Max Planck Institute for Medical Research
Encyclopedia
The Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg
, Germany
, is a facility of the Max Planck Society for basic medical research. Since its foundation, six Nobel Prize
laureates worked at the Institute: Otto Fritz Meyerhof
(Physiology), Richard Kuhn
(Chemistry), Walther Bothe
(Physics), André Michel Lwoff
(Physiology
or Medicine
), Rudolf Mößbauer
(Physics) and Bert Sakmann
(Physiology
or Medicine
). The Institute has close ties with Heidelberg University.
for Medical Research, and was re-founded as a Max Planck Institute in 1948. Its original goal was to apply the methods of Physics
and Chemistry
to basic medical research, and it included departments of Chemistry
, Physiology
, and Biophysics
. In the 1960s, new developments in biology were reflected with the establishment of the Department of Molecular Biology. Toward the end of the 1980s and during the 1990s, investigations began into the specific functions of muscle and nerve cells. New departments were established in Cell Physiology (1989-2008), Molecular Cell Research (1992-1999), Molecular Neurobiology (1995), Biomedical Optics (1999) and Biomolecular Mechanisms (2002). The independent junior research groups for Ion Channel Structure (1997-2003) and Developmental Genetics of the Nervous System (1999-2005) were also founded.
genes that are responsible for rapid signaling in the brain; the purpose is to investigate which brain
capacities are inherited and which are learned. The Department of Biomedical Optics studies the activity of groups of nerve cells in tissue preparations and in laboratory animals with the use and continued development of multiquantum microscopy. The research in the Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms is aimed at establishing the molecular basis of model reactions, using the methods of biophysics and structural biology.
The independent junior research group Behavioural Neurophysiology aims to understand how complex behaviour emerges from the properties of molecules, cells and ensembles of cells. The independent junior research group Development and Function of Hypothalamic Neuronal Circuits aims to understand the molecular mechanism of neuronal circuit formation by studying the development of the hypothalamus.
The Emeritus Group on Biophysics focuses on structures of actin
and myosin
at atomic resolution.
One of the future activities of the institute will be to investigate nerve cells and their connections in the cerebral cortex that are responsible for the reception and processing of signals from the sense organs, (i.e. smell, sight, and taste) with the use of molecular genetic, physiological and imaging techniques. Scientists are particularly interested in the nature of synapses, the contact points between nerve cells in the neural network. How information is stored and retrieved in synapses, how new synapses are formed, and how superfluous synapses are removed are all topics of investigation. Research will involve the development of new genetic engineering techniques, so that the activity of the key molecules involved in rapid information transmission between nerve cells by the synapses can be regulated. There are plans to miniaturise multiquantum microscopy and improve the level of penetration to measure activity in the cerebral cortex of freely moving mice.
, the Department of Biomedical Optics studies the activity of groups of nerve cells in tissue preparations and in laboratory animals with the use and continued development of multiphoton microscopy.
) focuses on structures of actin
and myosin
at atomic resolution.
and data analysis equipment, to provide support and training related to sample preparation, data recording and analysis and to stimulate communication and exchange of experience.
, biology
and physics
. The opening time for external users are from Monday to Friday:
For members of the Institute, it is open 24 hours a day.
), and the Heavy Ion Research Center (GSI) in Darmstadt.
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, is a facility of the Max Planck Society for basic medical research. Since its foundation, six Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureates worked at the Institute: Otto Fritz Meyerhof
Otto Fritz Meyerhof
-External links:* *...
(Physiology), Richard Kuhn
Richard Kuhn
Richard Kuhn was an Austrian-German biochemist, Nobel laureate, and Nazi collaborator.-Early life:Kuhn was born in Vienna, Austria where he attended grammar school and high school. His interest in chemistry surfaced early; however he had many interests and decided late to study chemistry...
(Chemistry), Walther Bothe
Walther Bothe
Walther Wilhelm Georg Bothe was a German nuclear physicist, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954 with Max Born....
(Physics), André Michel Lwoff
André Michel Lwoff
André Michel Lwoff was a French microbiologist. He was born in Ainay-le-Château, Allier, in Auvergne, France. He joined the Institute Pasteur in Paris when he was 19 years old...
(Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
or Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
), Rudolf Mößbauer
Rudolf Mößbauer
Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer was a German physicist best known for his 1957 discovery of recoilless nuclear resonance fluorescence for which he was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics...
(Physics) and Bert Sakmann
Bert Sakmann
-External links:*...
(Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
or Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
). The Institute has close ties with Heidelberg University.
History
The institute was opened in 1930 as the Kaiser Wilhelm InstituteKaiser Wilhelm Institute
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science was a German scientific institution established in 1911. It was implicated in Nazi science, and after the Second World War was wound up and its functions replaced by the Max Planck Society...
for Medical Research, and was re-founded as a Max Planck Institute in 1948. Its original goal was to apply the methods of Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
to basic medical research, and it included departments of Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, and Biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
. In the 1960s, new developments in biology were reflected with the establishment of the Department of Molecular Biology. Toward the end of the 1980s and during the 1990s, investigations began into the specific functions of muscle and nerve cells. New departments were established in Cell Physiology (1989-2008), Molecular Cell Research (1992-1999), Molecular Neurobiology (1995), Biomedical Optics (1999) and Biomolecular Mechanisms (2002). The independent junior research groups for Ion Channel Structure (1997-2003) and Developmental Genetics of the Nervous System (1999-2005) were also founded.
