April 2017
Congratulations to our new 15 Einstein PhD Fellows!
After our Selection Symposium held on 3-6 April 2017 we are happy to be looking back on three fantastic days with very good student research talks and lively discussions.
Read more … Congratulations to our new 15 Einstein PhD Fellows!
Volker Haucke receives the Avanti Award in Lipids
Volker Haucke has received the Avanti Award in Lipids from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) for his research on the roll of membrane lipid homoeostasis during cell transport. "Haucke's findings are of central importance for cell physiology and pathophysiology," according to Britta Brügger and Thomas Söllner from the Biochemistry Centre at the University of Heidelberg, who nominated Haucke for the award.
Read more … Volker Haucke receives the Avanti Award in Lipids
Breakthrough: Charité-based researchers discover new mechanism of action
Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered a new way of developing painkillers. The team of researchers used computational simulation to analyze interactions at opioid receptors – the cell's docking sites for painkillers. When used in an animal model, their prototype of a morphine-like molecule was able to produce substantial pain relief in inflamed tissues. However, healthy tissues remained unaffected, suggesting that the severe side effects currently associated with these types of painkillers might be avoided. This research has been published in the current issue of the journal Science*.
Read more … Breakthrough: Charité-based researchers discover new mechanism of action
How naked mole-rats defy lack of oxygen
As most naked mole-rats scurry off to work, some continue to lie on their backs for a while in the sleeping chamber. It’s not laziness that keeps these animals from fulfilling their duties in the eusocial community structure of the mole-rats – it’s ventilation. 100 naked mole-rats may sleep together in a mound, and last night they were stuck in the middle. „The air can get very stuffy in these underground burrows,” says Professor Gary Lewin, a researcher at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC). Oxygen levels can drop to conditions that would be life-threatening for other species.