channels thatcause colour blindness, of how T-lympho-cytes use ion channels to kill infected bloodcells, and so on.”

Always captivated by the idea of writing abook, but never managing to sit down to doit, Professor Ashcroft seized her opportunityin a 1998 Wellcome Trust competition whichcalled for a life scientist to write a sciencebook for the general reader. Though not thewinning publication, Life at the Extremes waspublished in 2002 and has since won criticalacclaim. In the book, Ashcroft tells ofextraordinary feats of endurance experi-enced by humans in extreme environments,such as at high altitudes, or under high pres-sures. She uses historical anecdotes, enlistsscientific inventors and explorers as her pro-tagonists – and manages to sneak the latestscientific findings in there, too.

“My philosophy is that an interesting storycaptures the reader’s attention and makesthem read on. Before they realize it they areinto the science,” she says. “The best compli-ment I’ve had is when a reviewer wrote thatmy science stories are a brilliant source oftales to tell in the pub, or that they made himsquirm and say, ‘Stop! Don’t tell me any-more!’, but then he had to go back and readone more.”

Ashcroft says that she has found life as a sci-entific storyteller immensely hard work, butalso enormously enjoyable, very rewardingand a great privilege. She would alsoencourage other scientists to have a go atmaking science enthralling, informative andpertinent to the general public. “Because ifwe don’t take the public with us, we not onlydeprive them of an intellectual adventurethat we find compelling, we may also findthat they won’t be prepared to pay for it, andmay even legislate to prevent us from doingsome types of experiment.”

Life at the Extremes is available on loan fromthe Science and Society section of the SzilardLibrary.

– Sarah Sherwood

Tennessee fainting goats, marching bands and ion channels: Frances Ashcroft reveals how she uses stories to tell science

EMBL&cetera Issue 18 - December 2003

Record turn out for the EMBO/EMBL annual joint Science & Society conference

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The 4th annual EMBL PhD symposium tookplace at the main Laboratory in Heidelbergon November 20-22. Following the traditionof previous events, this year’s topic, "A Lifeof Encounters: Recognition in Biology"brought together experts from numerousdisciplines, ranging from molecular recogni-tion mechanisms, cell-cell recognition andimmunology, to organismic recognition andbehaviour. “The diverse mix of topics wasrather unusual,” says conference organizerKarsten Beckmann, “which helped us toattract a really interdisciplinary crowd ofPhD students from across the world.”

The speakers were enthusiastic about thehighly interactive audience. “I’ve never hadthat many questions!" remarked VenkiRamakrishnan at the end of his lecture.Poster sessions allowed participants to pres-ent their own work and provided anothergood opportunity for interactions betweenspeakers and participants.

As in previous events, the symposium wasentirely organized by PhD students, frominviting the speakers, to arranging the ses-sions and finding financial support. “We aregrateful to the numerous companies thatsupported us, as well as to EMBO, whichsponsored two of the speakers,” says pre-doctoral fellow Christiane Jost.

"We received a lot of positive feedback, bothfrom the speakers and the participants andwe would like to encourage all EMBL pre-docs to participate in next year’s sympo-

sium. It’s a truly unforgettable experience!"the organizers conclude. The post-confer-ence party provided an occasion to celebratea job well done.

This year’s organizers were: KarstenBeckmann, Maria Ermolaeva, Fabian Filipp,Andrés Gaytan de Ayala Alonso, CarolineIquel, Martin Jinek, Christiane Jost, StephanMeister, Felipe Mora-Bermúdez, MarleneRau, Thomas Sandmann, Hannes Simader,and Mikko Taipale. For more on the sympo-sium, see http://symposium.predocs.org

EMBL PhD students organize 4th annual symposium: Recognizing the difference

DNA-Spinner: A virtual company delivers real automation

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Panelists at the 4th EMBL PhD Symposium field questions about the evolution of recognition mechanisms.

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DNA-Spinner. Many pro-cesses include centrifuga-tion as an essential step,which can’t be circumvent-ed. Variable viscosities inanimal and tissue, forensicand clinical samples arethe nightmare of everyautomation project. Integ-rated centrifugation sys-tems are robust and en-sure reproducible results,even in complex samples.

The field of application of this technology is wide and includes, for example, simple precipi-tations, drying of samples, SPE, and chemical synthesis.

