Hot off the press: New issue of DPZ aktuell is here!

Organoids are three-dimensional tissue structures that can mimic the complexity and functionality of organs. They are therefore an optimal tool to replace animal experiments in certain areas. Researchers at the DPZ are also using organoids in infection biology and brain research (page 17). The team of the junior research group Brain Development and Evolution has now even developed a method that allows brain organoids to be genetically manipulated quickly and efficiently. You can read why this brings a decisive advantage in the new issue starting on page 3.

The EU citizens' initiative "Save cruelty free cosmetics" aimed to obtain a ban on all animal experiments in the EU. More than one million signatures were collected with the petition between August 2021 and August 2022 and the demands of the initiative were presented to the EU Parliament in May 2023. On July 25 of this year, the EU Commission has now responded: it sees no need to revise the EU Animal Experiments Directive, but it will continue to promote the development of alternative methods and initiate various other measures to reduce animal experiments in research and education. You can read more about this topic and about the diverse commitment of DPZ employees at various levels of animal protection starting on page 11.

In the new issue, we also introduce our new junior research group "Cooperative Evolution of Primates" (page 23), report on our efforts for more sustainability at DPZ (page 34), and rejoice with this year's winner of the DPZ PhD Award (page 38).

We wish you an inspiring read!

"DPZ aktuell" is published four times a year, has about 35 to 40 pages each and can be subscribed to free of charge. Of course, the magazine is also available in the building: You will find it at the reception desk or in the library.