Light - The Science Magazine of the Max Planck Society 2.2015 - Dreams Bring Lucidity to Our Thinking - Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
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B56133 The Science Magazine of the Max Planck Society 2.2015 Light COGNITION COMMUNICATION EARTH SYSTEM RELIGION Dreams Bring Lucidity Secret Code … and now for A Crucial Question to Our Thinking in a Laser Pulse tomorrow’s climate for the Nation State
www.siemens.com/pof
Scenario 2040 — in Antarctica:
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ligence to energy supply systems.
Even in places far from civilization,
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Pictures of the Future
The Magazine for Research and Innovation
Which technologies will shape our lives in the decades ahead? The online magazine Pictures of the Future
reports on the most important trends in technology and offers insights into the laboratories at Siemens.
It designs future scenarios, describes exciting research activities in feature stories, reports and interactive
360° features, and provides a platform for experts from all over the world. www.siemens.com/pof
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ON LOCATION
Photo: MPI for Chemical Ecology/Anna Schroll
Eternal Summer
Even on cloudy days, the sun shines in the greenhouse of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology: 520
high-pressure lamps with assimilation sodium vapor bulbs ensure that the plants have sufficient light and that the
spectral distribution is right for photosynthesis. To simulate uniform irradiation, the lamps move back and forth
automatically on tracks. The air conditioning is also computer controlled: temperatures remain at summer levels –
but not too high – all year round.
Half of the 474-square-meter cultivation floor is usually sown with coyote tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata), a
species of wild tobacco and the institute’s most important model plant. Along with rapeseed and pea plants and
poplars, the greenhouse also boasts some more exotic inhabitants: pest-resistant bananas, noni trees and carnivo-
rous pitcher plants. The latter are the main focus of interest for researcher Ayufu Yilamujiang. He studies the exact
composition of the digestive fluid with which the plant digests the trapped insects.
Carnivorous plants grow in low-nutrient soils and obtain additional nutrition from their animal prey, mainly
insects. To this end, they have developed special trapping and digestive mechanisms. In the case of the pitcher plant,
sweet nectar lures the insects to the edge of the pitcher, which is basically formed from reshaped leaves.
The animals slip off the edge of the pitcher and fall into the digestive fluid. The pitcher plants also find the
occasional prey in the greenhouse, as parasites or beneficial organisms used to combat these – ichneumon wasps,
for instance – occasionally fall victim to them. For experiments carried out under controlled conditions, the scien-
tists feed the pitcher plants with fruit flies.
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 3
Contents
Complicated: Jens Hjörleifur
18 LIGHT 46 Bárðarson focuses on, among other
things, topological insulators.
18 Tweezers Made of Light PERSPECTIVES
Many biomolecules move through cells like microscopic machines.
06 Cooperation Worth Celebrating
Often, however, it isn’t known what forces these molecules
generate or how fast the molecules act or move. That’s why Stephan 06 Green Light for Research Projects
Cover: iStockphoto – merrymoonmary; photos this page: Thorsten Naeser (large image), Sven Doering
Grill from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and 07 The Max Planck Society Researches
Genetics in Dresden decided to specialize in measuring molecular Its Own History
forces. He uses optical tweezers to pull gently on DNA strands and 07 Max Planck Spinoff Finds Buyer
to study proteins. with Deep Pockets
08 “It’s not surprising that the fear
24 The Making of a Quantum Movie
was palpable”
Until even just a few years ago, no camera was fast enough to film
09 New Internet Presence for
the movements of electrons. Ferenc Krausz, Director of the Max
max-wissen.de
Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, and his team can
now do this using new techniques, creating the basis for optimizing 09 On the Net
processes in chemistry and electronics.
32 Between Spotlight and Shadow VIEWPOINT
The main figures in Caravaggio’s paintings seem to be sitting 10 Peace – Europe’s Polyphonic
in a spotlight. There were numerous legends surrounding the Promise
painter and his lighting techniques. Sybille Ebert-Schifferer, In view of the challenges to
Director at the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome, wants to demystify peace and security in Europe,
Caravaggio’s image. it’s time for EU member states
to take joint action.
FOCUS
18 Tweezers Made of Light
ON THE COVER Light is our lifeblood, the inspiration for artists, and an indispensable
tool in science and technology. Reason enough for UNESCO to declare 2015 the Inter- 24 The Making of a Quantum Movie
national Year of Light. The image shows light in optical fibers. 32 Between Spotlight and Shadow
4 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15
Concealed: Magnetic resonance Encrypted: The quantum Swirled: Ocean currents such as
52 imaging makes visible which brain
regions are active in lucid dreamers. 60 information receiver that can’t
be tapped unnoticed. 68 the Gulf Stream play a major role
in the climate.
SPECTRUM BIOLOGY & MEDICINE CULTURE & SOCIETY
40 Listen Carefully 52 Dreams Bring Lucidity to 76 A Crucial Question for the
40 Mars – The Blue and Red Planet Our Thinking Nation State
41 Nature’s Medicine Cabinet “I think, therefore I am” – René While Islam is still perceived by
Descartes’ thinking gave him the many as the greatest impediment to
41 Food in Tubes
certainty that he did, in fact, integration in European immigration
41 By Computers, for Computers exist. Lucid dreamers are able to societies, scientists have come up
42 World Record in Color reflect on their own thoughts with a more differentiated approach.
42 Ceres – A Mysterious World even during sleep.
Photos: David Ausserhofer, Axel Griesch, DKRZ – Michael Böttinger (left to right)
43 Babies Learn while Snoozing
REGULAR FEATURES
43 Poison Sprays Return to Haunt Us
MATERIAL & TECHNOLOGY
44 Language Roots on the Steppe 03 On Location
44 Solving the Puzzle of Nova Vul 1670 60 Secret Code in a Laser Pulse 16 Post from – London, England
45 Using Nuclear Spin to Study Quantum cryptography aims to Immediate Inspiration
Individual Proteins protect data transmissions against 82 Flashback
eavesdropping. This is what Strawberry Fields Forever
45 Customized Carbon
researchers from the Max Planck
45 Learning with All the Senses 84 Community
Institute for the Science of Light
84 “A Win-Win Situation”
are working on.
