MDC Berlin

He is a molecular biologist, physician, GDR revolutionary, civil rights activist, bioethicist, and – still to this day – a formative researcher and ombudsman at the Max Delbrück Center. We celebrate the 80th birthday of Professor Jens Reich.

Titin is the largest molecule in the human body – and together with actin and myosin plays a pivotal role in the ensemble of muscle proteins. A team led by Professor Michael Gotthardt from the MDC describes in the journal “Circulation” how mutations in this protein lead to various heart diseases.

Professor Heinz Bielka, a pioneer of cell and molecular biology, celebrated his 90th birthday on March 19. The MDC congratulates the cancer researcher, science historian, and committed Buch citizen. From 1953 until his retirement, Bielka served in important positions on the campus. Since its founding in 1992, he has been a dedicated supporter of the MDC. As a chronicler, he has cultivated an awareness of medical research and the great history of science on the Buch campus.

When a muscle grows or a muscle injury heals, some of the stem cells develop into new muscle cells. A research team at the MDC led by Carmen Birchmeier has now described in the journal “Genes and Development” how this process is regulated by two proteins produced in an oscillatory manner.

An ‘Edit-a-thon’ event, hosted among others by the MDC, celebrated International Women’s Day by improving diversity on Wikipedia pages. The MDC-produced ORION Open Science podcast was there to investigate what the challenges to diversity in science are and how the Open Science movement can help.

LifeTime is one of the six winners of an EU-wide competition in which ambitious and forward-looking research projects are selected and funded. This was officially announced by the European Commission on Tuesday. The coordinators of LifeTime in Berlin and Paris were pleased that they can now begin the actual work. Chancellor Merkel praised the initiative.

Lil BUB has drawn millions of followers across the internet for her cute appearance. Behind the celebrity cat’s unique features is a combination of two rare genetic variants, three molecular biologists from Germany and the US report.