SystemsX.ch – The Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology

A high-quality catalog of the fruitfly proteome

Zurich. thm. 63% of the predicated proteom of the fruitfly has been cataloged by a large group of SystemsX scientists. Erich Brunner, Sonali Mohanty and Christian Ahrens from the SystemsX Glue Project Center for Model Organism Proteoms at University of Zurich and Ruedi Aebersold from the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology at ETH Zurich will publish their work in the June edition of Nature Biotechnology.

The catalog contains 9124 proteins and represents the largest high quality proteomics dataset (some terabytes) to date. Whether the undetected genes are expressed at levels below the threshold of detection or whether they are represent incorrect predictions of the genome, remains to be established. The directed shotgun approach holds great promise for pharmaceutical applications, write the authors. One fifth of the identified proteins are transmembrane proteins and about one tenth are secreted.

Renato Paro designated Director of Center of Biosystems

Zürich/Basel, March 9, 2006
Renato Paro will be the director of the Center of Biosystems of ETH Zurich in Basel. He was appointed Professor for Biosystems at ETH Zurich by the ETH Council. The designation of Paro is a great leap forward for SystemsX, the Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology.

thm. In its last meeting on March 6 and 7, 2006 the ETH Council appointed Renato Paro Professor for Biosystems at ETH Zürich. Paro is now a member of the directorate of the Center for Molecular Biology of the University Heidelberg in Germany. Renato Paro will be founding director of the Center of Biosystems, an institution of ETH Zürich situated in Basel. His mission will be to make the Center of Biosystems Science and Engineering (C-BSSE) a world wide known address in Systems Biology. The Center is planned to have at least 15 professorships in different disciplines of life sciences, engineering and informatics.

Download Press Release (english) (pdf, 34kb)
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SystemsX on new juridical ground

Zürich/Basel, February 14, 2006
thm. SystemsX resides on new juridical ground. The SystemsX founder universities ETH Zürich, University of Basel and University of Zürich signed a contract which defines SystemsX as «einfache Gesellschaft» (simple partnership). The contract between the partners allows the entry of further universities or scientific institutions to SystemsX. A number of Swiss universities have already signaled interest in joining. Another important issue of the contract regulates the status of the Scientific Nodes and Glue Projects of SystemsX. Scientific Nodes, which do research in Systems Biology, remain autonomous entities of one of the SystemsX partner universities. Intellectual property produced at a Scientific Node belongs to the University which carries the Node. Glue Projects, the technology platforms of SystemsX are supported and financed by all SystemsX partners together, hence intellectual property will be shared.

Download Press Release (German only) (pdf, 29kb)

Roche and SystemsX collaborate in Diabetes Research

Zurich/Basel, December 13, 2005
An innovative industry/academic partnership translates Systems Biology research into improved medicines. Scientists at the Competence Center for Systems Physiology of SystemsX in Zurich and at Roche in Basel are cooperating to find new pathways for Diabetes drugs. Download Press Release (pdf, 46kb)

ETH Zurich SystemsX Biologists provide insight into evolutionary mechanisms

Zurich, October 6, 2005
Scientists at the Institute for Molecular Systems Biology (IMSB) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) have accomplished the so far largest analysis of duplicated genes. Until now, the evolutionary causes for the maintenance of these duplicated genes have remained unclear. Uwe Sauer and collaborators at the IMSB have now discovered that duplicate genes developed a set of strategies to remain in the genome of an organism. Download Press Release (german only) (pdf, 45kb)

Green Light for SystemsX

Zurich, June 25, 2004
Switzerland will have a network for Systems Biology, an important area of future study. Today's decision of the Swiss University Conference ensures a start-up financing of CHF 10 million for building the Project SystemsX. SystemsX will be part of ETH Zurich and the Universities of Basel and Zurich. Right now, scientists from the three institutions are working on building up the network for SystemsX and establishing the research fields. Download Press Release (pdf, 38kb)