HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged 
On September 6, 2024, the conference "Genetic Workshops in Hungary" was held for the 23rd time at the BRC. The event is traditionally organized by the Hungarian Genetics Society, the Institute of Genetics of the HUN-REN BRC, and the Molecular Biology, Genetics and Cell Biology Scientific Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
This year, the EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization), founded on 12 July 1964, celebrates its 60th anniversary and its membership today counts more than 2100 researchers in the field of life sciences, 92 of whom have been awarded Nobel Prizes.
Single-cell investigation methods such as single-cell genetics, proteomics or imaging-based morphological classification have risen to the forefront of biological research in the last decade.
The ultimate goal of cancer therapy is to eliminate malignant cells with minimal side effects. Modern approaches increasingly focus on targeting specific molecular pathways critical for tumor survival and proliferation, rather than relying on traditional cytotoxic agents that kill cells indiscriminately.
On 12 June 2024, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) published the list of this year's winners of the János Bolyai Research Scholarship. The Bolyai Scholarship was established in 1997 "to encourage and recognise outstanding research and development achievements". Researchers under 45 years of age could apply for the 250.000Ft monthly grant for a period of 1, 2 or 3 years.
Essentially, the immune system's primary function is to differentiate between our own harmless molecules and potentially harmful foreign ones. This distinction is largely influenced by the degree of similarity a molecule bears to those the immune system is exposed to early in life.
The overwhelming majority of our biological knowledge stems from the study of organisms found in our immediate surroundings or from within our own bodies. This holds true for bacteria as well, as the most well-studied species are from environments inhabited by humans or from within the human body itself. However, there are numerous conditions where the majority of these species are unable to survive but other bacteria are able to survive and even thrive. One such example are species belonging to the genus Psychrobacter, which can be found living in the icy terrain of Antarctica.
The Systems Immunology Research Group at HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged led by Máté Manczinger is participating in a HORIZON-HEALTH-2023-DISEASE-03 project named ID-DarkMatter-NCD.
