Press Releases

„Science at the Göttinger Literaturherbst" invites the audience on a journey through top German and international research from October 12-21, 2018. In eight lectures  renowned researchers and science journalists cover the spectrum from mathematics to species protection, and sleep research. Join the discussion! (press release in German)

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A team of scientists at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry as well as the Universities of Dundee (UK) and Groningen (Netherlands) has now clarified how potassium ions slip through potassium channels so efficiently and exclusively: They pass through the channels “naked”.

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Catalytic reactions clean up emissions from motor vehicles and industrial smokestacks. A new surface chemistry technique has allowed researchers at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry and the University of Göttingen to determine the long-sought mechanisms of one of the most studied catalytic reactions: the oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide on a platinum surface. Their findings can help to develop better catalysts. (in German)


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According to the genetic code in our DNA, cells assemble amino acids into proteins. Like any other code, the genetic code is unambiguous: A certain DNA sequence is always translated into the same amino acid. That's what researchers used to think. Scientists at the MPI of Biophysical Chemistry and the University of Bath (England) are now reporting for the first time on an organism that breaks this rule: the yeast Ascoidea asiatica randomly translates a certain DNA sequence into two different amino acids. (in German)
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Junior researcher Jonas Bucevicius has been awarded a Stefan Hell Fellowship at the Annual General Meeting of the Max Planck Society in Heidelberg. The chemist thus receives an employment contract at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and financial resources for his research. (in German) more

The European Patent Office (EPO) has honored Jens Frahm of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen with the European Inventor Award 2018 for his ground-breaking advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In two steps, the physicist and his team succeeded in speeding up MRI by a factor of up to 10,000 and established it in clinical practice.

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With this prize, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) honors the Director at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry for her ground-breaking work on meiosis in mammalian eggs. The award ceremony will take place during the annual ASCB/EMBO meeting in December 2018 in San Diego, California (United States). (in German) more

The 11th Molecular Biology of Hearing and Deafness symposium takes place from May 16 to 19 in Göttingen und thus, for the first time in Germany: International experts exchange latest findings on the molecular biology of hearing. (Press release in German)

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The MPI for Biophysical Chemistry honors Peter Schuster with the newly established Manfred Eigen Award. The physico-chemist will give a lecture at the award presentation entitled "Bridging from Chemistry to Life Sciences – Evolution seen with the Glasses of a Physicist" on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at 3 pm.

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The European Patent Office has nominated Jens Frahm of the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry as one of the three finalists in the category research. The prize, awarded in five categories altogether, honors individual inventors and teams who have helped find technical answers to the most pressing challenges of our time. The winner will be elected in Paris on June 7, 2018.

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On April 26, about 65 students will come to the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry to participate in the "Future Day for Girls and Boys" (Zukunftstag für Mädchen und Jungen). On this day, the students will visit the various departments, facilities, and workshops of the institute to gain first experiences working as animal keeper, artisan, computer scientist, or researcher. (in German) more

In the fight against cancer, scientists are developing new drugs to hit tumor cells at so far unused weak points. Such a “sore spot” is the protein complex SF3B. Max Planck researchers have now succeeded for the first time in deciphering in atomic detail how an anti-tumor agent binds to SF3B and how it modulates its function. The new findings provide an important basis for further improving potential cancer drugs that target SF3B. more