Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Protein Spotlight Update: a missing sense

We are reminded regularly of how fragile life is and how easily the subtle balance of our molecular make-up can be shifted and cause devastating effects. Deafness is one. Deafness can be brought about by a number of incidents. It can occur following an illness or an accident for example. Or it can be congenital. Pendred Syndrome afflicts one out of two thousand human beings and is characterised not only by deafness in both ears but also – though not always – by a swelling in the thyroid g... More

Friday, 04 November 2011

Evolution during human colonisations: The advantage of being there first revealed by an analysis of large genealogies in Quebec

Most human populations are the product of a series of range expansions having occurred since modern humans left Africa some 50,000 years ago to colonise the rest of the world, but how have these processes influenced today’s population diversity? An international research team led by Damian Labuda at the University of Montreal, Hélène Vézina from the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC) and by Laurent Excoffier from the University of Bern and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics... More

Thursday, 20 October 2011

Mammalian Evolution: Major discoveries at the University of Lausanne

Why is the human brain more complex than that of other mammals? What distinguishes us from a chimpanzee? More generally, how have our organs and those of other mammals changed during evolution? An international large-scale study – led by Prof. Henrik Kaessmann and his team from the Centre for Integrative Genomics (CIG) at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics – provides novel insights into the genetic origins of mammalian evolution. Indeed, for th... More

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Switzerland participates in ELIXIR, the European bioinformatics infrastructure for life sciences

The Federal Council gives green light for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the implementation and construction of ELIXIR (European Life Sciences Infrastructure for Biological Information) and ensures this way Switzerland’s active participation in this major project. The future infrastructure will aim at networking the most exhaustive databases worldwide to support countless research fields. State Secretary for Education and Research, Mauro Dell’Ambrogio, was empowe... More

Monday, 03 October 2011

Influenza: a quite choosy virus

The influenza or the flu virus causes seasonal pandemics that can kill between 250,000 and 500,000 people annually (WHO, 2009). Why are some of us more at risk than others? What conditions favor the infection of our cells by the flu virus? An international team of scientists including researchers from the University of Zurich and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics used an algorithmic approach in Systems Biology to understand the first stages of the infection process. The results of thi... More

Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Neanderthal/modern human: an uncommon common descent

Only 1-3% of our genome comes from Neanderthals, which is quite low if we consider about 10,000 years of coexistence with modern humans. Prof. Laurent Excoffier, from the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and the University of Bern, and Dr. Mathias Currat from the University of Geneva, established a computer model to understand why our Neanderthal ancestry is so low. They simulated DNA samples of modern French and Chinese people to assess the interbreeding success rate under different Pal... More

Wednesday, 07 September 2011

Five countries and EMBL sign Memorandum of Understanding to make ELIXIR a reality

Heidelberg/Hinxton, 7 September 2011 – Today marks an important step for ELIXIR, Europe’s emerging research infrastructure for life-science information, as five countries plus the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to catalyse the implementation and construction of ELIXIR. The memorandum has been signed by Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and more countries are planning to join in the near future. All Eur... More

Monday, 05 September 2011

Prof. Amos Bairoch rewarded by the HUPO Distinguished Achievement Award

2 September 2011 - The World Congress on Proteomics – HUPO (Human Proteome Organisation) – will take place in Geneva from 4 to 7 September. Research in the field of proteins is essential to the progress of medicine and is a jewel of Swiss scientific research. Prof. Amos Bairoch, Director of the Structural Biology and Bioinformatics Department at Geneva University, and Group Leader at the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, will receive the « HUPO Distinguished Achievement Award(*) in ... More

Monday, 15 August 2011

David de Graaf appointed as a SIB Scientific Advisory Board Member

15 August 2011Selventa announced today the nomination of David de Graaf as a new member of the SIB Scientific Advisory Board.Find out more about it here More

Tuesday, 02 August 2011

neXtProt

2 August, 2011 - SIB and GeneBio today announced the launch of neXtProt, an on-lineknowledge platform on human proteins. This exceptional resource provides life scientists with a broadspectrum of information on all human proteins via an intuitive interface. With already over 51,000unique visitors since its first Beta release in January of this year, neXtProt is expected to become thecentral resource for any life scientist who requires high-quality information on human proteins in thecontext o... More

Thursday, 30 June 2011

SIB launches next generation ExPASy, an entry portal to indispensable bioinformatics resources

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics just launched the new generation of ExPASy, a web portal which offers a point of entry to more than 120 SIB bioinformatics resources. Until now, ExPASy was known as a proteomics-dedicated website used by life sciences researchers worldwide. Created in 1993, this resource was the first website available for the biomedical research at a time when the world counted only 150 websites as a whole. Eighteen years later, ExPASy is still an indispensable reso... More

Thursday, 23 June 2011

SIB honours two young bioinformaticians for their outstanding research work

Today, during the 9th [BC]2 Computational Biology Conference in Basel, SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics announces the two winners of the SIB Awards 2011. The SIB Young Bioinformatician Award and the SIB Best Graduate Paper Award, respectively doted with a cash prize of CHF 10'000 and CHF 5’000, are given yearly by SIB to recognise two excellent young bioinformaticians. This year’s winners both belong to SIB’s Computational Systems Biology Lab Group led by Prof. Felix Naef at the EP... More

Tuesday, 07 June 2011

University of Geneva, Geneva university hospitals and SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics enter strategic partnership with Roche in translational research

