Carmine Abate, computational scientist and Irena Domachowska, researcher at the Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Technical University Dresden

Imagine you're playing a game where you need to convince someone that you know a secret, but you can’t reveal any details about it. How can you make someone believe you without sharing this information? This is where the concept of a "zero-knowledge proof" comes in. It is all about truth, the whole truth, and nothing else but the only truth! Carmine will talk about how this principle is related to cybersecurity and what other data safety tools awe are using nowadays.

Safety and protection are also intimately connected to various behavioral and emotional processes in human evolution. Did you know that positive emotions serve as “security signals” in the brain and can boost neural connections? This can make us more curious, creative, and open-minded. In other words, your mood has the ability to shape your mind! With Irena, we will explore how these processes unfold.

Kai Simons, CEO at Lipotype and Director Emeritus at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and Aleksandra Sljukic, reseacher at the the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Obesity has become a global issue. Both the food industry and biomedical science played a role in creating this problem by promoting unhealthy, processed foods that harm our metabolism. Sadly, science has not yet provided enough tools to help people detect these metabolic issues early. Kai, together with his company Lipotype, has developed a new way to measure metabolism and help people take control of their health. Science may make mistakes, but it also has the power to correct them and find solutions to improve our lives.

Aleks also works on improving our lives — by growing mini livers in a lab. Ones that act like the real thing, fight diseases, and help test new drugs! Welcome to the world of liver organoids! These tiny, 3D structures mimic the liver’s key functions and offer a groundbreaking tool for studying diseases like hepatitis and or a fatty liver disease. Let Aleks take you on a trip to the into the science of organoids.

Frank Fitzek, holder of the Deutsche Telekom Professorship for Communication Networks and spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence Center for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI) and Julia Pfanzelter, researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Can you imagine feeling touches and movements from afar in real-time? That’s exactly what the tactile internet makes possible! It takes the internet to a whole new level by allowing you to experience physical interactions digitally. Whether it’s in medicine, remote machine control, or virtual worlds, the tactile internet is making our digital future tangible. Frank gives you an introduction into how it works and how it will change our lives.

Many living beings, including us humans, have symmetrical body axes—two arms, two legs, and so on. Yet organs like the heart and liver are arranged differently. Using quails as her model, Julia investigates how a specific group of cells breaks symmetry by rotating from one side to the other. Join us and explore the fascinating world of body architecture!

Marina Ivanova, researcher in English and Digital Linguistics, Chemnitz University of Technology David Grommisch, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

When a woman requested the song "Agathe Bauer" on the radio, it took a moment for the host to connect the dots before the Snap! hit "I've Got the Power" played. Why do we hear what we (don't) want to hear? Why do we keep making those emparass... erm, embarrassing verbal slips? Is our subconscious speaking for us? Marina dives into mishearings and slips of the tongue, exploring why our ears and tongues sometimes seem to work against us.

David’s focus is also on communication—but not just any kind; he’s looking at cellular communication in a often-overlooked part of our body: the gut. In addition to digestion, the gut plays a crucial role in protecting us from external threats, such as harmful bacteria in our food. To maintain this barrier, precise and continuous communication between the gut’s various cells is essential. However, as we age, this system can falter, and the cells start to "stutter." David will explain why this happens and how it can lead to disease.