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FDA-approved artemisinins, since decades used to treat malaria, transform glucagon-producing alpha cells in the pancreas into insulin producing cells – thereby acquiring features of beta cells, the cell type damaged in type 1 diabetes. Those groundbreaking results, published in Cell, provides the basis for a promising new approach towards a cure for type 1 diabetes. For years, researchers around the globe tried various approaches with stem- or…

The sequencing of the human genome was a milestone for biology and medicine – but not all is written in our genes. Scientists are now presenting a second chapter of the book of life: Over the last five years, a worldwide consortium of scientists has established epigenetic maps of 2,100 cell types. Within this coordinated effort, CeMM contributed detailed DNA methylation maps of the developing blood, opening up new perspectives for the…

This year´s S.M.A.R.T. Lecture was a truly exceptional experience for the audience: Mathieu Ossendrijver, professor for the history of ancient science at the Humboldt University in Berlin, presented his findings on astronomic calculations of ancient Babylonians in our fully booked lecture hall. From five cuneiform tablets, dating from 350 to 50 BCE, Ossendrijver decrypted a sophisticated calculation method to determine and predict Jupiter’s…

Worldwide, millions of people suffer from hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells, such as those afflicted with sickle-cell disease, malaria or sepsis. These patients face an unprecedented risk of death from bacterial infections and the mechanism for this has remained unclear until now. In the latest edition of Nature Immunology, Sylvia Knapp’s Group at the CeMM and the Medical University of Vienna discovered how hemolysis causes infections…

Endowed by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and awarded by the Network of "Austrian Scientists and Scholars in North America" (ASCINA), the prize rewards outstanding scientific achievements of Austrians performed in the United States. During the 13th Austrian Research and Innovation Talk (ARIT), on October 22nd, 2016, in Toronto, Georg Winter, as well as two other Austrian scientists who worked in the USA, received the…

CALR mutations have been discovered by the research team of Robert Kralovics at CeMM as highly disease-specific markers to a blood cancer called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Recently, the relevance of CALR mutations have been recognized by the WHO, including them as one of the major diagnostic criteria.  As a unique, disease-specific peptide, mutated CALR is also an attractive target to develop therapies. “This licensing agreement enables…

We are happy to announce that Giulio Superti-Furga, CeMM´s Scientific Director, and Kaan Boztug, Director of the newly founded Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases (LBI-RUD) and Adjunct PI at CeMM, together with their teams consisting of researchers from different biomedical disciplines and clinical scientists were awarded with 2 WWTF grants for precision medicine. This Life Science call addressed universities and…

Christine Mannhalter, Professor of Molecular Diagnostics at the Medical University of Vienna and until recently interim president of the Austrian Science Fund is now Head of Genom Austria. The citizen science project of CeMM and the Medical University of Vienna has been launched in November 2014 and aims to explore the scientific, educational, philosophical, ethical, and social implications of personal genome sequencing. For this purpose Genom…

Tissue-resident macrophages are pivotal cells of the immune system. They exist in many shapes, and it has so far remained unclear how they colonize the body and give rise to the observed variety. In a study published in Science, the underlying differentiation and specification mechanisms are unraveled.  Macrophages engulf and destroy everything that is not clearly marked as a healthy part of the organism. For example, they target fragments of…

CeMM-Director Giulio Superti-Furga receives another ERC funding worth 150.000 Euro to further foster the development of precision medicine. Hematological malignancies like leukemia tend to be heterogeneous and genetically complex, which makes it difficult for the treating physician to find the right drug at the right time. This is even more true when it comes to a relapse of the disease that requires the use of off-label drugs. With a new…

In a series of four papers, published in Nature Biotechnology and Nature Communications, an international group of scientists led by CeMM’s Principal Investigator Christoph Bock and Stephan Beck (University College London, UCL) have marked the feasibility of epigenetic analysis for clinical diagnostics and precision medicine.  Epigenetic changes occur in all cancers, and in various other diseases. Measuring these changes provides unprecedented…

The EU-LIFE Scientific Workshop organized by the translational research working group of the EU-LIFE institutes took place from May 12-13, 2016 at CeMM in Vienna. Following successful meetings on “Biology of Cancer” (2014, CRG) and “Epigenetics and Disease” (2015, BRIC), this year’s topic was on "Inflammation and Immunity in Health and Disease". Three sessions explored autoimmunity, T-cells in cancer immunology, and innate pathways in cancer…

Epigenetic modifications are an important factor in cancer development and a promising target for its treatment. With red glowing cells, CeMM researchers in collaboration with groups at Oxford University and IMP Vienna found new small molecules, which trigger specific epigenetic modifications and thus are promising compounds for the treatment of blood born cancers. Their study was published in Nature Chemical Biology. For Stefan Kubicek, red…

Emmanuelle Charpentier held the 10th CeMM Landsteiner Lecture on May 6, 2016, in the festive hall of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which was filled up to the last place. Her magnificent talk on the CRISPR technology delighted scientists and lay audience alike and was also broadcasted via live stream.  "A fast and easy tool was needed - and that's was CRISPR brought. The CRISPR-Cas technology allows precise gene surgery in any cell and…

Extracting DNA of strawberries, observing your own cells under the Microscope or building “DNA strands” with gummy bears: The CeMM booths at the long night of science presented molecular medicine’s basics and methods in an interactive and playful way – especially to children. On Friday, 22nd of April, the seventh “long night of science” / “Lange Nacht der Forschung”, organized by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy, took place…