News

When Time Runs Out for the Heart:Low NAD+ Levels Disrupt the Body’s Internal Clock During Cellular Aging

April 17, 2026

Declining NAD⁺ levels in the aging heart weaken circadian rhythm and cardiac health more

Illustration of genetics: plants and DNA structures, a human silhouette, cityscape, sun, and animals.

Beyond Mendel: Researchers call for a new understanding of genetics

February 18, 2026

Renowned scientists, including Didier Stainier from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, argue in the journal Genetics for a paradigm shift in the field of genetics. In their view, classical Mendelian genetics is not sufficient to explain complex gene effects in interaction with the environment and genetic background. more

Laser confocal microscope image of a ‘sleeping’ tumour cell (green) in the vicinity of a blood vessel (red/blue).

Protein in blood vessels puts tumour cells into deep sleep

November 19, 2025

Membrane protein PEAR1 prevents the development of metastases
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Full muscle power only with TAF4A: If the transcription factor is active in muscle stem cells, the cell nuclei are intact (top left), while the absence of TAF4A results in unstable cell nuclei (top right). As a result, the regenerative capacity of muscles (bottom row) without TAF4A (right) is severely impaired. In comparison, the muscle cells in the tissue section of control animals with TAF4A appear regular and intact.

How muscle stem cells keep their nucleus intact to maintain regenerative power

October 13, 2025

Transcription factor TAF4A preserves nuclei in muscle stem cells and initiates muscle regeneration after injury
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Smooth muscle cells under a fluorescence microscope

Protein switch in blood vessels exacerbates damage in vascular diseases

August 01, 2025

GPR153 promotes inflammatory reactions in the vessel wall in response to acute damage more

Digital image of the heart in a human chest

Increasing complexity in the heart: How two related proteins control development of the heart

July 16, 2025

RBPMS and RBPMS2 regulate cell division and function during heart development more

ERC Proof of Concept Grant Awarded to Max Planck Team for RNA-Based Therapy Targeting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

July 14, 2025

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, led by Prof. Dr. Didier Y.R. Stainier, has been awarded a prestigious ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grant to advance a groundbreaking RNA-based therapeutic strategy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). more