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In a new publication, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) announces the success of its pilot project. This pioneering initiative has brought together a vast collaborative network of researchers and institutions in 33 countries to produce high-quality reference genomes of 98 European species. This continental effort paves the way for a new, inclusive and equitable model of biodiversity genomics.

A team of microbiology researchers from UNamur has just published in the journal Nature Communications. The work focuses on the Brucella bacterium that causes Brucellosis, a disease that infects livestock and can be transmitted to humans. This research aims to better understand the molecular mechanisms of the bacterium's growth in order to better combat it.

The TineaDiag project is a research project run by UNamur and ULiège with funding from the SPW Research Win²WAL program. It tackles dermatophytoses, skin infections responsible for ringworm, which can affect both humans and animals. The aim? To identify, in dermatophytes, precise cellular markers in order to detect them with sensitivity and certainty, and thus identify infections caused by antifungal-resistant strains.

For four billion years, life on earth has been evolving and transforming in response to environmental change, resulting in fluctuating biological diversity. Ecosystems provide humanity with a wide range of free services that must be managed responsibly.

Max Collinet, professor of geology at the Faculty of Science and researcher at the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment (ILEE), has just been awarded equipment funding (EQP) from the F.R.S - FNRS following calls whose results were published in December 2024.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a human tragedy that has caused millions of deaths worldwide and put our entire society under great strain. But it has also been a tremendous collective moment for many UNamur scientists, whose research continues in an attempt to better understand this disease and its consequences.

Abstract Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment and is currently administered to approximately half of all cancer patients. However, the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation on normal tissues represent a major limitation, as they restrict the dose that can be safely delivered to patients and, consequently, reduce the likelihood of effective tumor control. In this context, delivering radiation at ultra-high dose rates (UHDR, > 40 Gy/s) is gaining increasing attention due to its potential to spare healthy tissues surrounding the tumor and to prevent radiation-induced side effects, as compared to conventional dose rates (CONV, on the order of Gy/min).The mechanism underlying this protective effect-termed the FLASH effect-remains elusive, driving intensive research to elucidate the biological processes triggered by this type of irradiation.In vitro models offer a valuable tool to support this research, allowing for the efficient screening of various beam parameters and biological responses in a time- and cost-effective manner. In this study, multicellular tumor spheroids and normal cells were exposed to proton irradiation at UHDR to evaluate its efficacy in controlling tumor growth and its cytotoxic impact on healthy tissues, respectively.We report that UHDR and CONV irradiation induced a comparable growth delay in 3D tumor spheroids, suggesting similar efficacy in tumor control. In normal cells, both dose rates induced similar levels of senescence; however, UHDR irradiation led to lower apoptosis induction at clinically relevant doses and early time points post-irradiation.Taken together, these findings further highlight the potential of UHDR irradiation to modulate the response of normal tissues while maintaining comparable tumor control.JuryProf. Thomas BALLIGAND (UNamur), PresidentProf. Stéphane LUCAS (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Carine MICHIELS (UNamur)Dr Sébastien PENNINCKX (Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles)Prof. Cristian FERNANDEZ (University of Bern)Dr Rudi LABARBE (IBA)

A team of American researchers, with the help of Frédérik De Laender, professor in the Department of Biology at UNamur, has just published in the prestigious journal Nature. Their study describes how changing stream temperatures and human introductions of fish can alter river biodiversity in the USA.

Founded some 50 years ago, the Laboratoire d'Analyse par Réactions Nucléaires (LARN) in the Department of Physics at the University of Namur is home to a 2MV tandem particle gas pedal named ALTAÏS (Accélérateur Linéaire Tandetron pour l'Analyse et l'Implantation des Solides), in operation since 1999.