In Lithuania, endometrial (uterine lining) cancer is diagnosed more often than in many other European countries. Based on incidence rates, the country ranks among the highest in the region, while neighbouring countries show significantly lower figures. What explains this difference?
A team of scientists from the Institute of Biochemistry, Bioanalysis Department, at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, led by Dr. Dalius Ratautas, has secured funding through one of the most competitive Lithuania–Japan bilateral research programmes [1]. Their project, Development of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Biosensor Based on DNA Nanotweezers, focuses on creating next-generation biosensors. The aim is to establish a fundamentally new principle for detecting genetic mutations, converting extremely small differences in DNA into a clearly measurable electrochemical signal.
On 2 April, the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC) hosted its annual community meeting, bringing together scientists, students, and partners to review the achievements of the past year and discuss future directions. This year, the event also held symbolic significance, marking the Center’s 10th anniversary.
Scientists at the Proteomics Center of the Institute of Biochemistry at Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, led by Dr. Mindaugas Valius, are working together with clinicians from Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos to tackle one of the most complex challenges in modern medicine – pancreatic cancer. This interdisciplinary collaboration aims to combine advanced molecular research with clinical practice to develop more effective, patient-tailored treatment solutions.
A PhD student at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC), Džiugas Sabonis, has been awarded the Prof. Virginijus Šikšnys Scholarship in recognition of internationally acknowledged scientific achievements in the life sciences.
Marking the 447th anniversary of Vilnius University, the science communication competition Mokslo sprintas competition was held for the fifth time. First place was awarded to members of the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center team “Neuron Translators” – doctoral student Igoris Nagula and fourth-year undergraduate student Gabija Valentaitė – who presented their talk “What Does the Electrical Language of Neurons Reveal About the Development of Brain Networks?” in just three minutes. The winning team received a €1,000 prize from the competition partner, Thermo Fisher Scientific.
On 31 March, the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center welcomed Dr. Leonard Foster, Director of the Life Sciences Institute at the University of British Columbia.
The exhibition Forest Blossoms presents a creative perspective by Viktorija Kralikienė, an employee of the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, on what lies right beside us – in the forest, in the plants that grow there, and in their forms and colours. The artist turns to pine cones, branches, and plant fragments, transforming them into a visual, tactile artistic language.
Jurij Danilov has defended his thesis entitled "Biosystematic studies of the aphid (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae) tribe Eulachnini Baker, 1920 in Lithuania" for the degree of Doctor of Science in Biology.
Scientists at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC) investigate the structures of biological molecules, their interactions, and develop methods to assess the reliability of computationally predicted structures.
In recent years, artificial intelligence–based tools have fundamentally transformed the ability to predict protein structures. The most prominent example is the AlphaFold model, whose developers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024. Nevertheless, even the most advanced methods do not always enable accurate prediction of all biomolecular structures, leaving scientists still to evaluate computational models reliably.
From 16–20 March, the project Capacity Building in Biodiversity Data in Lithuania held training sessions at the Nature Research Centre in Vilnius. The project is implemented by researchers from the Institute of Biosciences at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center, the Nature Research Centre, and the Kaunas Tadas Ivanauskas Museum of Zoology, in collaboration with experts from the Swedish Museum of Natural History and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF Sweden).
“If we truly understood how genome editing works, we would have already cured all genetic diseases and solved world hunger, because we would be able to edit the genome of any organism safely,” says Dr. Constantinos Patinios, a scientist at the EMBL Partnership Institute operating at the Life Sciences Center of Vilnius University (VU LSC).
The Biology Olympiad in Lithuania has been held for the 58th time this year. As every year, it brought together the most talented students from forms 9–12 across the country. Nearly 2,500 students participated in the second municipal round, while 120 of the best advanced to the national stage.
On 20 March, the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center welcomed a delegation of researchers from the Institute of Molecular Biology Academia Sinica in Taiwan, led by its Director, Hwai-Jong Cheng.
