Press Releases

Launch of the new "Matter to Life" programme in Göttingen. Students with an excellent bachelor's degree will receive special support at the three Max Planck Schools "Matter to Life", "Photonics" and "Cognition". (in German) more

The Max Planck director receives the award of the Schering Stiftung for his pioneering research on an elemantary process of life - the copying of genes, called transcription. (in German) more

The electronics technician for devices and systems is honored with this year's award for his outstanding performance in his apprenticeship. (in German) more

Internationally renowned scientists and authors will again be guests at the Göttinger Literaturherbst from October 18-27, 2019 in the scientifc lecture series Wissenschaft beim Göttinger Literaturherbst. At nine evenings, the speakers will provide the audience with the opportunity to learn about the latest scientific discoveries at first hand in a generally understandable way. (in German) more

A new method developed by Helmut Grubmüller and his team shows that the very little information obtained from simulated measurements with a free-electron laser is sufficient to calculate the 3D structure of a protein at atomic resolution. (in German) more

The neurobiologist is taking over this year's Rolf Sammet Guest Professorship at the Goethe University Frankfurt. The university honors Reinhard Jahn for his groundbreaking research on how biological membranes fuse. (in German) more

For women to give birth to a healthy child, their eggs have to halve their set of chromosomes before fertilization in a sensitive process. Melina Schuh and her team have now discovered a previously unknown structure in mammalian eggs that is indispensable for the error-free distribution of chromosomes. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how mammalian eggs are prepared for fertilization. more

Claudia Schmidt is the winner of the Three-Minute-Thesis Competition organized by the Coimbra Group, a network of leading European universities. With her short talk "The recycling system of our cells", the PhD student convinced the jury in the final contest in Krakow. (in German) more

Sandra Schilbach, Agata Zielinska, and Thomas Lilienkamp of the Göttingen Max Planck Campus have been awarded the Otto Hahn Medal. Every year, the Max Planck Society honors up to 30 researchers for their outstanding achievements during their PhD. (in German) more

In this year's competition for funding from the European Research Council, two Göttingen scientists were successful: Stefan Jakobs, research group leader at the institute and Professor at the Department of Neurology of the University Medical Center, and Theofanis Kitsopoulos, researcher at the MPI and the University of Göttingen, will receive an ERC Advanced Grant endowed with approximately 2.5 million euros each. more

At certain sites on the messenger RNA, ribosomes stumble and start sliding before they land and resume their accurate work. Researchers at the institute have now unraveled what trips and shoves the ribosome.  more

The active compound anle138b can slow down Parkinson's disease in mice and prevent the death of nerve cells. It affects directly the alpha-synuclein protein. New findings pave the way for future treatment options in humans. (in German) more