Christoph Rademacher

© Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung

It is a fundamental principle of life that every cells covers itself with a sugar coat – the glycocalyx. Its particular composition and structure codes important messages in cell-cell communication, influencing development, differentiation, and immunological processes. The matrix is formed by highly complex biopolymers whose compositions vary from cell to cell, even between genetically identical cells. The ERC-funded research project GLYCONOISE adapts a transmitter-receiver model from communication sciences and combines it with state-of-the-art experimental techniques from biophysics and cell biology to address two fundamental questions: What is the role of the redundancy in glycan-based communication? How much ‚noise’ can it tolerate, before the message is lost?   Note: Grant transferred to the University of Vienna (2020)