The Presidium of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 prizes to the winners of the competition for scientific works by young scientists and doctoral students. Among the laureates is Dr. Andrius Sakalauskas, a researcher at the Life Sciences Center of Vilnius University (VU LSC).

In the Section of Biology, Medicine, and Geosciences, he received the award for the study Formation of Distinct Alpha-Synuclein Aggregate Structures in Artificial Cerebrospinal Fluid.

The study focused on the protein alpha-synuclein (aSyn), which is naturally found in the human brain and is well known for its role in the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease. Under certain conditions, this protein can form toxic accumulations – aggregates –found both inside and outside cells. It is believed that the initial aggregates form within the cell and are later actively released into the extracellular space, from where they may spread and enter other cells.

To better understand this process, Dr. A. Sakalauskas recreated conditions similar to those of human cerebrospinal fluid in the laboratory and investigated how aSyn protein aggregates form in this environment.

“We believe that one of the major gaps in this research field lies in the mismatch between experimental and physiological conditions. In many previous studies, researchers were unable to form aSyn aggregates in the laboratory that resemble those isolated from patients with Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy, or other diseases associated with aSyn. Therefore, in this study, we did not aim to work under simply convenient laboratory conditions – we searched for ways to recreate the physiological environment as accurately as possible,” said Dr. A. Sakalauskas.

The research showed that components of the extracellular environment can significantly influence the structure and stability of protein aggregates. It was found that one type of aggregate is stabilized by human serum albumin, a protein abundantly present in the extracellular environment.

According to the researcher, the results also raise new questions. For example, whether protein aggregates migrating from one cell to another through the extracellular space can change their structure and thus lead to different forms of the disease or variations in its progression. Further research analyzing a broader range of physiological components will be needed to confirm this.

Every year, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences organizes a competition for scientific works by young scientists and doctoral students to encourage the creative activity of early-career researchers. Diplomas and commendations for the prize winners will be presented at the LMA General Assembly in April 2026.

Is Love a Chemical Reaction in the Brain, a Social Construct, or a Dynamic System Describable by Mathematical Equations? This question was explored at Vilnius University (VU) Discussion Club by scholars from different fields – anthropologists, neuroscientists, and mathematicians. Although love is often seen as a mysterious and difficult-to-define feeling, it can be examined just as seriously as any other scientific phenomenon.

Professor Urtė Neniškytė, a researcher at the Institute of Biosciences of the Life Sciences Center of Vilnius University (VU LSC) and the EMBL Partnership Institute, has been appointed as a European Research Council (ERC) Ambassador in Lithuania. She has joined the international network Ambassadors for the ERC, an initiative launched by the ERC and the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG).

Scientists at the Life Sciences Center of Vilnius University (VU LSC) have published a new study in the prestigious journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. The publication reveals a previously poorly understood antiviral defence mechanism in bacteria, whose underlying principles could be applied to the development of new genome-editing or biological control tools.

On 18 February, Vilnius University Life Sciences Center welcomed an esteemed guest, Phil Budden, Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, who visited the Center.

Scientists at the Life Sciences Center of Vilnius University (VU LSC), Dr. Ugnė Gaižauskaitė, Dr. Giedrė Tamulaitienė, Dr. Arūnas Šilanskas, Dr. Giedrius Gasiūnas, Prof. Virginijus Šikšnys, and Dr. Giedrius Sasnauskas have investigated how the bacterial protein Cas9, better known as the CRISPR-Cas “genetic scissors,” helps bacteria integrate fragments of viral DNA from infecting viruses – bacteriophages – into their genome, thereby acquiring resistance to viral infections.

On the occasion of the Day of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, presented state awards for merits to Lithuania and for promoting its name worldwide.

Could love be solved like a mathematical equation? And if so, what would that change in our relationship with it?

On 26 February at 6:00 PM, the third event of the VU Discussion Club will take place at Aula Parva Hall of Vilnius University (Universiteto g. 3, Vilnius). The event will invite participants to explore love not only as a feeling but also as a complex, multifaceted phenomenon.

The world’s first vaccine consumed in the form of beer may sound like a provocation, or even a joke. Yet this seemingly unexpected path has been chosen by scientists from the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC) and the United States National Cancer Institute, who are searching for ways to make vaccines more accessible, cheaper, and easier for society to accept. Their research opens a discussion not only about new biotechnologies, but also about the future of vaccination itself.

On 3 February, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, through the Lithuanian Science Awards Commission, announced the recipients of the Lithuanian Science Awards 2025. A total of seven awards were granted this year, four of which went to researchers from Vilnius University (VU).

In the field of medical and health sciences, the Lithuanian Science Award was presented to Prof. Artūras Petronis of the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center. He was recognized for his body of work, “Epigenomics: chronos, pathos, nosos” (2010–2024), which analyzes epigenetic mechanisms related to the origin of diseases, their progression, and the biological aspects of time. These studies contribute to the advancement of epigenetics and highlight the importance of epigenomic changes for disease diagnostics and the development of personalized medicine.

Lithuanian Science Awards are granted annually for fundamental and applied research, as well as experimental development work of significance to Lithuania. The prize amounts to 780 basic social benefit units (€57,720). The award ceremony for the Lithuanian Science Award laureates will be broadcast live from the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences on 5 March at 1:00 PM on the “LRT Plius” television channel.

Prof. Virginijus Šikšnys of the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC) has been elected Chair of the Council of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). EMBL is one of Europe’s most significant international life sciences organizations, bringing together countries to pursue joint research in molecular biology and related fields.

On 30 January, the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC) welcomed Professor Bart Spee from Utrecht University for a visit focused on strengthening institutional ties and exploring opportunities for closer academic and research collaboration.