Monday, 03 December 2007

Protein Snapshot: Stilbene synthase

Today we know that wine can not only protect against cardiovascular disease but that it also has antioxidant and anticancer virtues, that are due – in part – to a molecule found abundantly in red wine: resveratrol.More: http://www.expasy.ch/spotlight/snapshots/041/ More

Friday, 23 November 2007

SIB and University of Geneva Announce Agreement with Microsoft Research

The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), the University of Geneva and Microsoft Research launched a two-year collaborative project that will use mass spectrometry to systematically screen patients’ blood samples for toxic biomarkers. The project will study the molecular effects of drugs on blood proteins to identify possible conflicts with other prescribed drugs, and in a later stage to predict such effects prior to prescribing drugs, in particular for cancer patients. The project, fund... More

Thursday, 01 November 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: An unexpected place

On the occasion of Amos Bairoch’s 50th BirthdayLife has its ways. We are given opportunities to make choices. We are even given opportunities to nudge life onto a path we wish. And yet, there seems to be an invisible force lurking beneath which leads you to the most unexpected places…More: http://www.expasy.ch/spotlight/back_issues/088/ More

Monday, 08 October 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: The dark side of RNA

There is more to RNA than meets the eye. In the 1980s, students in biology were told that this molecule’s raison d’être was to be a template for the making of a protein. RNA, like DNA, was made out of nucleotides and had no particular function other than that of being a text that was to be read.More: http://www.expasy.ch/spotlight/back_issues/087/ More

Thursday, 04 October 2007

GeneBio Launches Updated Phenyx Platform at HUPO 2007

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA today announced that it has launched a new version of the Phenyx protein identification and characterization platform that will be first demonstrated at HUPO 2007 in October.More: http://www.genebio.com/media/press_detail07_eid_6_lid_25.html More

Tuesday, 02 October 2007

Protein Snapshot: 1,2 rhamnosyltransferase

Given the choice, there is a fair chance that a child would prefer a slice of orange to a slice of grapefruit…because an orange is not bitter. The bitterness you taste when eating a grapefruit is due to a molecule known as naringenin-7-O-neohesperidoside, otherwise known as naringin.More: http://www.expasy.ch/spotlight/snapshots/039/ More

Wednesday, 19 September 2007

GeneBio and the SIB Launch an Extended Version of Aldente, SIB’s Peptide Mass Fingerprint Tool

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) today announced the release of an enhanced version of Aldente, the peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) tool developed by the SIB’s Proteome Informatics Group.More: http://www.genebio.com/media/press_detail07_eid_5_lid_25.html More

Thursday, 13 September 2007

GeneBio’s Phenyx Integrated with Institute for System Biology’s TPP

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA and the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) today announced the successful integration of GeneBio’s Phenyx MS data analysis platform into the ISB’s Trans Proteomic Pipeline (TPP), an Open Source analysis platform for unified storage and analysis of tandem mass spectrometry data based on open XML file formats.More: http://www.genebio.com/media/press_detail07_eid_4_lid_25.html More

Monday, 10 September 2007

Protein Snapshot: Dardarin

Scientists never lack inspiration when it comes to giving a new protein, a name. Some names, such as cupidin or titin, flirt with the realms of poetry – or perhaps the lack of it – while others implicitly suggest a protein’s function. Aquaporin, a pore designed for water, is an example.More: http://www.expasy.ch/spotlight/snapshots/038/ More

Monday, 03 September 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: Red velvet

Autumn has come. So have the hunters. And stags have finished fashioning their antlers in their quest to seduce a partner, and fight off rivals. Besides copulation, antlers are one of nature’s many wonders.More: http://www.expasy.ch/spotlight/back_issues/086/ More

Monday, 27 August 2007

Protein Snapshot: Carbonic anhydrase

We order sparkling water for the fizz. The fizz comes from the bubbles of gas. But not any old gas: carbon dioxide. Other drinks bulge with other types of bubbles; bubbles of nitrogen, for instance, which also produce a sparkle but one that might go unnoticed. A little like a dampened firework.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/snapshots/036/ More