DNA-Spinner addresses these applications by combining automated centrifugation, liquidhandling and incubation capabilities in a compact instrument. The system, based on PE’sMPII technology and Hettich’s automated Rotanta® centrifuge, can handle up to 16 microtitreplates simultaneously in 4 baskets, RCFs up to 6000g can be reached in a temperature-con-trolled centrifuge environment. Computer-controlled shakers and incubators as well as sup-ply stackers may complement the infrastructure, depending on the application and through-put needs. DNA-Spinner combines not only the hardware and software components but startsalready with a set of verified applications, based on MN’s well established Nucleospin® tech-nology. DNA-Spinner-tuned kits for the extraction of genomic DNA from animal and plant tis-sues are available. Currently 192 samples can be purified in just under 2 hours, yielding upto 20µg of genomic DNA, A260/A280~1.8, CV~5%. For more, see (www.spinapp.embl.de).

The EMBL Genomic Core Facility (EMBL-GCF), EMBL Enterprise Management Tech-nology Transfer (EMBLEM), PerkinElmerLife and Analytical Sciences (PE LAS),Macherey-Nagel (MN), and Hettich haveformed a “virtual company” to developautomated solutions using integrated cen-trifugation for a wide range of applicationsin molecular biology and diagnostics. Theproject, triggered by a request to the scientif-ic community from Denis Duboule, EMBLalumnus and Vice-Chair of EMBL-Council,was initiated by the EMBL-GCF ninemonths ago and has resulted in the develop-ment of the PE-Spinner platform.

Vladimir Benes, head of the EMBL-GCF,faced the challenge of purifying genomicDNA in a fast and reliable manner for down-stream applications. Such a purificationprocess requires multiple centrifugations ofthe sample(s). Automation of the processleads to time- and cost-cutting as well as to areduction of error. Since a fully automatedhigh-throughput system was not commer-cially available, Vladimir, Jürgen Zimmer-mann, and Christian Boulin began to devel-op a solution with the help of companiesactive in this field. After the initial brain-storming sessions, EMBLEM was called in toset up the contractual basis of the first “vir-tual company” project at EMBL. EMBL,PerkinElmer, Macherey-Nagel, Hettich andEMBLEM formed an interdisciplinary devel-opment team covering the span of know-how required in automation, biochemistry,centrifuge and application, intellectualproperty protection and marketing. “Thegoal was to develop a high-throughput

DNA purification robot with an integratedcentrifuge within nine month,” Jürgenexplains.

The input of all the partners resulted in theDNA-Spinner platform and the prototype isup and running. Several applications as wellas dedicated kits are being developed andtested. In parallel, the system has been madeavailable to the scientific and industry com-munities as a commercial product calledMultiPROBE® II HT EX with integratedrobotic centrifuge. The device was launchedon the European market in October 2003 at

the Biotechnica trade fair in Hannover andcan be purchased from PerkinElmer.

“The ‘virtual company’ approach combinesbasic research interests of institutions withthe business interests of companies. It grantsparticipating scientists a maximum of free-dom and feeds participating companies withexcellent know-how without limiting theirflexibility,” summarizes EMBLEM’s MartinRaditsch. Vladimir concludes, “We alreadyhave more ideas, which we would like tobring to reality within a similar set-up.”

– Jürgen Zimmermann & Martin Raditsch

On 15 December the EBI, together with itscollaborators the Swiss Institute ofBioinformatics (SIB) and GeorgetownUniversity Medical Center’s ProteinInformation Resource (PIR), will announcethe launch of UniProt – a new universal pro-tein resource that will be the world’s mostcomprehensive catalogue of informationabout proteins. UniProt will provide a “one-stop shop,” allowing easy access to all pub-licly-available information on proteins.

“The launch of UniProt is tremendouslyexciting because databases that have beenrunning independently for years have cometogether for the benefit of their users,”explains Maria-Jesus Martin, SequenceDatabase Group coordinator at the EBI. Thisunification was made possible by fundingfrom the US National Institutes of Health,totaling US$15 million over 3 years.

Rolf Apweiler, UniProt’s PrincipalInvestigator, describes UniProt’s structure asresembling that of a wedding cake, each tierrepresenting a different database optimizedfor different uses.

At the base of the cake lies the UniProtArchive (UniParc), which provides access toevery protein sequence in the public domainand allows users to track the history of asequence as it’s updated.

The centerpiece of the UniProt Consortium’sactivities is the UniProt Knowledgebase,unified from Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL and PIR-

PSD. The UniProt Knowledgebase consistsof two parts, one containing fully manually-annotated records and another with compu-tationally-analysed records awaiting fullmanual annotation. The two sections willcontinue to be referred to as Swiss-Prot andTrEMBL, respectively.

