Welcome to the Mast + Braun lab !
Can we understand the mechanisms that lead to the Darwinian evolution of the first living molecules on the early Earth? Our experiments recreate the first steps of molecular evolution using microscale experiments. We study the nonequilibrium settings how dead molecules could be combined by physical forces into an autonomous mechanism of Darwinian evolution.
One of our focus are physical non-equilibria such as asymmetrically heated open cracks in rocks. They can host molecular evolution by an unexpected combination of molecular, thermal and fluidic effects. For example, intricate wet-dry cycles are created at fuild-gas interfaces in a thermal gradient. Also, the temperature difference induces laminar convection which thermocycles genetic molecules for replication. At the same time, polymerization and accumulation is mutually enhanced in a hyperexponential fashion. The setting also lead to physical selection of cooperating, complexing molecules from a continuous feeding flow.
In the past, we clarified the microscopic physics behind the motion of molecules in a temperature difference, studied the nonequilibrium physics of pH gradients, have established methods to driven microfluidics by light and have studied reaction kinetics in living cells all-optically.
In particular, we developed an all-optical method to measure the binding affinity of biomolecules in complex biological fluids such as serum. The former PhD students Stefan Duhr and Philipp Baaske founded the Startup company NanoTemper Technologies (Deutscher Innovationspreis 2012, Step Award 2012) that sell instruments and technology to quantify biomolecule interaction and probe enzyme activity. They have more than 140 employees
--- July 2024: Molecular Origins Munich 2024 is coming up - be invited!
--- Dez 2023: We were successful with the CRC 392 Molecular evolution in prebiotic environments !
--- June 2023: Molecular Origins Munich 2023 was a very successful virtual meeting.
--- Sept 2022: Alan Ianeselli was awarded the Euregio-JungforscherInnen Price!
--- Jul 2022: Molecular Origins Munich 2022 was happening again the real world!
--- Jul 2020: Molecular Origins Munich 2020 has been held online and was a great success!
--- Apr 2019: We got a Grant extension (4 more years) in the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life
--- Nov 2018: We got the Technology Transfer Price of the DPG together with LMU and NanoTemper !
--- Sept 2018: Second Molecular Origins Conference
--- Sept 2018: The Cluster proposal "Origins" was successful!
--- June 2018: Our Volkswagen foundation Life! proposal with Matt Powner and Don Dingwell got funded!
--- July 2015: Start of the Origins of Life Initiative Munich, first hosting John Sutherland
Thomas Matreux, Paula Aikkila, Bettina Scheu, Dieter Braun and Christof B. Mast, Nature doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07193-7 (2024) Welt der Physik Bild der Wissenschaft Geo Magazin Spektrum Deutschlandfunk Merkur TZ Washington Post New Scientist Newsweek LMU press release Origins cluster press release Arstechnica Space daily Phys.org Astrobiology IDW Singularity hub SINC (ES) ZAP (PT) Quibit (HU) Pulsar (PL) Sveriges Radio (SE) Haaretz (IL) Hankyung (KR) Yonhap (KR)
Christof B. Mast, ChemSystemsChem doi.org/10.1002/syst.202400039 (2024)
Christine M. E. Kriebisch, Ludwig Burger, Oleksii Zozulia, Michele Stasi, Alexander Floroni, Dieter Braun, Ulrich Gerland and Job Boekhoven, Nature Chemistry doi.org/10.1038/s41557-024-01570-5 (2024)
Adriana C. Serrão, Sreekar Wunnava, Avinash V. Dass, Lennard Ufer, Philipp Schwintek, Christof B. Mast, and Dieter Braun, JACS doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c10813 (2024) LMU Press release
Adriana C. Serrão, Felix T. Dänekamp, Zsófia Meggyesi, Dieter Braun, Nucleic Acids Research doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkad1190 (2023)
Giacomo Bartolucci, Adriana Calaça Serrão, Philipp Schwintek, Alexandra Kühnlein, Yash Rana, Philipp Janto, Dorothea Hofer, Christof B. Mast, Dieter Braun and Christoph A. Weber, PNAS 120 (43) e2218876120 (2023)
Vanessa Helmbrecht, Maximilian Weingart, Frieder Klein, Dieter Braun, William D. Orsi, Geobiology, doi:10.1111/gbi.12572 (2023)