Thursday, 16 August 2007

SIB welcomes the University of Zurich as a new institutional member

The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics is happy to announce that the University of Zurich has joined the Institute as an institutional member. Both institutions signed a collaboration agreement during the annual meeting of the SIB Foundation Council held on 4th of July in Bern. More

Monday, 06 August 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: Of fidgets and food

When you’re hungry, your thoughts go towards food. Without the urge to get up and find some, you’re in trouble. It’s a basic rule. Yet when transgressed one way or another, you can end up either overweight or underweight.More: http://expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/sptlt085.shtml More

Thursday, 02 August 2007

New SIB Group Leaders

During its annual meeting held on 4th of July in Bern the Foundation Council of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics has confirmed three new Group Leaders joining the SIB starting on 1st September 2007:- Ivo Sbalzarini, Assistant Professor, Institute of Computational Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ). Professor Sbalzrini’s group is carrying out the development and simulation of spatio-temporal models of biological systems on the basis of first principles from phy... More

Monday, 23 July 2007

Protein Snapshot: FATSO

Here is the tale of a protein whose name turned out to be premonitory. Shortly before the closing of the last millennium, the fused toe of mice led to the discovery of a gene which was subsequently baptised Ft for ‘fused toe’.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/snapshots/035/ More

Thursday, 21 June 2007

Fight against the devastating mosquito-borne diseases boosted

Science reports the sequencing and the initial analysis of the Aedes aegypti genome, the mosquito that transmitsthe Dengue and Yellow Fever. A second report accompanying this article, describes the evolutionary dynamics of immune-related genes and pathways in disease vector mosquitoes. The comparative analyses, led by Professor Evgeny Zdobnov and his group at the University of Geneva and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, revealed how this Aedes genome was stretched by the insertion of tr... More

Monday, 11 June 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: Tangled

Dementia is a debilitating experience. For the afflicted, and for those who are close to them. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a form of dementia from which millions of people suffer worldwide. Detecting Alzheimer’s is not a trivial affair.More: http://www.expasy.ch/spotlight/back_issues/083/ More

Thursday, 31 May 2007

GeneBio’s Phenyx Integrated with Proteome Software’s Scaffold

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA and Proteome Software today announced that GeneBio’s Phenyx software platform for MS data analysis has been successfully integrated into Proteome Software’s Scaffold proteomics meta-analysis software.More: http://www.genebio.com/media/press_detail07_eid_3_lid_25.html More

Thursday, 24 May 2007

1’000’000’000 connections to the ExPASy server !

The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) is proud to announce that its famous ExPASy proteomics Website has recently reached the mark of 1 billion connections. ExPASy is an essential resource for biologists and medical researchers from all over the world. It is a portal for information on proteins. It is known for having been for many years the ’home’ of Swiss-Prot, the world-renown protein database, as well as of many other valuable proteomics tools and databases.More on www.expasy.org/ More

Tuesday, 22 May 2007

Protein Snapshot: Presequence protein

Our bodies digest and produce waste continuously. On a far smaller scale, some proteins do it too. Presequence protease – or PreP – is one.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/snapshots/034/ More

Monday, 14 May 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: The power behind pain

We feel pain for a reason. Either to be informed of something that is likely to hurt us more unless we turn our backs on it, or of something that has gone wrong inside us. Detected by receptors, the sensation of pain can be kick-started from any part of our body.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/sptlt082.shtml More

Monday, 07 May 2007

Protein Snapshot: Tyrannosaurus rex and collagen

Fossils are old because they are made out of stone. Until recently, as far as science was concerned, organic tissues – such as bone matrix – had little chance to survive the passage of time. Organic soft tissues – such as cells and blood vessels for instance – had almost no chance at all. More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/snapshot/2007/05/tyrannosaurus_r.shtml More

