Press Releases

Cardiomyopathy is not a uniform disease. Rather, individual genetic defects lead to heart failure in different ways, an international consortium reports in “Science”. MDC researcher Norbert Hübner is one of the senior authors.

Armin Rehm and Uta Höpken want to improve our immune defenses against cancer. They have recently shown in human cells what was previously only possible in mouse models. Their findings, published in "Molecular Therapy", have raised the chances of a highly effective immunotherapy being developed for blood cancer.

An MDC research team led by Jan Philipp Junker and Daniela Panáková has found that zebrafish can regenerate heart tissue after injury. Connective tissue cells play an important role in the process by temporarily entering an activated state, as the team reports in “Nature Genetics”.

Single-cell analyses provide a wealth of molecular and genetic information. A team led by MDC researcher Uwe Ohler is using machine learning to combine these data and produce meaningful profiles of the cells. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is now funding the project.

Shortly before Berlin’s Christopher Street Day, the MDC will hold a Pride Symposium for the first time. On July 22, 2022, everyone is welcome to exchange ideas about queer issues in life sciences and health care.

An international consortium brings together 7,200 segments of the human genome that are virtually unexplored and presents a roadmap for integrating them into genome databases in “Nature Biotechnology”. They could hold information about what sets humans apart from other animals.

The way the genome is folded regulates gene activation, so it can’t be left to chance. Molecular boundaries across the genome keep things in order. A team led by MDC researcher Darío Lupiáñez has discovered how these boundaries work. Their findings, published in "Nature Genetics", could help us to better understand developmental diseases or cancer.

Why is it useful to fish in Berlin's sewage? What do Beethoven's locks of hair disclose? And what does cancer have to do with obesity? All of this will be discussed on July 2, 2022, when MDC researchers will open their laboratories during the Long Night. Another focus: science and art.

The molecular tool CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to treat inherited blood disorders, but this may cause unintended genetic alterations. A team led by MDC researchers Klaus Rajewsky and Van Trung Chu has now presented an approach in “Science Advances” that minimizes such adverse consequences.

Blood vessels must adapt their growth to the nutrients available in their surroundings so that they can keep organs adequately supplied. A team led by Michael Potente has identified two proteins that are important for this process and published their findings in "Nature Metabolism".