New tool facilitates clinical interpretation of genetic information

25-Apr-2023 - Max Planck and Harvard research teams develop DeMAG, a new method shared as an open-source web server (demag.org) to help interpret mutations in disease genes and improve clinical decision-making. Despite the increasing use of genomic sequencing in clinical practice, interpreting rare genetic ...

Measuring Organ Development

Metrics for organ development have now been defined for the first time

24-Nov-2022 - Researchers from Dresden and Vienna reveal link between connectivity of three-dimensional structures in tissues and the emergence of their architecture to help scientists engineer self-organising tissues that mimic human organs. Organs in the human body have complex networks of fluid-filled tubes ...

A new era of genome sequencing

16 new high-quality reference genomes from vertebrates

30-Apr-2021 - The international Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP) publishes their flagship study focused on genome assembly quality and standardization for the field of genomics in a special issue of Nature, along with 20 associated publications. This study presents 16 diploid high-quality, near error-free, and ...

The genetic basis of bats’ superpowers revealed

First six reference-quality bat genomes released and analysed

24-Jul-2020 - For the first time, the raw genetic material that codes for bats’ unique adaptations and superpowers such as the ability to fly, to use sound to move effortlessly in complete darkness, to survive and tolerate deadly diseases, to resist ageing and cancer - has been fully revealed. Bat1K, a global ...

The lipid code

New chemical tools can control the concentration of lipids in living cells

21-Apr-2020 - Lipids, or fats, have many functions in our body: They form membrane barriers, store energy or act as messengers, which regulate cell growth and hormone release. Many of them are also biomarkers for severe diseases. So far, it has been very difficult to analyze the functions of these molecules in ...

Let’s build a cell

Researchers engineer a minimal synthetic cellular system to study basic cell function

24-Jan-2020 - Cells are the basic unit of life. They provide an environment for the fundamental molecules of life to interact, for reactions to take place and sustain life. However, the biological cell is very complicated, making it difficult to understand what takes place inside it. One way to tackle this ...

Better diagnosis with 3D model of human liver tissue

Geometrical and functional liver model for improved diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

04-Dec-2019 - Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver with an insulin resistance due to causes other than alcohol intake. NAFLD includes a spectrum of liver diseases from simple steatosis (“non-progressive” and reversible) to non-alcoholic ...

The self-driving microscope

Researchers develop a combination of software and hardware for adaptive live imaging of large living organisms

02-Nov-2016 - Light-sheet microscopy is one of the most powerful method for imaging the development and function of whole living organisms. However, achieving high-resolution images with these microscopes requires manual adjustments during imaging. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell ...

Cell cultures from a machine

03-Nov-2011 - The human genome has been decoded. Of all the puzzles it contains, though, many remain unsolved. We know that the genome provides the blueprint for various proteins, the building blocks of each and every cell. But what role do they play? Which proteins control cell division in a healthy body, for ...

A fingerprint for genes

Max Planck scientists develop new strategy to play major role in research on human diseases

09-Mar-2010 - Cells may not have a mouth, but they still need to ingest substances from the external environment. If this process - known as endocytosis - is affected, it can lead to infectious diseases or cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, Huntington’s and diabetes. In cooperation with the Center for ...