Max Planck Institutes and Experts

In prehistoric times, two distinct groups of hominins inhabited Eurasia: Neanderthals in the west and Denisovans in the east. We sequenced the genome of an approximately 90,000-year-old female individual from Russia and discovered that she had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father. This shows that individuals from these two groups occasionally mixed. Together with previous evidence that Neanderthals and Denisovans mixed with early modern humans, this shows that throughout history, humans from different groups have always mixed.

The ability of cells to sense and respond to mechanical signals is central to numerous biological processes. How mechanical signals are processed in cells has remained unclear, because techniques to detect the extremely small molecular forces in cells were missing. We therefore developed a technology that allows quantification of intracellular forces that are as low as a billionth of a newton. First applications reveal fascinating insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular mechanobiology.

How stable carbon will remain in the Arctic permafrost in the future, instead of escaping into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, is of utmost importance for the global climate. Water, ice and snow play an important role here. Our field research in Siberia uses new data and models to explain how the redistribution of water and increased snow cover, two known consequences of current climate change, can further destabilize the carbon pools in the Arctic. Our results help to assess the role of the Arctic in global climate change more reliably.    

ADP-ribosylation (ADPr) is a protein modifier playing key roles in health and disease, from bacterial pathogenesis to cancer. Yet for decades it has been difficult to investigate the detailed mechanism of this modification. Using advanced proteomics, we discovered serine ADPr (Ser-ADPr) as a new and widespread protein marker needed for DNA damage response and were able to describe its biochemical basis by identifying its “writers” and “eraser”. These discoveries opened a large and novel research area into how ADPr regulates essential cellular processes.

The transition to a sedentary lifestyle with agriculture and livestock breeding during the Neolithic left genetic traces. Scientists at the Department of Microbiome Science have found that differences between people at the level of genes involved in starch and milk metabolism play an important role in the composition of the microbiome in the intestine. The recent adaptation of humans to new eating habits has led to genetic variations which are still reflected today in differences in modern microbiomes.