What makes your heart beat
Breakthrough Discovery Sheds Light on Heart and Muscle Health - Scientists shoot first true-to-life 3D image of the thick filament of mammalian heart muscle
Diversity Promotes Creativity
The best ideas arise when people with different perspectives cooperate. At our institute, chemists, biologists and physicists from more than 30 countries work together.
We Promote Talented Young Scientists
Exciting research topics, innovative science, state-of-the-art equipment and excellent supervision: the PhD program of our IMPRS.
The beauty of cell division
Cell division of human cells, imaged live by lattice light-sheet microscopy. Microtubules from the mitotic spindle (yellow) allow for the duplicated chromosomes (blue) to equally separate between the newly formed daughter cells.
Making the Invisible Visible
Cryo-electron microscopy enables us to determine the 3D structure of medically relevant protein complexes.
Cool microscopy to uncover biology
We develop new microscopic methods that enable the observation of molecular patterns of life.
From Molecule to Man
We conduct research across borders and dimensions – ranging from small chemical molecules to cellular networks.
Creative Networks
We explore how molecular signaling networks regulate the malignant behavior of cancer cells.
Nature 2.0
Principle and design of pseudo-natural products - new opportunities for bioactive small-molecule discoveryWelcome to the MPI of Molecular Physiology
Every day the trillions of cells in our bodies ensure that we are able to see, think, speak and move. How does each cell ‘know’ what to do? How can an organism arise from millions of nanometer-sized molecules although there is no blueprint? What actually is ‘life’? For centuries, philosophers and natural scientists have been trying to solve this mystery. Many questions remain unresolved to this day.
We want to know how the building blocks of the cells organize themselves and ensure that certain chemical reactions occur at the right time in the right place – or how errors lead to the development of diseases like cancer. To achieve this, we are studying the relevant processes on multiple levels – from single molecules and larger protein complexes to whole cells.
