Spectacular discovery by Freddy Frischknecht: #malaria #sporozoites form rotating vortices. Our theoretical analysis, now published in Nature Physics and led by Pintu Patra, identified the key physical aspects: self-propulsion, curved shape, chirality and mechanical flexibility

We got some $$$ and are looking to recruit! 👩‍💻🧙👩‍🔬👨‍🔬 RT appreciated :) with Susan Daniel

Another great collaboration fostered by #SFB1129. The interplay between matrix layers and membranes is essential for many viral systems and here investigated for Ebola virus combining a large range of different methods. Congrats to Sophie, Gonen, Fabio and the whole team 👍👍👍

So excited to be awarded the #ERCStG for our project ReMembrane!🤩 We will explore membrane remodeling by tetraspanin proteins using mechanical-single-molecule tools, in the context of migrasome formation, viral fusion and fertilization! NOW RECRUITING STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS!

Out today in Cell Host & Microbe: our immune system fights infections by luring the virus into a lipid trap. Another very fruitful and interdisciplinary collaboration in the context of #SFB1129. This Share Link will work until May 20: authors.elsevier.com/c/1gr356t8JEm~…

We have European Research Council (ERC) funded Ph.D. and postdoc positions for our exciting project ReMembrane to study how membrane tension and curvature together with tetraspanin proteins modulate membrane fusion and migrasome formation! RT appreciated🙏

Motivated by our recent collaborations with @ChlandaL on fusion of enveloped viruses, we systematically analyzed the role of curvature in the fusion of spherical and tubular membranes. Our paper is open access and now out in Biophysical Journal at doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.…

Contiuum elastic theory predicts that high curvature promotes fusion of lipid membranes buff.ly/3oCHOBL (Biophysical Journal)

In three months our Bad Honnef summer school will start on the physics of viruses. Great speakers & a large range of highly interesting subjects. Now is a good time to register ! dpg-physik.de/veranstaltunge…

New paper alert!💥We show that membrane tension inhibits hemifusion. Fantastic work by the twitterless Petr Shendrik, and a really fun collaboration with Gonen Golani and Ulrich Schwarz (also @ulrichschwarz.bsky.social)! Also with Raviv Dharan pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ac…

Surface tension has an ambiguous role in membrane fusion: it accelerates the later stages (diaphragm and pore expansions), but what about the early ones (stalk formation) ? The amazing Raya Sorkin lab now has shown in ACS Nano that tension delays this part. Theory by @GonenGolani

Today our #DPGVirusSchool startet at the #Physikzentrum Bad Honnef. Great start into the week with amazing talks by Reidun Twarock on viral tiling theory, Michael Hagan from Hagan Lab on capsid assembly, and Gonen Golani on viral membrane fusion