Press Releases

Those who sleep enough live healthier lives - but can sleep also prevent us from aging? This is at least the case with threadworms, as scientists at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry have now shown: The nematode C.elegans falls asleep when it is starving and thereby slows down the ageing of its cells. This direct link between sleep and ageing processes might also exist in humans. more

The exhibition Alfred Pohl - The Light and Colors of South America will be opened on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 4 pm at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry. The art historian Rudolf Krüger will give an introduction to Alfred Pohl's work. Hans-Henning Vater (violin) and Christian Horn (bandoneon) will frame the opening with Tango Argentino. The Pohl exhibition is open from October 27 to November 21, admission is free of charge. (in German) more

The prize winners have developed an alternative to the most widely used antibodies, which can drastically reduce the number of animals in antibody production more

More than 40 researchers in the schools, a moving Max Planck on stage, and a fun pub evening combining science with humor and live music – last Friday's Max-Planck-Tag offered a full and varied program from early in the morning until late in the evening. more

On Friday, September 14, we celebrate Max Planck Day. In a wide variety of public events, Max Planck scientists throughout Germany show which open questions are the driving force behind their research. In Göttingen, the program runs through the entire day. more

Agata Zielinska, scientist at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, has been awarded the Nikon Young Scientist Award of the German Society for Cell Biology. The society recognizes Zielinska's outstanding achievements in research into the maturation of mammalian eggs. (in German) more

Cell identity and fate are determined by a cell’s repertoire of expressed genes. Gene expression is regulated at the level of DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, which make RNA copies from DNA templates through a process called transcription. Transcription is regulated both during initiation and elongation of the RNA chain. In two new studies, scientists of the MPI-BPC have determined the molecular basis of critical steps regulating elongation. more

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! (in German) more

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”. more

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) more

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) more

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