The single-cell revolution is revealing more and more fine-grained insights into the biology of living organisms. The deep learning (AI) revolution adds unprecedented computational power to analyze these “big data”. A research team led by Stein Aerts (VIB-KU Leuven) has combined these two revolutions to sketch a new picture of gene regulation in all cells of the fruit fly brain, using deep learning to reveal how specific pieces of DNA steer neuronal identity, from birth to maturity.

Two VIB research teams join forces to look for biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples of people living with frontotemporal degeneration. This brain disease causes dementia, usually at a relatively young age. Backed by 2 million USD in funding from the US Department of Defense, Rosa Rademakers and Kris Gevaert plan to enrich low-abundance disease-related proteins using an innovative proteomic workflow.