Maximilian Weingart, Siyu Chen, Clara Donat, Vanessa Helmbrecht, William D. Orsi, Dieter Braun and Karen Alim, Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi1884 (2023)
A. Zeynep Çalışkanoğlu, Don Dingwell, Corrado Cimarelli, Alessandra S.B. Camara, Hergen Breitzke, Gerd Buntkowsky, Matthew A. Pasek, Dieter Braun, Bettina Scheu & Karan Molaverdikhani, K, Chemical Geology, 620, 121343 doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121343 (2023)
Daniel B. Mayer, Thomas Franosch, Christof Mast, and Dieter Braun, Physical Review Letters 130, 168202 doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.168202 (2023)
Daniel B. Mayer, Dieter Braun, and Thomas Franosch, Phys. Rev. E 107, 044602 doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.107.044602 (2023)
Annalena Salditt, Leonie Karr, Elia Salibi, Kristian Le Vay, Dieter Braun & Hannes Mutschler, Nature Communications doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37206-4 (2023)
Corinna L. Kufner, Stefan Krebs, Marlis Fischaleck, Julia Philippou-Massier, Helmut Blum, Dominik B. Bucher, Dieter Braun, Wolfgang Zinth and Christof B. Mast, Scientific Reports doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29833-0 (2023)
Thomas Matreux, Bernhard Altaner, Johannes Raith, Dieter Braun, Christof Mast and Ulrich Gerland, Communications Physics doi.org/10.1038/s42005-023-01126-y (2023)
Alan Ianeselli, Annalena Salditt, Christof Mast, Barbara Ercolano, Corinna Kufner, Bettina Scheu and Dieter Braun, Nature Review Physics doi.org/10.1038/s42254-022-00550-3 (2023)
Christina F. Dirscherl, Alan Ianeselli, Damla Tetiker, Thomas Matreux, Robbin Queener, Christof Mast and Dieter Braun, PCCP doi.org/10.1039/D2CP04538A (2023)
Emre Tekin; Annalena Salditt; Philipp Schwintek; Sree Wunnava; Juliette Langlais; James Saenz; Dora Tang; Petra Schwille; Christof Mast; Dieter Braun, ChemBioChem doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202200423 (2022)
Avinash Vicholous Dass, Sreekar Wunnava, Juliette Langlais, Beatriz von der Esch, Maik Krusche, Lennard Ufer, Nico Chrisam, Romeo C. A. Dubini, Florian Gartner, Severin Angerpointner, Christina F. Dirscherl, Petra Rovó, Christof B. Mast, Judit E. Šponer, Christian Ochsenfeld, Erwin Frey, Dieter Braun, ChemSystemsChem doi.org/10.1002/syst.202200026 (2022)
Alan Ianeselli, Miguel Atienza, Patrick Kudella, Ulrich Gerland, Christof Mast & Dieter Braun, Nature Physics doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01516-z (2022)
LMU Press release New&Views: Mist and replication
Alan Ianeselli, Damla Tetiker, Julian Stein, Alexandra Kühnlein, Christof B. Mast, Dieter Braun & T.-Y. Dora Tang, Nature Chemistry https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-021-00830-y (2021)
S. Wunnava, C.F. Dirscherl, J. Výravský, A. Kovařík, R. Matyášek, J. Šponer, D. Braun, J.E. Šponer, Chem. Eur. J. /doi.org/10.1002/chem.202103672 (2021)
J. H. Rosenberger, T. Göppel, P. W. Kudella, D. Braun, U. Gerland, B. Altaner, PRX doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.11.031055 (2021)
T. Matreux, K. Le Vay, A. Schmid, P. Aikkila, L. Belohlavek, A. Z. Çalışkanoğlu, E. Salibi, A. Kühnlein, C. Springsklee, B. Scheu, D. B. Dingwell, D. Braun, H. Mutschler, C. B. Mast, Nature Chemistry doi.org/10.1038/s41557-021-00772-5 (2021)
Judit E. Šponer, Jiří Šponer, Jakub Výravský, Ondrej Šedo, Zbyněk Zdráhal, Giovanna Costanzo, Ernesto Di Mauro, Sreekar Wunnava, Dieter Braun, Roman Matyášek, Aleš Kovařík, ChemSystemsChem doi.org/10.1002/syst.202100017 (2021)
Kelsey R. Moore, Jian Gong, Mihkel Pajusalu, Emilie J. Skoog, Megan Xu, Tania Feliz Soto, Victor Sojo, Thomas Matreux, Matthew J. Baldes, Dieter Braun, Kenneth Williford, Tanja Bosak, Geobiology doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12447 (2021)
Julian A. C. Stein, Alan Ianeselli, Dieter Braun, Angewandte doi.org/10.1002/ange.202101261 (2021)
Alexandra Kühnlein, Simon A Lanzmich, Dieter Braun, eLife 2021;10:e63431 doi: 10.7554/eLife.63431
Patrick Kudella, Alexei Tkachenko, Annalena Salditt, Sergei Maslov and Dieter Braun, PNAS doi:10.1073/pnas.2018830118 (2021)
See also: Did Darwinian evolution begin before life itself?
