News & Events

Dr. Anton Henssen, a scientist and physician at the ECRC , has received the Young Investigator Award of the 2020 Berliner Wissenschaftspreis for his cutting-edge research into childhood cancers. The award was presented by the Governing Mayor of Berlin at a ceremony on July 22 in front of the Rotes Rathaus.

The protein dynamin is a molecular machine that helps cells to take up nutrients and other substances. A team led by MDC researcher Oliver Daumke has now detailed how this minuscule motor works in the journal “PNAS”.

It is widely agreed that animals used in research deserve special protection. In a commentary published in the journal Animals, scientists and animal welfare officers from Berlin are now asking for the official guidance on implementing EU directive 2010/63/EU to be revised, because they believe the current instructions hinder research and do not help the animals.

MDC researchers have discovered a previously unknown cause of cardiac hypertrophy. As they report in the journal “Genome Biology”, genetic variation results in heart cell ribosomes not working properly. This disrupts protein production, which in turn causes the heart to grow too large.

The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association is one of the first signatories of the "Transparent Animal Testing" initiative. Professor Thomas Sommer, Scientific Director (interim), explains why.

The use of animals in research is a hotly debated issue, making fact-based and open communication all the more important. So the DFG and “Tierversuche verstehen” have teamed up to launch the “Transparency Agreement Initiative.” There are more than 50 initial signatories, including the MDC.

Eduardo Silva Ramos has been awarded a fellowship by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. The MDC researcher intends to further investigate a protein complex that may have a critical influence on a mutation at the root of Huntington’s disease and use this as a starting point to develop new treatment methods.

The postdoctoral training period lasts up to six years – and then what? The MDC’s ASPIRE program offers guidance to those who are unsure about the next step. Dr. Jean-Yves Tano from the MDC career center, which also takes care of postdocs, coordinates the MDC’s career development services. He talks about the opportunities ASPIRE offers participants.

Scientists from the BIH at Charité and the MDC have teamed up with U.S. and Japanese researchers to take single-cell analysis to a new level. They combined methods for determining mRNA levels and DNA accessibility with those used for detecting proteins and mutations in mitochondrial DNA, they report in “Nature Biotechnology”.