An international team of researchers has addressed a question that has received little attention to date: how do beneficial gut microorganisms perceive their environment? Led by Prof. Dr Victor Sourji...

Methanogenic archaea have a significant impact on the global climate due to their role in producing almost all methane from natural sources. This well-known process relies on enzymes containing metals such as iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni). However, a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg and Biophysics in Frankfurt am Main discovered that these microbes can alter the pathway they use in conditions of low nickel bioavailability (as found in many natural habitats). Their study, published in Nature, significantly advances our understanding of microbial ecology and its potential impact on climate change.

The September Science Academy for microbial and molecular biosciences is a fully funded international summer school for women in science and scientists of underrepresented genders in an advanced stage of their PhD or an early postdoctoral stage. Hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, the program invites early-career scientists from all over the world to explore cutting-edge research, connect with the institute’s scientific community, and discover new career opportunities.

Dr Franziska Sendker, a former doctoral candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, has been awarded the Otto Hahn Medal by the Max Planck Society. The medal honours the outstanding achievements of young scientists and comes with a prize of 7,500 euros. In March 2025, she received the Bayer Pharmaceuticals Doctoral Award from the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM e.V.), presented at the Mosbach Colloquium. Franziska Sendker's research showed that complex protein forms can arise not only through natural selection, but also through random genetic changes.

For his outstanding doctoral thesis, Dr Maik Wolfram Schauerte has been honoured by the Max Planck Society with both the Otto Hahn Medal and the Otto Hahn Prize. The Max Planck Society (MPS) presented the awards at its annual meeting in Magdeburg on 25 June.

The September Science Academy for microbial and molecular biosciences is a fully funded international summer school for women in science and scientists of underrepresented genders in an advanced stage of their PhD or an early postdoctoral stage. Hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, the program invites early-career scientists from all over the world to explore cutting-edge research, connect with the institute’s scientific community, and discover new career opportunities.

Zwei Cluster erhalten Förderung im wichtigsten deutschen Forschungswettbewerb