Open house

18 October 2009 | As part of the annual and nationwide “Oktober Kennismaand” (October, Month of Science) the Hubrecht Institute organized a successful open house. Over 130 people visited the institute where they could have a peek at the wondrous world of developmental biology. Several groups presented some of their work and visitors were invited to have a look at zebrafish embryos at different developmental stages. Development and homeostasis of the gut was also presented. An important aspect of modern-day developmental biology is molecular biology. The structure and function of DNA was explained, separation of DNA fragments by gel electrophoresis was explained and visitors had the opportunity to isolate DNA themselves. Overall the open house was a great success.

Our neighboring institute the Fungal Diversity Centre (Centraal Bureau voor Schimmelcultures) had their own open day at the same time which gave the visitors an unique opportunity to see two very different parts of biology at work.

May 2009 | Ambrosius Hubrecht (1853-1915), after whom the institute was named, was one of the first Darwinians in The Netherlands. He embraced the evolution theory of Charles Darwin, "survival of the fittest", and even corresponded with Darwin about his ideas at the end of the 19th century. Developmental biology has changed much since then but the astonishment about the unique processes during the development from fertilized egg to embryo remains unchanged. Our insight in molecules and genes essential for embryonic development increases constantly. Stem cells have a central role in the development of embryos as well as in the renewal and maintenance of tissues and organs in the adult. Stem cells are unprogrammed cells which - in principle - can become any cell type in our body. Hence, research on stem cells is an important part of developmental biology.
 
The Hubrecht institute is happy to welcome you on 18 October between 12.00 and 16.00 hours to have a peek in the kitchen of our beautiful research.