Martin Beck receives prestigious ERC Advanced Grant

A research proposal aiming to address the mechanical properties of huge pores in the nuclear membrane of cells has earned our Director Martin Beck one of the highly prestigious Advanced Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). Congratulations!
 

New discovery of researchers from the MPI of Biophysics in Science magazine: Nuclear pore complexes are mechanosensitive

A group of scientists led by Martin Beck (Molecular Sociology) has, in collaboration with the group of Gerhard Hummer (Theoretical Biophysics) and scientists from the EMBL, published new insights into the dynamics of the 3D structure of nuclear pores in eukaryotic cells in the scientific journal Science. By showing that membrane tension influences the diameter of the nuclear pore complexes, they identified an unexpected way of regulating the transport in and out of the nucleus under different physiological conditions such as cellular stress. (Visuals: Antoni Kosinski)
 

Werner Kühlbrandt receives the Cothenius Medal for his lifetime achievement

With this award, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina honours Werner Kühlbrandt, Director of the Department of Structural Biology, for his outstanding scientific lifetime achievement.

Murphy group’s work published in Science magazine: How methanogenic microbes manage electrons

This month, the renowned Science magazine published new results from Olivia Pfeil-Gardiner and Bonnie Murphy (Max Planck Insitut of Biophysics) in collaboration with researchers from the Max Planck Insitute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg. New structures solved by the group shed light on direct and conformationally-controlled electron transfer for CO₂ fixation in methanogens.