85 New Content Leads to New Horizons
PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY 86 50 Million Euros for Junior Scientists
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE 87 Research Establishments
46 Player in a Magical World
87 Imprint
Personal Portrait: 68 … and now for tomorrow’s climate
Jens Hjörleifur Bárðarson Researchers want to predict what
the Earth’s climate will be like
10 or 15 years from now, and in this
way also explain why, since 1998,
the Earth has been heating up more
slowly than models predict.
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 5
PERSPECTIVES
Photos: Amac Garbe/MPG (top), MPI for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Katrin Boes, Max-Planck-Campus/Tübingen, fotostudio arlene knipper, private collection, MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, private collection (bottom, from left to right)
Cooperation Worth Celebrating
Science celebrates 50 years of German-Israeli relations
Half a century has passed since Germany and Israel established diplo-
matic relations. To mark this anniversary, scientists from both coun-
tries, the presidents of leading research organizations, and political
guests met in Israel for a two-day celebration. The event was co-orga-
nized by the Minerva Stiftung, a subsidiary of the Max Planck Society
that is financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and
that has been promoting scientific cooperation between the two coun-
tries since 1964. “I firmly believe that nobody could have predicted
such a development 50 years ago,” said Max Planck President Martin
Stratmann, stressing that “in view of our particular history, promoting
mutual understanding remains an important task.”
The high point of the celebrations was a scientific symposium held
at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot and officially launched
by the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Johanna
Wanka. The Minister also inaugurated two new Minerva Research Cen-
ters, bringing the total to 23 of these centers of excellence in Israel.
“The Minerva Centers are the jewel in the crown of German-Israeli sci-
entific relations. They have also become an important feature of the
Israeli research landscape,” said Johanna Wanka.
In his speech at the anniversary celebrations, Max Planck President Stratmann
emphasized the unifying nature of science: “People from different countries
can meet on neutral ground, so to speak, in scientific institutions.” This was
also the basis for German-Israeli scientific relations, which have existed now
for more than 55 years.
Green Light for Research Projects
Max Planck scientists attract EU millions for their projects
The 328 junior scientists awarded institutes also competed successfully in their applications for the funding of
Starting Grants by the European Re- for ERC Consolidator Grants. The projects with partners from Bulgaria,
search Council (ERC) last December Teaming funding line is a new element Poland and Cyprus.
include 17 Max Planck scientists. The of the “Horizon 2020” EU Research
funding of up to two million euros al- Framework Programme, which links The Max Planck scientists recently awarded
located to the 17 Max Planck research- renowned research institutions with Consolidator Grants (from left): Jochen Rink
ers is intended to help them with the institutes in regions that perform less and Jan Huisken (molecular cytology and
genetics), Birte Höcker (developmental
development of independent scientif- strongly in the area of research. The
biology), Sönke Zaehle (biogeochemistry),
ic careers in the period immediately Max Planck Society played a key role Mikael Simons (experimental medicine),
following their doctoral studies. A fur- in the design of this instrument. Four Jonas Obleser (cognitive and neurosciences)
ther seven scientists from Max Planck Max Planck institutes were successful and Henrik Beuther (astronomy).
6 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15
PERSPECTIVES
The Max Planck Society Researches Its Own History
Seven-year program focuses on the organization’s development
Over the next seven years, a research
program at the Max Planck Institute for
the History of Science will examine the
development of the Max Planck Soci-
ety from its foundation in 1948 to the
end of Hubert Markl’s presidency in
2002. The program is intended to in-
vestigate the organization’s dynamics
and research successes, as well as its sci-
entific dead ends, which, however, of-
ten proved productive in the final anal-
ysis. The program will also concentrate
on critical topics like the ethical limits
of research, the dual-use problem and
external influences. Building on the
studies on the Kaiser Wilhelm Society
during the National Socialist period,
the scientists also intend to take a fresh
look at how the Max Planck Society
dealt with the misconduct of its prede-
cessor organization.
The research program, whose par-
ticipants include renowned external The history of the Max Planck Society began in 1948. The inaugural meeting took place in the
canteen of the Institute for Aerodynamic Testing (Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt) in Göttingen.
scholars, aims to comprehensively re-
construct the past and classify it in
terms of the relevant historical con- stitution’s research and development view to its position in science, society
texts. Based on the example of several mutually influenced each other. The fo- and politics. The research program will
inter-institutional topics, the historians cus here is on the changes of the Max be supervised by an international sci-
wish to concretely examine how the in- Planck Society through time with a entific advisory board.
Max Planck Spinoff Finds Buyer with Deep Pockets
US concern Baxter takes over biotech company SuppreMol
How the knowledge gained through ba- pany, which has 20 employees, made it so agency supported the development of
sic research stimulates the economy was attractive that US pharmaceutical con- SuppreMol, particularly in the company’s
demonstrated by the sale of SuppreMol cern Baxter was willing to pay over 200 pre-spinoff and early phase. The fact that
GmbH in March: Established in 2002 by million euros for it. SuppreMol succeeded in attracting a
scientists working with Nobel laureate “This was one of the biggest transac- strong owner like Baxter for the expen-
Robert Huber from the Max Planck Insti- tions in the sector, which has been expe- sive clinical development and market
tute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, the riencing funding difficulties, particularly preparation of its drugs has been warm-
Photo: Amac Garbe/MPG
biotech company carries out research on in Germany, for years,” says Ulrich Mahr, ly welcomed. The Max Planck Society and
innovative drugs for the treatment of au- a member of the management team of the Max Planck Institute will also benefit
toimmune diseases such as multiple scle- Max -Planck-Innovation GmbH. The Max from the sale and stand to receive sums
rosis. The advances achieved by the com- Planck Society’s technology transfer in the lower single-digit million range.