Annalena Salditt, Lorenz M. R. Keil, David P. Horning, Christof B. Mast, Gerald F. Joyce, and Dieter Braun
Physical Review Letters 125, 048104 (2020), doi:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.048104
See also: A Jumpstart for Biochemistry
Reuben Hudson, Ruvan de Graaf, Mari Strandoo Rodin, Aya Ohno, Nick Lane, Shawn E. McGlynn, Yoichi M. A. Yamada, Ryuhei Nakamura, Laura M. Barge, Dieter Braun, and Victor Sojo
PNAS 117, 22873-22879 (2020), doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2002659117
Patrick W. Kudella, Katharina Preißinger, Matthias Morasch, Christina F. Dirscherl, Dieter Braun, Achim Wixforth & Christoph Westerhausen
Scientific Reports 9, 18808 (2019), doi:10.1038/s41598-019-55110-0
M. Morasch, J. Liu, C.F. Dirscherl, A. Ianeselli, A. Kühnlein, K. Le Vay, P. Schwintek, S. Islam, M.K. Corpinot, B. Scheu, D.B. Dingwell, P. Schwille, H. Mutschler, M.W. Powner, C.B. Mast & D. Braun
Nature Chemistry(2019), doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0299-5
Highlight Nature, Chemistry Community, LMU Press Release
Alan Ianeselli, Christof B. Mast and Dieter Braun
Angewandte Chemie (2019), doi.org/10.1002/ange.201907909
Shoichi Toyabe and Dieter Braun
Physical Review X 9, 011056
Evgeniia Edeleva, Annalena Salditt, Julian Stamp, Philipp Schwintek, Job Boekhoven and Dieter Braun
Chemical Science 10, 5807 - 5814, doi:10.1039/C9SC00770A (2019)
Friederike M. Möller, Michael Kieß, Christof Mast and Dieter Braun
Physical Review E 98, 062601 (2018) doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.98.062601
Lorenz Keil, Friederike Möller, Michael Kieß, Patrick Kudella and Christof Mast
Nature Communication 8, 1897 (2017)
doi:10.1038/s41467-017-02065-3
Rainer Malika, Therese Daub, Maria Gonik, Anirudh Sivakumar, Daniel J. Deredge, Evgeniia V. Edeleva, Jessica Götzfried, Sander W. van der Laan, Gerard Pasterkamp, Nathalie Beaufort, Susana Seixas, Steve Bevan, Lisa F. Lincz, Elizabeth G. Holliday, Annette I. Burgess, Kristiina Rannikmäe, Jens Minnerup, Jennifer Kriebel, Melanie Waldenberger, Martina Müller-Nurasyid, Peter Lichtner, Danish Saleheen, International Stroke Genetics Consortium, Peter M. Rothwell, Christopher Levi, John Attia, Cathie L. M. Sudlow, Dieter Braun, Hugh S. Markus, Patrick L. Wintrode, Klaus Berger, Dieter E. Jenne, and Martin Dichgans
PNAS (2017) doi: 10.1073/pnas.1616301114
Georg C. Urtel, Thomas Rind and Dieter Braun Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 078102 (2017)
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.078102
T. Dau, E. V. Edeleva, S. A. I. Seidel, R. A. Stockley, Dieter Braun & D. E. Jenne
Scientific Reports (2016) doi: 10.1038/srep35413
Lorenz Keil, Michael Hartmann, Simon Lanzmich and Dieter Braun
PCCP (2016) doi: 10.1039/C6CP00577B
Friederike M. Möller, Michael Kieß, Dieter Braun
JACS (2016) doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b01756
Matthias Morasch, Dieter Braun, and Christof B. Mast
Angewandte Chemie (2016) doi: 10.1002/anie.201603779
Manuel Wolff, Judith Mittag, Therese Herling, Erwin De Genst, Christopher Dobson, Tuomas Knowles, Dieter Braun, Alexander Buell
Scientific Reports (2016) doi:10.1038/srep22829
Ferdinand Greiss, Myrto Deligiannaki, Christophe Jung, Ulrike Gaul, Dieter Braun
Biophysical Journal (2016) doi 10.1016/j.bpj.2015.12.035
Natan Osterman and Dieter Braun
Applied Physics Letters (2015) doi 10.1063/1.4907357
Maren Reichl, Mario Herzog, Ferdinand Greiss, Manuel Wolff, and Dieter Braun
Physical Review E 91,062709 (2015), doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.91.062709
Moritz Kreysing, Lorenz Keil, Simon Lanzmich and Dieter Braun
Nature Chemistry (2015) doi:10.1038/nchem.2155
News in ScienceMag, News and Views by Irene Chen, Science's Editors Choice, Chemistry World, Science Daily, Scinexx, Nature World News, Tech Times, Press release, Radio Eins, Der Spiegel, Deutschlandfunk.