The top tier of the cake contains three sub-layers, collectively known as UniRef (forUniProt non-redundant reference). Thesecombine closely-related sequences (at 100%,90% or 50% identity) into single records tofacilitate faster searching.

“With UniProt we can address some aspectsof the challenges that life scientists are cur-rently facing,” says Amos Bairoch, thefounder of Swiss-Prot. “There has been atremendous growth in the quantity of bio-molecular information that has becomeavailable in the past ten years, yet this is onlythe beginning!” He adds, “Thanks toUniProt we can continue to provide a wealthof knowledge on the fascinating universe ofproteins.” Cathy Wu, Director of PIR, contin-ues: “Such integrated knowledge in UniProtwill facilitate scientific discovery at variouslevels of biological organization, from genesand proteins through metabolic pathwaysand cellular networks to whole organisms.”

UniProt can be accessed at www.uniprot.orgwith mirror sites at each Institute. The EBI’ssite is www.ebi.uniprot.org.

– Cath Brooksbank and Claire O’Donovan

UniProt consortium launches a universal protein resource

Biology teachers meet in Hamburg

58 high school teachers of chemistryand biology (37 from Hamburg andthe vicinity and 21 from furtheraway) convened from August 21-23,2003 at the EMBL Hamburg Out-station to attend the 3rd workshop ofthe EU-funded project "ContinuingEducation for European BiologyTeachers." The theme was "StructuralBiology – insights into the molecules oflife.” The teachers listened to five sci-entific lectures as well as a session onbioethics. They participated in twopractical experiments designed to betaken back into the classroom, andviewed an exhibition with standshosted by other science educationinitiatives and commercial sponsors.In between there was ample time fordiscussions and for getting to knoweach other. For more, see www.embl-hamburg.de/workshops/2003/twp.

– Manfred Weiss

The Adriano Buzzati Traverso campus inMonterotondo was abuzz with activity inearly November as the local building main-tenance crew put the final touches on thenew extension to the campus’ mouse facili-ties. Meanwhile, EMBL research programmestaff were scurrying about organizing a“mouse warming party” to celebrate.

On hand for the celebrations were CNRDirector and EMBL Council member GlaucoTocchini Valentini, Professor Arturo Falaschifrom the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,and architect Emilio Mattoccia; from the,EMBL side, Monterotondo CoordinatorNadia Rosenthal, EMBL Director GeneralFotis C. Kafatos, and EMBL senior scientists.They were joined by an enthusiastic crowdof staff and their families from EMBL andcampus partners, EMMA and CNR.Festivities included speeches, a tour of thenew facilities, dinner, dancing, and a spec-tacular fireworks display organized and exe-cuted in the rain by Alex Regan.

The new facility consists of a 450m2 exten-sion onto the existing buildings, completewith an SPF facility, procedure rooms,behaviour suites, expanded space for the

The house that Nadia built: Monterotondo mice have a new hometransgenic service, and capacity for approxi-mately 6,500 cages. "We decided to use a pre-fabricated structure that we believe couldserve as a model for other institutes lookingto build an animal facility," says Nadia. "It isexpandable if need be, but more important-ly, it is cost effective, allowing us to allocatefunds to features we considered importantfor us." These include an automated ventila-tion system, which will rapidly and silentlyexchange the air in the facility, removing thestress of extraneous noise and odors on theanimals. In addition, the facility has beenequipped with IVC racks, the system ofchoice of major commercial animal facilities,such as Jackson Laboratory and Harlan, andconsidered to be the best caging system forpreventing and stopping the spread of con-tamination.

“It is the first time that all the mice will behoused in the same location, which meansthat we will be better able to control how thefacility operates,” says Group LeaderManolis Pasparakis. “The layout and fea-tures of the new facility will allow EMBLstaff and caretakers to work more efficient-ly,” adds Group Leader Walter Witke.

EMBL&cetera Issue 18 - December 2003

Nadia Rosenthal inspects cages during a tour ofEMBL-Monterotondo’s new mouse facilities

The EMBL mouse facilities mark a newbeginning for research within the MouseBiology Programme. “One of the main objec-tives of this programme is to generate mousemodels of human disease, and this goal dic-tated the planning of the facility,” saysNadia. For example, included is an inde-pendent building which, along with abehaviour suite, will be reserved for thehousing and testing of mice obtained fromexternal sources, allowing for preliminaryresults to be attained and examined beforeundertaking the time-consuming process ofrederivation. “This prescreening will help toincrease research output.”