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 7
PERSPECTIVES
“It’s not surprising that the fear was palpable”
Anita Schroven from the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology is still helping to manage
the Ebola crisis in West Africa
Where do you get your information from? things that the locals didn’t understand and
I am in contact with acquaintances involved presenting a risk scenario that didn’t en-
in field research, and follow reports on the courage cooperation – especially as there
radio and Internet. I also maintain contact were huge information campaigns convey-
with experts in the field – anthropologists ing the message that there is no cure or
and other social scientists involved in fight- treatment for Ebola.
ing the Ebola outbreak and working with
the WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières, the But people realized that this approach
Red Cross and the UN mission, as well as the wouldn’t achieve the desired results –
network to which I belong. We debate spe- or did they?
Anita Schroven cialist issues and can pass on research find- Yes, first of all, the communication was im-
ings about local practices. proved. Instead of sending representatives
When field researchers aren’t out in the from central government, local dignitaries
field, they have no problem participating in You carried out research in Guinea on ideas were involved. Village elders, religious lead-
the unfolding events from their desks at and practices of state and statehood in the ers and leaders from the initiation societ-
home thanks to technology. Anita Schrov- local context. Are there links between this ies lend greater legitimacy to such process-
en, an academic staff member in the “Inte- and Ebola? es. Secondly, consistent use was made of
gration and Conflict along the Upper Guin- The question as to the extent to which the the media; discussion forums in which peo-
ea Coast (West Africa)” research group, is in population can trust state structures aris- ple could participate by cell phone were
contact with Guinea. She lived in the West es in Guinea, in particular. This has a lot to transmitted on the radio. Moreover, it was
African country for one year. As is the case do with the history of the country, which essential to ensure that the information is
in neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia, gained independence in 1958 but was then available in the local languages.
the threat of new Ebola infections hasn’t governed by two dictators for 50 years. The
been entirely eliminated there. political arena has become increasingly Was at least the initial medical position clear?
ethnicized in recent years. The president’s Even among researchers, there was and is
Out of sight, out of mind: Ms. Schroven, how group is accused of profiting more than no consensus: How reliably can the knowl-
should we see the current situation in West others from the state mining revenue. edge gained from earlier outbreaks be ap-
Africa from our European perspective? There’s a lot of distrust. plied? How different are the situations in
Anita Schroven: The good news is coming the individual countries? Just one example:
from Liberia at the moment: there have Naturally, this is disastrous in the context in Liberia, they changed the recommenda-
been no new cases of Ebola there since of Ebola. tion for sexual contact for Ebola survivors
March 22. Given that the incubation period The population perceives government in- from 90 days of abstinence and now advise
for the disease is 21 days, this gives us cause tervention as negative, as it is often asso- people to use condoms until there is great-
for hope. To be on the safe side, the World ciated with violence and corruption. Mea- er clarity on the issue. But people sit up and
Health Organization (WHO) has decreed sures carried out in the areas of infrastruc- take notice when different information is
that, for a country to be declared Ebola- ture, education and healthcare tend to be suddenly in circulation. They assume, for
free, a period of 42 days must pass since the ascribed to international aid. The idea of example, that their own government wants
last case tested negative twice. Although civil society is still a recent one in Guinea. to harm them.
the number of new Ebola cases is falling in
Sierra Leone, people are still contracting But comprehensive external aid was rapidly What’s next for your research?
the disease and the transmission routes required for Ebola. How was that managed? We’re planning a conference in Halle in Oc-
aren’t yet known. The number of new Ebo- That was a major challenge for all three tober, where the current field research will
la patients in Guinea is stagnating. countries. People were used to internation- be linked with theories concerning knowl-
al intervention in Sierra Leone and Liberia, edge production and translation. We want
So, we can’t say that the Ebola outbreak is as both countries had been subject to UN to know which information was available
coming to an end? mandates after the civil wars there. At that where and what kind of knowledge was
No, unfortunately not. This isn’t the percep- time, refugee aid was provided to people disseminated, as the degree of knowledge
Photo: Private collection
tion on site either. People are able to move from neighboring countries in Guinea at fragmentation is very high. The complexity
freely between the three countries. The the expense of the local population. So it of knowledge generation and translation
border controls don’t prevent this, but they isn’t surprising that the reservations and alone can explain why, despite the informa-
are having an impact on trade. Food prices fear were palpable when people wearing tion available from earlier Ebola outbreaks,
are increasing and this is contributing to astronaut suits arrived, accompanied by it wasn’t possible to prevent an epidemic of
an increase in hunger in the region. people from the ministry of health, saying the current scale. Interview: Susanne Beer
8 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15
PERSPECTIVES
New Internet Presence for max-wissen.de
Relaunch of the successful German-language website for students and teachers now online
To mark its tenth anniversary, the German-language web- popular destination for both teachers and students. Here,
site max-wissen.de has a completely new look. In addition they can access information about current research topics
to the traditional “MAX-Heft” dossiers, the very latest in- and obtain more in-depth information than in standard
formation, images, and now also high-quality videos can school textbooks. The material presented on max-wissen.
be found there on fascinating topics from research, such as de makes the everyday lives and activities of scientists more
plant immunity, stem cells, climate change and biomateri- transparent: How do researchers obtain their results? What
als. The Max Planck Society launched the knowledge por- methods do they use?
tal in 2005 with the help of funding from the Stifterverband The website has supplemented the published MAX se-
für die Deutsche Wissenschaft. Since then, it has become a ries, BIOMAX, GEOMAX and TECHMAX, since the late
1990s. The number of orders re-
ceived for these dossiers show that
far in excess of 100,000 students
work on content from the Max
Planck Society every year. The infor-
mation contained in the dossiers
has even found its way into the Abi-
tur, the German school-leaving ex-
amination, in some federal states.
Animations, video clips, the MAX series,
background information and teaching
support material: the max-wissen.de
teacher’s portal offers up-to-date,
informative and fascinating material for
school classes free of charge.
On the Net
Our City Observing Apes on the PC The Art of Packaging in the Cell
The German-American youth portal Welcome to Africa! Primate researchers We are more than the sum of our genes.
