Research News

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Twente created a new model for a new transport mechanism on the microscale in a combined experimental and theoretical approach. They investigated small self-propelling objects, so-called micro-swimmers, and monitored a directed transport of particles in the surrounding fluid. Using this observation, they computed how a multitude of such swimmers can be able to induce a directed flow of material which could have an important impact on molecular transport mechanisms. more

A new model describes the coordination of beating cilia allowing to predict their functional behavior. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) analyzed the formation of metachronal waves in arrays of cilia and how external cues might influence them. The model allows to better understand the crucial role that cilia play in many biological processes and lays the foundation for its manipulation. This may ultimately improve the corresponding medical diagnostics and treatments, but also helps in the design of artificial systems used in microscale engineering. more

As part of the Volkswagen Foundation's funding initiative "Experiment!", Dr. Isabella Guido of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization has successfully applied for financial support. The funding is aimed at researchers from the field of life sciences and engineering who wish to implement particularly innovative and risky new research ideas. In her project, 'Collective behavior of synthetic cilia arrays', the group leader from the Department of Fluid Physics, Structure Formation and Biocomplexity will investigate flows generated by biological organisms. more

A phenomenon known from quantum systems could now make its way into biology: In a new study published in Physical Review X, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) in Göttingen show that the notion of topological protection can also apply to biochemical networks. As these are typically very complex and yet remain very stable against changes, topology can help in the emergence of robust oscillations. The model which the scientists developed makes the topological toolbox, typically used only to describe quantum systems, now also available to biology. more

What happens when soft materials are compressed strongly? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamic and Self-Organization, the University of Twente and Cornell University now revealed the morphology of creases created upon folding at micrometer scale. They revealed a dual folding mechanism driven by capillary forces, similar to wetting liquids, causing a T-shape folding profile. The unfolding leaves behind a scar which serves as a nucleation point for subsequent folds. Without damaging the material, it thereby enables a freely programmable folding memory of soft surfaces. more

The German Physical Society (DPG) has awarded Viola Priesemann of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen the Medal for Scientific Journalism 2021. The world's largest physics professional society thereby recognizes her public commitment to supporting fact-based discourse on the Covid-19 pandemic. The award is annually given by the DPG to scientists for special publishing achievements in the natural sciences. more

The newly founded company EcoBus GmbH is developing software infrastructure that combines shuttle services and regular bus services to provide a sustainable public transport solution more

The Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities has elected nine new members. Ramin Golestanian is now part of a competence network that includes around 360 outstanding scientists worldwide from very different disciplines. more

Solutions that conduct electricity, ‘electrolytes’, are ubiquitous not only in batteries and capacitors but also in biofluids including blood plasma; of great practical importance is thus to understand how electrolytes can be utilised to control living cells or other objects that are immersed in them. In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen, and the University of Oxford uncover how forces with unprecedented controllability can be transmitted in electrolyte solutions across large length scales. more

Scientists of the Göttingen Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging (MBExC) and the Collaborative Research Center SFB1286, University Medical Center Göttingen and Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization uncover a link between protein turnover and synaptic activity. The study was published today in Cell Reports. more