Dr. Siegfried Schloissnig is head of the newly established
Computational Biology junior research group at Heidelberg Institute for
Theoretical Studies (HITS). Prof. Eugene “Gene” Myers, one of the pioneers in
bioinformatics, is affiliated with the group as a mentor. Together with his
laboratory at the Max Planck Center for Systems Biology in Dresden, the junior
group will decipher and compare the genetic codes of several flatworm species.
Flatworms are masters of regeneration, and are, therefore, interesting for
scientists: If they are cut in two pieces, each half will develop into a new
worm. By comparing the genetic material, researchers hope to gain new insights into regeneration of tissue
that could have a huge impact on medicine.