“Step into German” of the Goethe Insti- from the Max Planck Institute for Evolu- Environmental factors can affect our
tut familiarizes young people with mu- tionary Anthropology built camera traps chromosomes. This alters the tightness
sic, film and soccer in Germany, as well in 14 African countries to record thou- of the DNA packaging – and this dic-
as the German language. In the new se- sands of film sequences. The recordings tates, in turn, whether a particular gene
ries “Our City,” members of the band must now be evaluated. Since April 22, can be read or not. As our new film Epi-
Tonbandgerät present Hamburg and ex- the public can view the material on the genetics – Packaging Art in the Cell shows,
plain where they spend their free time, new citizen science platform “Chimp & the environment can shape our charac-
what they like to eat and where they go See” and in this way help the primatolo- teristics over generations in this way.
shopping. This whets the appetite for a gists with their work. It is sometimes https://youtu.be/86H4olxRx7E
visit to the Hanseatic city and may even the case that there is nothing to see for
trigger a desire to study and live there. quite a while. Then, a warthog may
www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/prj/stg/ suddenly appear on the screen before a
enindex.htm group of chimpanzees engages in some
Photo: MPG
leisurely grooming in front of the camera.
www.chimpandsee.org
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 9
VIEWPOINT_Foreign Affairs
Peace – Europe’s
Polyphonic Promise
Brussels determines the direction in many policy fields, but in European foreign,
security and defense policy, it’s the member states that set the tone – not the EU.
When it comes to international peace talks or emergency meetings, such as the one
held recently over the crisis in Ukraine, it’s the national foreign ministers and not
the EU foreign policy chief taking the lead. However, given the challenges for peace
and security in Europe, our author holds that this is an outdated model: it’s time
for the member states to act in concert.
TEXT CAROLYN MOSER
T
he hostilities in Ukraine came as a shock sis and its devastating socio-economic effects have un-
to most European citizens, many of whom dermined the cohesion within the European Union,
had lived their lives to date without the a war between EU member states is unthinkable.
shadow of war looming over them. This In 2012, the European Union was awarded the
stable and long-lasting period of peace in Nobel Prize for Peace for this great accomplishment.
Europe, a continent formerly shaken by armed con- The jury’s decision can also be read as a friendly re-
flict, is largely the achievement of the European in- minder to Brussels to safeguard (social) peace in times
tegration process, which has succeeded in reversing of increasing internal friction. Accepting the prize,
Herman van Rompuy, then President of the Europe-
an Council, described Europe’s situation as follows:
“Peace is now self-evident. War has become incon-
War between EU member states is ceivable.” He also added words of warning whose
meaning is intensified in light of the ongoing crisis
unthinkable today in Ukraine: “Yet ‘inconceivable’ does not mean ‘im-
possible’. And that is why we are gathered here to-
the centuries-old paradigm of peace as an interlude day. Europe must keep its promise of peace.”
between wars. Today, peace has become the rule in Keeping this promise is no easy task, as peace does
Photo: dpa Picture-Alliance
Europe, while military violence is the exception. not equate with the mere absence of war. Moreover,
It seems to have been forgotten in both public per- peace depends on both internal and external dynam-
ception and public opinion that the European proj- ics, which are often intertwined. In recent years, the
ect has, despite its shortcomings, founded a peaceful impact on the European Union and its member states
entity made of democracies built on the rule of law of external or externally influenced events has repeat-
and respect for human rights. Even if the financial cri- edly become apparent. >
10 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15VIEWPOINT_Foreign Affairs 2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 11
VIEWPOINT_Foreign Affairs
The CHARLIE HEBDO attacks in Paris, in which transna- pace to move forward with integration with respect
tionally acting terrorist groups were involved, are still to security, defense and foreign affairs.
fresh in our memories. We have also witnessed civil Informal consultations laid the foundations for
wars in Libya and Syria, leading to a considerable in- the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) in-
crease in asylum seekers in European countries. Cur- troduced in 1993 by the Treaty of Maastricht, as well
rently, the Union is additionally faced with war in a as for the post of High Representative for the Com-
country that shares a common border with several of mon Foreign and Security Policy that was established
its member states, namely Ukraine. six years later by the Treaty of Amsterdam and that
These events illustrate that peace in and around was first held by Javier Solana.
Europe can’t be taken for granted, and that a vari- In the wake of the Kosovo crisis – when, after the
ety of security challenges lie ahead. So the time has Balkan wars, European nations were again unable to
come for member states to reinforce unity in foreign properly respond to the atrocities committed in their
policy, security and defense matters. While this own backyard – a Common Security and Defence Pol-
might seem obvious to the reader, it doesn’t corre- icy (CSDP) was added to the CSFP in 1999. Its aim
spond to reality. was to bundle resources, share expertise and increase
Contrary to the motto of the Union, “United in coordination to allow for concerted action.
diversity,” there is a great deal more cacophony than The CSDP went through its baptism of fire short-
unity among member states when it comes to issues ly thereafter when, in 2003, the Union sent its first
with foreign affairs, security and defense implica- civilian police mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina,
tions. Concerted action in this area would certainly and began its first military deployment in Macedo-
nia. To date, the Union has launched more than thir-
ty civilian missions and military operations, varying
in geographic focus (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the-
3,000 military staff are deployed in matic span.
five military operations Civilian missions range from border assistance
and monitoring to rule of law support, police train-
ing and police capacity building to security sector re-
help cope with existing and forthcoming threats to form assistance and military capacity building. Mili-
stability and peace in Europe, as would a strong in- tary operations comprise training missions for armed
ternational standing of the Union. forces, military advice and naval anti-piracy activi-
Member states have existing structures and exper- ties, as well as combat and humanitarian tasks. To en-
tise on which to build. The Union has progressively able the Union to undertake this wide array of activ-
been equipped with a security and defense strand, ities, member states have progressively created
which has already enabled the EU to launch a vari- Brussels-based structures vested with planning, deci-
ety of civilian missions and military operations. sion-making and implementation capacities.
