Epigenetics - packaging artists in the cell

Biomaterials - patent solutions from nature

Animals and plants can produce amazing materials such as spider webs, wood or bone using only a few raw materials available. How do they achieve this? And what can engineers learn from them? more

Chaperones - folding helpers in the cell

Nothing works without the correct form: For most proteins, there are millions of ways in which these molecules, composed of long chains of amino acids, can be folded - but only one way is the right one. Researchers in the department "Cellular Biochemistry" at the Max Planck Institute for Bi ... more

Gene-editing with CRISPR/Cas9

The discovery that bacteria use a kind of immune system to fight viruses initially was only interesting for microbiologists. But when the discovery that CRISPR/Cas9 system is able to manipulate genes of many organisms was made, also non-scientists were alerted. But how does this method works? more

An indispensable pitstop for the gene copy machine

The enzyme complex that reads genes carries other factors “piggyback” along the DNA to their destination. The protein BRD4 is essential for this process: the factors dock onto the protein during a pause from reading. The interaction also allows the cell to intervene in the process. It is a ... more

Molecular scales on biological membranes: Mass-Sensitive Particle Tracking

A large proportion of biologically relevant processes take place at membranes. Studying the dynamics of these processes in real time and without disturbing the biological system is still a major methodological challenge. A team led by Petra Schwille, director at the MPI of Biochemistry (MPI ... more

Prestigious award for the pioneers of optogenetics

Dieter Oesterhelt from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Peter Hegemann from Humboldt University and the U.S. American Karl Deisseroth from Stanford University will receive the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award 2021 for the discovery of light-sensitive proteins in the membr ... more

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V.

The research institutes of the Max Planck Society perform basic research in the interest of the general public in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. In particular, the Max Planck Society takes up new and innovative research areas that German universiti ... more