New Technique Enables Biologists to Control Motion Within Living Cells
Simple motion inside biological cells, such as the streaming of cytoplasm – the liquid cell interior – is widely believed to be essential for cells…
Max Planck Institute
Hydrodynamic Simulations Visualize the Large-Scale Structure of Galaxies
Astrophysicists from Heidelberg, Garching, and the USA present the thus far largest and most detailed calculations of the formation and evolution of galaxies. In their…
This Four Millimeter Long Millirobot Can Walk, Crawl and Roll Through Difficult Terrain
Tiny robots need not fear obstacle courses in the future: Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a minuscule,…
Biologists Track Global Reductions in Terrestrial Mammalian Movements
Humans change entire landscapes – by building cities and roads, by farming land and by exploiting natural resources. What effects does this have on animals…
Children with Cochlear Implants Learn Words Faster Than Children With Normal Hearing
According to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute, up to two thousand hearing impaired children are born in Germany each year. For some of them…
Scientists Sequence Largest Genome to Date, the Axolotl Genome
A team of researchers led by scientists in Vienna, Dresden and Heidelberg has decoded the entire genetic information of the Mexican salamander axolotl. The axolotl…
Geneticists Fully Decode a New Genome for Regeneration Research
The planarian flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea is an extraordinary animal. Even when cut into tiny pieces, each piece can regenerate back into a complete and perfectly…
Scientists Reveal the Evolution of Modern Human Brain Shape
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, reveal how and when the typical globular brain shape of modern humans evolved….
New Technique Allows Scientists to Switch ATP Synthase On and Off Using UV Light
The enzyme complex ATP synthase is one of the most important molecular machines in the cell. It produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which serves as the…
New Insights Into Exactly How Bacteria Import DNA
Bacteria are consummate survivalists. They are aided in this by their ability to assimilate DNA from their surroundings, which allows them to constantly acquire new…
Astronomers Measure the Inner Structure of Distant Stars
At first glance, it would seem to be impossible to look inside a star. An international team of astronomers, under the leadership of Earl Bellinger…
Boosting FoxO3 Activity Halts the Progress of Pulmonary Fibrosis
To date, the molecular basis of pulmonary fibrosis has been poorly understood. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad…
Study Shows Chimps and Infants Want to Punish Antisocial Behavior
Living together in communities requires mutual cooperation. To achieve this, we punish others when they are uncooperative. Until now, it has been unclear as to…
Genetic Variability Supports Plant Survival During Droughts
In the first study to predict whether different populations of the same plant species can adapt to climate change, scientists from the Max Planck Institute…
Researchers Show That a Hyperactive Network Causes Stuttering
Roughly, one in a hundred adults has problems with speaking fluently. Not much is known about the causes of persistent developmental stuttering, which is the…
The Costly Efforts Bacteria Use to Defend Against Predators
Even bacteria have enemies – in water, for example, single-celled ciliates preferably feed on microbes. The microbes protect themselves against predators by employing a variety…
Inhibition of FKBP51 Protein Reduces Obesity and Diabetes
For the first time, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich could prove that a stress protein found in muscle has a…
Stem Cells Sense Density to Make Decisions
Human skin is a remarkable organ serving as a barrier protecting us from pathogens, toxic substances and others. Our skin needs to constantly renew throughout…