Paul Lourdu Xavier

Your brain is full of microplastics: are they harming you? Plastics have infiltrated every recess of the planet, including your lungs, kidneys and other sensitive organs. Scientists are scrambling to understand their effects on health.

Plastics have infiltrated every recess of the planet, including your lungs, kidneys and other sensitive organs

go.nature.com/4j1dLeY

Why you should write your PhD thesis backwards By considering the central statement of your entire PhD, you can structure your writing around it, says Tuuli Toivonen.

By considering the central statement of your entire PhD, you can structure your writing around it, says Tuuli Toivonen

go.nature.com/44tX71H

Quantum mechanics 100 years on: an unfinished revolution Nature - A century ago, physics had its Darwinian moment — a change in perspective that was as consequential for the physical sciences as the theory of evolution by natural selection was for biology.

2025 has been the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology

go.nature.com/4s0Cd44

Earlier this year, the science community was invited to nominate scientists whose basic research transformed science. The next prize, which awards $1 million in three fields will be announced on June 10, 2026.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4q1s1Xh

#2025YearInReview #TheKavliPrize

Andrea Cavalleri to be awarded the Stern-Gerlach Medal

Great news: Andrea Cavalleri, founding director of the MPSD, will be awarded the prestigious Stern‑Gerlach Medal by the German Physical Society (DPG) in recognition of his groundbreaking work in light-driven control of quantum materials. Congratulations! 🎉
www.mpsd.mpg.de/1103632/2025...

Einstein hated entanglement — and five other quantum myths There’s nothing intuitive about quantum theory — six physicists debunk some of the most common misconceptions.

There’s nothing intuitive about quantum theory — six physicists debunk some of the most common misconceptions.

go.nature.com/41pV7pA

In the blink of an eye: How river noise shapes the dipper’s silent signals By uncovering the blinking communication of river birds, scientists have shed new light on the mechanisms and evolution of animal interactions.

In the blink of an eye 👁️✨ At noisy rivers, dippers start blinking their white eyelids instead of singing louder. This is an impressive example of how animals use multiple senses to communicate, switching between them depending on the situation. www.mpg.de/25216643/081... #animalbehavior

Scientific Graphic from the Paper. It shows Disentangling spectral weight distributions in TrARPES via Floquet optical selection rules. The left panel shows a pump-probe setup in a TrARPES experiment on monolayer black phosphorus (BP), where the AC-polarized (s-pol.) pumping laser (blue) is incident perpendicular to the glide-mirror plane and the ZZ-polarized (p-pol.) probe laser (red) lies within this plane. Group-theoretical analysis of the system’s symmetry yields Floquet optical selection rules that govern the visibility of photon-dressed sidebands. The right panel presents a TDDFT-simulated TrARPES intensity plot along the AC direction of BP, obtained from ejected-electron data, with spectral weight distributions across sidebands of different Floquet indices n reflecting the symmetry constraints.

📢 Publication Alert 📢
Scientists from our theory group have published a new Study in #scienceadvances that shows that you can predict photon-sideband distributions in certain materials using Symmetry-based Floquet Optical Selection.

www.mpsd.mpg.de/1079352/2025...
@science.org
#physics #maxplanck

New_Link: schedule.aps.org/smt/2025/eve...

Leaving X, dynamically landing on Bluesky 🚀

Follow us for the latest research, institute news, job offers and more.

We are the MPSD, our Research focusses on the structure and properties of matter down to its atomic and electronic motions on the shortest timescales. ⏳

Upcoming Joint IMPRS Lecture with Karl Duderstadt @duderstadtlab.bsky.social from the @mpibiochem.bsky.social this Thursday, 12 June at 4 pm CET via Zoom!

More info: imprs-ml.mpg.de/38279/Joint-...

@mpibiochem.bsky.social @mpiforbi.bsky.social @tum.de @lmumuenchen.bsky.social

🚀 We are proud to launch the new "Ambassadors for the ERC" initiative, together with @ercgrantees.bsky.social !

We aim to empower researchers across Europe to advocate for frontier research. Find out more 👉 bit.ly/44bQzp7

🌟 Excited to see what can be achieved!

#Amb4ERC

A photo of Max Planck President Patrick Cramer and the words: "Threats to science anywhere are threat to science everywhere".

In an open letter of support to the President of @harvard.edu, Max Planck President Patrick Cramer @patrick-cramer.maxplanck.de has expressed his full support of the University in its stance against demands by the Trump administration to change its policies in order to retain federal funding.

🎉🎂 Happy Birthday, Max Planck! Born April 23, 1858, he revolutionized quantum theory and modern physics.

🌌🔬 Let's celebrate his legacy and the wonders of science!

