By now a group tradition: (excessive) pre-Christmas ingestion of Stollen...

The institute Christmas tree is up!

Welcome, @madalenamrp.bsky.social!

How does an elastic line buckle within a curved surface? The answer, by @zhaoshh.bsky.social and @lepuslapis.bsky.social @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @csbdresden.bsky.social, has now been #published @physrevlett.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1103/63py-ph5s

Welcome, @matthiasmuhar.bsky.social!

🚨Job Opportunity for #Postdocs! We’re searching for a talented postdoctoral scientist to join our team, and explore meiotic spindle self-organization at the crossroads of biology and physics 🔬👩‍🔬 🔗 Curious? Apply now: tud.link/7fmgeg 🗓️ Deadline: January 14, 2026 Please share with your network!

Now #published @physrevlett.bsky.social: the answer to the question that Euler did not solve three hundred years ago*. @zhaoshh.bsky.social doi.org/10.1103/63py-ph5s * Possible reasons include not having access to Mathematica and predating Riemann (in the non-ecological sense).

O little town of Oxford, How still we see thee lie. But above thy deep and dreamless sleep, Complex thoughts go by. Still not convinced? Don't worry, you have all Christmas to 'mull' it over. Closes 12 January. Full details of the role: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74844

One of our founding directors Anthony Hyman @hymanlab.bsky.social will become @embl.org Director General: www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...

A couple of days left to apply for a summer #internship in #biophysics @mpipks.bsky.social . A great opportunity to join us over the summer of 2026!

The freedom to go for it for three years? Our Hooke and Titchmarsh Fellowships in pure and applied mathematics give you the space to follow a research path of your choice, a path that has proved instrumental in the careers of many previous fellows. Details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/vacancies

Join the team at Janelia to use #theory, computation, and modeling to tackle bold questions in #biology. Collaborate across scientific disciplines to drive discovery. Apply by Nov. 3 @ https://janelia.link/theoryfellowprogram #computationalbiology #sciencecareers

With her research group, “Algebraic Topology and Networks in Biology,” Daniela Egas Santander joins @mpi-cbg.de and @csbdresden.bsky.social. Welcome, Daniela! 🎉 @math-mpicbg.bsky.social www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...

I was (all too briefly) a Hooke Fellow @oxfordmathematics.bsky.social : these are fantastic positions, so you should apply!

A fantastic opportunity to join @mpipks.bsky.social as an independent #postdoc fellow - apply now!

Apply now to join us for a fully funded #biophysics #internship @mpipks.bsky.social ! What better way to spend your summer?

We welcome @fbrauns.bsky.social as a new group leader @mpipks.bsky.social and @mpi-cbg.de!

A new call for the ELBE Visiting faculty program is now open! No matter if you are junior or senior faculty, if you work on math/physics/computer science/ML applied to life sciences, you are welcome to submit an application to come and collaborate with the groups at CSBD! Deadline is November 30th.

The @cmcb-tud.bsky.social , @poldresden.bsky.social, @mpi-cbg.de, and the scientific community of Dresden would like to express the deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and colleagues of Jochen Guck. www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...

After three intense fun days of #CellPhysics2025 @uni-saarland.de, it was time to walk up a steep hill.

Now #published as a Letter @physreve.bsky.social: "Geometry of T1 transitions in epithelia" doi.org/10.1103/kdnb-bxdx My first single-author paper deploys a silly amount of Olympiad geometry on a fundamental biophysics problem, summarised in the attached thread! @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de

I have very fond memories of fascinating (albeit intimidating) #devbio discussions with John Gurdon @magdalenecollege.bsky.social High Table. He'll be missed!

#CellPhysics2025 @uni-saarland.de: looking forward to talking about "Mechanics of Lumina" (*) in the "Cell Collectives" session this morning. (*) Note the use of the correct plural of "lumen".

On my way to give a seminar @emergencediep.bsky.social, Amsterdam. Looking forward to the visit!

#proudPI moment: my first #PhD student, Maryam Setoudeh, has just submitted her thesis @tudresden.bsky.social.

Congratulations, Agnes @tothpetroczylab.bsky.social!

Apply now for #PhD positions @mpi-cbg.de and in the #biophysics division @mpipks.bsky.social!

Rainy day @mpi-cbg.de.

IG Nobel Prize in #Physics 2025 to @mpipks.bsky.social researchers for elucidating the phase behaviour of cacio e pepe sauce. The work highlights how physics can also be applied to solve daily-life problems! nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03045-0

Peer pressure shapes the gut: latest publication in @pnas.org by @lepuslapis.bsky.social, @zhaoshh.bsky.social from @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @csbdresden.bsky.social with colleagues from @flatironinstitute.org and Princeton University. www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...