The University of Geneva (UNIGE), Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics announced today the creation of a strategic collaboration with Roche in translational medical research. The initial focus of this collaborative platform will be on basic research, bioinformatics and biomarker development in cardiology, hematology, pathology and applied human toxicology.”We consider Geneva as one of the few centers that combines the expertise of world-class speci... More

Wednesday, 01 June 2011

When DNA plays hide and seek: The role of hidden mutations in biological diversity

2 June, 2011 - DNA does not only determine the color of our eyes, skin or hair, and the species each living organism belongs to. It also harbors information about a species’ evolution. Researchers from the University of Zurich and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics focused on the cryptic or hidden mutations which are harbored in the DNA of diverse species. They proved that hidden mutations can play an important role in the creation of biodiversity. The results of the study led by Pro... More

Thursday, 05 May 2011

SIB annual report 2010

The SIB annual report 2010 is now online! Click here to to have a look at it. More

Wednesday, 06 April 2011

[BC]2 2011: Call for poster

Submission deadline for poster abstracts: 15 May 2011.The organizers of [BC]2 2011 invite all interested participants and conference attendees to consider presenting a poster.[BC]2 2011 will bring together scientists from a wide range of disciplines. We are soliciting high-quality research posters in all aspects of computational biology, systems biology, biophysics, bioinformatics, modeling and simulation.Poster Guidelines:You are invited to submit a poster abstract (aprox. 250 words) that wi... More

Monday, 04 April 2011

Registrations for the 9th [BC]2 "Multiscale Modeling" on June 23 & 24, 2011 are now open!

[BC]2 is the annual scientific symposium of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. In 2011 scientists working in the area of bioinformatics, computational biology, and systems biology will discuss latest ideas and results on problems related to multiscale modeling and simulation. Participation at [BC]2 will be a prime opportunity to learn about cutting-edge research in computational biology and bioinformatics and to network with other members of our community.More information More

Thursday, 31 March 2011

Protein Spotlight Update: on the spur of a whim

There are a number of biological molecules which are involved in a bewildering amount of activities. Serotonin is one. First thought to have the sole potential of contracting blood vessels, over the years serotonin has demonstrated that there is more to it than meets its chemistry. Besides its vasoconstrictor properties, it is also believed to be involved in instances as diverse as embryonic development, mood, appetite, nausea, sleep, body temperature, ageing, premature ejaculation, pain, anx... More

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Bioinformatics for new insights into the lymphatic system

A research project on the lymphatic vessels is awarded by the Leenaards Foundation. Dr Mauro Delorenzi from the University of Lausanne and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics will be in charge of the bioinformatics analysis of the data produced in the frame of this study performed in collaboration with Tatiana Petrova (University of Lausanne) and Brenda Kwak (University of Geneva). The three prizewinners aim to highlight the role of the lymphatic system in the development of numerous pa... More

Wednesday, 16 March 2011

SystemsX.ch and SIB joint Summer School 2011 - From Data to Models in Biological Systems

The registrations are now open for the SIB and SystemsX.ch joint Summer School in Kandersteg, August 14-19, 2011. Due to logistic issues, the number of places will be limited. There is no need to hurry, it is NOT a first in, first served system! The registrations will remain open until April 15.In the case there are more applicants than slots, we will make a selection based on the applicant's answers to the questions in the registration form at:http://www.isb-sib.ch/education/sib-phd-training... More

Tuesday, 08 March 2011

SIB AWARDS 2011 – CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Closing date for entries: 30 March 2011More information More

Thursday, 03 March 2011

Protein Spotlight Update: our hollow architecture

We get on with our day-to-day life largely unaware of the continuous battles that are being led within us. Indeed, it is thanks to unceasing cellular hostilities inside our bodies that we are able to get on with our lives as we do. Unwelcome entities such as viruses, but also tumours, would use our bodies as a playground – spreading havoc in their wake – were it not for a system that Mother Nature has offered every multicellular being, namely an immune system. In particular, natural kille... More

Thursday, 03 March 2011

Protein Spotlight Update: the twisted way of things

Imagine reading these words and not being able to pronounce them. Or reading them and not being able to grasp their meaning. These are just two of the drawbacks that many children - and adults - suffer from. In fact, we all know of someone who suffers from a reading disability, a common form of dyslexia. And that is because five to ten per cent of the population is afflicted by it. Because of its frequency, much progress has been made to try and understand why some children are simply not abl... More

Wednesday, 02 February 2011

Fire ant: The biggest genome ever sequenced in Switzerland

The genome of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta was recently sequenced by the team of Prof. Laurent Keller at the Lausanne University, and by the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. The Swiss teams applied sophisticated research methods previously restricted to biomedical research to sequence and assemble the whole genome of this particularly destructive species. The results of the study led by Dr Yannick Wurm, The Genome of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta, are published this week in the pre... More

Thursday, 13 January 2011

Product Release Announcement - neXtProt

GENEVA/LAUSANNE, Switzerland / Thursday January 13, 2011 –The first public version of neXtProt, an innovative knowledge platform dedicated to human proteins, is now available. This new resource contains a wealth of high-quality data on all the human proteins that are produced by the 20,000 protein-coding genes found in the human genome. The content of neXtProt will be continuously extended so as to provide many more carefully selected data sets and analysis tools.Developed jointly by SIB Sw... More