May 4, 2026
Apply Now: New PoL Visitors Program!
This new program invites applications for short- to medium-term research visits by outstanding scientists from around the world.
News
© heinlewischer, Partnerschaft freier Architekten mbB
Society
April 27, 2026
New Building for Research into the Physics of Life
TUD will receive its first grant for a new research facility as part of a program for projects of national significance, funded by the Federal and State governments.
© Stefan Golfier
Publications
April 23, 2026
Stiff But Agile: Researchers Uncover a Central Mechanism of Diatom Steering
An interdisciplinary team led by PoL PI Stefan Diez and Nicole Poulsen at the B CUBE has revealed a novel mechanism for how diatoms steer across surfaces
© AVANGA Filmproduktion GmbH
Education Society Science
April 22, 2026
The Physics of Life Film Project: Bringing Biophysics to the Big Screen
After several months of shooting, post production, and final touches, the first film from our project is now live!
© Ryan Henne / PoL
Awards Elias Barriga Group
April 9, 2026
HFSP Research Grant Awarded to Elias H. Barriga
Dr. Elias H Barriga will coordinate a group of international collaborators to investigate how electrical and chemical signals interplay to guide tissue morphogenesis.
Education Science
March 23, 2026
Apply Now: PoL Excellence Postdoctoral Fellows Program 2026!
Our next application window for early career researchers to join PoL through an Excellence Postdoctoral Fellowship will open from April 1. until May 20!
Society Science
March 13, 2026
Physics of Life at the DPG Spring Meeting 2026!
PoL attended this year's DPG Spring Meeting in Dresden with an exhibition booth, showcasing biophysics to scientists from across Germany.
© Javier Bregante, Flaminia Kaluthantrige Don et al. Cell Reports, 2026 / MPI-CBG
Publications RA6
March 6, 2026
A stride towards a better liver model
By altering the growth environment, the Huch lab at MPI-CBG has developed a liver model that extensively mimics the heterogeneity of the real organ.
© Elisa Nerli
Publications Mateus Group
February 4, 2026
New insights into the mechanisms of organ growth and repair
Researchers discover how electrical signals promote cell proliferation, an essential feature to successfully repair organs.
© Melissa Rinaldin
Publications Brugués Group
January 28, 2026
New perspectives on how physical instabilities drive embryonic development
A Nature study reveals how embryos harness a physical instability in the cytoskeleton, together with precise cell-cycle timing, to reliably self-organize their cytoplasm
© Karolina Kuodyte/ Rashmiparvathi Keshara et al. / MPI-CBG
Publications RA1 RA6
January 22, 2026
Making human pancreatic acinar cells
Dresden researchers develop novel methods to create acinar cells, which are involved in the formation of pancreatic cancer.
© Fischer-Friedrich Group
Publications Fischer-Friedrich Group
January 12, 2026
A Signature of Life: Time Irreversibility and Amplified Fluctuations in Living Matter
A new publication in PRX by the Fischer-Friedrich group at PoL challenges a long-held belief about what characterizes activity in living systems.
© Byung Ho Lee et al. / MPI-CBG / Nature 2025
Publications RA6
January 9, 2026
Engineering the development of the pancreas
Researchers found that the shape of the fluid-filled cavities in the developing pancreas is controlled by pressure and the rate cells divide.
© Alison Kickuth, Brugués Lab
Publications Brugués Group
January 7, 2026
The Mechanical Ratchet: A New Mechanism of Cell Division Uncovered
Scientists from the Brugués group at PoL have discovered a new mechanism for how early embryos with large yolks undergo cell division, altering our view of the process.
© Lei Yuan, Sagarika Dawka, Yohan Kim, Anke Liebert et al. / Nature (2025) / MPI-CBG
Publications RA6
December 18, 2025
Patient-specific human liver model to understand disease mechanisms
A Dresden research team has developed a human modular “LEGO-like” model that lays foundation for a new era in liver research.
© PoL
Society Events
December 1, 2025
The Return of PoL Day: Celebrating Achievements in our Community
The PoL community gathered in the CRTD in November to celebrate PoL Day 2025 after a two-year hiatus.
© Friedrich and Sandoval-Guzmán labs
Publications Friedrich Group
November 24, 2025
Morphogen Math: A Model of Axolotl Limb Growth during Regeneration
In a new publication led by the Friedrich group at PoL and the Sandoval-Guzmán group at CRTD, scientists propose a model of morphogen scaling during limb regeneration in axolotls.
© DGZ
Awards Elias Barriga Group
November 7, 2025
Elias Barriga wins the DGZ Innovation Prize 2025
PoL group leader Elias Barriga has been recognised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zellbiologie (DGZ) for introducing new conceptual frameworks in the field.
© Leonie Ringrose and Thomas Chemnitz
Education Society
October 14, 2025
Improvisation and Storytelling for Scientists: PoL Workshop Helps Researchers Combine Spontaneity and Precision
A unique science communication workshop brought together improvisation theater and scientists to enhance researchers' skill in communicating across disciplines.
© Stephan Spangenberg
Society
October 9, 2025
The Scientific Community in Dresden Mourns the Loss of Professor Jochen Guck
Mourning the loss of PoL alumni group leader Jochen Guck (1973-2025), a globally recognized pioneer in the field of cell mechanics.
© Katrin Boes / MPI-CBG
Science Awards
October 1, 2025
New Perspectives on the Hidden World of Proteins
Agnes Toth-Petroczy is awarded the Schering Young Investigator Award 2025
© Patrick McCall
Publications RA2 Associates and Affiliates Brugués Group
September 3, 2025
Life’s Tiny Droplets: A Novel Method Revealing Biological Condensate Composition
Groundbreaking findings published in Nature Chemistry by researchers at PoL, IPF, and MPI-CBG highlight how the makeup of multi-component condensates can be measured.
© PoL
Society Science
August 29, 2025
A new partnership with MBI Singapore
PoL and the Mechanobiology Institute at the National University of Singapore will enter a strategic partnership.
© Anaïs Bailles / MPI-CBG
Publications Associates and Affiliates
August 5, 2025
Stretching the immortal Hydra
PoL Associate and Affiliate researchers from MPI-CBG show how cells can create a new organism from scratch by coordinating their mechanical properties.