The German Embryo Protection Act (1990) sets the legal framework for research involving human embryos, adapted long before much of today’s knowledge of human development was available. In a @spiegel.de interview (in German, paywall) Melina discusses its impact on research today.

A warm welcome to Roni, who joined the Schuh lab in December 2025 as a new Postdoc! She completed her PhD in Genetics focusing on the development and aging of #oocytes in C. elegans. Now she‘ll investigate the role of actin in #meiosis. Great to have you with us, Roni 🎉

Huge congratulations to Ovo Labs on receiving the Max Planck Startup Award! 🎉

What does it take to translate fertility research into a biotech company? Agata and Melina joined “Holding on to Unicorns and Rainbows” podcast to tell the story of Ovo Labs. 🎧 Listen to the full episode: (Apple Podcasts) podcasts.apple.com/mx/podcast/f...

The Schuh lab just got a new postdoc—welcome Venus! 🎉 Venus studied telomere regulation in cancer during her PhD and will now explore telomeres in meiosis. Excited to have you on the team, Venus! ✨

🚀 Our research on human egg quality and #fertility is making headlines worldwide! 🌍 Thanks to @debojitsaha.bsky.social, our co-authors, clinical collaborators, and the patients who made this study possible - and to Ovo Labs for advancing this work. #IVF #womenshealth

Why do women’s eggs deteriorate as they age? 🥚 The @washingtonpost.com reports on this question and features our study on Shugoshin 1. 📰

Our work on improving human egg quality was featured in @theguardian.com. We hope this will help to make #IVF more successful and allow more couples to conceive. 💜

Human eggs must segregate their chromosomes with exquisite precision — yet errors rise with maternal age, causing miscarriage & infertility. Our new article on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social shows why chromosome cohesion fails in aging eggs & how to improve it. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/10)

The Schuh lab wishes you & your families a #MerryChristmas and a wonderful start to a happy & successful #NewYear2026 🎄✨ This year’s department Christmas card features a microscope image by our PostDoc @kosti-sofroni.bsky.social showing a fetal ovary containing prophase oocytes.

We’re excited to have Qiuyan join the Schuh lab as a postdoctoral researcher 🎉 She earned her PhD in Biological Sciences, with a research focus on understanding early embryonic development. In her new role, she’ll explore germ cell development. Welcome to the team, Qiuyan!

🧬Why does female fertility decline with age? And can egg cells be rejuvenated🥚? Find out in a new interview with Melina discussing her research on the biology of aging #oocytes. #WomensHealth 💜 (Article in German) ajour.ch/de/story/634...

🎉Ovo Labs won the @elilillyandcompany.bsky.social x @nucleate.bsky.social Grand Challenge 2025! Founded by Melina Schuh, Agata Zielinska & Oleksandr Yagensky to improve IVF success rates, Ovo Labs was picked from 450+ biotech companies. Huge congratulations!💜 🔗 nucleatehq.medium.com/ovo-labs-awa...

Last week, we enjoyed wonderful days on our #labretreat at Ringberg Castle by Lake Tegernsee, together with the Rink Lab and Lenart Lab from @mpi-nat.bsky.social. We explored science, hiked, did yoga, played games, and shared lots of laughter. A perfect setting to exchange ideas and connect. 🧠🧘‍♀️🎲

How do oocytes prepare for life before life begins? 🧬 Our new review in Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology @annualreview explores how oocytes store proteins to support development and fertility. (1/5) 🔗 go.shr.lc/4o9hsk8

Director at Max Planck - a unique position! The Open Call for Expressions of Interest in Max Planck Directorships is open now and can be submitted by the 31st of October 2025. ➡️ mpg.de/directors - Please share the Open Call among potential candidates.

Feeling excited & grateful 🌟 Honored to receive the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough 2025 (Life Sciences) — for our team’s live ovulation imaging. Thanks to Tabea Lilian Marx, Christopher Thomas & our lab! www.mpinat.mpg.de/5118437/pr_2... #FallingWalls #ScienceSummit25 #ScienceBreakthroughs

🎥 Our research made it into SWR Wissen, with our PhD student @tabeamarx.bsky.social sharing insights. Definitely worth a watch! (Video in German)

Great honor to be nominated as one of the top 10 Falling Walls Foundation Science Breakthroughs of the Year 2025 in the Life Sciences. A big thank you to @ovarylab.bsky.social & @tabeamarx.bsky.social for their outstanding contributions, & to everyone else who helped move this project forward.

