News

16 Helmholtz Association Centers have terminated their license agreements with scientific publisher Elsevier effective by the end of 2017. One of these Centers is the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC).

Early-stage colon cancer patients could benefit in the future from specific genetic tests that...

Eric Niller and Pirmin Schmid won a special prize in the youth science competition “Jugend forscht”: they have now spent a week gaining work experience in two research groups at the MDC. There are plenty of opportunities at the MDC for larger school groups, too. The institute runs various events to spark young people’s enthusiasm for the life sciences.

A new study in the journal Nature reveals that a small signaling molecule has the ability to cut off the blood supply to tumors. This allows the immune system’s T-cells to indirectly fight cancer.

B cells require surface molecules called B cell receptors to survive. Most tumor cells that arise from B cells seem to need them as well, but rare exceptions may escape therapies. After 15 years, scientists finally understand why.

A doctorate is a key milestone for everyone who wants to embark on an academic career. Numerous postdoctoral researchers – such as Tobias Opialla, who is still unsure about his next steps, or Marina Kolesnichenko, who wants to develop a career in science – are also working in the MDC laboratories. Both are taking up the opportunities provided by the MDC to guide their decision-making.

Supporting, organizing and carrying out research are the main tasks of scientific funding bodies and institutions. ORION, a Europe-wide collaborative project in the life sciences and biomedicine, aims to make these processes more transparent to the public. The MDC joins eight other partners in the project, which kicks off in Barcelona this week.

Immunotherapy with T-cells offers great hope to people suffering from cancer. Some initial successes have already been made in treating blood cancer, but treating solid tumors remains a major challenge. The signaling molecule interferon gamma, which is produced by T-cells, plays a key role in the therapy. It cuts off the blood supply to tumors, as a new study in the journal Nature reveals.

The MDC once again took part in UniStem Day this year, which took place for the ninth time overall. That day, 230 students from 14 Berlin schools learned about stem cell research.