with their Team won the Gründerpreis in the category "Aufsteiger"
for the NanoTemper Technologies Startup. Congratulations!
Maren R. Reichl and Dieter Braun
JACS 136, 15955–15960 (2014) doi:10.1021/ja506169b
Article on Phys.org
The competition was stiff: 2 out of 140 were funded.
Maren Reichl, Mario Herzog, Alexandra Götz and Dieter Braun
Physical Review Letters 112, 198101 (2014)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.198101
Synopsis in PRL, Press release.
Matthias Morasch, Christof Mast, Johannes Langer, Pierre Schilcher and Dieter Braun, ChemBioChem 15, 879–883 (2014), doi: 10.1002/cbic.201300773
Christof Mast, Friederike M. Möller und Dieter Braun
Physik Journal 10, 29 (2013) [PDF]
RadioWissen broadcast on the Origin of Life [22Min.]
Escalation of Polymerization in a Thermal Gradient
Christof B. Mast, Severin Schink, Ulrich Gerland and Dieter Braun
PNAS 110, 8030-8035 (2013), doi:10.1073/pnas.1303222110 [PDF]
Beitrag im Deutschlandfunk
with their Team managed to win the 100.000 Euro STEP Award for the NanoTemper Technologies Startup. Congratulations!
Susanne Seidel, Christoph J. Wienken, Sandra Geissler, Moran Jerabek-Willemsen, Stefan Duhr, Alwin Reiter, Dirk Trauner, Dieter Braun, Philipp Baaske, Angewandte Chemie 51, 10656–10659 (2012), DOI: 10.1002/anie.201204268 (2012)
Hubert Krammer, Friederike M. Möller, and Dieter Braun
PRL 108, 238104 (2012). DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.238104
Links: APS Synopsis
with their Team managed to win the Deutsche Innovationspreis for the NanoTemper Technologies Startup. Congratulations!
Svenja Lippok, Susanne A. I. Seidel, Stefan Duhr, Kerstin Uhland, Hans-Peter Holthoff, Dieter Jenne and Dieter Braun
Analytical Chemistry 84, 3523–3530 (2012). DOI:10.1021/ac202923j
Benedikt Obermayer, Hubert Krammer, Dieter Braun, and Ulrich Gerland
PRL 107, 018101 (2011). DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.018101
Links: APS Viewpoint, PhysOrg
Xiaoqiang Wang, Karolina Corina, Philipp Baaske, Christoph J. Wienken, Moran Jerabek-Willemsen, Stefan Duhr, Dieter Braun, and Shuguang Zhang
PNAS 108, 9049-9054 (2011)
Christoph J. Wienken, Philipp Baaske, Ulrich Rothbauer, Dieter Braun and Stefan Duhr
Nature Communications 1, 100 (2010)
Links: Bionity, Research Highlight Nature Methods
Christof B. Mast and Dieter Braun
Physical Review Letters 104, 188102 (2010)
Press: Physics Today, FAZ, Nano 3Sat, Movie:Focus Online, Der Standard, Sueddeutsche, New Scientist, SciNexx
Philipp Baaske, Christoph J. Wienken, Philipp Reineck, Stefan Duhr, Dieter Braun, Angewandte Chemie 49, 2238-2241 (2010)
Press: Deutschlandfunk (Radio)
Ingmar Schoen, Hubert Krammer and Dieter Braun
PNAS 106, 21649–21654 (2009)
Franz M. Weinert and Dieter Braun
Nano Letters 9, 4264-4267 (2009)
Philipp Baaske, Franz M. Weinert, Stefan Duhr, Kono H. Lemke, Michael J. Russell, Dieter Braun
PNAS 104, 9346–9351 (2007)
[Commentary by Eugene V. Koonin, PNAS 104, 9105-9106 (2007)]
Stefan Duhr and Dieter Braun
PNAS 103, 19678–19682 (2006)
[Commentary by Dean Astumian, PNAS 104, 3-4 (2007)]