Synchro swimmers under the microscope
A spectacle in the winter sky - But not only birds, fish and even crowds of people show collective movement, also motile bacteria form intermittent jets and swirls. Biophysicist Remy Colin and his team have have now been able to show how swarm behaviour affects navigation in the environment.
A new molecular switch for cell division
Bacteria show an amazing variety of mechanisms to control the spatial arrangement of cellular components, a process that is vital for cell division. Researchers led by Martin Thanbichler have now discovered a previously unknown central component of this machinery.
Something old, something new in the Ocean`s Blue
Researchers from our Department of Biochemistry and Synthetic Metabolism have discovered a long forgotten metabolic pathway. Their publication in the journal Nature sheds new light on the carbon dioxide balance of the world's oceans.
The Vibrio parahaemolyticus adventure
The marine bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the worldwide leading cause for seafood borne illnesses. Our research team led by Simon Ringgaard has identified "adventurer" cells that ensure the bacterium's dissemination and prevalence.
New Max Planck Research Group "Evolutionary Biochemistry"
How does evolution produce biochemical diversity? Group leader Georg Hochberg is dedicated to better understand the principles of molecular evolution.
