Life Sciences

Bacteria in the human gut go to war in order to protect themselves against attacks of the “spear-wielding” cholera bacterium Vibrio cholerae or other pathogens, an EPFL study has found.

Under an initiative by EPFL’s Center for Imaging, a team of engineers from EPFL and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid have developed a plugin that makes it easier to incorporate artificial intelligence into image analysis for life-science research. The plugin, called deepImageJ, is described in a paper appearing today in Nature Methods.

EPFL Summer Series: How science works. Despite the many advancements in developing innovative alternative methods, animal testing still plays an important role in biological and medical research, enabling scientists to make key new discoveries. At EPFL, performing high-quality research is a priority for scientists, as is taking proper care of the mice, rats and fish in the facilities.

EPFL scientists have developed a deep learning-based method called LiftPose3D, which can reconstruct 3D animal poses using only 2D poses from one camera. This method will have impact in neuroscience and bioinspired robotics.

A “paradox and setback” forced EPFL scientists to dig deeper when seeking a means to boost the power of immunotherapy in lung cancer. Understanding the problem – and finding the solution – has led to a promising potential therapy for some patients.

NICEdrug.ch, a new database developed by a group of researchers from EPFL, may help scientists assess potential drugs more quickly, including how they are metabolized by the body and their potential side effects.