– Carla Sciarretta and Sarah Sherwood

EMBL researchers prove successful with EU grants

The EMBC meetingWhen EMBO was founded 40 years ago, oneof its first tasks was to ensure that it hadresources to allow it to deliver a programmeof Fellowships, Courses andWorkshops.Following initial support fromthe Volkswagen Foundation, the founders ofEMBO were successful in convincing gov-ernments that they should finance theEMBO programme. Arising from this, theEuropean Molecular Biology Conference(EMBC) was started almost 35 years ago. Asan intergovernmental organization, theEMBC in turn became a respondent to arequest from EMBO that a laboratory should

also be established and hence EMBL cameinto existence as a separate entity.

The EMBC meets twice annually to considerthe EMBO programme and indeed to defineits own ambitions. Of significance recentlywas the decision to prolong the EMBC agree-ment for a further nine years from 2004 to2013. Accompanying this was a documentthat was prepared and discussed at length,outlining the actions that were appropriatefor the EMBC of today. This document, “Thefuture directions for EMBO/EMBC:Building on a record of achievement,” wasaccepted unanimously by the EMBC lastyear and is available on the website:www.embo.org/embc/public_documents.html. In many ways this document is similarto the five-year plan for the EMBL or per-haps the Strategic Forward Look of theEMBL which has recently been finalised.

The EMBC met recently and took a numberof important decisions. For example, itaccepted Estonia as a new Member State.When Estonia and Luxembourg ratify thisagreement, this will bring the number ofMember States in the EMBC to 26. It alsoelected Marja Makarow from Finland as itsnew President. It is very appropriate that anexcellent female scientist was thus hon-oured.

A severe disappointment however was thefact that the budget for the EMBC for 2004-2006 was not agreed upon. Such decisionsrequire unanimity and the fact that theEMBO activities need an increase in fundingcreated difficulties for some MemberStates.The additional funding is essential, inparticular but not exclusively, because of thefact that there has been a 27% increase in thenumber of applicants for the LongtermFellowship Programme. With the currentlevel of funding only 10%-15% of the appli-cants could be successful; if (as the currenttrend suggests) the number of these increas-es then the success rate will fall to evenlower levels. We are hopeful that the emer-gency meeting of the EMBC which will takeplace on the 23rd of January will resolve thisproblem.

In the interim, we are making a major effortto encourage the governments of the coun-tries that were reluctant to provide theincrease have a change of heart and hopethat the scientists throughout the EMBLcommunity add their support wherever pos-sible.

– Frank GannonExecutive Director, EMBO

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A long overdue task concerning the rejuve-nation of the EMBL’s web site was startedthis year. Have a look at www.embl.orgstarting in late January; you'll notice somemajor changes. The aim is to deliver a moreintegrated EMBL-wide website, serving allfive sites, the wider scientific communityand the general public. During 2003, a usergroup was established in close collaborationwith staff from all Units to evaluate thefuture structure and functionalities.

The changes will involve both the structureand the design of this site. The new home-page will consist of two major sections: a)four core links to key areas: About Us,Research, Services and Education and b) linksto the five EMBL sites.

The embl.org site will provide visitors with acomprehensive overview of EMBL's areas ofactivity, with information presented using aconsistent site-wide structure. The look andfeel of the website will therefore be homoge-nous throughout, with slight design adapta-tions to distinguish individual sections.

The embl.org site is scheduled for release inJanuary 2004, followed by application of themodel to the EMBL Outstations. The site willexpand throughout 2004, to create a newand improved gateway to work and life atEMBL.

– Christian Boulin

A new website for EMBL

Integrated projects: Luis Serrano (Apopis), Luis Serrano and Philippe Bastiaens (InteractiveProteome), Peer Bork (Eumitocombat), Victor Lamzin* and other EMBL scientists (BIOXHIT),Claus Nerlov and Liliana Minichiello (Eurostemcell), Carsten Schultz (Integrated technologiesfor in vivo molecular imaging), Nicolas Le Novere (E-MEP), Jan Ellenberg (MitoCheck)

Networks of Excellence: Fotis Kafatos (BioMalPar), Janet Thornton* and other EMBLscientists (Biosapiens), Pernille Rørth (Main), Asifa Akhtar (Epigenome), Peter Stoehr(SemanticMining), Rolf Apweiler (TRANSFOG), Assunta Susanna Sansone (NUGO)

