Neuroscientists illuminate how brain cells deep in the cortex operate in freely moving mice

This new miniature microscope is a game changer for exploring the link between neural activity and complex animal behavior

01-Dec-2022 - How can we see what neurons deep in the cortex are doing during behavior? Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Neurobiology of Behavior - caesar (MPINB) have developed a miniature microscope small enough to be carried on the head of a freely moving mouse and capable of measuring ...

Tiny nanomachine successfully completes test drive

11-Apr-2018 - Together with colleagues from the USA, scientists from the University of Bonn and the research institute Caesar in Bonn have used nanostructures to construct a tiny machine that constitutes a rotatory motor and can move in a specific direction. The researchers used circular structures from ...

Sperm navigate by playing chords

For navigation, sperm use musical tricks

13-Nov-2017 - Similar to a guitar string, sperm beat their tail with two different frequencies or “notes”. Scientists from the research center caesar in Bonn, associated with the Max Planck Society, and the Helmholtz research center Jülich published these findings in a recent article in Nature Communications. ...

Biosensor measures signaling molecules within cilia

Scientists can measure the dynamics of signaling molecules in subcellular compartments

30-Mar-2016 - Scientists of the Research Center caesar in Bonn, an Institute of the Max Planck Society, developed a new biosensor, which allows to measure nanomolar levels of the second messenger cAMP. The sensor makes it possible to study cAMP signaling with high precision, even in subcellular compartments. ...

Sperm navigation in 3D

21-Aug-2015 - Scientists from the Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar), an Institute of the Max Planck Society, discovered the principles of how sea urchin sperm navigate in their natural three-dimensional environment. Using photonic techniques, the scientists created chemical “landscapes” ...

Sperm can do calculus!

The speed at which the calcium concentration in the cell changes controls the swimming behaviour of sperm. They can calculate the calcium dynamics and react accordingly.

09-Mar-2012 - Sperm have only one aim: to find the egg. The egg supports sperm in their quest by emitting attractants that induce changes in the calcium level inside sperm. Calcium ions determine the beating pattern of the sperm tail which enables sperm to steer. Together with colleagues from the Max Planck ...