Press Releases

The details of many immune defense mechanisms are still unknown, but a new study sheds light on one such mechanism. Writing in “The EMBO Journal”, researchers led by Oliver Daumke and Misha Kudryashev of the Max Delbrück Center describe exactly how GBP1 proteins render bacteria harmless by encapsulating them.

Organoids help researchers understand biological processes in health and in disease. It is, however, difficult to influence the way in which they organize themselves into complex tissues. Now a group led by Nikolaus Rajewsky has found a new way to do so. They report their work in Nature Methods.

A data gap that threatens timely diagnosis and treatment for half the population, the visibility of female researchers in Wikipedia, and myriads of microbes in and on our bodies – the Max Delbrück Center's program for the Berlin Science Week 2023 is focused on dimensions of diversity.

Scientists have created a new zebrafish xenograft platform to screen for novel treatments for an aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma, according to a new study by the Gerhardt and De Smet labs published in “EMBO Molecular Medicine.”

Many people with post-COVID syndrome who suffer from fatigue six months after a coronavirus infection are still severely physically impaired up to 20 months afterward. The study by ECRC researcher Judith Bellmann-Strobl and her colleagues was published in “eClinicalMedicine.”

Researchers at BIH and the Max Delbrück Center have developed a new approach for vaccines against coronaviruses using modified spike proteins with lower binding affinity. This method could make vaccinations more effective, the team writes in the "European Journal of Immunology".

The Arl8b protein provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease. It also has the potential to function as a diagnostic marker. The scientists behind this discovery, a team led by Erich Wanker from the Max Delbrück Center, have published their findings in “Genome Medicine”.

The mucus in the airways is not as sticky, inflammation in the lungs significantly reduced: the positive effects of triple combination therapy in patients with cystic fibrosis are supported by researchers from Charité and the Max Delbrück Center in the “European Respiratory Journal”.

A new tool can identify cells that are actively responding to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. As reported in "Science Advances" by the Gargiulo lab, it can be used to screen for effective COVID-19 therapies and can be tailored to study other viruses as well.

Sensory cells in the vagus nerve can detect and locate food in the esophagus. Their signals help transport the food onward to the stomach. Signal failure leads to swallowing disorders, say a team led by Carmen Birchmeier at the Max Delbrück Center. They have published their findings in “Neuron.”