Cell Biology

This EMBO Workshop connects organelle contact sites and cytoskeletal interactions with metabolism, signalling, and trafficking, and examines their relevance to neurodegeneration, cancer, and other diseases.

This EMBO–EMBL symposium connects the molecular machinery of DNA replication with genome stability and human disease. It examines replisome structure and dynamics, control of origin firing across tissues, chromatin and epigenome maintenance, chromosome organisation, replication-fork protection and repair, and the consequences of replication stress for development, ageing and cancer. The programme links mechanistic advances to cancer biology and possible therapeutic approaches. All programme times are Europe/Berlin. Opening remarks on 20 October begin at 13:30, followed by the keynote at 13:45. Scientific sessions begin at 09:00 on 21–23 October; closing remarks on 23 October run from 12:45 to 13:00. Virtual registration closes on 13 October; on-site registration and abstract submission have closed. Virtual fees are EUR 190 for PhD students, EUR 240 for academia and EUR 290 for industry. Attendance includes livestreams, questions and four weeks of recordings where speakers permit. Use the organizer’s virtual registration link on the event page.

This Stanford symposium examines how molecular, cellular, and circuit-level advances in neurodevelopment shape understanding of behavior and health, with scientific talks, awards, and a poster session.

Distinct synaptic plasticity rules operate across dendritic compartments in vivo during learning

Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are crucial phenomena in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD). Oxotremorine-M (Oxo), a non-selective muscarinic acetylcholine receptors agonist, exerts neurotrophic functions in primary neurons and modulates oxidative stress and neuroinflammation phenomena in rat brain. Based on this, our study investigates Oxo positive effects on differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, revealing that Oxo treatment a) enhances cell survival, b) increases neurite length and c) upregulates HSP70 and pHSF1 expression. Moreover, Oxo counteracts tert–Butyl hydroperoxide (TBH)-induced cell death and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The co-treatment with KNK437 (HSP70 inhibitor) reduces SOD1 expression and Oxo-induced protection against oxidative stress damage, suggesting the involvement of HSP70/SOD1 signaling in its effect. In addition, Oxo treatment enhances cell survival, increases neurite length and counteracts DNA fragmentation induced by Aβ1-42 peptide. The same treatment is also able to block ROS production and recover SOD impaired by Aβ1-42 peptide. Finally, Oxo recovers mitochondrial dysfunction associated with Aβ1-42, as evidenced by reduced mitochondrial superoxide levels, preserved mitochondrial membrane potential and mitigation of mitochondrial swelling. These results suggest that Oxo, by modulating cholinergic neurotransmission, survival, oxidative stress response and mitochondria functionality, may represent a novel multi-target drug able to achieve a therapeutic synergy in AD.

Cell researcher and author Katharina Vestre joins Gaute Einevoll for a Norwegian-language conversation about the cells that build the human body. They explore how diverse cells, from muscle fibres to red blood cells, cooperate while sharing a common organisation of membranes and organelles. The discussion considers how that internal machinery allows cells to survive, perform specialised functions and divide, drawing on Vestre’s book about cellular life.

The Cologne Graduate School of Ageing Research offers up to twelve funded doctoral positions across its interdisciplinary ageing-research network. The programme joins the University of Cologne CECAD excellence cluster, University Hospital and the Max Planck Institutes for Biology of Ageing and Metabolism Research. Doctoral researchers receive initial contracts of at least three years, paid at 65% of German TV-L E13 or an equivalently remunerated Max Planck PhD support contract. Training is in English and includes thesis advisory committees, methodology and transferable-skills courses, individual career mentoring and annual conference travel support. Start dates are between 1 July and 1 October 2027. Applications close on 3 November 2026 at 23:59 Central European Time through the graduate-school portal.

Lead proteomic and connectomic research on human brain tissue within the Allen Institute Brain Health accelerator. Develop tissue clearing or expansion and light-sheet microscopy methods, study cell-type-specific changes in synaptic connectivity in neurodegeneration, and collaborate with spatial genomics, modelling and therapeutic teams. The programme includes Alzheimer’s research through the SEA-AD consortium. This Associate Investigator appointment is comparable to an Associate Professor and includes scientific leadership, mentoring, publication and grant development. The role is on site in Seattle; any remote work must take place in Washington State. The advertised annual salary is USD 185,800–243,800.

In situ cryo-electron tomography can reveal interactions between pathogens and their hosts inside intact cellular environments. This seminar uses apicomplexan parasites and gram-negative bacteria to explain the workflow from sample preparation through image acquisition and analysis. It covers freezing, cryo-focused ion beam milling, cryo-electron tomography, correlative light and electron microscopy, tomogram reconstruction, segmentation and subtomogram averaging. The presentation discusses which aspects of the host-pathogen interface these approaches can resolve, their advantages and limitations, and when they suit a research question. Familiarity with the organisms or cryo-electron microscopy is helpful but not required.