Every year, top researchers apply for funds from the European Research Council (ERC), and the highly endowed ERC Advanced Grants are sought after in particular. Göttingen Max Planck Director Patrick Cramer has now been successful for the third time – an exceptional achievement. The biochemist investigates how cells use the information stored in their genome. His work on the regulation of this fundamental process is now funded with about two million euros.
How does a fertilized egg cell become a living being? How are nerve, muscle, or skin cells formed? “Our genes show different states of activity in different cells,” states Cramer, who heads the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry. Depending on their needs, cells selectively activate genes to retrieve the stored information. Only the DNA of active genes is copied in the form of long RNA…