Serotonin

In late June, Dr. Natalia Alenina and Prof. Michael Bader hosted the conference “Serotonin – 20 Years After” at the Max Delbrück Center. In this interview, they share conference highlights and reveal that this versatile signaling molecule has some surprising functions in the human body – and some that scientists still don’t understand.

PhD candidates now have the opportunity to apply for two new training programs. The EU is supporting the program for talented early-stage researchers at the MDC and other European research institutions to the tune of €4 million per network.

VONVENDI [von Willebrand factor (Recombinant)]”, the new drug from Baxalta Incorporated, a global biopharmaceutical company recently spun off from Baxter International, has just been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. It is the first, and so far the only, recombinant protein for the treatment of von Willebrand disease, and offers those affected a new therapeutic option for the first time in more than 10 years.

New Insights Gained by MDC Researchers in Experiments on Mice

A lack of serotonin, commonly known as the “happiness hormone”, in the brain slows the growth of mice after birth and is responsible for impaired maternal behavior later in life. This was the result of research conducted by Dr. Natalia Alenina, Dana Kikic, and Professor Michael Bader of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany. At the same time, the researchers discovered that the presence of serotonin in the brain is not crucial for the survival of the animals. Furthermore, they were able to confirm that there are two strictly separate pathways of serotonin production: One gene is responsible for the formation of serotonin in the brain, another gene for the production of the hormone in the body (PNAS, June 23, 2009, Vol. 106, No. 25, pp 10332-10337)*.