The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an
intergovernmental organization
Globalization is social change
Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations.
Definition
Social change may not refer to the not ...
dedicated to
molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and phys ...
research and is supported by 27 member states, two prospect states, and one associate member state.
[ EMBL was created in 1974 and is funded by public research money from its member states. Research at EMBL is conducted by approximately 110 independent research and service groups and teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology and ]bioinformatics
Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combi ...
. The list of Groups and Teams at EMBL can be found at . The Laboratory operates from six sites: the main laboratory in Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
, and sites in Hinxton (the European Bioinformatics Institute
The European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) is an Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) which, as part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) family, focuses on research and services in bioinformatics. It is located on the Wel ...
(EBI), in England), Grenoble (France), Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
(Germany), Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
(Italy) and Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
(Spain). EMBL groups and laboratories perform basic research in molecular biology and molecular medicine as well as train scientists, students, and visitors. The organization aids in the development of services, new instruments and methods, and technology in its member states. Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
is the only full member state located outside Europe.
History
EMBL was the idea of Leó Szilárd, James Watson
James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick a ...
and John Kendrew
Sir John Cowdery Kendrew, (24 March 1917 – 23 August 1997) was an English biochemist, crystallographer, and science administrator. Kendrew shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Max Perutz, for their work at the Cavendish Lab ...
. Their goal was to create an international research centre, similar to CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gen ...
, to rival the strongly American-dominated field of molecular biology. Kendrew served as the first Director-general
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...
of EMBL until 1982 and was succeeded by Lennart Philipson. From 1993 to 2005, Fotis Kafatos, served as director and was succeeded by Iain Mattaj, EMBL's fourth director, from 2005 to 2018.[ ] In January 2019, Edith Heard became the fifth director of EMBL and the first woman to hold this position.
Heard announced the organisation's five-year scientific programm
Molecules to Ecosystems
on 19 January 2022.
Research
Each EMBL site has a specific research field. The EMBL-EBI is a hub for bioinformatics
Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combi ...
research and services, developing and maintaining a large number of scientific databases that are free of charge. At Grenoble and Hamburg, research is focused on structural biology.
The EMBL Rome site is dedicated to the study of epigenetics
In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable phenotypic changes (known as ''marks'') that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix '' epi-'' ( "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are ...
and neurobiology. Scientists at EMBL Barcelona are exploring how tissues and organs function and develop, in health and disease. At the headquarters in Heidelberg, there are units in cell biology
Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...
and biophysics, developmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and differentiation of st ...
, genome biology
''Genome Biology'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering research in genomics. It was established in 2000 and is published by BioMed Central. The chief editor is currently Andrew Cosgrove (BioMed Central, New York).
Abstractin ...
, and structural and computational biology, as well as service groups complementing the aforementioned research fields.
Many scientific breakthroughs have been made at EMBL. The first systematic genetic analysis of embryonic development in the fruit fly was conducted at EMBL by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...
in 1995. In the early 1980s, Jacques Dubochet and his team at EMBL developed cryogenic electron microscopy for biological structures. They were rewarded with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
.
Scientific Services
EMBL has identified as a core mission the provision o
advanced experimental and data services
to external researchers, including structural biology, imaging and sequencing facilities at its five European sites. In 2021, EMBL completed a new centre for high-resolution light and electron microscopy at its Heidelberg Headquarters - th
EMBL Imaging Centre
The centre is open to visiting scientists worldwide and provides a unique service facility for the life sciences by combining the latest imaging technologies with expert advice and industry-led developments not yet otherwise available.
Training
Advanced training is one of EMBL's five core missions. Over the years, the Laboratory has established a number of training activities, of which the EMBL International PhD Programme (EIPP) is the flagship - it has a student body of about 200, and since 1997 has had the right to award its own degree, although currently students receive their degrees from partner universities. Other activities include the postdoctoral programme, including the EMBL Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral programme (EIPOD) and the Visitor Programme.
EMBL Advanced Training Centre
In March 2010, the EMBL Advanced Training Centre (ATC) was inaugurated on the main campus in Heidelberg. Shaped in the form of a double helix, it hosts scientific conferences, seminars and training courses, and provides access to training laboratories and lecture halls.
The ATC also hosts EMBL's European Learning Lab for the Life Science
(ELLS)
which provides training for secondary school teachers on the latest developments in molecular biology, and runs a student outreach program.
Science and society
EMBL also runs an active Science and Society Programme which offers activities and events on current questions in life science research for the general public and the scientific community.
EMBL website
Membership
EMBL is currently supported by 27 member states, one associate member state, and two prospect member states.
See also
*
European Molecular Biology Organization
Notes and references
External links
*
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1974
Heidelberg
Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty
International research institutes
International scientific organizations based in Europe
Medical and health organisations based in Baden-Württemberg
Molecular biology institutes
Medical research institutes in Germany
Science and technology in Grenoble