News
Peter Hegemann receives Lasker Award 2021
The Lasker Foundation announces the 2021 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award to Karl Deissenroth (Stanford University), Peter Hegemann (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin) and Dieter Oesterhelt (Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried) " for the discovery of light-sensitive microbial proteins that can activate or silence individual brain cells and for their use in developing optogenetics—a revolutionary technique for neuroscience".
Sep 24, 2021
SFB Speaker Joachim Heberle Co-organizer of Telluride Workshop 2021
Joachim Heberle, speaker of SFB 1078, organized this year's virtual Telluride Workshop "Proton Transfer in Biology" and was re-elected as co-organizer for the next on-site workshop in 2023.
Jul 05, 2021
Young Investigator Award for Mohamed Ibrahim at 2020 Virtual SSRL/LCLS Users Meeting
Congratulation to Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim (SFB project A5) for recieving the Young Investigator Award for his exceptional research on Photosystem II!
Jun 04, 2021
New DFG Guidelines for effective Career Support
The DFG has now published principles for effective career development in science. They are intended as a supplement to the guidelines for ensuring good scientific practice. They summarize how the conditions for scientists in early career phases - in particular doctoral and postdoctoral researchers - should be structured.
Apr 08, 2021
SFB Publication in J. Am. Chem. Soc.
A joint publication by the PIs Inez Weidinger (A1), Joachim Heberle (A1), Peter Hildebrandt (B6) and Maria Andrea Mroginski (C2) on cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) has been published in J. Am. Chem. Soc. In this work the authors identify a resonance Raman marker band that is characteristic for the active and inactive state of CcO. Using a combination of spectroscopy, electrochemistry and DFT calculations they could identify protonation of Tyr 288 in the resting state of CcO to be the origin of catalytic inactivity.
Feb 11, 2021
SFB Publication in Nature Communications
A recent SFB publication strongly supports the hypothesis that in early Earth history, light-driven manganese oxide production by ancient photosystems was bioenergetically important and possibly responsible for early geological manganese deposits. Chernev et al., (2020) Light-driven formation of manganese oxide by today's photosystem-II supports evolutionarily ancient manganese-oxidizing photosynthesis. Nature Communications 11, Article number: 6110 (2020)
Dec 14, 2020
SFB 1078 extended for 3rd funding period
The German Research Foundation (DFG) has decided to fund our SFB for another 4 years until December 2024.
Nov 27, 2020
ERC Synergy Grant for Peter Hegemann
The European Research Council (ERC) is funding the interdisciplinary joint project "Switchable rhodOpsins in Life Sciences" (SOL). Together with researchers from the University of Bern, the Paul Scherrer Institute (both CH) and the University of Manchester (UK), Prof. Peter Hegemann (SFB1078: B1/B2) wants to show how OptoGPCRs (light-controlled molecular switches) can revolutionize our ability to control complex cellular processes with light.
Nov 09, 2020
SFB1078 at Berlin Science Week 2020 with Image Video
PUBLIC PRESENTATION VIA LIVESTREAM November 03, 2020, 16.00 - 16.30 Come and watch the most recent video to present our SFB at the Berlin Science Week 2020!
Nov 01, 2020
Berlin Scientists congratulate Emmanuelle Charpentier on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Prof. Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin for her revolutionary work on the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. She shares the award with Jennifer Doudna from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. https://www.nobelprize.org
Oct 07, 2020
SFB Publication in International Journal of Molecular Sciences
A new joint SFB publication discloses the influence of lipids on the functional reconstitution of cytochrom c oxidase. Hugentobler et al. (2020) A Lipid Composition Affects the Effciency in the Functional Reconstitution of the Cytochrome c Oxidase., Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 6981.
Sep 23, 2020
Nomination of Mohamed Ibrahim at Young Investigator Awards Session of 2020 Virtual SSRL/LCLS Users Meeting
We congratulate Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim (SFB project A5) for being selected to speak at the Young Investigator Awards Session during the 2020 Virtual SSRL/LCLS Users Meeting! Come and listen to his presentation by registering on the meeting website!
Sep 17, 2020
SFB Publication in Biophysical Journal
A recent publication from the projects B2, B5 and Mercator Fellow I. Shapiro investigates the light absorption of channelrhodopsins and the associated pH sensitivity.
Aug 04, 2020
SFB Publication in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
SFB 1078 Project A5 PIs Athina Zouni and Holger Dobbek and coworkers together with an international consortium of scientists published their results of time-resolved XFEL experiments on electronic transitions in photosystem II in the journal PNAS. Their study reveals a key step of photosynthetic water splitting in PS II, which could be a pillar for next generation artificial photosynthetic systems for clean-energy production.
Jul 16, 2020
Professor Cecilia Clementi begins her work at Freie Universität
Professor Cecilia Clementi, an expert in the field of computer simulation of biomolecules, has started her research and teaching work at the Department of Physics in June 2020. The renowned physicist moved from William Marsh Rice University in the U.S. to the Freie Universität Berlin with funding from the Einstein Foundation Berlin.
Jun 15, 2020
ACS COMP OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award for Igor Schapiro
The ACS COMP (American Chemical Society's Devision of Computers In Chemistry) OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award (previously the HP Outstanding Junior faculty Award (2006-2011)) program recognizes four outstanding tenure-track junior faculty members and is designed to assist new faculty members in gaining visibility within the COMP community.
Jun 10, 2020
SFB Publication in Nature
Biophysicists resolve light-driven structural changes in a sodium pump on an atomic level and on chemically relevant timescales from femtoseconds to milliseconds. Together with international colleagues, SFB 1078 scientists Joachim Heberle and Igor Schapiro publish their results in the lastest issue of the journal Nature .
May 22, 2020
The Shaw Prize 2020 for Peter Hegemann
The 2020 Shaw Prize in Life Science & Medicine was awarded to Peter Hegemann and his colleagues Gero Miesenböck and Georg Nagel for the development of optogenetics, a technology that has revolutionized neuroscience
May 21, 2020
SFB Publication in Nature Plants
Insight into the eye of the plant: SFB1078 scientists Jon Hughes, Peter Hildebrandt and coworkers describe advances in understanding of plant phytochrome photoreceptors in a recent issue of the journal Nature Plants .
May 05, 2020
SFB Publication in Chemical Science
A recent Chemical Science publication from project A2 and C2 was selected as Pick of the Week and was included in the HOT Article Collection . The Royal Society of Chemistry published a nice video abstract.
Apr 20, 2020
