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Welcome to the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics!

We study the structure and function of proteins which regulate vital cellular processes using a wide methodological repertoire including advanced light and electron microscopy and computational biology.

Our Research

Ernst Bamberg – The Functional Analysis of Electrogenic Membrane Proteins

Eugene Kim – Structure and Dynamics of Chromosomes

Melanie McDowell – Membrane Protein Biogenesis

Hartmut Michel – Molecular Membrane Biology

Bonnie Murphy – Redox and Metalloproteins

Florian Wilfling – Mechanisms of Cellular Quality Control

Overview

Scientific Facilities

News

Girls’ Day on April 3, 2025

Be a scientist for a day! Solve biological 3D puzzles and discover how tiny building blocks control your body!

The Molecular Choreography of Efficient Microbial Carbon Capture

Research News

A new structural study reveals the mechanism used by anaerobic microbes to grow on waste gases

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Meet us

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Latest Publications

Licheva, M.; Babic, R.; Pflaum, J.; Mancilla, H.; Wilfling, F.; Kraft, C.: To degrade or not to degrade: how phase separation modulates selective autophagy. Autophagy (2025)

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Zimmann, F.; McNicoll, F.; Thakur, P. K.; Blažíková, M.; Kubovčiak, J.; Hernández Cañás, M. C.; Nováková, Z.; Bařinka, C.; Kolář, M.; Staněk, D. et al.; Müller-McNicoll, M.; Cvačková, Z.: Retinitis pigmentosa-linked mutations impair the snRNA unwinding activity of SNRNP200 and reduce pre-mRNA binding of PRPF8. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 82, 103 (2025)

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Klumpe, S.; Senti, K. A.; Beck, F.; Sachweh, J.; Hampoelz, B.; Ronchi, P.; Oorschot, V.; Brandstetter, M.; Yeroslaviz, A.; Briggs, J. A. G. et al.; Brennecke, J.; Beck, M.; Plitzko, J. M.: In-cell structure and snapshots of copia retrotransposons in intact tissue by cryoelectron tomography. Cell 188 (2025)

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Cortés Rodríguez, F. J.; Frattini, G.; Phloi-Montri, S.; Pinto Meireles, F. T.; Terrien, D. A.; Cruz-León, S.; Dal Peraro, M.; Schier, E.; Lindorff-Larsen, K.; Limpanuparb, T. et al.; Moreno, D. M.; Abriata, L. A.: MolecularWebXR: Multiuser discussions in chemistry and biology through immersive and inclusive augmented and virtual reality. Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling 135, 108932 (2025)

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