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During zebrafish oogenesis, specification of a single precursor cell fate in the granulosa cell layer is mediated by lateral inhibition driven by mechanical forces, which leads to nuclear exclusion of transcriptional activator TAZ in neighbouring cells. The image of "Kung fu"...

The so-called Abelian sandpile model has been studied by scientists for more than 30 years to better understand a physical phenomenon called self-organized criticality, which appears in a plethora of real-life situations such as the coordinated firing of brain cells, the...

An artistic depiction of gene regulatory machinery on the DNA that reads out gap gene concentration signals optimally to establish the precise seven-stripped patterns of pair rule gene expression in the fruit fly embryo. (c) Mariela Petkova. Our bodies...

Austria has another Academy Award winner. Having honored actor Christoph Waltz (2010, 2013) and director Michael Haneke (2013), the Oscar Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded Bernd Bickel, a computer scientist from Vorarlberg, with this year’s <link...

Amir Goharshady received the Khwarizmi Award in December 2018. Named after the 9th-century Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi who is generally considered to be the founder of algebra, the annual prize is given by the Iranian President to researchers...

Feynman diagrams are a powerful tool in condensed matter physics. By turning highly complex equations into sets of simple diagrams, the method has established itself as one of the sharpest tools in a theoretical physicist’s toolbox. Giacomo Bighin, a postdoc...

In the nine years since its campus opened in Klosterneuburg, the Institute of Science and Technology (IST Austria) has established itself as an international center for excellent basic research. This is now also acknowledged by the OECD in its latest...

Initiated in 2016, the project RIAT-CZ creates synergies between research infrastructures in the border region between Austria and the Czech Republic. Funded by the joint program Interreg V-A Austria – Czech Republic 2014–2020, it stimulates innovation by fostering exchange and...

Cells lose contacts between each other during fluidization. Cells remain in tight contact when fluidization is impaired. (red/green – cell membrane, blue – nucleus, cyan – interstitial fluid between cells) © Nicoletta Petridou Zebrafish aren’t just surrounded by liquid,...

PIN2 is only found in the upper end of each cell and marks polarity (magenta). © Matouš Glanc Knowing which way is up and which way is down is important for all living beings. For plants, which grow roots...