Specific Targeted Projects: Frank Gannon (Anabanos), Luis Serrano* and other EMBLscientists (COMBIO), Luis Serrano and Peer Bork (GENEFUN), Michael Sattler (FSG-V-RNA), Nadia Rosenthal (SC & CR), Peer Bork and Alphonse Thanaraj (ATD), Ewan Birney(EMI-CD)

Integrated Infrastructure Initiatives: Dean Myles (NM13), Matthias Wilmanns (IA-SFS)

Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships: Mike Osta (A. Gambiae C-Lecitins), SebastianUlbert (RNA-identity), Geert Van Loo (EMBL-GVL)

* indicates project coordinator

The EU’s 6th Framework Programme withits Structuring and Strengthening Issue tohelp realize the European Research Area(ERA) gives rise to a revolution in the waythat science has to be tackled in Europe. Thefragmentation of research has to be over-come. Europe has to fight against braindrain, to increase its attractiveness toresearchers, and to offer the best resourcesand infrastructures in order to increase itscompetitiveness.

New instruments, such as IntegratedProjects (IP) and Network of Excellence(NoE), are among the key features created to

mobilize a critical mass of expertise in orderto achieve the ambitious objectives, whichset a new orientation for scientists workingat research sites across Europe.

An EU grant application has to be writtenproperly in order to be succesful. ManyEMBL scientists rose to the challenge andsubmitted proposals under the first call,which closed in Spring. The results are in: 27proposals made it through. They are listedbelow.

Congratulations to the successful applicantsand good luck for future calls.

– Genevieve Reinke

EMBL is a young place. The large number ofvisitors, predocs, and postdocs and theinstitution’s nine-year turnover policyensure a constant influx of fresh faces. Mostemployees are in their twenties and thirties,the age bracket that normally coincides withchildbearing years. With so many transientspirits flitting about and engaged inintellectual intercourse, it is no surprise thatthings should turn frisky.

Let’s take the Heidelberg main Laboratoryas an example. EMBL’s safe and internation-al atmosphere is family-friendly. Pinionedbetween two sheltering forest-bedeckedbanks of the Neckar River, Heidelberg seemslike the idyllic setting of a fairy tale – or atleast a family tale. It offers the merits of abeautiful castle and renowned university.The public school system is acclaimed in theregion. Children continue to play freely onthe streets and in the woods, a rarephenomenon in this unnatural world.

While Heidelberg and its surroundingvillages provide a secure environment,EMBL children are far from sheltered. Forthose individuals intent on rearing theirchildren in a multicultural setting,Heidelberg is ideal. The university towncaters to multinational residents, into whichcategory fall many of EMBL’s staff. The cityresounds in a flood of multilingual dialogue.In partnership with the after-school daycareof the Internationale Gesamtschule

Heidelberg (IGH), the lab fosters this multi-cultural discourse within EMBL children.

Back on campus, the Kinderhaus is integralto the social infrastructure at EMBL. Thechildcare service helps in the well-knownsyndrome when inflated hours at the labchase young mothers from careers inscience. The German childcare system, forexample, seriously disrupts a mother ’sability to function successfully at home andat work. The short hours and age limitationsof local nurseries preserve a conservativefamily structure.

Former EMBL group leader Thomas Grafpioneered efforts to establish a childcareservice in the late 1980s: “In a day and agewhere scientists often marry other scientists,I was convinced that it would help couplesin research to combine their careers and theirfamilies. Childcare services would make iteasier for women to develop an independentcareer, since in the end they would carrymost of the family burden.” The EMBLKinderhaus provides full-time childcare andaccepts infants as young as three months ofage. The kids are only a hop, skip and ajump away – an advantage that providescomfort to young parents and enablesmothers to continue nursing.

The Kinderhaus and EMBL child supportpayments promise security to parents. Thecustomized salary adjustments for familiesalleviate many of the financial burdens of a

new baby. In addition, the guarantee ofmedical coverage and paid maternity leaverelieve apprehensive couples. All of theseperks seem to be motivating would-beparents to rise to the occasion.

And so, EMBL staff can focus on the pursuitof both their biological research and theirbiological urges.

– Selene States

There must be something in the water at EMBL...

Apart from the obvious, why do you think there are so many babies at EMBL?

