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Have you ever wondered what happens on a very small scale in the universe? Every day, scientists work hard to understand some of these effects. From describing how molecules move to understanding our complex immune system, there are many tiny wonders to be discovered!
Join us for a drink while you meet real researchers and learn about their complex problems explained in very simple terms!
Join us for a drink while you meet real researchers and learn about their complex problems explained in very simple terms!
Of measles and men: how the human immune system affects measles outbreaks
Elizabeth Goult
(Doctoral researcher at Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology)
Measles vaccines are arguably one of the best value-for-money public health interventions introduced in the 20th century. But what makes them better value than other vaccines? And how can we best use these vaccines? As it turns out, the interplay between measles and the adaptive immune system means there is an optimal schedule to give measles vaccines to best protect the whole population. Furthermore, thanks to this interplay measles vaccines could help protect against more than just measles.
Now you see me, now you don't - A short story on ghosting molecules
Julian Hille
(Doctoral Researcher at Freie Universität Berlin)
When simulating the microscopic motions of particles to understand the properties of real-world materials, molecular physicists need to calculate the interactions in between molecules. One way to circumvent the huge computational cost that comes with this is to simply switch off these interactions in parts of the simulated system. By that, one introduces a systematic error that needs to be compensated. How and why to do that is going to be the subject of my presentation.
Co-evolving micromachines: natural killer cells vs. cytomegaloviruses
Alexandra Forrai
(PhD student at Deutsches Rheuma- Forschungszentrum)
Natural killer cells are a subset of immune cells belonging to the innate immune system. Together with other innate cells, they ensure pathogen control until the sophisticated adaptive immune cells (T and B cells) show up and remove the pathogen. Surprisingly, natural killer cells, although being "naturals" at what they do (killing infected and cancerous cells), do have some additional talents that other innate cells lack, such as specific recognition of their arch enemy, the cytomegalovirus.
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