Neuroscience

Joint press release by the Max Delbrück Center and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research One...

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center show that two closely related enzymes, MNK1 and MNK2, act on the brain to regulate different behaviors. Their findings, published in “Molecular Psychiatry,” could help guide development of more precise therapies for neurological disorders.

ScienceCLASH, a podcast developed at the Gläsernes Labor, has won the MINT-EC School Award, which is sponsored by the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation and comes with 7,000 euros in funding. A second season is already in the works – and researchers at the Max Delbrück Center are invited to participate.

Jana Kroll, Christian Rosenmund and their teams have captured the fleeting moment a nerve cell releases its neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. The work was published in “Nature Communications.”

For a healthy brain and nervous system to form in the embryo, chemical and mechanical signals must precisely guide cell development. Annette Hammes investigates the factors that can disrupt this finely tuned system – to enable the early detection, and potentially the prevention, of brain malformations.

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center and Aarhus University have found a mechanism through which the gene variant APOE4, long linked to a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, impairs neuronal function in the aging brain. The research was published in “Nature Metabolism.”

Thoralf Niendorf at the Max Delbrück Center has won a Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council to study the use of heat generated during MRI scans to selectively destroy brain tumors. The method could pose significantly fewer risks than laser ablation or surgery.

The Max Delbrück Center welcomes two visiting fellows, both from the U.S., supported by Stiftung Charité: Karen Christman at the Sander Lab and Jakob von Moltke at the Lewin Lab. They will launch new interdisciplinary projects that cover neurobiology, immunology and bioengineering.

The Max Delbrück Center is a partner in one newly awarded Berlin based Clusters of Excellence: ImmunoPreCept. NeuroCure has also won another round of funding. All researchers are working toward a common goal – to develop therapies that can intercept diseases on a molecular level.

“The Healing Museum” combines art history with meditation, mindfulness, and medical research. The project, which aims to strengthen the mental health of visitors, was created through a collaboration between the Bode Museum and the ECRC and was spearheaded by Carmen Infante Duarte.