A new research study FORTH-IMBB, published in the international peer reviewed science journal PNAS, reveals how cancer cell intrinsic mechanisms and interactions with the microenvironment shape brain tumour growth and progression to malignancy.

The new findings highlight the importance of mRNA storage and degradation, near mitochondria, as a mechanism for maintaining cellular and organismal homeostasis

This international distinction is awarded based on outstanding contribution to science and advancement of life sciences, through high-level innovative research and achievements.

The prestigious International Neuroscience Conference of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), entitled "Cell Biology of the Nervous System", was held at the Fodele Beach Hotel, in Crete, from 8 to 11 May 2023.

Anastasios Pavlopoulos, Principal Researcher at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (IMBB-FORTH) is awarded a Research Grant from the 2023 Human Frontiers Science Program. HFSP promotes international collaboration in basic research focused on the elucidation of the sophisticated and complex mechanisms of living organisms.

In a recent publication, featured in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications Editors' highlights, the team of Dr. Panayiota Poirazi, Research Director at ΙΜΒΒ, presents a new software framework that allows the incorporation of dendrites and their key mechanisms into large-scale neural network models.

Research at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of FORTH published in the premier international scientific journal Nature Aging, reveals a fundamental quality control mechanism that operates in cells to safeguard the integrity and function of the nucleus. By maintaining nuclear homeostasis, this molecular mechanism contributes critically to promote longevity and fertility. IMBB researchers Dr. Margarita-Elena Papandreou and Dr. Georgios Konstantinidis, headed by Dr. Nektarios Tavernarakis (Professor at the Medical School, University of Crete, and Chairman of the Board at FORTH), discovered that recycling of nuclear and nucleolar components via autophagy delays ageing of somatic cells, and sustains the immortality of germ cells, which are required for reproduction.

The research team's next step, in the field of autoimmunity research, involves the design of highly specific small molecules to be tested for their ability to inhibit inflammation and autoimmunity, initially in a mouse model and later in humans.

The ERC Starting Grants are awarded to talented early-career scientists, who have already produced excellent work and show potential to be research leaders, to launch their own projects.

The GIHG was created by the vision of internationally recognized researchers and it aspires to enrich the scientific environment of Greece and to become a world leader in research on genetic diversity and its connection with various monogenic and multifactorial diseases.