Thursday, 26 April 2007

2006 Georges F. Jaubert Award goes to Prof. Amos Bairoch

The School of chemistry and biochemistry of the University of Geneva in association with the Société Chimique de Genève announced that Georges F. Jaubert Award for 2006 goes to Prof. Amos Bairoch from the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, former student of the school, for his contribution to the welfare of humanity. The award winner will present a lecture titled “The Swiss-Prot knowledgebase: Not only for biologists”. The prize ceremony will take place at the University of Geneva, Sc... More

Monday, 09 April 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: Slip sliding away

Like us, bacteria have to move if they want to get somewhere. Different bacteria have different means of locomotion that they have had ample time to perfect since their first appearance on earth millions of years ago. Recently, researchers discovered yet another mechanism.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/sptlt081.shtml More

Tuesday, 27 March 2007

GeneBio Launches Novel Online Platform for Protein Identification

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA today announced the release of its new Phenyx platform, PhenyxOnline. This online platform complements the existing PhenyxServer platform, as now clients can choose how they would like to utilize Phenyx – employing either the SaaS (software as a service) option, PhenyxOnline, or the more traditional platform, PhenyxServer, that resides at the customer’s location. Both options offer the full complement of Phenyx functionalities and services. The launch of... More

Thursday, 22 March 2007

The Basel Biozentrum Taps Phenyx as Protein Identification Platform

Geneva Bioinformatics (GeneBio) SA and the Biozentrum of the University of Basel today announced a collaboration that will integrate GeneBio’s Phenyx software platform for MS data analysis into the Biozentrum multi-tiered proteomics cluster. The Biozentrum will use Phenyx as its primary search engine, thanks to dedicated scoring schemes that GeneBio will customize for its partner’s equipment.More: http://www.genebio.com/media/press_detail07_eid_1_lid_25.html More

Monday, 19 March 2007

Protein Snapshot: Sodium channel protein type 9 subunit alpha

Pain is not pointless. Deprived of the capacity to sense the red hot of metal, the cut of a sharp blade, or even the breaking of a bone, our bodies would be in very poor shape indeed. Without the perception of pain, there is little chance of survival.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/snapshots/032/ More

Monday, 12 March 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: The tenuous nature of sex

Everyone knows how to tell the difference between a boy and a girl. The exterior signals are obvious. And yet, despite such a clear statement on Nature’s behalf, the molecular pathways underlying our being either male or female are subtle and fragile. More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/sptlt080.shtml More

Friday, 02 March 2007

Protein Snapshot: Polygalacturonase-2

It is not an uncommon sight to step over streams of tomato juice pouring down the gutters of small Italian countryside villages. This occurs in the late summer when tomato sauce is prepared in huge amounts, to be bottled and stored over the winter months.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/snapshot/2007/03/polygalacturona.shtml More

Monday, 26 February 2007

Protein Snapshot: Dermaseptin

Prior to a hunting expedition, the men of some South American tribes scrape the ‘juice’ off a frog’s skin and smear it onto fresh burns inflicted on their arms or chest. The net result is an hour’s vomiting, incontinence, a rapid heartbeat and intense sweating.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/snapshots/030/ More

Monday, 19 February 2007

Swiss Consortium to Manage GISAID Database

19 February 2007 - In order to contribute to the worldwide efforts against the spread of avian flu the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) has entered into an agreement with the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) to lead a consortium that will develop a database on influenza viruses. The choice of the Swiss consortium results from a broad search for bioinformatics partners with impeccable scientific credentials, neutrality and the ability to bring significant hum... More

Monday, 12 February 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: Heavy metal

Our grandmothers used to make jam in huge copper pans. The same copper pans that you would see hanging over the stove, with that distinctive green patina lining the inside. The same green patina that children instinctively knew was poisonous. And yet copper is essential to life.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/sptlt079.shtml More

Monday, 22 January 2007

Protein Spotlight Update: Of froth and haze

When we raise a glass of wine, rarely do we give a thought to what has been involved in its making. Yet a wine’s hue, its taste, its aroma, its sparkle and even the nature of its haze are given the same attention a mother would to her newborn.More: http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/sptlt078.shtml More