Α-synuclein, a protein associated with Parkinson’s disease, proves to bind with membranes in a surprisingly efficient way. It confirms scientists’ suspicion of the protein’s leading role in the transmission of neurotransmitters between nerve cells in the brain. Publication in PLoS ONE.

The Leiden students who participated in the iGEM synthetic biology competition have won the prize for best production. They developed a way to have bacteria produce the substance suckerine, a protein derived from the Humboldt squid. By doing so, they want to help heal burn wounds. ‘The announcement…

Eleven ambitious Leiden students hope to heal burns with a special substance from squid teeth. They are taking part in the international iGEM competition. They need to raise almost 10,000 euros to fund their project this summer.

Our society can no longer not imagine the threat of cybercrime. Banks, companies, and schools are hacked, or 'DDoSed', with increasing regularity and data is being stolen or taken hostage. To respond adequately to this threat, we need more knowledge of the perpetrators.

There are many complex links in the chain that provides patients with new drugs: from fundamental science, to clinical tests, to production. The entire chain can be found in Leiden. The University, the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the businesses at the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) work…

Mario van der Stelt (Head of the department of Molecular Physiology at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry) has received the Young Investigator Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society during the annual meeting of the society in Montreal, Canada. The Young Investigator Award was given…

Key publications of the Skin Barrier and Vaccination group.

Solar energy harnessed by plants and algae has great potential to be converted into biofuels for future generations.

Image-Pro Plus, ImageJ, Cell Profiler, R, Knime and NIS-elements

Bringing together institutes and research groups, how do you do that? The Faculty of Science set up a joint research theme and financed three PhD positions. After four years, the profiling programme Endocannabinoids expires. ‘It really brought us together, and the collaborations remain.’

How did toxin genes evolve from harmless physiological genes?

Through metabolism, biochemical processes give rise to the complexity of life. Acquired and inborn errors in metabolism underlie many diseases occurring in man. The challenge for present day medical biochemistry is to find, and integrate, pieces of information at molecular, cell and organismal level…

Chromatin is an ubiquitous protein-DNA complex that forms the structural basis of DNA condensation in all eukaryotic organisms.

While there are numerous and extremely advanced methods to sequence the genome, only a few methods exist to sequence the proteome. The Vidi project of Grégory Schneider promises to shed light on the most difficult paradigm of proteomics: achieving an error-free determination of the sequence of single…

Overkleeft

How do our cells keep DNA stored away? To find out, biochemist Remus Dame received a 3 million euro Science-Groot grant. Leiden University will share the grant with TU Delft, VU Amsterdam and the Hubrecht Institute.

Victims of ethnic profiling have commenced legal proceedings against the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Peter Rodrigues, Professor of Immigration Law, says in a national newspaper that ethnicity may never be the most important criterion to stop and question a person and refers to a past ruling by the…

Transplantation of labial salivary glands to the eyelids for patients with dry eye appears to give excellent results clinically.

This week the regional court in The Hague gave a ruling that has attracted international attention. The State of the Netherlands (Ministry of Social Affairs) was taken to court by two famous writers, Wieringa and Februari, several NGOs and a trade union.

A full overview of MacBio PhD Theses.

Protein chains typically fold to function. Folding is a complex process and if done correctly leads to a unique functional fold topology for a given protein chain. Other topologies are also possible but are often non-functional or toxic. These misfolded proteins are then unfolded and subsequently refolded…

Alireza Mashaghi from the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) will use state-of-the-art technology to investigate proteins that play a role in muscular dystrophy. His goal is to provide new insights for designing novel therapeutic strategies in the future. To accomplish this, Mashaghi receives…

The team of Alireza Mashaghi at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research has found a way to determine and classify the shape of proteins. Their new theory defines the topology of proteins as a simple and precise barcode that allows the identification of all types of folds. ‘This barcode enables…

Promotor: J.N. Kok, P.E. Slagboom Co-promotor: J.F.J. Laros

Promotores: H. Schiessel, G.T. Barkema

Promotores: A.P. IJzerman, H.W.T. van Vlijmen

We aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of eukaryotic cells by Agrobacterium.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles have been extensively studied as biodegradable delivery system to improve the potency and safety of protein-based vaccines. In this study we analyzed how the size of PLGA particles, and hence their ability to be engulfed by dendritic cells (DC), affects…

What are the functions of autophagy in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger?

The type-IV secretion system (T4SS) is a machinery able to transfer DNA and proteins between bacteria and in certain cases also to eukaryotic cells.

The group Theoretical Physics of Life Processes, led by Helmut Schiessel, focuses on the physics of chromatin, the DNA-protein complex that fills the nuclei of eukaryotic cells.

The high prevalence of pure red cell aplasia in Thailand has been associated with the sharp increase in number of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) copy products, based on a classical generic regulatory pathway, which have entered the market.

Promotor: Prof.dr. A. P. IJzerman, Co-Promotor: Dr. L.H. Heitman

Can a new proteomics workflow be developed to link genes and gene clusters to bioactive molecules, identify novel compounds and enhance the production in the Streptomyces lividans enzyme?

Drug development is a complex process in which many parties work together. Every day, the researchers at LACDR devote their energies to developing drugs that are new, better, more efficient and easier to produce. And thus to the millions of patients who know all too well why this research in Leiden…

This functional genomics project aims at understanding the biology of the underlying mycelium differentiation and autolysis processes in much more detail.

Hermen Overkleeft and his colleagues Gideon Davies (University of York) and Carme Rovira (University of Barcelona) will receive a 9.1 million euros Synergy Grant from the European Research Council. Together, they will form the Carbocentre Synergy team for research into enzymes that work on glycans:…

BlaC is the β-lactamase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We show that it can recover from inhibition by clavulanic acid and that phosphate helps it do so.

Lecture

How and why latex bearing plants select specific chemical compounds for eco-chemical interactions with its biotic factors?

Growth hormone profiles are pulsatile and highly variable between individuals, limiting the implementation of mathemathical models to quantify an individual's secretion.

Source: J Cheminform, Volume 7, Issue 1 (2015)

Two new Assistant Professors are joining Science Based Business (SBB) this Autumn. ‘Xishu Li and Jian Wang are the first two Assistant Professors we recruited. This is an exciting, crucial next step for SBB,’ said Professor Simcha Jong who joined Leiden University as the Director and first Professor…