Since 2003, thousands of civilian experts and mil- Yet, after brisk activity in the Solana era, the Com-
itary staff – including judges, police officers, infantry mon Security and Defence Policy almost came to a
and navy soldiers and officers, or monitors – have standstill in the wake of the financial crisis when
been sent out with the Union’s flag on their uniforms member states accorded a lower profile to foreign af-
and vehicles to contribute to the process of restoring fairs, security and defence policy questions at the EU
stability in countries or regions shaken by crises. At level. The EU’s international standing has declined as
the time of writing, some 3,000 civilians are working a result. But Brussels can’t be blamed for this deteri-
in twelve civilian missions, and another 3,000 mili- oration, given that decision-making in this policy
tary staff are deployed in five military operations. area rests quasi-exclusively with member states and
One or two decades ago, only resolute optimists their representatives in Brussels.
would have thought such united external efforts pos- The legal, institutional and procedural frame-
sible. After the failure of the European Defence Com- work of the Common Security and Defence Policy
munity – an ambitious project envisaging a Europe- (CSDP) and of the Common Foreign and Security
an army – in 1954, member states adopted a slower Policy (CFSP) are shaped predominantly by inter-
12 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15governmental features. Indicative hereof is the fact the European External Action Service (EEAS): in es-
that the main actors and decision makers are the Eu- sence, the cryptic acronym stands for nothing less
ropean Council (composed of heads of state and than the nucleus of an EU ministry of foreign af-
government) and the Council of the European fairs. And yet, appearances matter, so the seeming-
Union (constituted by representatives of member ly neutral designation EEAS was eventually chosen
states’ governments). Unlike in other policy areas,
the European Commission and the European Parlia-
ment play only a minor role in matters related to
foreign affairs, security and defence, and the Court A security strategy that combines
of Justice of the European Union generally has no all elements of foreign policy
jurisdiction in this field.
In addition, the principle of unanimity prevails
here, with some minor exceptions, in contrast to over a more political denomination (such as minis-
other policy areas. All 28 member states need to be try of foreign affairs), potentially stirring up fears
in consensus to define a common position or to of losing sovereignty to Brussels.
launch a civilian mission or military operation. In Considering these underlying patterns, it is ap-
the event of disagreement among member states, parent that there is little leeway for the Union to re-
the EU’s security and defense are paralyzed. This has act to external threats. Faced with civil wars across
repeatedly happened in crisis situations – the Arab the Mediterranean, ongoing hostilities in Ukraine
Spring, the fall of the Gaddafi regime in Libya and and the reemergence of Cold War rhetoric, it might
the humanitarian crisis in Syria, for instance – when be time to reverse this situation – and stand firm and
the European Union’s lack of response was a disap- united. This implies not only conceding to concert-
pointment to many. ed action, but also providing the necessary means
Even the Treaty of Lisbon (2009) did nothing to to carry out joint activities. In this context, EU
change the fact that member states are strongly fa- member states might have to rethink Europe’s secu-
vored – and not the European Union. Most issues rity and defence apparatus and increasingly engage
with foreign affairs, security and defense implications in pooling, sharing or better coordinating equip-
are still handled by national governments, and not ment and resources.
by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign This leads to yet another challenge, namely the
Affairs and Security Policy, a position currently held question of whether and under what conditions the
by Federica Mogherini. However, a Union with a low Union should resort to military means to maintain
international profile, together with members states or restore peace (provided there is a UN mandate).
divided over security and defense issues, is not the For most people, military activity is associated with
most desirable message to convey to the world. member states deploying troops (mainly in the con-
The path to more security and defense cohesion text of NATO operations), not the EU. The Union’s
in the future is thus not without obstacles. The first international standing and self-image has, to a large
difficulty to be tackled relates to defining a common extent, been coined by its non-belligerent nature.
European stance. Especially in crisis situations, na- Consequently, the EU has adopted a security strate-
tional players are likely to fall back on national insti- gy that combines all elements of foreign policy (di-
tutions and mechanisms. In addition, as questions of plomacy, trade, aid and military and non-military in-
security and defense traditionally belong to the realm struments) and clearly prefers conflict prevention
of the executive, governments are generally wary of over armed intervention. In fact, civilian missions ac-
renouncing their prerogatives and responsibilities in count for almost two-thirds of EU-led crisis manage-
Photo: dpa Picture-Alliance
favor of common decision-making or implementa- ment activities.
tion structures. For some member states, including Scandinavian
The UK’s strong opposition to a change in the countries and Germany, the use of military force is
status quo and to further integration in foreign af- not readily compatible with the Union’s civilian char-
fairs, security and defense on the road to the Trea- acter. For other member states, like France, military
ty of Lisbon is a case in point. Another example is interventions are considered to be an essential aspect
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 13of a Union that wants to affirm its international role. mer Federal President Horst Köhler insinuated in an
So to what end(s) should military force be employed? interview that military intervention could, under cer-
Should the Union intervene militarily to prevent tain circumstances, be required to safeguard the coun-
atrocities from being committed? So far, member try’s interests, including free trade routes and the pre-
states have, for pragmatic reasons, opted to carry out vention of regional instabilities. At the time he made
humanitarian interventions, as in Libya, under the his statement, German navy forces had already been
NATO framework, if at all, and not under the auspic- patrolling the Gulf of Aden for two years – appar-
es of the Union. ently unnoticed by the German public.
Also, what about sending armed forces, not to The episode reveals another stumbling block for
maintain, but to restore peace? In several EU opera- European security and defense: the fact that member
tions, the use of force has been authorized to curb in- states can avoid blame under the cloak of the Union.
ternal conflicts and prevent regional instabilities – By engaging in EU military operations relatively un-
such as in the Central African Republic in 2014.
