May 26, 2025
PoL is Renewed as a Cluster of Excellence by the DFG!
The Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) has been officially renewed for a second funding phase, from 2026–2032.
News
© COSMO Wissenschaftsforum
Education Society
May 12, 2025
The Physics of Life Exhibition at COSMO Wissenschaftsforum!
With over 800 visitors, the Physics of Life exhibition at COSMO Wissenschaftsforum offered plenty of new things to discover!
© Alba Villaronga-Luque, Ryan G Savill et. al / MPI-CBG
Publications RA6 Associates and Affiliates Ebisuya Group
April 17, 2025
Metabolism Shapes Life: How Glycolysis Drives Early Embryonic Cell Decisions
Researchers from PoL (Ebisuya group), MPI-CBG (Veenvliet group), and EMBL Barcelona have uncovered the instructive potential of glycolysis in two novel publications.
© Katrin Boes / MPI-CBG
Science Awards Mateus Group
April 3, 2025
Rita Mateus Receives Funding to Uncover Crystal Formation Inside Cells
PoL PI Rita Mateus and collaborators have received a prestigious HFSP Early Career Grant Award
© Veikko F. Geyer and Martin Striegler
Publications Associates and Affiliates Friedrich Group
March 4, 2025
The Hidden Twist: Scientists Capture Cilia’s Secret Motion
For the very first time, researchers from PoL and B CUBE have captured cilia twisting motions during their beating that may play a key role in coordinating the movement of tiny molecular motors inside cilia.
© Brian Long, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
Publications Campàs Group
February 21, 2025
Turning Robotic Ensembles into Smart Materials that Mimic Life
Through a collaboration between the Campàs group at PoL and researchers at UCSB, scientists have developed robotic materials that can support heavy loads but also reshape, manipulate objects, and even self-heal.
© PoL
Society Science
February 3, 2025
PoL Pushes for Excellence: Reapplying to the DFG for a Second Funding Period
After submitting a renewal proposal to the DFG, PoL scientists travelled to Bonn to defend the renewal of the Cluster of Excellence.
© Julien Marcetteau for the Barriga Lab/PoL
January 17, 2025
Shocking Cues: How Cells Harness Electric Fields to Migrate During Embryonic Development
New findings from the Barriga Group at PoL reveal how electric fields can drive cells of the neural crest to migrate during development.
© Hagen Gebauer
Science Associates and Affiliates
December 19, 2024
The Poetsch Group Becomes Part of a New European Consortium Addressing Leukemia
The group of PoL member Anna Poetsch at the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of TU Dresden has received a grant from the European Partnership for Personalized Medicine to investigate the molecular mechanisms behind leukemia.
© PoL
Education Society
December 11, 2024
Revealing the Winners of the PoL LEGO Competition at Technische Sammlungen Dresden!
At the Physics of Life exhibition in Technische Sammlungen Dresden, young visitors could enter a competition to build animals from LEGO bricks. Now, the 10 winning entries are revealed.
© Sharma et al., PNAS (2024), CC4
Publications RA3 RA4 Friedrich Group
November 18, 2024
How To Achieve Precision in a Noisy Biological System – Scientists Explain the Regular Beating of Sperm Tails
A new study by PoL Professor Benjamin Friedrich and Dr Veikko Geyer from the Diez group at B Cube has revealed how the coordinated efforts of molecular motors can power motile cilia.
© Hagen Gebauer / PoL
Awards Jahnel Group
November 15, 2024
Lukáš Pekárek is awarded the Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Fellowship
With support from the Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Foundation, PoL postdoctoral researcher Lukáš Pekárek will investigate the structure of long RNAs and their changes during phase separation.
© Sven Döring
Awards Associates and Affiliates
November 7, 2024
Otto Bayer Award for PoL member Meritxell Huch
The Bayer Foundation has announced the Science Award winners of 2024
© PoL
Science RA1 Elias Barriga Group
October 29, 2024
Journal Club by Dr. Elias Barriga in Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
Elias Barriga highlights the invaluable contribution of Zhao and colleagues in a 2006 publication to the field of electrotaxis in a new journal club article.
© TUD
Education RA6 Ebisuya Group
October 23, 2024
Professor Miki Ebisuya’s Inaugural TUD Lecture
Last week, Prof. Ebisuya delivered her inaugural TU Dresden lecture “In search of a global modulator for biological tempo across animal species”
© Toth-Petroczy / MPI-CBG
Science Publications RA3 RA5 Associates and Affiliates
October 17, 2024
Studying Intrinsically Disordered Protein Regions Using SHARK
Researchers from the group of PoL member Agnes Toth-Petroczy have developed a new algorithm to compare structurally disordered protein segments.
© Katrin Boes / MPI-CBG
Education Science RA5
September 27, 2024
Quantitative Biology Takes Center Stage at the “Physical Biology of the Cell” Summer School
Over 100 researchers from PoL and the MPI-CBG attended the interdisciplinary course taught by renowned biophysicist Rob Phillips.
© PoL
Education Society
September 18, 2024
Polina Explains Biophysics: Introducing PoL's New Comic Series!
Explore the fascinating world of biophysics with our new comic series, offering bite-sized insights into cutting-edge PoL research every Wednesday!
©Michael Brand and Evelyn Abraham
Science Publications RA1 Associates and Affiliates
August 27, 2024
Seeing the future: zebrafish regenerates fully functional photoreceptor cells and restores its vision
Research by PoL associate Michael Brand has identified that regenerated photoreceptors in the zebrafish retina regain normal function, allowing complete recovery of vision.
© Elias Barriga and edited by EMBO
Education RA1 Elias Barriga Group
August 21, 2024
EMBO Interview with Elias Barriga
Elias Barriga, group leader at PoL, former EMBO Fellow, and Installation Grantee and Young Investigator, explains his research in this EMBO interview published on August 6th, 2024 by Terry O'Connor.
© Joana Carvalho, Júlia Charles/EMBL
Science Publications Awards Associates and Affiliates Ebisuya Group
August 21, 2024
Science Awards 2024 of the German Stem Cell Network to two PoL members
The German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) awarded Miki Ebisuya, PoL core group, for the GSCN Publication of the Year Award 2024, and Claudia Gerri for the GSCN 2024 Young Investigator Award.
© Campàs Lab – Rana Amini
Science Publications RA1 Campàs Group
August 12, 2024
The Hidden Architect: How nuclei organize the eyes and brain
Groundbreaking research from the Campàs group at the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life of TU Dresden now reveals that the cell’s nucleus controls the stiffness of eye and brain tissues.
© Fuhrmann et al., Science Advances 2024, MPI-CBG
Science Publications RA1 RA4 Dye Group
August 12, 2024
A New Mechanism for Shaping Animal Tissues
Dresden researchers discover a new mechanism for three-dimensional tissue shape changes in animals.
© Hagen Gebauer / PoL
Awards Ebisuya Group
August 8, 2024
Shuting Xu Wins a DIGS-BB Travel Award
A PhD student from the Ebisuya lab at PoL was awarded a competitive DIGS-BB travel award to attend a conference in the USA.