News

MDC researcher Jan Philipp Junker and his collaborator Maria Colomé-Tatché at Helmholtz Center Munich have received a €200,000 grant to improve big data processing to better understand how gene networks are wired together during development and disease.

After more than 40 years, several teams at the MDC and ECRC have now made a breakthrough discovery with the help of two animal models: they have proven that an altered gene encoding the enzyme PDE3A causes an inherited form of high blood pressure. This could lead to new concepts for the treatment of hypertension.

Genome researchers have come together to launch the German COVID-19 OMICS Initiative (DeCOI). DeCOI combines the expertise of more than 22 institutions from across Germany to make a scientific contribution to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers at the ECRC have successfully used RNA molecules to treat a dangerous pregnancy disorder called preeclampsia. They were able to alleviate common symptoms of the disorder, like maternal high blood pressure and fetal undernutrition, with virtually no side effects.

A new diagnostic test to quickly and easily monitor kidney transplant patients for infection and rejection relies on a simple urine sample and a powerful partner: the gene-editing technology CRISPR. Michael Kaminski, who developed it, leads a new Emmy Noether Group at the MDC & Charité.

In light of the pandemic, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) is pooling together its resources for projects that advance the understanding of SARS-CoV-2, while scaling down its regular research operations to a minimum. Here’s an overview of the MDC’s current collaborations and plans.

What goes on inside and between individual cells during the very earliest stages of tumor development? Single cell sequencing technologies and a mouse model have enabled researchers to comprehensively map the cellular diversity of whole salivary gland tumors and trace the path of cancer stem cells.

Muscle pain and cramps are common side effects of statins. As an MDC and Charité research group now reports in Scientific Reports, the cholesterol reducers actually influence thousands of genes in muscle cells – thereby hindering cell growth and division.

PCAWG, the largest cancer research consortium in the world, has set itself the task of improving our understanding of genetic mutations in tumors. A new study by the international research group, to which the MDC substantially contributed, is now being published in the journal Nature.

Single cell technologies for Personalized Medicine – The Berlin Institute of Health (BIH ), the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin are launching a joint research initiative.