And yet, it is no simple task to gather military
personnel and resources for these undertakings. Par-
is is often willing to send soldiers and contribute A general tendency to blame
materials. Berlin, on the other hand, is known to be Brussels
a more reluctant contributor to military operations,
and has a clear preference for civilian missions. As
for the EU operation in the Central African Repub- known to the wider public, member states reduce the
lic, France accounted for the majority of troops, risk of nasty questions or bad press at home. And if
while Germany committed military transport air- anything goes wrong in an operation, national capi-
craft to carry the wounded. The same division of la- tals can blame the Union for the failure. Although
bor for combat tasks and logistical support – “exem- this might sound cynical, it’s not a far-fetched sce-
plary,” as some might say – has also been applied in nario, bearing in mind the general tendency of na-
other operations. tional players to blame Brussels for all sorts of unde-
In different circumstances, member states have sired policy outcomes. The Union should therefore
shown greater resolve to contribute armed forces. make its external activities more accessible to the
This has been the case with, for instance, Atalanta, general public.
the EU-led naval anti-piracy operation off the Soma- Ultimately, there is the challenge for the Union
li coast. More than 20 member states (including Lux- to live up to its own expectations, which in turn
emburg, a landlocked country with no naval forces) feeds into legitimacy questions. In the absence of
and some non-EU countries are contributing to the proper scrutiny by the European Parliament in mat-
operation. Apart from providing protection to vessels ters related to foreign affairs, security and defense
of the World Food Programme delivering food to So- policy, and given the lack of jurisdiction of the Eu-
malia, the operation is mandated to deter, prevent ropean Court of Justice over these same matters, the
and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea Union seems to fall short of the values it seeks to
with a view to ensuring that international trade is not promote abroad, namely democracy and the rule of
disrupted, and to use force if necessary. law. But applying double standards entails a consid-
The Gulf of Aden is indeed one of the most im- erable reputational risk.
portant international commercial maritime routes, This also holds true for transparency issues. For-
not least because tankers loaded with crude oil are eign affairs, as well as security and defense matters,
Photo: dpa Picture-Alliance
transiting through the Gulf to reach nations all over are traditionally decided upon and conducted be-
the world. Geo-strategic considerations and econom- hind a veil of secrecy. While restricted disclosure of
ic interests clearly played a role in member states’ de- documents and access to information makes sense
cision to take part in the operation. when it comes to military operations, it’s hard to
Against this backdrop, it is astonishing that, in understand why there is little information dissemi-
2010, the German public was outraged when the for- nated on the outcomes of military missions or, even
14 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15VIEWPOINT_Foreign Affairs
more so, on civilian missions that deal, for instance,
with the rule of law or policing.
Furthermore, it would be important to establish
accountability mechanisms with respect to matters
of foreign, security and defense policy. The institu-
tional and procedural setup of the Common Securi-
ty and Defence Policy, subject to little parliamentary
scrutiny and lacking judicial review at the European
level, seems conducive to circumventing accountabil-
ity. The corruption scandal that hit the Union’s flag-
ship last November, the rule of law mission EULEX
Kosovo, is one pertinent example.
It was leaked to the press that high-ranking EU of-
ficials had allegedly been involved in corruption.
Even more problematic was the fact that representa-
tives of the mission and Brussels-based structures
seem to have attempted to cover up the story instead THE AUTHOR
of properly investigating the allegations brought Carolyn Moser is a member of academic staff at the
forth by a seconded prosecutor. These entanglements Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law
prompted the High Representative Federica Mogheri- and International Law. She studied law, politics and
ni, on one of her first days in office, to appoint an ex- economics at Sciences Po Paris and the Fletcher
ternal expert to review and report on the incident. School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University) in
Still, the Union and the mission have already suffered Boston. She spent the period between 2011 and 2013
reputational damage. The scandal has indeed caused at the Basel Institute on Governance, where she
much bad press for the good EU cop. worked on projects to promote the rule of law and
So, how to proceed? Jean-Claude Juncker, Presi- fight corruption in Asia, Europe and North Africa for
dent of the European Commission, recently made a various organizations, including the World Bank
controversial suggestion as to how to react to exter- and the OSCE. Since 2013 she has been working on
nal threats and to restore the Union’s international her Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for Compara-
standing: he resuscitated the ambitious project of a tive Public Law and International Law with research
European army (in parallel with NATO structures). residencies in Utrecht.
Juncker’s proposal was met with mixed reac-
tions: foreseeably enough, the UK government re-
jected the plan in no uncertain terms, stating that
defense was undeniably a matter of national re-
sponsibility, whereas the German minister of de-
fense, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed the prospect
of a common army.
The interlude shows that, even more than six de-
cades after the failure of the European Defence Com-
munity project, the time is still not ripe for a Europe-
Photo: Maurice Weiss/Ostkreuz
an army, even though member states have no choice
but to rethink Europe’s security and defense mecha-
nisms in the long term. But it also shows that there
is a political will among some member states to strive
for greater unity in foreign policy, security and de-
fense – a unity that is needed to keep the European
promise of peace.
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 15Post from London, England
Immediate Inspiration
Max Planck scientists cooperate with partners in around 120 countries
worldwide. Here they relate their personal experiences and impressions.
Empathy researcher Esther Kühn commutes back and forth between
the Leipzig-based Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and
Brain Sciences and University College London. She finds this cooperation
to be extremely fruitful.
Anyone who occasionally lands at a bustling airport like London’s Heathrow knows how
much the modern world connects us to people – or at least it seems that way. Business trav-
elers rush to meetings – they stumble, jostle each other and apologize. Grandparents who
have traveled from far away carry grandchildren in their arms. Lovers wait for a special some-
one who will soon walk through this sliding door, and who, perhaps, was away for too long.
But how do people actually form these connections with each other? Which regions of our
brain are active in this process, and how? This question has a long tradition in empathy re-
search, and it has been my companion for some time. To be precise, I’m particularly inter-
ested in a tiny sub-aspect: What happens in the brain when a person is touched? And what
happens when that person merely observes another person being touched?
To answer these questions, I went in search of suitable connections with other researchers.
The right device, a magnetic resonance scanner, is already available at the Max Planck In-
stitute in Leipzig, as are the right subjects. While they lay in the MRI tube, I stroked their
fingers with a paintbrush – or they watched films of the same movement being carried out
on another person. But this experiment generated huge quantities of data, and accurately
Graphic: iStockphoto
interpreting this data is a great challenge.
