Proteins

This is a picture of Erin Schuman, who has been director at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt since 2009. In this picture, Schuman is wearing a white lab coat buttoned over a purple shirt. She is standing in what appears to be a lab setting, with one hand resting on the counter, and the other one in the pocket of her lab coat. She is looking into the camera. Her brown hair is of medium lenght and curly.

The director at the MPI for Brain Research is honoured for pioneering research on neuronal protein synthesis more

Toolkit makes protein design faster and more accessible

The Damietta Server broadens the accessibility to protein design research and its applications in various biotechnological and biomedical fields
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<span><span>Tracking down rare hereditary diseases</span></span>

Dynamic structure of FLVCR proteins and their function in nutrient transport in our cells revealed more

Are membraneless compartments condensates?

A strategy by Max Planck scientist to assess the role of liquid-liquid phase separation drivers in cell division reveals poor predictive power of established assays more

One ring to rule them all

Max Plank researchers from Dortmund unveil how ring-like formin proteins promote actin filament growth more

Discovery of the first fractal molecule in nature

Scientists found for the first time a natural protein that follows a mathematical pattern of self-similarity more

A new path to drug diversity

Research on protein evolution reveals new starting points for the rapid and targeted development of future drugs more

Model of the sugar shield (green) on the GABAA receptor (grey) in a membrane (red) generated by GlycoSHIELD.

Researchers develop novel method to predict the morphology of sugar coats on clinically relevant proteins within minutes more

Powering Nitrogenases

Max Planck Researchers find new targets for improving biocatalysts more

<strong>New insights into the cell’s labeling machine</strong>

Scientists visualize the ubiquitin ligase HACE1 bound to an important target protein more

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This is a picture of Erin Schuman, who has been director at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt since 2009. In this picture, Schuman is wearing a white lab coat buttoned over a purple shirt. She is standing in what appears to be a lab setting, with one hand resting on the counter, and the other one in the pocket of her lab coat. She is looking into the camera. Her brown hair is of medium lenght and curly.

The director at the MPI for Brain Research is honoured for pioneering research on neuronal protein synthesis more

<span><span>Tracking down rare hereditary diseases</span></span>

Dynamic structure of FLVCR proteins and their function in nutrient transport in our cells revealed more

Discovery of the first fractal molecule in nature

Scientists found for the first time a natural protein that follows a mathematical pattern of self-similarity more

Degradation of pathogenic proteins

Researchers develop novel cancer protein killer more

Hard to drug

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

Illustration of a cell with its various components. The protein-protein interactions, in other words the social network of proteins, are represented by the red, orange and green lines. The corner points of the connections each symbolize an investigated protein in the cell.

A research team maps the entire protein network architecture of a cell more

First high-resolution image of thick filaments of muscle cells

Scientists gain insight into the organization of the mammalian heart muscle more

Wiggly proteins guard the genome

Dynamic network in the pores of the nuclear envelope blocks dangerous invaders more

Major advance in super-resolution fluorescence microscopy

Pushing the MINFLUX technique to higher spatial and temporal precision allows protein dynamics to be observed under physiological conditions more

Human epithelial cells (green with blue nuclei) are incubated with synthetic SARS-CoV-2 virions (magenta) to study the initial of infection and immune evasion.

Researchers create minimalistic Sars-CoV-2 virions and discover the spike protein switching mechanism more

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Scientific highlights 2020

Scientific highlights 2020

December 21, 2020

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2020 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 13 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year more

Secretin protein with a crown

Researchers elucidate the structure of a molecular machine that allows bacteria to import foreign DNA and become resistant to antibiotics more

Structure of channelrhodopsin determined

Researchers discover structure and mechanism of action of molecular light switch, paving the way for new applications more

Stiff fibres spun from slime

Under the influence of shear forces, nanoparticles from the secretion of velvet worms form polymer fibres that can be recycled in water more

<p>Shining a light on molecular switches</p>

First structural insights obtained from femtosecond X-ray crystallography more

Deceptive teeth

Although the dentition of the wedgefish appear designed to crush shellfish, it also eats stingrays more

Green chemistry from the mussel foot

The byssus threads of the common mussel are produced by a combination of self-assembly processes and biologically active steps more

The first glimpse of a single protein

A folded protein molecule can be clearly imaged with the help of electron holograms more

Light microscopy provides a deep look into protein structure

An innovative fluorescence microscopy method makes it possible to image protein structures with a resolution of less than half an Angstrom more

Why is Usain Bolt the fastest person on Earth?

Max Planck researchers observe muscles at work with the help of new microscopes more

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