Welcome, Tony Hyman!

EMBL welcomes its new Director General, Tony Hyman, as he takes up the mandate of leading EMBL's six sites.

www.embl.org/news/embl-an...

Great start at #EESBioOsc 👏

Our paper on inferring Wnt signals just got published with PRR! doi.org/10.1103/f7qj...

We use ideas from efficient coding to infer the best possible set of Wnt signals for cells to respond to: these signals are discrete, and do not need to be fine-tuned. (1/n)

We have extended the abstract deadline by a week! Looking forward to seeing you many of you here!

Screenshot of Job Ad

EMBL site in Heidelberg

Zurich, incl. a bit of UZH/USZ

Job offer: PhD-level biostatistician with ML&omics experience to work on prediction models for CAR T cell therapy, in an exciting clinical trial - spatial omics - data science consortium (LOOP/INTeRCePT3.0 centered in Zurich; this position in Heidelberg)

embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/EMBL/j...

Anti-resonance in developmental signaling regulates cell fate decisions Human cells decode dynamics Wnt signals using an anti-resonant filter that suppresses intermediate-frequency inputs and is capable of redirecting developmental fate outcomes, including germ-layer spec...

In a really fun collaboration with Max Wilson’s lab at UCSB, we’ve developed a simple model that can capture the non-monotonic expression of Wnt target genes with respect to frequency in periodic (optogenetic) Wnt pulses: elifesciences.org/articles/107.... Great work Sam, Olivier, Naomi and Ryan :)

Our paper titled "Geometry of disordered porous environments regulates cell migration" has been published and highlighted as Editor's Suggestion in Phys. Rev. E.
doi.org/10.1103/hvtd...

✨ At this week's DB seminar, Magdalena Schindler @lena-schindler.bsky.social, a postdoc in the Petridou group @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org, presented her work on how cell cycle synchrony affects tissue-level mechanical transitions at the onset of morphogenesis in zebrafish embryos 🐟 🔬

Weak Transcription Factor Clustering at Binding Sites can Facilitate Information Transfer from Molecular Signals By analyzing bicoid regulation in the fruit fly embryo, this study shows that weak clustering of transcription factors can enable maximal transfer of information from molecular signals to downstream g...

The first paper from my group just got published: doi.org/10.1103/cx3r...

Local clustering of transcription factors at binding sites can be beneficial for information transfer -- a relief for taking infomax ideas seriously :) And it helps the binding sites achieve a sweet spot in the IB plane.

#HappyNewYear !
Let's start 2026 with a @cellcommlab.bsky.social paper

How many branches is OK during #CellMigration?
It depends on the #cell: for ex. immune cells are just fine.

In collab. w. #NirGov @hfspo.bsky.social

Full www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@focalplane.bsky.social @science.org 🧪🔬

Join us for #MECO51 (51st Middle European Cooperation in Statistical Physics), 18–22 May 2026 in Pont-à-Mousson, France (Abbaye des Prémontrés). Invited & contributed talks, posters & best-poster prize. meco51.sciencesconf.org

🧪⚛️ “Turing foams” in the Min system—now seen in experiment. Non-equilibrium protein currents create foam-like interfaces obeying Plateau laws and even splitting like tiny dividing cells. Stunning video from Petra Schwille’s lab; the whole story is here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Protein pattern morphology and dynamics emerging from effective interfacial tension - Nature Physics Protein patterns enable cellular processes. A general theory now identifies a non-equilibrium mechanism that generates an effective interfacial tension, shaping the geometry and intrinsic length scale...

Here the correct link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Liquid gears and conveyor belts: We show how the interplay between phase-separation and chemotactic interactions gives rise to persistent capillary waves that drive the formation of active “gears” and “conveyor belts”. link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

🧪⚛️ Surface tension—driven by non-equilibrium currents not forces—in pattern formation leads to the same type of interface laws as in liquid foams: Plateau laws, von Neumann evolution; and a new emergent phenomenon: domain splitting akin to cell division. nature.com/articles/s4156…

🧪 Geometry beats chemistry: we show that self-assembly can be controlled by tuning large-scale geometric parameters rather than molecular binding energies.
PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Video summary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FS3...
#SelfAssembly #Biophysics #PhysicsOfLife

Anthony A. Hyman will become EMBL’s next Director General.

He joins EMBL from @mpi-cbg.de in Dresden. He is also Professor of Molecular Biology @tudresden.bsky.social, and was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1993 to 1999.

www.embl.org/news/people-...

📢 Paper alert 📢

Chirality is known to be important for the movement of microorganisms and active matter. In our new paper out today in @natphys.nature.com, we show that chirality is used by malaria parasites to control their motion patterns:

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Here comes a 🧵 ... (1/9)

One more week to apply for this exciting symposium on collective behaviour 👇👇👇

Only a few days left for abstract submission at the brand new EMBO|EMBL Symposium Collectivity in living systems: emergence, function and evolution. We have stellar speakers in cell, animal collectives & beyond @priscaliberali.bsky.social @icouzin.bsky.social @ricardsole.bsky.social

Join us!

✨ Back from summer break with 2 great DB seminars @embl.org! Andrew Hogan (van Gestel group) on protist predation defences & Simon Knoblich (Aulehla group) on calcium waves in Medaka gastrulation. Exciting research happening in the DB unit 🔥 #DevelopmentalBiology

If you are interested in theory at the intersection of physics and biology, this is your chance! Andriy is a very nice and creative scientist, I can highly recommend joining his group.

New preprint:
We use computational modeling and theory to study cell migration in fibrous porous media – the characteristic structure of the ECM. Our work reveals transient cell motility modes and 'porotaxis' – directed motion due to spatial heterogeneities in confinement. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Please allow me to introduce... our new preprint 🎉 Together with Michael Zhao, Anna Erzberger and Alexander Aulehla, we investigate pattern formation due to aggregation in confined systems.

You can find it at arxiv.org/abs/2509.08533

@michaelzhao.bsky.social @erzbergerlab.bsky.social

We're looking for highly motivated candidates for PhD positions in the physics of living systems.

Our group uses theoretical physics to understand how cells collectively self-organize.

If you're interested, get in touch & check out the Biozentrum PhD Fellowship program, deadline October 12th!

Congratulations, Michael Dorrity and Anna Erzberger!

The two EMBL Heidelberg group leaders have received ERC Starting Grants that will enable ambitious projects related to developmental timing and tissue self-organisation, respectively.

Learn more: www.embl.org/news/awards-...

Congrats, very cool findings!

3D Tumor microenvironment interaction reveals AP‐1 complex regulation and contact‐mediated reprogramming of bone marrow stromal cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells actively reprogram their tumor microenvironment (TME) to promote drug resistance and tumor progression. Tumor cell survival critically depends on heterotypic ....

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells manipulate their microenvironment for survival. Using a 3D bone marrow model, we show that CLL cells accumulate at the core, reprogram stromal cells to generate a pro-tumor environment, and exploit other (healthy) cells as a 'shield'. doi.org/10.1002/hem3...

It's been a busy month at the DB unit at EMBL #PhDdefence Simona Gioe', from the Aulehla group, successfully defended her PhD thesis, which was titled 'Investigating the functional role of oscillatory signalling via experimental entrainment of the somite segmentation clock'. Congrats, Simona 🥳🎓

Happy to share that I defended my PhD this week!
✨✨It has been an amazing adventure full of learning, great science and incredible people here at @embl.org!✨✨
Looking forward to the next steps in my scientific journey
🔬🐟💛
If you haven't yet, check the preprint of my PhD research: bit.ly/45eBxOg