Viewpoint
Whether it’s H5N1 in the United States or an Ebola variant in Uganda, zoonoses threaten the health of people worldwide. Five years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global community has finalized a proposal for a pandemic agreement focused on international pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. It was high time it did, thinks Pedro A. Villarreal, an expert on global health law.
Visit To
The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology can be found in the northernmost part of Germany in the tranquil town of Plön, between Kiel and Lübeck. At this research institute, surrounded by a picturesque landscape of lakes, Arne Traulsen and his team develop models that describe natural processes.
Physics and Astronomy
There are bursts in the sky that are far stronger than lightning. They come from the depths of space and, in extreme cases, release as much energy in milliseconds as the Sun does in a year. These fast radio bursts are far enough away that they pose no danger to humanity. Nevertheless, astronomers want to know what causes them. At the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, research groups led by Laura Spitler and Michael Kramer are getting closer to solving the mystery. James Lough from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) thinks that spacetime shocks might even be involved.
Culture and Society
Social media shapes public debate, sways elections, and frames how we see the world. While some demand tighter regulation, others push for less. An interdisciplinary team is investigating how the EU is governing the digital public space—and pushing for stronger diversity measures along the way.
Biology and Medicine
A human cell produces an average of 10,000 different proteins; there are more than 100,000 protein variants in the entire human body. Decoding the protein inventory, also known as the proteome, requires enormous computational power—and artificial intelligence. Matthias Mann and his team at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried have developed a technique that allows for more accurate diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. This enables therapies to be precisely tailored to the individual needs of a patient.
Biology and Medicine
Some people are night owls. Others sneeze when they look at the Sun. Manuel Spitschan and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen study how the human eye processes light stimuli and the crucial role these signals play in regulating our internal clock, which seems to keep ticking even in complete darkness.
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Max Planck researchers cooperate with partners in more than 120 countries. Here they write about their personal experiences and impressions. Honour McCann from the Max Planck Institute for Biology in Tübingen is spending four weeks in Indonesia. Together with her Indonesian partners, she is searching for the origin of a pathogen that infects banana plants and is currently spreading throughout plantations in Asia.