First we thought it was thewater, then we suspectedsome experiment had goneawry. Monterotondo seemedbarren until a chain reactionstarted last year. We’ve hadfive births in 2003 andanother one is on the way.

Rosanna Maccagnano EMBL Monterotondo

I don’t know. I hadabsolutely nothing to dowith it! Wasn’t me.

Fotis C. KafatosEMBL Director-General

I’m not sure, but there is apredoc in Structures whothe girls really seem tofancy. He might havesomething to do with it...

Michael ThompsonEMBL Heidelberg

Because EMBL is ahappy environment!

Manuela BrunnerEMBL Heidelberg

Ack! I don’t know...but... uh... I have to gostop my gel. I’ll get backto you on that.

Kent DuncanEMBL Heidelberg

EMBL&cetera Issue 18 - December 2003

Have a look at the new “info-pack forparents-to-be” available on the personnel section’s website:www.embl.de/LocalInfo/personnel/

Over the past year, the number of babies born to parents working at EMBL has doubled. Thus far, Laboratory staff have been unableto pinpoint a scientific explanation. No traces of aphrodisiacs have been found in the canteen lunches, nor has anyone determinedan obvious correlation between the baby boom and estrogen leakage from Frank Gannon’s lab. Some attribute the surge in birthrates to Intermedex’s recent termination of birth control coverage. Still others speculate that the spontaneous increase is linked to aseries of blackouts at the Monterotondo facility. Surely scientists cannot be getting more action than the rest of the population. So why are there so many babies at EMBL?

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Number of babies born to EMBL parents across the different Units in 2003.

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news&events

New website helps find the sense in nonsensical gene namesWhat connects the mustard weed Arabidopsisthaliana to SUPERMAN, CLARK KENT and KRYP-TONITE? What is a cheap date like in fruit flies?What might be the four-letter abbreviationfor fuculokinase K gene in Escherichia coli? Asevery geneticist knows, the answers are all inthe gene name.

Ever since Thomas Hunt Morgan found thewhite gene in Drosophila, researchers havegiven new genes short but informativenames that try to describe the function of thegene or the mutant phenotype. For example,white flies have white eyes, and hairless miceare bald. But what happened to this good oldcommon sense with gene names such asANTIKEVORKIAN and mothers against decapenta-plegic? Names range from the witty, peculiar,amusing, imaginative, and funny to the far-

fetched, silly, misleading, tasteless, or simplyunintelligible. Or in some cases, a gene isknown by fifteen different names, with eachlaboratory holding on stubbornly to its ownpreference.

A new resource will now help guide thebefuddled visitor through a forest of curiousgene names. EMBL PhD student MikkoTaipale and Mikael Niku from theUniversity of Helsinki have collected thegood, the bad, and the ugly of gene names,together with the stories behind them. Thesite also includes links to other webpagescontaining interesting tidbits of information.The website is comprehensible to non-scien-tists and hardcore Drosophila geneticistsalike. Check it out at http://tinman.vetmed.helsinki.fi

Group Leader seminars now onWednesdays. Same place (the Operonauditorium), same time (1 pm), just a dif-ferent day. EMBL’s weekly series of groupleader seminars (the pink ones) will nowbe held mid-week. Check out “Today atEMBL” on the Laboratory’s web pages forthe schedule.

The first ever Kinderhaus ChristmasBazaar will take place on Wednesday,December 17, from 3-6 pm in the OperonFoyer. In the past the Kinderhaus staffhave invited parents up for an afternoonof coffee and cakes and Christmas carolsinging, but this year they’ve decided toventure into something new. EMBL kids –together with some help from their teach-ers and parents – will be makingChristmas decorations, which will beavailable for purchase. Talented parentswill also bring in some of their handi-work. EMBL staff are invited to stop by,and have a Glühwein and join in on theChristmas spirit.

And the winner is... The EMBO Awardfor Communication in the Life Sciences2003 goes to Hungarian scientist PeterCsermely. The Award recognizes this sci-entist for his outstanding initiative to net-work high school students andresearchers in Hungary and other EasternEuropean countries. The prize, consistingof €5,000 and a handcrafted silver andgold medal, was awarded on November14 during the EMBO/EMBL joint confer-ence on Science and Society, "Genetics,determinism and human freedom" inHeidelberg (see page 6). Csermely isProfessor for Biochemistry at theSemmelweis University in Budapest,Hungary. www.embo.org/press/silver_medal2003.html

Maria Faden, a physician from the Institutfür Arbeits- und Sozialmedizin of theUniversity of Heidelberg, is available forconsultation at EMBL Heidelberg everyother Friday from 10 to 11 am. This service ispart of EMBL’s occupational health coveragethat has been provided by the institute since2000.