Our fantastic technician Kevin marked his 30th birthday 🎉 and of course, the traditional German „fegen“ (sweeping) ritual was part of the celebration. Cheered on by colleagues, he handled it with humor and a great attitude. Welcome to your thirties, Kevin! 🧹🎂🥳

This week, Melina gave the Theodor Boveri Award Lecture at the University of Würzburg - the university’s highest honor in #lifesciences. This lecture recognizes outstanding scientists whose work continues Theodor Boveri’s pioneering legacy. Congratulations to Melina for this well-deserved honor! 🎉

Our PostDoc @debojitsaha.bsky.social recently attended a @cshlcourses.bsky.social & came back with new techniques and stunning images. This mouse E9.5 embryo, labeled with Raldh2 (red), Fgf8 (green), Msx1 (magenta), DAPI (blue) is just one example. #Fluorescence revealing the magic of development!✨

The startup Ovo Labs aims to make fertility treatments more effective by improving the quality of human egg cells. More about the MPI-NAT spin-off by our Director Melina Schuh @schuhlab.bsky.social, Agatha Zielinska, & Oleksandr Yagensky, in our INSIDE NAT article:👇 www.mpinat.mpg.de/5029307/INSI...

What an inspiring #NachtdesWissens @ndw-goe.bsky.social in Göttingen! Thanks to our amazing team, who made our research on oocytes 🥚 fun and accessible for everyone. Great to see so many #curiousminds exploring our science up close and joining in creative activities! 🖍️🧑‍🔬

Great to be part of this year's #NachtdesWissens in Göttingen 🎉! Come visit us to explore oocyte research, try your hand at creative activities, and experience #science up close 🔬🧬

It was great having Mariia @schuhlab for her lab rotation within the IMPRS Molecular Biology Master Program. She presented her project, supervised by @ninaschweizer.bsky.social, in our large seminar room. Congratulations on sucessfully finishing - well done! 🎉 #researchtogether #posterpresentation

We had the pleasure of welcoming RTG2756 PhD students from @unigoettingen.bsky.social to our lab for a hands-on methods course. Great vibes, curious minds, and lots of good science – we truly enjoyed having you with us! 🧪🔬 #PhDLife #ScienceTogether www.uni-goettingen.de/rtg2756

Our PhD student @tabeamarx.bsky.social is featured in the latest podcast episode of Forschungsquartett by detektorfm! She takes us behind the scenes of filming ovulation for the first time.💥 🎧 Grab your headphones & enjoy the story: www.mpg.de/24692341/neu... (🎙️#Podcast in German)

New face in the lab! 😊 We're excited to welcome @palmrinmoy.bsky.social as a new postdoc in the Schuh Lab 🎉He completed his PhD in the Torres-Padilla lab @www.helmholtz-munich.de, studying early embryonic development. Now, he'll investigate long-lived proteins in oocytes. Great to have you here!

We’re proud to announce #OvoLabs, co-founded by Melina @schuhlab.bsky.social, Agata Zielinska, and Oleksandr Yagensky. Building on decades of meiosis research, Ovo Labs aims to pioneer novel therapies to overcome the challenges of age-related infertility.

Looking back at #Zukunftstag2025, we’re still inspired by the curiosity & enthusiasm of the students! 🔬✨ From pipetting skills to microscopy & liquid nitrogen fun, it was an unforgettable day in the world of science. Thanks to all participants!🌟 #FutureScientists

Many congratulations to Jurgita on receiving the prestigious HFSP Postdoctoral Fellowship for her groundbreaking project on protein storage in mammalian #oocytes. Jurgita, we are so proud of you for this well-deserved recognition! Stay tuned to follow her exciting research journey! 🏆🌟

🚀 Apply now 🚀 The new Max Planck #Postdoc Program offers a guaranteed contract of at least 3 years, targeted mentoring, and career workshops. postdocprogram.mpg.de #ScienceCareer #PostdocProgram

Fascination with science on #Zukunftstag2025! 🧬👩‍🔬 Today, we explored the world of #science with students in our demo lab – examining oocytes under the microscope, extracting DNA, practicing pipetting, and even dipping gummybears in liquid nitrogen! 🧪 A day full of discoveries!

