Bones, Sex, Mammalian Evolution and Crowded Ranks
HZI Director Josef Penninger gave a lecture at the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg
On 5 December, Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), gave a lecture on “RANKL – Bones, Sex and Mammalian Evolution” at the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg (HIRI) and attracted a large audience to the medical campus.
Penninger presented findings on RANKL, a key regulator of bone remodeling and osteoporosis. Interestingly, RANKL also plays an essential role in the formation of the lactating mammary gland during pregnancy. This provides an unexpected molecular paradigm linking bone morphogenesis and lactation, a prerequisite for the survival of mammalian species.
HIRI Director Jörg Vogel opened the event, which was supported by the Physics an Medical Society Würzburg, Physico-Medica for short.
