Science

The regulation of genes is incredibly complex – and even a bit more complex than was previously thought – shows a new study in “Molecular Cell”. In the genes which determine the fate of every cell, a splitting of the DNA double helix is not a reason for cellular despair, but is part of an important safety mechanism.

The MINT400 Forum in Berlin brings together teachers and schoolchildren from all over Germany. Two researchers from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) are offering workshops at the networking meeting – partly because one of them was once a teacher himself.

A new MDC study may resolve a decades-old debate in immunology: A team led by Prof. Klaus Rajewsky reports in Science that distinct progenitor cells are not required for the development of B1 cells. Instead, the team’s experiments show that a particular type of B-cell receptor can reprogram B2 cells into B1 cells, suggesting that B1 cells emerge as a consequence of their special B-cell receptors.

Professor Thomas Willnow wants to find out how the ApoE3 gene variant protects against Alzheimer’s. The MDC group leader has now received €80,000 in funding from the non-profit Alzheimer Forschung Initiative to pursue this research.

The brand new MDC-made ORION Open Science podcast explores the issues behind the Open Science movement through interviews and conversations. The first full episode on ‘Open Science and postgraduate careers’ launches January 31st.

Live forever thanks to CRISPR? This summer, the artist Emilia Tikka was a guest at the MDC. Her work focused on the question: What if CRISPR-Cas9 could make us immortal? The exhibition and a mini symposium are now documented on video.

The U.S. journal Science has chosen single-cell analysis as the Breakthrough of the Year. A major international hot spot for the revolutionary technology is the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin. The European consortium LifeTime, which is coordinated from Berlin and Paris, intends to focus on this new approach.

Scientists have found a way to switch specific neurons on and off with a laser beam. An international research team used this technique to study how the zebrafish brain responds when external stimuli trigger a certain behavior. This work, which has been published in Nature Methods, will be continued at the MDC.

A toast to our young scientists: On November 30, 2018, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) held a graduation ceremony for the 50 students who completed their PhDs at the MDC over the course of 2018.

Several times a year, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) opens its doors to teachers for further education courses such as “Lab meets teacher.” In November 2018, STEM teachers met at the MDC to exchange best practice teaching ideas at the Science on Stage festival.