News

Using data from the German NAKO health study, an international team led by Tobias Pischon has found that a healthy lifestyle – regular exercise, a balanced diet, alcohol in moderation and not smoking – is linked to the accumulation of less visceral body fat. The results are reported in “Obesity.”

Jiyan Xu is a doctoral student in Sofia Forslund's lab. She is investigating how diet, allergies, and potentially harmful microbes interact and shape the human gut microbiome. Jiyan Xu recommends a deeply thought-provoking, philosophical book for us. It is a classic of Japanese literature.

Lena Fürst, a member of Annette Hammes-Lewin's team, is being honored by the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry for finishing at the top of her biology lab technician training class. In this interview, she talks about the obstacles she has had to overcome and offers advice to other trainees.

What does it take to turn Max Delbrück Center research into a startup? Meet Klaas Yperman, our very first Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Yperman has won a Helmholtz Enterprise grant to develop a roadmap for turning compounds discovered in the Lewin lab into a drug to treat neuropathic pain.

The Max Delbrück Center has once again been awarded the “audit berufundfamilie” certification – an acknowledgment of our commitment to supporting employees through all stages of their lives, whether caring for children or aging parents.

About one thousand science enthusiasts took part in Max Delbrück Center events during Berlin Science Week 2025. Visitors learned that sharks do indeed feel pain, experienced single-cell research first hand, enjoyed a concert and exhibitions. Scroll through our photo gallery below for a few highlights.

During Berlin Science Week, more than 200 researchers, animal welfare officers and managers, journalists, communicators and experts on openness on animal research met at the first-ever EARA conference at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin-Buch.

According to a ranking by Clarivate, Friedemann Paul and Nikolaus Rajewsky are among the most Highly Cited Researchers in the world. Both made the list repeatedly. Germany ranks fourth of countries and regions, behind the U.S., mainland China and the U.K.

During project week “Expedition Proteins” at the Gläsernes Labor, students immerse themselves in protein research – isolating samples, loading gels and visiting a real structural biology lab. The week-long workshop gives them a hands-on glimpse into how scientists explore life’s molecular machinery.

A collaboration led by Max Delbrück Center and University of Bath has uncovered how ancient viral DNA controls a gene linked to placenta development and pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy disorder. The research, published in “Genome Biology,” could help identify pre-eclampsia risk much earlier.