Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics

Humans could also possess a mechanism to temporarily slow down the development of an embryo

Start-up will fine-tune AI models for diagnostics and biomarker discovery
 

How to improve transcription factors

A new mechanism to control the activity of transposable elements

Protein droplets reveal new ways to inhibit transcription factors in an aggressive form of prostate cancer

Since the Berlin-based biotech company Scienion was established in 2001, it has experienced its fair share of highs and lows. We talked to its founder about what drives him to succeed and about the typical stumbling blocks and peculiarities associated with spin-offs from basic research.

Sequenced, yes – but decoded? We still don’t fully understand our human genetic make-up. The answer to many of its mysteries lies in the diploid nature of the genome, which contains two sets of chromosomes: one inherited from the father and one from the mother.

Nearly a quarter of all known illnesses are extremely rare and affect just a few thousand patients worldwide. Stefan Mundlos, a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, and his team specialize in the study of rare bone diseases. They are looking for the genes that trigger these disorders.

Diapause enables numerous animals to delay pregnancy until environmental conditions become more favorable by pausing the development of their embryos. Whether human cells can also undergo diapause is a subject of debate. We are utilizing in vitro models to explore the mechanisms through which mouse embryos regulate diapause. Our research holds promise for biotechnological applications and could contribute to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of quiescent cells in various biological contexts.

The cell, like many of its components, consists of small vesicles with a fatty envelope. Molecules can move around freely inside these envelopes. But there are other complex structures that are not strictly bounded from their environment. They can change dynamically and are made of a large number of different molecules. These molecular condensates play an important role in gene regulation and disease.

The inactivation of one of the two X chromosomes in females can not only explain various inheritable diseases, but also allows us to study how the activity of our genome is controlled. X inactivation is governed by the Xist gene, which is able to silence an entire chromosome. Although this process appears to be restricted to mammals, the underlying regulatory mechanisms are used in various contexts of genome regulation.

The ontogeny of a complex organism from a single cell demands a high level of self-organization of stem cells and their descendants. The current 2-D model of cell differentiation in culture does not support the formation of embryo-like structures. By using a new 3-D culture system we were able to show that embryonic stem cells of the mouse are indeed able to form trunk-like structures comprising primordia of the spinal cord, cartilage, bone, and skeletal muscle in a culture dish. Our method strengthens a new field of research: Synthetic Embryology.

We are pursuing fundamental questions of biology: How do cells work, what are the processes within and how do these processes affect each other? After all, interaction of billions of molecules is what constitutes life. Hence, we try to understand the complexity of biological systems through mathematical models and the analysis of large-scale data. Particularly the dynamic regulation of genes is a continuous source for new and surprising discoveries.