Elena Conti from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry gives us a fascinating peek into the tiny world of protein complexes that are 1000 times thinner than a human hair and serve as tools in our cells that move and build or tear apart other molecules. Tiny machines that build or destroy parts of our cells? Learn about a molecular machine that she calls a "shredder" and what research methods are used to learn more about the inner workings of our cells!

Elena Conti is Director of the research department for Structural Cell Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (Martinsried, Germany). Her group studies the cellular control mechanisms that monitor and eliminate RNA molecules that are no longer needed. Conti’s group has deciphered the atomic structures and biochemical mechanisms of large macromolecular complexes involved in RNA recognition and degradation, such as the exosome and deadenylation complexes. Current work aims at understanding how the RNA degradation machinery is physically coupled and coordinated with the translation machinery.

More about Elena Conti: https://www.biochem.mpg.de/conti

In the video series "Aha Moment", renowned scientists from the Max Planck Society come to the BIOTOPIA Lab in Munich to give us a sneak peek into their research. They show experiments and examples to share what particularly fascinates them about their field of research and what unexpected discoveries they have made in the course of their careers.

Learn more about the BIOTOPIA Lab and how you can explore life there yourself: https://biotopia.net/en/biotopia-lab.