The Present
The institute currently has three departments and two independent junior research groups. The Department of Molecular Neurobiology focuses on the analysis and altering of mouseMouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
genes that are responsible for rapid signaling in the brain; the purpose is to investigate which brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
capacities are inherited and which are learned. The Department of Biomedical Optics studies the activity of groups of nerve cells in tissue preparations and in laboratory animals with the use and continued development of multiquantum microscopy. The research in the Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms is aimed at establishing the molecular basis of model reactions, using the methods of biophysics and structural biology.
The independent junior research group Behavioural Neurophysiology aims to understand how complex behaviour emerges from the properties of molecules, cells and ensembles of cells. The independent junior research group Development and Function of Hypothalamic Neuronal Circuits aims to understand the molecular mechanism of neuronal circuit formation by studying the development of the hypothalamus.
The Emeritus Group on Biophysics focuses on structures of actin
Actin
Actin is a globular, roughly 42-kDa moonlighting protein found in all eukaryotic cells where it may be present at concentrations of over 100 μM. It is also one of the most highly-conserved proteins, differing by no more than 20% in species as diverse as algae and humans...
and myosin
Myosin
Myosins comprise a family of ATP-dependent motor proteins and are best known for their role in muscle contraction and their involvement in a wide range of other eukaryotic motility processes. They are responsible for actin-based motility. The term was originally used to describe a group of similar...
at atomic resolution.
One of the future activities of the institute will be to investigate nerve cells and their connections in the cerebral cortex that are responsible for the reception and processing of signals from the sense organs, (i.e. smell, sight, and taste) with the use of molecular genetic, physiological and imaging techniques. Scientists are particularly interested in the nature of synapses, the contact points between nerve cells in the neural network. How information is stored and retrieved in synapses, how new synapses are formed, and how superfluous synapses are removed are all topics of investigation. Research will involve the development of new genetic engineering techniques, so that the activity of the key molecules involved in rapid information transmission between nerve cells by the synapses can be regulated. There are plans to miniaturise multiquantum microscopy and improve the level of penetration to measure activity in the cerebral cortex of freely moving mice.
Biomedical Optics
Led by Prof. Dr. Winfried DenkWinfried Denk
Winfried Denk is a German physicist and neurobiologist, director of the Max-Plack-Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. He is noted for being the first to implement two-photon microscopy while a postdoctoral fellow in Watt W. Webb's lab in 1990...
, the Department of Biomedical Optics studies the activity of groups of nerve cells in tissue preparations and in laboratory animals with the use and continued development of multiphoton microscopy.
Biomolecular Mechanisms
The research in the Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms (Director Prof. Dr. Ilme Schlichting) is aimed at establishing the molecular basis of model reactions, using the methods of biophysics and structural biology.Molecular Neurobiology
The Department of Molecular Neurobiology led by Prof. Peter H. Seeburg focuses on the analysis and altering of mouse genes that are responsible for rapid signaling in the brain; the purpose is to investigate which brain capacities are inherited and which are learned.Behavioural Neurophysiology
The independent junior research group Behavioural Neurophysiology (Group Leader: Dr. Andreas T. Schaefer) aims to understand how complex behaviour emerges from the properties of molecules, cells and ensembles of cells.Development and Function of Hypothalamic Neuronal Circuits
The independent junior research group Development and Function of Hypothalamic Neuronal Circuits (Dr. Soojin Ryu) aims to understand the molecular mechanism of neuronal circuit formation by studying the development of the hypothalamus.Research- and Working Groups
- Thomas Euler Group - Dendritic Processing in the Retina
- Wolfgang Kabsch Group
- Georg Köhr Group
- Anton Meinhart Group - mRNA Processing
- Jochen Reinstein Group - Molecular Chaperones
- Ilme Schlichting Group
- Rolf Sprengel Group
- Veit Witzemann / Michael Koenen Group - Neuromuscular Junction
Emeritus Group Biophysics
The Emeritus Group on Biophysics (led by Prof. Dr. Kenneth C. HolmesKenneth Holmes
Kenneth Charles Holmes FRS is a British scientist.He was born in Hammersmith, London. He was a former colleague of Rosalind Franklin at Birkbeck College with Aaron Klug, and John Finch and moved to the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge in 1962...
) focuses on structures of actin
Actin
Actin is a globular, roughly 42-kDa moonlighting protein found in all eukaryotic cells where it may be present at concentrations of over 100 μM. It is also one of the most highly-conserved proteins, differing by no more than 20% in species as diverse as algae and humans...
and myosin
Myosin
Myosins comprise a family of ATP-dependent motor proteins and are best known for their role in muscle contraction and their involvement in a wide range of other eukaryotic motility processes. They are responsible for actin-based motility. The term was originally used to describe a group of similar...
at atomic resolution.
Light Microscopy
The Light microscopy Facility of the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research aims to provide Institute members and guests "low threshold" access to sophisticated microscopyMicroscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
and data analysis equipment, to provide support and training related to sample preparation, data recording and analysis and to stimulate communication and exchange of experience.
Library
The library of the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research is a reference library containing specialized scientific literature. It serves teaching and research in the fields of life sciences, chemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. The opening time for external users are from Monday to Friday:
- 09.00 AM to 12.00 AM
- 02.00 PM to 04.00 PM
For members of the Institute, it is open 24 hours a day.
IMPRS for Quantum Dynamics in Physics, Chemistry and Biology
The IMPRS for Quantum Dynamics in Physics, Chemistry and Biology is a joint initiative of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Ruprecht Karls University, the German Cancer Research Center, the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (all in HeidelbergHeidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
), and the Heavy Ion Research Center (GSI) in Darmstadt.
External links
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research
- Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
- Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg
- German Cancer Research Center
- External Research Group Cytoskeleton