Fighting the invisible killers

The zebrafish (or zebra danio) is a small tropical freshwater fish, originally found in rivers on the Indian subcontinent. It owes his name to its characteristic black and white stripes. In the 1970s and 1980s, the zebrafish has been used to study basic processes of body and organ development. In recent years, zebrafish have taken the world of medical genetics by storm and have become one of the main animal models in the laboratory. I will explain how this inconspicuous little fish has become one of our major helpers in understanding and fighting inherited diseases.

A brief introduction to this new genome editing technology which makes ‘cut and paste’ of our genes easier than ever before. It has already changed the world of research and promises to change our lives in the next years. Since the discovery of its biological role in bacteria almost 30 years ago we will learn how it works and how this system can be exploited to fight cancer and control malaria.

Macrophages are at the forefront of our innate immune defences. Like silent guardians, they patrol all parts of our body in search of pathogens in order to eliminate them. My talk will focus on the various strategies that macrophages employ to detect and destroy bacteria and how pathogens, in turn, protect themselves against the host immune system.