Science

How does academic research become a multibillion-dollar biotech success story? On October 29, 2026 meet the founders and leadership of Tubulis, a company with roots in Berlin-Buch that was acquired by Gilead Sciences in a $5 billion deal. Listen to their story and ask your questions!

How will science change the way we live? Under the theme “In Touch,” Berlin Science Week 2026 explores how research touches our lives and connects us with one another. Several events at the Max Delbrück Center invite visitors to explore the future of medicine — and help shape it.

Aggressive tumors often contain large amounts of exchromosomal DNA. Removing this DNA from the nuclei of cancer cells could improve patient outcomes, an international team led by Anton Henssen of the Experimental and Clinical Research Center reports in “Nature Genetics.”

The Oliver Daumke lab and researchers at Freie Universität Berlin have revealed how a protein complex guards the entrance to channels in mitochondrial membranes called cristae. The work, published in “Nature Communications,” provides a blueprint for modeling human proteins in action.

Using cryo-electron microscopy, the Kudryashev lab has revealed how muscle cell calcium channels open synchronously. The findings, published in “Nature Communications,” may explain a mechanism behind serious muscle diseases.

Klaus Rajewsky is among this year’s winners of Emory University's Max Cooper Prize in Immunology, which recognizes scientists for their “transformative and revolutionary achievements.” The three winners will be formally honored on Sept. 29, 2026, with a $100,000 prize to be shared equally.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships are intended to support careers, foster research excellence, and provide international and interdisciplinary advanced training through cross-border mobility. Organoid expert Sara De Vincentiis in the Gouti lab is among this year’s winners.

One week, two topics, and plenty of new experiences: 25 young people take a deep dive into research on rare diseases and immunology at the Life Science Learning Lab “Gläsernes Labor,” including by analyzing their own genes.

The German Stem Cell Network is honoring Maike Sander with a Hilde Mangold Award. The network recognized Sander for her scientific excellence, outstanding scientific leadership, and impact as a role model for women in research.

How can we keep our cells healthy for as long as possible? On the detektor.fm podcast “Forschungsquartett,” Dr. Katja Simon discusses autophagy — a cellular recycling system — and the role it plays in immune system aging.