Fortunately, during an initial term as a visiting researcher in England, I met my colleague
Patrick Haggart from University College London. Then when I was in Leipzig and occasion-
ally got stuck, we discussed it over Skype, sometimes even outside of working hours. And
16 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15RUBRIK TITEL
Esther Kü hn, 31, studied biolog
y in
Münster before co
mpleting her ma
ster’s
degree in neuros
cience in Otago,
New
Zealand between
2007 and 2009. Ba
ck in
Germany, she co
nducted research
as a
doctoral student
at the Max Planc
k Institute
for Human Cogn
itive and Brain Sc
iences
in Leipzig until 20
13. With the aid of
a grant
from the German
Academic Exchan
ge
Service (DAAD), sh
e spent half a year
at University Colle
ge London (UCL).
She
returned to Leipz
ig and, since 2014,
has been
a member of Arno
Villringer’s Departm
ent of
Neurology. There
, she is a major co
ntributor
to a strong coopera
tion with UCL.
together we considered how best to handle my data. At some point, he said: “Wouldn’t you
be able to answer your questions better if you used my colleague Martin Sereno’s program
here in London?”
Of course! And since then, I spend a couple of months each year in the British capital. Now
one might think that, in London, I need little more than a computer and a full coffee cup,
but that’s not quite right. I sit in my office together with Martin, who is known as Marty,
and I draw a lot of inspiration from speaking directly with him. It’s a great advantage! After
all, he’s a renowned neuroscientist, and the program we work with is his “baby.”
I have since even come up with new ideas that have nothing at all to do with my original proj-
ect. That’s a tremendous advantage for a junior scientist. It’s also a huge boon for me that my
colleague has just as much energy and enthusiasm for my project and spends so much time
on it before speeding home on his racing bike in the evening through the rather bicycle-un-
friendly streets of central London. For me, it’s then time to go to Pilates, or to my sword-com-
bat class. After all, who wants to spend all day in front of the computer monitor?
I’ve now spent a total of just over a year in London. And even though, as a native of Leipzig,
I consider myself to be spoiled in terms of cultural offerings, London is an incredible step
up. The city offers me every opportunity, and sometimes I’m almost overwhelmed by the
cultural choices available. Just recently, I again attended a number of concerts and a classi-
cal ballet performance. Nevertheless, it really did take me quite a while to find my place
here. London is a logistical challenge, and it’s changing so fast. As an example, even today,
Photo: Private collection
I can’t estimate how long I’ll need for any given route – I’m simply always late.
When I arrive back at Leipzig/Halle Airport after my adventures in London, everything feels
much smaller. I’d say, compared with London, Leipzig is my living room. My home. But I’ve
changed, and I’m full of new ideas. And even if my future research location hasn’t yet been
entirely decided, I’m sure of one thing: my future in science has begun.
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 17FOCUS_Light
Tweezers Made of Light
Many biomolecules move through cells like microscopic machines. Often, however, it isn’t
known what forces these molecules generate or how fast the molecules act or move. That’s why
Stephan Grill from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden
decided to specialize in measuring molecular forces. He uses optical tweezers to pull gently on
DNA strands. His method is shedding light on the proteins that read genetic information.
TEXT TIM SCHRÖDER
S
prings are ubiquitous in the determines the spring constant. The croscopic machines powered by tiny
modern world, whether in pens spring constant is measured by deter- forces. This is tremendously fascinat-
or on the grips of garden clip- mining how much force is needed to ing.” Our muscles contract, for exam-
pers. A spring is compressed or stretch or compress a spring through a ple, because millions of elongated pro-
stretched, depending on its given distance. The force required de- teins slide along each other over min-
function. This requires force, as the pends on the thickness and material of iscule distances. By combining all these
spring resists any attempt to change its the spring. For example, stiff shock ab- tiny shifts, muscles are able to carry out
shape. Springs can be very strong: the sorbers for sports cars shorten by just large movements.
leaf springs of trucks, for example, eas- one millimeter in response to a force of The movements that interest Grill,
ily support 20 to 30 tons. 70 newtons acting on them – corre- however, are smaller than those asso-
To express the strength of a spring, sponding to the force generated as a car ciated with muscle proteins. He wants
physicists perform a measurement that drives over cobblestones. to understand how RNA polymerase
travels along DNA molecules while
TINY POWER PACKS reading the genetic information the
DNA encodes – a process known as
Stephan Grill has nothing to do with transcription.
shock absorbers, sports cars or leaf After decades of intensive research,
springs. He deals with forces on a com- biologists, biophysicists and geneticists
pletely different scale. The physicist now understand which molecules are
from the Max Planck Institute of Mo- involved in transcription, what interme-
lecular Cell Biology and Genetics mea- diate products are formed, and where
sures forces that are a billion times the energy for the finely tuned genetic
weaker than these. machinery comes from – but not the
Grill isn’t interested in newtons and forces that are involved. “If we really
kilonewtons, the units of force in every- want to understand the transcription
Photos: Sven Doering
day life, but in piconewtons, less than engine, we need to find out what drives
a billionth of a newton, to express the it,” says Grill. “It’s like any other ma-
forces acting between biomolecules. chine. If you don’t know how much
“Biomolecules aren’t rigid and static,” force it generates, you don’t really un-
says Grill. “Some proteins resemble mi- derstand how it works.” >
18 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15Left: A foam box protects the optical tweezers from environmental factors such as temperature fluctuations and noise vibrations. A hoist can be used to lift the entire box or to open the lid. Right: Stephan Grill can load the sample to be investigated, or make changes to the setup through the open lid. The researcher wears special goggles to protect his eyes against the laser light.
Measuring forces – at the molecular ments, there can be no movements,” used a trick based on a finely focused
level, this is no easy feat. For this, Grill says Ehrlich. “After all, we’re dealing laser beam. Like billiard balls, the pho-
constructed a sophisticated experimen- with a high level of precision to within tons impinge on the bead from all di-
tal setup when he was leader of a joint a millionth of a millimeter.” rections and hold it in place. It’s possi-
group at the Max Planck Institute of What occupies a large box and a whole ble to capture and balance a ping pong
Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics laboratory room is known by experts bead on the stream of air from a hair
and the Max Planck Institute for the simply as optical tweezers. The sole pur- dryer. Ashkin achieved essentially the
Physics of Complex Systems before pose of the entire apparatus is to cap- same thing with molecules and light.