If you have questions related to health in theworkplace, stop by and see Dr. Faden in theFirst Aid room (305) opposite switchboard(schedule available from Corinna Gorny inthe Safety Office) or send her an email(maria.faden@med.uni-heidelberg.de).Please note that she cannot provide a serviceas your personal doctor.

The doctor is in... Occupational health service at EMBL

FAQs from the personnel sectionChanges in procedure

What happens when my personal circum-stances change?

EMBL pays allowances and provides healthinsurance cover for your dependents. Yourentitlements to these are affected by changesin family circumstances. Please tell us if youmarry or have a baby. We also need to knowif your child continues in full-time educationafter the age of 18.

What must I do to take a leave of absence?You need to obtain approval for holiday orspecial leave from your supervisor inadvance. Complete the leave request andsend it to us with the signature of the super-visor before you go. Please return your old

leave card for 2003. We will update ourrecords and the remaining leave entitlementwill be shown on your next salary statement.

How do I claim reimbursement of travelrelated expenses?Council changed the rules for payment ofsubsistence allowances with effect from July2003. The daily rate depends on the length ofabsence and whether you receive lunch ordinner without extra cost to yourself. Pleaseremember to submit your claim within threemonths. It helps us to process the paymentmore quickly if you complete all the parts ofthe form.

Further guidance and forms for these andother procedures are now available atwww.embl.de/LocalInfo/personnel/

EMBL alumni: looking for great PhD students?

For questions about this or any other topic, email Annabel at goulding@embl.de

Dear Editor,

I couldn't help but notice that some informa-tion published in the October issue ofEMBL&cetera was misleading. With regard tothe broken tooth issue (point 5 in the top 10things newcomers should know), the 2 yearwaiting list doesn't apply to dental prosthesis– it applies only to dental treatment. Even thena minimum of 80% is paid up to a maximum ofEUR 1,200- over 24 months + 2 checkups perannum at 100% reimbursement! However,there is a 6 month waiting list for dental pros-thesis (crowns, bridges etc.), thereafter 80% iscovered up to a maximum of EUR 5,000- over24 months.

Kind regardth,Don McPhee from Intermedexth

11

Each year EMBL’s International PhD Pro-gramme receives hundreds of applicationsfrom students around the world. Candidateswho make it through a first selection roundare invited to the Lab for interviews. Theyare a gifted and motivated bunch – butunfortunately not all of them can make itinto EMBL’s Programmme. What to do withthe surplus of outstanding candidates?Many of them may well be interested indoing their predoctoral studies in the labora-tories of EMBL alumni. And here is wherethe EMBL Alumni Association can help.

If you are an EMBL alumnus/a and areinterested in great predoc candidates notselected to take part in EMBL’s programme,fill out the form available at www.embl.de/alumni/aadownloads/aaphd03.pdf and re-turn it to the EMBL International PhD Pro-gramme office by the end of February 2004.Completed forms will be distributed tointerested PhD candidates, who can then getin touch with alumni group leaders directly.For more information, contact SarahSherwood at alumni@embl.de.

EEMMBBLL@people

Who’s new?Hatice Akarsu (Mattaj), Angela Burro(LAR), Sandra Claude-Münster(Steinmetz), Bernard De Bono (Birney),Marco Donizelli (Rebholz-Schuhmann),Klaus Greger (Stelzer), Filip Glavan(Conti), Claudia Jenewein (Kinderhaus),Christina Kiel (Serrano), Nicola Kerrison(Thornton), Jyoti Khadake (Apweiler),Christian Klasen (Transgenic Service),Cleopatra Kozlowski (Nédélec),MelanieKunath (Kinderhaus), GeorgKustatscheri (Ladurner), Enrique Lara(Rosenthal), Celine Maeder (Knop),Silvia Marteles Moreno (Course &Conference Office), Lukas Neidhart(Ephrussi), Cecile Otten (Nédélec),Papadaki Piyi (Ephrussi), AndreaQuintero (Cohen), Mehrnoosh Rayner(DG’s Office), Andrew Riddell (CoreFacilities), Ekaterina Semenova(Rosenthal), Anja Seybert (Geerlof), SilkeSchumacher (DG Office), Laila Staali(Griffiths), Selene States (OIPA), JamesTorrance (Thornton), Yevhen Vainshtein(Hentze), Jishy Varghese (Cohen), AmyVernimont (Membrane Fusion Group,Grenoble), Andrea Washington (Course& Conference Office)

Faculty appointments: Matthew Groves is a new Staff Scientist at the Hamburg Outstation.

