Harnessing Mutations: A Breakthrough in Fruit Fly Genetics

A game-changing technique, TF-High-Evolutionary (TF-HighEvo), allows large-scale assessment of de-novo mutations in multicellular organisms

16-Sep-2024 - Developed in collaboration with researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society and published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, this technique provides fresh insights into the evolutionary dynamics of gene ...

The ageing brain: Changes in gene activity detected in different cell types

Findings could provide starting points for slowing down the ageing process and delaying neurodegenerative diseases

10-Sep-2024 - Ageing is a complex biological process that also takes place in the brain. Researchers have discovered that the gene activity changes in different cell types in the brain. A certain type of neuron is particularly affected. In the long term, the findings could provide starting points for slowing ...

Structures considered key to gene expression are surprisingly fleeting

Study finds genome loops don’t last long in cells; theories of how loops control gene expression may need to be revised

20-Apr-2022 - In human chromosomes, DNA is coated by proteins to form an exceedingly long beaded string. This “string” is folded into numerous loops, which are believed to help cells control gene expression and facilitate DNA repair, among other functions. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of ...

Nucleosome breathing from atomistic time snapshots

Computer simulations visualize in atomic detail how DNA opens while wrapped around proteins

08-Jun-2021 - Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht (The Netherlands) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster (Germany) used computer simulations to reveal in atomic detail how a short piece of DNA opens while it is tightly wrapped around the proteins that package our ...

What social distancing does to a brain

Have you recently wondered how social-distancing and self-isolation may be affecting your brain?

04-Dec-2020 - An international research team led by Erin Schuman from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research discovered a brain molecule that functions as a “thermometer” for the presence of others in an animal’s environment. Zebrafish “feel” the presence of others via mechanosensation and water movements ...

Self-restrained genes enable evolutionary novelty

22-Nov-2019 - Changes in the genes that control development can potentially make large contributions to evolution by generating new morphologies in plants and animals. However, because developmental genes frequently influence many different processes, changes to their expression carry a risk of “collateral ...

How molecules measure embryo size

03-Aug-2018 - Early during their development, embryos can fully compensate for tissue loss: If large parts are removed, the embryos still develop into smaller but complete and healthy organisms. Researchers at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society in Tübingen wanted to elucidate the ...

Cell growth regulates genetic circuits

Max Planck researchers discover an explanation for different growth rates of genetically identically cells

04-Feb-2010 - Genetic circuits control the activity of genes and thereby the function of cells and organisms. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam and the University of California at San Diego have shown how various genetic circuits in bacterial cells are influenced by ...