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It takes great patience and perseverance to turn research findings into new technologies or therapies. The Helmholtz Initiative and Networking Fund gives financial support to “pathfinder projects” that are particularly promising. Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center have now won grants for three projects.

For nearly two decades, Oliver Daumke has been working to solve the mystery of how a molecular machine remodels cellular membranes. His team has now found the answer with the help of cryo-electron tomography. They report their findings in the journal “Nature Communications”.

As part of the IMMEDIATE project, a team led by ECRC researcher Friedemann Paul is investigating inflammatory precursors of diseases – and how nutrition and the gut microbiome influence the immune system. The project is receiving more than €7 million in EU funding.

They have their sights set on serious diseases: Gabriele G. Schiattarella analyzes mechanisms of heart failure, Simon Haas wants to improve immunotherapies for leukemia and Michael Sigal would like to prevent gastrointestinal diseases. Now, the ERC is awarding the researchers with a Starting Grant.

What role do a common receptor and diet play in chronic inflammation? That is the question that the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) and other partners will pursue over the next three years in a consortium project funded by the BMBF.

Defective mitochondrial can lead to neurodegenerative and muscular diseases. But how does the “powerhouse” of the cell normally maintain its characteristic shape? In Science Advances, new molecular insights have now been provided by an MDC team led by Oliver Daumke.

At ECRC, Theda Bartolomaeus investigates how the microbes that colonize the human body affect our lives. In our "Lunch Break" video series, the PhD student reveals how she got into biology – and why sports are so important to her.

The PROSPER research project is bringing together researchers at four different sites in Germany to study whether a specific nutritional supplement can protect premature babies from blood poisoning. The BMBF is supporting the project, in which a group from the ECRC is involved, to the tune of €1.9 million.

Changes in the gut microbiome can ultimately lead to cardiovascular disease. Yet some of the alterations appear to normalize in chronic conditions, a team led by ECRC researcher Sofia Forslund reports in "Nature Medicine". This finding may have clinical implications.

The acid-sensitive chloride ion channel ASOR is found in almost all our cells. But apart from its involvement in cell death, not much is known about its physiological role. Now, the Jentsch Lab at FMP and MDC reports astonishing insights about its structure and activation mechanisms in “Science Advances”.