@EEMMBBLLevents

ceteraawards, honours&

Silke Schumacher is the new EMBL Cooperation Manager. Shewill facilitate and manage external and internal collaborations,such as partnerships with other European institutes like thePartnership for Structural Biology (PSB) in Grenoble and thePartnership in Marine Molecular Biology with the SarsInternational Centre in Bergen. She’ll also work on new partner-ships. She will take an active role in EMBL’s participation in theEIROforum, and will also work closely with scientists and seniormanagement to help develop the new EMBL Centres (see the story

on page 2 for more). Silke joins the lab after having spent almost three years as the ManagingDirector of Anadys Pharmaceuticals Europe GmbH, Heidelberg.

Nicolas Le Novère is a new Group Leader at EMBL-EBI. Nicolasobtained his PhD in 1998 in the team of Jean-Pierre Changeux atthe Pasteur Institute, where he studied the nicotinic receptors ofthe brain. During this schizophrenic period, one cerebral hemi-sphere controlled the hand with the pipette, while the other strug-gled with the hand on the keyboard. As a treatment, Nicolas spenta full computational postdoc in the team of Dennis Bray at theUniversity of Cambridge, where he was introduced to the marvelsof Computational Systems Biology applied to bacterial chemo-

taxis. After two years of relapse in his former split personality, as a research fellow of thefrench CNRS, he will try again to gather himself as one, developing Computational SystemsBiology of the Neuron.

Martina Muckenthaler, a staff scientist in Matthias Hentze’s group, will leave EMBL inJanuary 2004 to take up a professorship at the University of Heidelberg. Luckily she won’tdisappear – she’ll be part of the EMBL/Heidelberg University Molecular MedicinePartnership Unit and will continue to work closely with EMBL researchers.

EMBL&cetera Issue 18 - December 2003

Luis Serrano, coordinator of EMBL’s Structural and Computational Biology Programme hasbeen awarded a European Union’s Marie Curie Excellence award. The €50,000 prize is oneof five awarded to top researchers who, with the aid of EU Marie Curie fellowships andgrants, achieve significant research breakthroughs. The award was presented by EuropeanResearch commissioner Philippe Busquin as part of the Marie Curie Week (3-15 November).The MC Excellence Awards are one of the novelties of the €20 billion 6th EU ResearchFramework Program and aim to boost the career of world-class researchers by contributingto their international recognition. Luis’ research project focuses on “Design of Biological sys-tems to improve quality of life.” For more information, see http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/news/headline20_en.html

The EBI's Rolf Apweiler has been voted “Database doyen” in Genome Technology's 2003 AllStars Awards. An All Stars academy of 101 leaders in the field of genomics was responsiblefor the selection.

the EMBL&ceterateam wish

you and yours a safe and

happy holiday!

16 December 2003EMBL Heidelberg, room 215Science and Society Reading Club: “Zen and the art of scooping”

17 December 2003EMBL Heidelberg, Operon FoyerKinderhaus Christmas Bazaar

13-15 February 2004EBI HinxtonWhat's all the fuss about genomes? A practical workshop for biology teachers

For more events, seewww.embl.de/ExternalInfo/todayAtEmbl/

If you need help with flow cytometry, never fear, Andy’s here! Andy Riddell joined EMBL’sScientific Core Facilities group in October to carry on the flow cytometry legacy of AnnAtzberger and Robert Ventzki to provide instruments and services to help EMBL researchersanalyze and sort cells labeled with a variety of fluorescent dyes, and to sort live Drosophilaembryos. Andy joins the lab after four years at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Researchand the Hutchison/MRC Research Center in the UK. For more information on cytometrytechniques and assays, e-mail Andy at riddell@embl.de.

EMBL&cetera is published by EMBL’s Office of Information and Public Affairs, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, e-mail: info@embl.de. Onlineversion available at www.embl.de/ExternalInfo/oipa. Editor: Sarah Sherwood; Assistant Editor: Trista Dawson; Editorial Advisor: Russ Hodge. Copyediting: Caroline Hadley. Photographic support: EMBL Photolab; Graphic support: Petra Riedinger. Printed on recycled paper by ColorDruck, Leimen.