Bio Lab
How do hormones, enzymes, and the microbiome influence the human body? How do environmental factors influence general health? Answers to these questions can be found by analyzing biological samples in the institute's own bio lab.
The bio lab is a central part of scientific research at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and serves in particular to gain insights in the fields of developmental psychology and environmental neuroscience. It supports the investigation of the biological foundations of human behavior and the interactions between environmental factors and health.
Biological samples play an important role in this. They enable the analysis of the influence of hormones, enzymes, the microbiome, and various environmental factors on the human body. The samples currently examined at the Institute include saliva, urine, stool, tissue, and hair.
The data obtained provides scientists with valuable information about health processes, genetic predispositions, and possible environmental influences. On this basis, key mechanisms and processes in the body can be better understood and new insights into the effects of environmental factors can be gained in the context of our scientific studies.
Sample collection
The institute can collect samples such as saliva, stool, urine, and hair as part of studies. These can be further processed or stored directly until they are transported to the analyzing laboratory.
Centrifugation
Processing in a centrifuge allows volumes of 2 to 11 ml to be separated into their individual components. This allows cells, proteins, and other biological components to be separated from each other and then analyzed in a targeted manner.
Pipetting
In the bio-laboratory, samples are precisely collected using pipette systems in order to carry out various reactions and analyses. Pipettes with volumes between 2 µl and 1,000 µl are currently available for this purpose, enabling precise sample processing.