Molecular 3D structure of viral "copying machine" deciphered

Approach for drug development

11-Mar-2025 - Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) and the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences have shown, for the first time, how the genetic material of the Nipah virus replicates in infected cells. The virus can cause fatal encephalitis in humans. Using ...

Scientists discover the function of a mysterious HIV component

Researchers reveal new insights into the how the matrix layer of HIV-1 becomes mature

05-Mar-2025 - Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry have discovered the mechanism behind an important step in the life cycle of HIV. Working together with teams at Heidelberg and Yale Universities, they found that the enigmatic “spacer peptide 2”, one of the virus components, plays a key ...

Refining the CRISPR scissors

Research team unveils novel anti-CRISPR protein mechanism for precise control of genome editing technologies

20-Feb-2025 - The CRISPR-Cas gene scissors offer a wide range of potential applications, from the treatment of genetic diseases to antiviral therapies and diagnostics. However, to safely harness their powers, scientists are searching for mechanisms that can regulate or inhibit the systems’ activity. Enter the ...

A stronghold in the fight against viruses - new bacterial immune system decoded

International research team describes for the first time the structure and function of the Zorya system

16-Dec-2024 - Bacteria are constantly infected by viruses, so-called phages, which use the bacteria as host cells. However, in the course of evolution, bacteria have developed various strategies to protect themselves from these attacks. Many of these bacterial immunity systems have been known for a long time. ...

Scientists decode black widow spider venom

Cryo-EM and MD simulations unveil the mechanism of the potent neurotoxin α-latrotoxin in forming calcium-permeable membrane pores

10-Oct-2024 - The black widow spider is one of the most feared spider species. Its venom is a cocktail of seven different toxins that attack the nervous system. These so-called latrotoxins specifically paralyse insects and crustaceans, but one of them, the α-latrotoxin, targets vertebrates and is also ...

A new drug target for psychiatric disorders

11-Sep-2024 - Misha Kudryashev’s lab at the Max Delbrück Center has identified a molecular intermediate of a serotonin receptor that is involved in diseases such as depression and schizophrenia. The study points to a potentially new target for therapeutics. A new study published in “The EMBO Journal” points ...

Intricate processes in photosynthesis decoded using advanced electron microscopy technique

This enables breakthroughs in multiple areas of biological and chemical research

25-Jun-2024 - Using cryo-electron microscopy a team of scientists from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), the Swedish universities of Umeå and Uppsala and the University of Potsdam has succeeded in visualising atomic structures at an unprecedented resolution at the nanometre level underlying the process of ...

NovAliX and Max Planck join forces to advance Cryo-EM driven drug discovery

Collaboration will make vital process of translating scientific research and academic insights into real therapies more efficient and more effective

07-Mar-2024 - NovAliX, a specialized Contract Research Organization dedicated to enabling drug discovery, announces its long-term strategic partnership with the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen. Through this collaboration, NovAliX and the MPI aim to make the vital process ...

Identify, engage, assassinate: How seahorse-like toxins kill insects

Researchers reveal the first-ever detailed structure of the bacterial toxin Mcf1: Useful for engineering novel biopesticides

02-Feb-2024 - Insect-killing bacteria typically release toxins to slay their hosts. The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens, for example, pumps insect larvae full of the lethal ‘Makes caterpillars floppy 1’ (Mcf1) toxin, leading them to first become droopy and then dead. However, it has so far been a mystery ...

The enzyme with the iron heart

Results could lead to new biocatalysts for sustainable biotechnology

11-Dec-2023 - Nitrogenases are the only enzymes capable of reducing atmospheric nitrogen to bioavailable nitrogen (ammonia), a process essential for all life on Earth. Using cryogenic electron microscopy, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, have now solved ...