MDC Berlin

In the past year Helmholtz Imaging looked for the "Best Scientific Images" generated by scientist from the Helmholtz Association. Twenty of them are now on display for a short time at the MDC.

Artificial intelligence is poised to fundamentally change healthcare. To find out the current state of research and the challenges that lie ahead, anyone interested can attend the first symposium of the Artificial Intelligence in Digital Health (AIDHeal) Network on January 28, 2022.

It is widely known that Nobel Prize winner Emmanuelle Charpentier currently works in Berlin. But who are the other female researchers who have left their mark on the city? An exhibition by BIH and the Berlin Senate Chancellory is dedicated to all of these pioneering women and can be viewed at the MDC until March 9 or online at any time.

Does the booster shot protect against Omicron? Are there warning signs that point to a potentially severe progression? What is known about Long COVID, and which drugs help best after an infection? MDC molecular biologist Dr. Emanuel Wyler answers these and other questions on Twitter – and in our video right here.

The latest wastewater analyses by the Max Delbrück Center and Berlin’s water supply company show that Omicron’s share has grown to 90 percent in Berlin. The new variant had accounted for five percent in early December. Research teams at the MDC have developed a computer-based tool for conducting such tests.

Both researchers study communication, but at different levels: Dr. Stefanie Grosswendt and Dr. Alison Barker have been awarded European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants. The prestigious grants provide about €1.5 million in funding over a period of five years.

A team led by Professor Ulrich Keller studied genes which are altered in people with lymphoma and identified a key mechanism involved in disease development. This signaling pathway controls the repair of DNA damage, they report in “Nature Communications”.

Biotechnologist Claudia Crocini is starting a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the MDC in January 2022. Her research examines how the biomechanical properties of tissue ensure a healthy heartbeat. This might open up a new avenue for treating heart disease.

Researchers at the MDC teamed up with Berlin’s water supply company, Berliner Wasserbetriebe, to develop a computer-based tool that can determine the distribution of coronavirus variants in wastewater – and thus in the population. The tool is now available to other scientists.