Press Releases of the MPI-NAT

From October 27 to November 5, renowned researchers and authors will report on their exciting findings in astronomy, biology, the humanities, and social sciences in the scientifc lecture series Wissenschaftsreihe beim Göttinger Literaturherbst. The lectures in the Paulinerkirche in Göttingen begin at 7 pm. (in German) more

The European Research Council (ERC) is funding the three Göttingen Campus academics Hauke Hillen, Marieke Oudelaar, and Saskia Limbach with an ERC Starting Grant of about 1.5 million euros each for a period of five years. more

The National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina honors its member Jürgen Troe with the Cothenius Medal for his outstanding scientific life's achievements in the field of chemical reaction kinetics. (in German) more

The magnetic resonance imaging method developed by Jens Frahm at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry (now MPI for Multidisciplinary Sciences), FLASH 2, makes processes in the body visible even in motion. At the Institute for Pediatric Radiology at Leipzig University Hospital, it enables to examine young children without sedation or anesthesia for the first time. (Press release by Max Planck Innovation) more

Constanze Depp and Dmitriy Borodin receive the Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society for excellence in their dissertations. Borodin is also honored with the Otto Hahn Award for the exceptional quality of his research, Depp additionally receives the Peter Hans Hofschneider Prize. The research organization presented the awards at its annual meeting in Göttingen on June 21. more

Vlad Pena's team has now deciphered the steps that activate the spliceosome. The nanomachine converts the building instructions for proteins in the cell into a readable form. As the researchers discovered, two molecular motors activate the spliceosome. more

Alzheimer’s is considered the world’s most common neurodegenerative disease. Researchers have now shown that age-related damage to the insulating layer around nerve cells, called myelin, actively promotes Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain. more