The topic of this year’s PhD Symposium from November 12th to13th was dedicated to the advancing fusion of the human and the computer world. We can no longer envisage our daily lives without the computer. The aim of the symposium was to bring together leading scientists in the fields of neuronal interfaces, artificial organs, nanobiotechnology and biological microdevices. About 190 interested students, 70 off-campus guests from allover Europe, and a large number of journalists took part in this event. The scientific highlights were Carlo Montemagno who gave fascinating insights into his work about bio-machines, Miguel Nicolelis and Andrew Schwartz who explained how the human brain could be connected to computers which move roboter devices, Jackie Ying on smart synthetic materials, and Niels Bierbaumer about his work on stroke and locked-in patients. The most controversial talk was Kevin Warwick’s: he presented his vision of the Cyborg world in which all humans will, sooner orlater, become Cyborgs by incorporation of microchip implants, as predicted in the film “Matrix”.

The Microsymposium on Small RNA’s was held for the fourth time from May 18 to 20, 2009. Established scientists, young group leaders and advanced post-doctoral fellows came to IMBA on this occasion. Once again the highlight was the workshop for PhD students. It served as a forum for very young scientists. The four best lecturers received awards by way of books, pens, and a voucher to attend the next EMBO Meeting in Amsterdam. In addition to basic science, innovative companies working in the field of RNA Silencing and small RNAs presented their work. The organizers welcomed more than 250 attendees from several European countries, the United States, and even India. Vibrant Q&A sessions created a dynamic atmosphere, leaving all attendees pleased and looking forward to the 5th Microsymposium in 2010.

For more information please visit
http://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at/microsymposium

The PhD Symposium can be considered a fixed appointmentof the scientific year at the Vienna Biocenter. This year, it wasdedicated to the cutting edge topic of Synthetic Biology. Onthe 13th and 14th of November an audience of about 150 participants gathered in the IMP lecture hall for the symposium“Life under (re)contruction” to attend the talks of 16 well renowned scientists coming from various countries. The speakers presented the multi-faceted aspects of this scientific area to give an over view of the possibilities and challenges offered by the emerging field of Synthetic Biology. Among the speakers were well known experts such as Sven Panke, who talked about the possibility of engineering bological pathways, Ehud Shapiro, who described the new frontiers of DNA editing, and Steven Benner, who gave the closing lecture on the progress of molecular evolution and its applications to personalized medicine. The event was not only very successful, but also represented the first comprehensive symposium dedicated to Synthetic Biology in Austria.

The by now 3rd edition of the Microsymposium took place from 19th to 21st of May at the IMBA. The meeting hosted a superb group of international young speakers and a very exciting PhD workshop, with 12 top-quality and “worldwide” talks, where laboratories as distant as Singapore, the US, South Korea and Argentina were represented. The Microsymposium was fully financed again this year by companies, the RNA Society, and journals like “RNA Biology” and “Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.” The workshop for the PhD students was partly sponsored by “Forschungsprojekt/Wien,” an initiative of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The Microsymposium on Small RNAs is now established as an interactive, friendly and high profile meeting, bringing together voices from around the scientific world to discuss exciting aspects of RNA biology.