Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences

How do nerve cells communicate with each other? How does a complex organism develops from a single egg cell? How does the cell solve logistic task? Or how does an organism regenerate? Scientists at our institute are on the trail towards unraveling the molecular processes that control and regulate complex life processes. However, observing these processes is not an easy feat. They take place in the nanocosmos of the cell and, therefore, are invisible to the eye. Standard microscopes can be used to detect bacteria or to observe individual body cells. But we can hardly find out anything about what is going on deep inside living cells.