Lion Timm is not only our institute’s first Sustainability Officer but also a valuable member of our lab team! Check out how he’s saving electricity and reducing waste with some cool, simple measures. #sustainability @mpi-nat.bsky.social 💚

We’re excited to welcome Dr. Vanessa Hindmarsh as our new #ScientificManager! With a PhD in Molecular Medicine and experience in digital marketing & e-commerce, she will support Melina and manage our social media presence to share more about our work. Stay tuned for lab updates! 🔬🧬

Don't miss Hannah Uckelmann's talk today on targeting epigenetic regulators in leukemia development! ▶️ At 3pm @mpi-nat.bsky.social Join us for a compelling session! @hannahuckelmann.bsky.social #leukemiaresearch #epigenetics

Huge congratulations to Melina Schuh on her outstanding achievement. We're proud to have her leading the way @schuhlab.bsky.social 🎉

Scientists led by Melina Schuh & @ninadini.bsky.social @schuhlab.bsky.social have shown in mice that aged egg cells repair their #DNA less efficiently than young ones, and that repair becomes more error-prone with advancing maternal age. ⬇️ www.mpinat.mpg.de/4946141/pr_2...

Why are some chromosomes like #21 in Down syndrome more error-prone in mammalian eggs? 🤔 Our new study in @naturecomms.bsky.social reveals why acrocentric chromosomes often mis-segregate, causing aneuploidy and miscarriages. (1/9) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Huge congratulations, Nina! Very well deserved! 🎉🎊😄 https://x.com/ninadini_sharma/status/1860039931550433339

Oocytes are arrested in prophase to give them enough time to grow and accumulate sufficient maternal components.🥚 Our @NatureComms study led by @shiya_cheng reveals two mechanisms repressing cyclin B1 translation to maintain this arrest. http://bit.ly/4fVHgMz (1/6)

(S+) Erstmals Eisprung vollständig gefilmt: »Die Aufnahme ist absolut faszinierend« https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/medizin/eisprung-vollstaendig-gefilmt-die-aufnahme-ist-absolut-faszinierend-a-0e067017-407b-4898-ace3-725eb70343da?sara_ref=re-so-tw-sh via @derspiegel

Eisprung-Video: Forscher zeigen faszinierenden Moment https://m.bild.de/leben-wissen/eisprung-video-forscher-zeigen-faszinierenden-moment-67189aff6455882be147fff9?wtmc=twttr.shr

Der bisher tiefste Blick in den Ursprung des Lebens: „Wir können jetzt Eizellen live beobachten – auch solche, deren Eisprung gestört ist“ https://t.co/jpVLIh7DaK via @Tagesspiegel

Women lose >90% of their #eggs by their mid-30s, with persistent #DNADamage driving this loss. But why isn’t this damage repaired? Our new work in @CurrentBiology, led by @ninadini_sharma, reveals the causes of high DNA damage in aged oocytes.🧬💥 http://bit.ly/48e35Ee (1/13)

Congratulations, Chris! @IBDMmarseille @cnrs are lucky to have you ! 😉 We are so excited to follow your work and see the Thomas lab develop! 😃 Follow Chris for lots of exciting science in the future! https://x.com/LastChrisThomas/status/1846869738565120398

Thank you so much for your kind words 😊! We are glad you like our video. https://x.com/alena_buyx/status/1846862947739427206

Each month an #egg is ovulated from the #ovary, starting the journey of reproduction. But how does ovulation occur?🥚 Our latest work in @NatureCellBio led by @LastChrisThomas and @Tabea_Marx, describes the control of #ovulation using live imaging. https://bit.ly/3Ya8dEL (1/7)

📢 Job Posting Are you looking for a new challenge in an outstanding scientific environment? We are #hiring a #Scientific #Manager! 👨‍🔬👩‍🔬 If you are passionate about science and enjoy working in an international collaborative environment, please apply now! 😊 @mpi_nat https://t.co/6iRxGLVWYB