Press releases

North German researchers are developing a method that reveals the chemical communication between microbes and their host.

Some bacteria are able to tap into unusual sources of nutrients in the surface water of the oceans. This enables them to increase their primary production and extract more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In doing so, however, they release the potent greenhouse gas methane.

How do marine bacteria convert sugar into energy? This question is the subject of a new Emmy Noether junior research group at the University of Bremen. The German Research Foundation (DFG) will fund the team led by marine biologist Dr. Greta Reintjes with around one million euros over the next si...

Forty employees of our institute took the opportunity to visit the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd, which bundles expertise and infrastructure against infectious diseases, yesterday as part of a work excursion.

On September 25, 2023, it was that time again: We welcome the 13 new MarMics to our institute!

Humanity continuously emits greenhouse gases and thereby worsens global warming. Increasing research efforts go into developing strategies to convert these gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), into valuable products. CO₂ accumulates dramatically over the years and is chemically very stable, thus ...

Five weeks after setting sail from Tromsø, Norway, the Alfred Wegener Institute's research vessel Polarstern makes a stop at the northernmost point on Earth. On board are scientists from the HGF-MPG Joint Research Group for Deep Sea Ecology and Technology at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Mi...

We congratulate our director Prof. Dr. Nicole Dubilier, who has been awarded the prestigious Award for Environmental Research from the American Society for Microbiology. 

Wednesday, September 6, 2023
in the MPI lecture hall 4012 at 3 p.m. (15:00 Uhr) 

Anna Karnkowska (University of Warsaw, Poland)

“Transitions in the evolution of eukaryotes: lessons learned from microbial eukaryotes.“

Good research needs good conversations. In intensive exchange with colleagues and in a comfortable environment, our employees can optimally unfold and develop their scientific potential. In addition to first-class research infrastructure, this also requires small oases of tranquillity that enable...

Tuesday, July 11, 2023
in the MPI lecture hall 4012 at 3:00 p.m. (15:00 Uhr) 

Samuel Pontrelli (ETH Zurich, Switzerland, Host: Margot Bligh)

“Uncovering metabolic crossfeeding networks in marine microbial communities“

Nitric oxide (NO) is a central molecule in the global cycling of nitrogen, and also toxic. Little is known about if and how microbes can use NO as a substrate for growth. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, have now managed to grow a microbial comm...

Studies at the bottom of the Santa Barbara Basin with the deep-diving submersible Alvin

News

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, have uncovered the molecular secrets of a methane-generating microbe that can transform sulfate into sulfide – a ready-to-use cellular building block. This discovery opens up exciting opportunities in biofuel produ...

The seafloor is home to around one-third of all the microorganisms on the Earth and is inhabited even at a depth of several kilometers. Only when it becomes too hot does the abundance of microorganisms appear to decline. But how, and from what, do microorganisms in the deep seafloor live? How do ...

Seawater is full of bacteria, hundreds of thousands live in every litre. But the sheer number of bacteria living in the water does not necessarily mean a lot. More important is how active they are and how quickly they duplicate, as demonstrated in a study by researchers from the Max Planck Instit...

Algal blooms in the ocean play a pivotal role in global carbon cycling. Such blooms entail successive blooms of specialized bacteria that collectively remineralize gigatons of algal biomass on a global scale. This biomass is largely composed of distinct polysaccharides, and the microbial decompos...

Almost 60 employees take part in the company run!

Phytosterols are good for your health, but humans and other animals are not able to make them themselves. To acquire phytosterols, humans are increasingly turning to supplements, green smoothies, or a Mediterranean diet with plenty of plant-based foods. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute f...