Institute of Biotechnology

𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭. 🎗️ Our latest study looked at how chemotherapy affects sperm health in men with testicular cancer. 🔬 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: Chemotherapy (specifically the BEP regimen) significantly lowers sperm count and health. In some cases, it can temporarily stop sperm production entirely. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 "𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭" 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: One patient's group (non-seminoma subgroup) often starts with healthier sperm, but their levels can drop quickly once treatment begins. 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐞: We showed a specific "marker" on sperm cells - histone modification H4K12ac, that correlates with sperm quality. This could help us predict how well the body is maintaining fertility. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Testicular cancer often affects younger me. Fertility preservation (like sperm freezing) is important to back up ones' fertility. However, not much is known about the direct impact of tumour on sperm quality or about the recovery times needed for a man to become fully fertile again. Close monitoring can help your andrologist to tailor the best fertility management strategy for you.👉onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/an…

Join us for the next seminars from the BIOCEV Seminar Series! 🫵 📅 19. 3. 2026 🕐 3 p.m. 📍 BIOCEV, Vestec

Two days with the EOSC NRP project team in the Vysočina region🤝 The meeting brought together project partners to share updates, discuss open questions across work areas, and look at where the project is heading next. A great opportunity to exchange perspectives, connect activities across teams, and strengthen collaboration within the project. #EOSC #OpenScience #ResearchData #EOSCNRP

🧬𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 Our colleague Gabriela Pavlínková (@PavlinkovaLab) has been invited to serve as 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 for the Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio) collection “Advances in Embryonic Development.” The collection will showcase new research on the molecular basis of embryonic development and emerging approaches such as single-cell transcriptomics, spatial genomics, and stem-cell-based 3D models. Researchers working in this field are invited to contribute their work to the collection.

🧬𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐏𝐂𝐑 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) remains one of the most widely used tools in molecular biology — but the accuracy of its results strongly depends on PCR amplification efficiency. In our new review, we explore the state of the art in qPCR data analysis, with a focus on estimating efficiency at the sample level rather than assuming identical, ideal efficiency across experiments. 🔍 The paper discusses: • how amplification efficiency influences both absolute and relative quantification • why assuming equal efficiency can introduce errors and reduce reproducibility • how modern analytical approaches and data-driven methods can improve qPCR interpretation By addressing sample-to-sample variation, this work highlights practical strategies to make qPCR measurements more reliable and reproducible. 👉 Read the full article: mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/5…

Join us for the next seminars from the BIOCEV Seminars Series! 🫵 📆 5. 3. 2026 🕒 3 p.m. 📍BIOCEV, Vestec

📢There are only a few days left to register, so don't miss out on this opportunity! 𝐍𝐮𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐜𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 We invite domain experts and early-career researchers to join a focused hackathon dedicated to annotation, validation, and prediction of nucleic acid structures, bringing together domain experts and early-career researchers. 🗓 𝟐𝟕–𝟐𝟗 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 📍 Prague, Czech Republic Over three days, participants will work on interoperable workflows, data standards, and benchmarking approaches with an emphasis on reproducibility and community reuse. 👉 Learn more and find all details on our website: 1url.cz/ZeugF Register here 👉1url.cz/neugR

New publication alert 🔬 Our latest study, published in Molecular Neurobiology, uncovers an important piece of the puzzle in how hearing develops. We show that the gene ISL1plays a key role in shaping the inner ear and the connections that allow sound signals to reach the brain. When ISL1 is missing, these connections don’t form properly — leading to measurable hearing impairment in a mouse model. The findings deepen our understanding of the genetic programs behind healthy hearing and may help guide future research into hearing disorders. 👂🧬 👉Read more: doi.org/10.1007/s12035…

🔬👩‍🔬 Today we mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Beyond symbolic gestures, we focus on the real conditions in which women in science work. That is why we are launching the 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 initiative - a space dedicated to addressing the issues women at our institute truly face and the factors that shape their professional lives. This is not only about women scientists, but about all women who are part of our institute. Together with their colleagues, they help shape the environment in which we work. 👩‍💻🧪

📢 We are hiring! Open positions at IBT CAS: • Postdoctoral Researcher in Molecular Transport Dynamics • PhD Positions in Quantitative Imaging of Ciliary Transport – Track A: Single-Molecule Imaging – Track B: Imaging Technology & Method Development 📍 BIOCEV, near Prague 👉 Details via QR codes

Tentokrát jsme u nás v @CmsIbt přivítali ty nejmenší návštěvníky – děti z MŠ Vestec 👧🧒 Nahlédly do laboratoří, ptaly se, zkoumaly a připomněly nám, že zvědavost a radost z objevování jsou základem vědy. 🔬✨ Děkujeme za milou návštěvu. 🇬🇧 We were happy to welcome our youngest visitors at the Centre of Molecular Structure @CmsIbt – children from Vestec Kindergarten 👧🧒 They explored our laboratories, asked curious questions, and reminded us that curiosity and the joy of discovery are at the heart of science. 🔬✨ Thank you for a lovely visit.

Carta Genum, founded by our colleagues Lukáš Valihrach and Daniel Žucha, has secured a pre-seed investment from Czech Founders VC and joined the Sherpa accelerator. 🧬 Their mission: make complex biological data analysis accessible, so biologists can focus on science — not code — by combining deep biological expertise with transparent AI tools. 📎 startupkitchen.community/czech-startup-…

📢 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬! Open positions at IBT CAS: • Tumor microenvironment & metabolism • Gene expression • Horizontal mitochondrial transfer • Ciliary transport dynamics 📍 BIOCEV | 🇪🇺 International research teams 👉 Details via QR codes or website

📢 𝐋𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Join us for a talk by Prof. Ayelet Erez (@WeizmannScience ) 🗓 Thursday, January 29 | 🕑 2:00 PM 📍 Conference Hall, BIOCEV, Vestec The lecture will explore how systemic metabolism and host factors shape tumor progression and influence therapeutic outcomes. Don’t miss this unique opportunity❗️ @BIOCEV_science

📢Postdoc opening in our lab! We study how metabolic anti-cancer treatments reshape the tumor microenvironment. If you’re excited about single-cell & spatial omics, tumor immunology, and immune–endothelial interactions, we’d love to hear from you! @IBT_CAS @BIOCEV_science

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An outstanding #postdoc opportunity at Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences @ibt_cas: #Postdoctoral #researcher in #Tumor #microenvironment & #metabolism Read more: researchjobs.cz/MxbGz #immunology #cancerBiology #computationalBiology #bioinformatics