#MPDL #MPG #MaxPlanck #QuantumTheory #ScienceLegend #BirthdayCelebration

Max Planck before discovering quantum theory (1878) and after discovering quantum theory (1901)

Happy #QuantumDay, everyone! 😊 Discovering #quantumtheory revolutionized #physics forever - and might even make your hair stand on end! 😉 #MaxPlanck

Droht der Wissenschaft in den USA ein Brain Drain? Interview Patrick Cramer, MPG

Viele Forschende in den USA spüren politischen Druck. Die Sorge um die #Forschungsfreiheit ist real. Im Interview mit #Deutschlandfunk habe ich über meine Reise in die USA gesprochen – und warum wir als @maxplanck.de mit einem #TransatlantischenProgramm reagieren ⬇️

Introducing Rosetta Commons Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) 2025 We’re pleased to introduce the 2025 Rosetta Commons Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) cohort. Interns in this REU program, which is hosted across multiple locations, engage in research u…

We received 613 applications—and now we’re proud to welcome 23 students to the 2025 Rosetta Commons REU! Read more about what they have to tell you about themselves and highlight their goals and interests:
🔗 rosettacommons.org/2025/04/11/i...

The Helmholtz AI Science Slam is coming to #HAICON25 this June - and we want YOU on stage!

✔ Build science communication & public speaking skills;
✔ Share your research in a creative way;
✔ Connect with a broad audience;

👉 Submit a pitch by April 28: events.hifis.net/event/2480/

A huge thank you to all the incredible speakers at #S25MRS this week—including Fred Kavli Plenary Lecture speakers Jim De Yoreo & David Baker!👏 We're honored to have supported your talks, which were thought-provoking and inspiring. #MaterialsScience #KavliNano @materials-mrs.bsky.social

Patrick Cramer and President Thomas F. Rosenbaum

Max Planck Delegation at Caltech

Caltech Campus

At @caltech.edu, I had the pleasure of meeting President Thomas F. Rosenbaum to discuss how we can deepen our longstanding partnership. Caltech is among the @maxplanck.de’s top U.S. collaborators — with over 700 joint publications in just two years. (1/2)

Congratulations to Dennis Gaitsgory from Max Planck Institute for Mathematics on receiving the #BreakthroughPrize 2025. A wonderful acknowledgment of fundamental contributions to the field.

Cynthia Friend and Patrick Cramer

The Max Planck Society delegation together with Cynthia Friend at the Kavli Foundation.

What does it take to build lasting scientific #partnerships between the U.S. & Europe? In my meeting with @kavlifoundation.bsky.social’s Cynthia Friend, we discussed why strong institutions & private support matter. Grateful for ongoing collaborations between Max Planck and Kavli institutes.

Manu Prakash is scaling down microscopes to expand their global reach - The Brilliant Transforming his lab into a factory for $1 microscopes, Manu Prakash and his team have shipped thousands to remote communities around the globe.

Many school students get a chance to peer at miniature life through a microscope, but while growing up in a remote town @prakashlab.bsky.social wasn't able to.

That didn't curb his curiosity.

Now he makes frugal microscopes (some out paper!) to expand outreach.

thebrilliant.com/2025/04/02/s...

Dr. Arun Majumdar and Patrick Cramer

Stanford Campus

Christian Doeller, Arun Majumdar and Patrick Cramer

Honored to meet Dr. Arun Majumdar @stanforddoerr.bsky.social at Stanford University. Stanford's leadership in #sustainability is inspiring. As we face global challenges, strong transatlantic ties remain vital — for science, for climate solutions, and for a resilient future.

Picture und quote of Hans-Ulrich Fried: “It’s very exciting to see how new ideas and principles in light mircropscopy emerge and how their implementation leads to innovative microsocope and microscopy techniques that ultimately make groundbraking research results possible.”

Hans-Ulrich Fried holds a doctorate in neuroscience and has been Head of the Light Microscope Facility at @dzne.science in Bonn since 2010. Together with his team, he is responsible for 35 state-of-the-art light microscopes, some of which he developed himself.

Patrick Cramer and Jennifer Doudna

Patrick Cramer, Christian Doeller, Jennifer Doudna and Anton Zensus

I’m kicking off my U.S. trip with a meeting with @jenniferdoudna.bsky.social — who, together with Max-Planck's Emmanuelle Charpentier, developed CRISPR-Cas9. A scientific breakthrough and a powerful example of U.S.-German collaboration. Let’s foster our #transatlantic #collaboration.

Toward single-molecule protein sequencing using nanopores - Nature Biotechnology Maglia and colleagues discuss advances in nanopore technology en route to single-molecule protein sequencing

Maglia and colleagues discuss advances in nanopore technology en route to single-molecule protein sequencing go.nature.com/3FL0g3k
rdcu.be/efeZR

Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Beate Heinemann übernimmt Vorsitz des DESY-Direktoriums www.desy.de/aktuelles/ne...

Phenix Software Accelerates Drug Discovery and the Study of Biological Systems - Intellectual Property Office Problem:  Crystallography (X-ray, neutron, electron) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) are critical techniques used to study biological systems and develop new therapeutics. But for many decades ...

🔬 From protein structure to drug discovery, our Phenix software is transforming how scientists explore biology. Used by 35k+ researchers worldwide, it’s a game-changer for life-saving science.

Learn more ⬇️🧪 @biosci.lbl.gov

UMich Biophysics has an open search for a new faculty member. Application materials are due 5/15. Search is open rank (despite the title in the link). Would love to bring more structural biology colleagues to Biophysics. #NMR careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...