Now #published @pnas.org: "A model for boundary-driven tissue morphogenesis", a great #biophysics #devbio collaboration led by @danielalber.bsky.social @zhaoshh.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2505160122 @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @csbdresden.bsky.social @flatironinstitute.org

A ring of cells deforms into a triangular keyhole in just 15 minutes. Meet the hindgut, a model for boundary-driven morphogenesis! Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)

Bacteria are surrounded by water! New work @natphys.nature.com by @ricardalert.bsky.social @mpipks.bsky.social & collaborators @ Princeton University shows that water capillary forces organise bacterial colonies into gas, nematic streams, and droplet states. nature.com/articles/s41567-025-02965-y

Early-career researchers: want to run your own lab? 🌟Max Planck Research Groups offer 6+ years, up to €2.7M in funding, open-topic freedom, team support & tenure-track opportunities. Intrigued? 😃Apply by Oct 14, 2025! www.mpg.de/max-planck-r...

Amazing opportunities to start your own research group!

Become a Theory Fellow at Janelia. 🔍 Use computation & theory to tackle biological problems. 🖥️ Leverage state-of-the-art computational infrastructure 🤝 Collaborate across scientific disciplines Apply by Nov. 3 @ https://janelia.link/theoryfellowprogram

Another #preprint: "Elasticity and plasticity of epithelial gap closure", from the #PhD work of Maryam Setoudeh: arxiv.org/abs/2509.05110 This one required a lot of (I think) beautiful #mechanics! @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @csbdresden.bsky.social

New preprint on MDCK cysts and lumen mechanics. #EpithelialMechanics Check out @lepuslapis.bsky.social fantastic Skythread: bsky.app/profile/lepu...

Congratulations to Kai Simons, one of our founding directors, for receiving the Cothenius-Medal of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina @leopoldina.org for his insights into the function of cell membranes. 🎉 www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...

New #preprint: "Control of lumen morphology by lateral and basal cell surfaces", a great #biophysics collaboration with Chandraniva Guha Ray, @markusmukenhirn.bsky.social, Alf Honigmann @biotec-tud.bsky.social @poldresden.bsky.social. arxiv.org/abs/2509.04316 @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de

The moral of the story is that building the #bridge between #evolution & #morphogenesis is hard. I still think it needs a concerted push, because, to paraphrase the classic: "Everything in biology, even the #CF, starts making sense in the light of evolution." I add, it is #stuff_that_matters (12/12)

We are all super happy and proud to see our work on the function and evolution of the #cephalic #furrow published in @nature.com. Let me say a few things about the background and history of this work on the #Evolution_of_Morphogenesis (1/12)

New preprint: We study Lotka-Volterra ecological dynamics through computational algebraic geometry. By encoding feasibility & stability on the real Grassmannian, we prove certain ecological networks are mathematically impossible 🧮🌿 arxiv.org/abs/2509.00165

Dresden researchers @paveltomancak.bsky.social @bruvellu.bsky.social, Carl Modes, @cuencam15.bsky.social ‬ & colleagues published in @nature.com that a tissue fold in fruit fly embryos buffers mechanical stresses & may have evolved in response to mechanical forces. www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...

New #preprint: "Strata of Ecological Coexistence via Grassmannians" with Türkü Özlüm Çelik, Georgy Scholten, Kexin Wang, Giulio Zucal - a great, first collaboration with #mathematics @csbdresden.bsky.social @math-mpicbg.bsky.social: arxiv.org/abs/2509.00165 @mpi-cbg.de @mpipks.bsky.social

When we talk about mathematicians, we often try to show what they looked like. Here is a short list of famous mathematicians/scientists with no known portrait (AFAIK): Pythagoras (c. 570–495 BCE) Zeno of Elea (c. 490–430 BCE) Al-Khwarizmi (c. 780–850) Nicole Oresme (c. 1320–1382) 1/2

We have a fully funded 3y postdoc position open!!!! Come join us @mpi-cbg.de and @poldresden.bsky.social to understand the role of Membranes in Controlling Biogenic Crystallization :) this is part of our #HFSP funded project with @noemijimenezrojo.bsky.social and @vmonje.bsky.social! Applications👇

On our way to the @mpi-cbg.de faculty retreat with @paveltomancak.bsky.social @nadlerlab.bsky.social, Eric, Alex - using the only acceptable means of transport.

Now (finally) #published @natcomms.nature.com: "A multi-tiered mechanical mechanism shapes the early neural plate" @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de A great collaboration of experiment and theory to explain the tissue flows shaping the #zebrafish neural plate! doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61303-1

We’re looking for a mathematical research and collaboration manager to join our new initiative of mathematics in a biology institute in Dresden, Germany! @csbdresden.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @math-mpicbg.bsky.social Please share widely: careers.mpi-cbg.de/jobs/5734151...