A pilot project in the Faculty of Science at the University of Geneva aims to strengthen life science students’ skills in scientific communication. In this article, we describe this innovate educational approach initiated by Prof. Aurélien Roux, PI in the NCCR Chemical Biology. His interview is a real eye opener on how we can make students more clear-headed thinkers able to deploy rational, seasoned arguments and compelling evidence on science related societal issues.

 

Field of work: 3D molecular animation

Endosomes are intracellular organelles which form part of the cell’s sorting center. The tension of cell membranes plays an important role in a number of biological processes. Scientists from the NCCR Chemical Biology have recently shown that the activity of endosomes is modulated by variations in membrane tension. Using molecular probes that they devised, the multidisciplinary team from the University of Geneva succeeded to evaluate the membrane tension of endosomes and show that its relaxation helps form vesicles within endosomes, which carry proteins to be degraded. We have met with Vincent Mercier, Post-doctoral researcher in the Roux lab, and first author of the relevant research paper, published in Nature Cell Biology.

Facing a camera, Margot Riggi (Biologist, postdoc in the Loewith & Roux labs, UNIGE) and Karolina Niewola (former postdoc in the Loewith lab, UNIGE) present their recent work and give emphasis on the biochemical problem behind it. Adai Colom Diego (postdoc in the Roux lab, UNIGE) comments with a few lines to explain the biological approach used to solve the problem. They are from different disciplines but meet through chemical biology.