2013. Together with his colleagues, he ture a protein, pull on it as if it were a Many research groups have since re-
combines mirrors, lenses and high-pre- spring, and measure its resistance. It’s fined this prototype of optical tweezers.
cision lasers to form an optoelectronic difficult to imagine how laser light can In recent years, researchers have used
maze. And his tool for measuring bio- capture molecules, but the method, de- optical tweezers to study various bio-
molecular forces is light. veloped by US physicist Arthur Ashkin molecules, including myosin and kine-
Grill, who is now also a professor at in the 1980s, is well established. sin. Myosin, a motor protein that is
the TU Dresden, is in the process of present in all our muscle cells, moves
moving and shuttles back and forth be- BILLIARDS WITH PHOTONS in 14-nanometer increments. As it does
tween the Max Planck Institute and the so, it causes muscle fibers to contract.
TU laboratories – four minutes by bike. The dual nature of light as a wave and Kinesin moves through the cell in
The laboratory at the Max Planck Insti- a particle has been known for a centu- 8-nanometer steps as it transports cell
tute is currently housed in a small room ry. Light particles, called photons, pos- components. “We’ve perfected our op-
that is almost entirely filled by a large sess momentum that can be imparted tical tweezers to the extent that we can
gray styrofoam box. Next to it are a to an object. This happens, for example, even measure the movements of RNA
chair and a table on which three com- when a photon flies through a tiny polymerase, which are ten times small-
puter monitors sit. Grill’s colleague transparent bead and is deflected from er,” says Grill.
Christoph Ehrlich opens the lid of the its path by light refraction. The photon DNA is the blueprint according to
styrofoam box. Inside is a perforated propels itself away, pushing against the which the cell produces proteins. For
Photo: Sven Doering
plate the size of a tabletop. Mounted on bead. If the light is strong enough, the polymerase to read the genetic infor-
the plate are lenses, mirrors and thin bead can actually be nudged to the side. mation contained in genes, it must first
tubes that end in fist-sized chunks of But Arthur Ashkin wanted to achieve open up the DNA molecule, which con-
stainless steel. “When the system is the opposite effect, namely to capture sists of two intertwined strands, like a
running and we’re taking measure- the beads with laser light. To do so, he zipper. It travels, like the slide of a zip-
20 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 15FOCUS_Light
Left: While Veronika Fitz and Stephan Grill
look at data on the screen, Marcus Jahnel
(left) prepares the optical tweezers for a
new experiment.
Right: RNA polymerase II reading a gene.
The enzyme (blue) moves along the coiled
DNA strands (yellow, pink), untwists them
and transcribes the genetic information
into an RNA molecule (orange). If the
polymerase makes an error, the faulty RNA
section is snipped off. The molecule then
reverses and reads the gene segment again.
The RNA molecule eventually serves as a
template for protein synthesis.
per, from one DNA building block to the two beads closer together until the detectors sense this deviation. A com-
the next, always in 0.34-nanometer DNA from the first bead binds to the puter program then converts the devi-
steps. These building blocks, called di- second bead, thus forming a tether be- ation of the beads away from the cen-
nucleotides, represent the letters of the tween the two beads. The pair of beads ter of the traps into the force that the
genetic alphabet. connected by the long DNA strand re- polymerase generates.
As it reads the DNA molecule, poly- sembles a tiny dumbbell. What’s more, the researchers are
merase strings together the RNA coun- At first, nothing happens, because also able to move the two beads back
terparts of the dinucleotides, thus cre- the polymerase requires energy to trav- and forth, pulling on the DNA like a
ating an RNA copy of the DNA strand. el along the DNA. Only when the re- miniscule spring. The spring constant
“We want to know the strength of the searchers add energy-rich RNA nucle- of DNA is infinitesimally small: stretch-
forces involved as polymerase moves otides as fuel do things get moving. ing a DNA molecule by one micron re-
along the strand of DNA, and how The polymerase moves in increments quires a spring force of just one tenth
quickly the enzyme progresses,” says from one nucleotide to the next. But of a piconewton. And because the
Grill. “This is extremely difficult in because the two beads are held firmly polymerase is bound to and moves
view of the short increments involved.” in the traps, a tensile force is created be- along the DNA, it has to act against
The trick Grill and his colleagues tween the beads, like a rope on which these forces.
use to measure the forces is impressive. two opponents are pulling in a tug-of-
Because the RNA-polymerase complex war match. BEADS IN THE TRAP
can’t be captured easily in an optical The polymerase must therefore ex-
trap, Grill uses a kind of support struc- ert a force to move from nucleotide to Although the laser technique is extreme-
ture: two small plastic beads measuring nucleotide. After each step, it remains ly complex, and the mirror laser beams
just a few micrometers across. He at- stationary for a few seconds, during must be precisely adjusted, the trap is
taches a polymerase molecule to one of which the force on the other bead re- amazingly simple to operate. Grill’s doc-
the plastic beads, and a DNA strand to mains constant. When the polymerase toral student Veronika Fitz holds a joy-
the other. This is where the optical takes the next step, it has to apply even stick while gazing at a computer screen.
Photo: SPL-Agentur Focus
tweezers – or more precisely, two opti- more force against the growing resis- Somewhere in the depths of the styro-
cal tweezers – come into play. Grill and tance. While the polymerase progress- foam box, the beads move through a
his colleagues use one to hold the bead es and the tension on the DNA increas- small container, and their magnified im-
with the attached polymerase-DNA es, the beads are gradually pulled out of ages appear as tiny dots on the screen.
construct, and the other to hold the the focus of the laser beams by just a The light beams of the two traps appear
second bead. They then carefully move few nanometers. High-resolution light on the screen as crosshairs. >
2 | 15 MaxPlanckResearch 21You can also read
