Team:Heidelberg/Templates/Welcome

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English

For centuries, alchemists believed in the existence of the Philosopher’s Stone, a mysterious substance not only able to turn common metals into precious ones, such as silver and gold, but even capable of fulfilling mankind’s ultimate desires: rejuvenation and immortality.

Although the Philosopher’s Stone has never been found, the quest for it has pushed alchemists to test in their laboratories numerous substances and their interactions, building up a solid knowledge that can be found nowadays in the sciences of chemistry, metallurgy and pharmacology.

Living in the 21st century research-driven world, our belief in the Philosopher’s Stone has faded. Yet we are, now as ever, still on a quest, looking for solutions not only to help individuals live long and healthy, but also to solve the ecological problems we ourselves have created in the course of modernization. Contrary to the past, we now believe that we should not simply look for magical substances hidden somewhere in nature, rather we shall be inspired by it and create new tools for actively addressing the challenges of our society.

Let us take you on a journey where you will meet a new class of molecules that holds the potential to revolutionize synthetic biology: the non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. We will teach you how to unlock their enormous potential for generating entirely synthetic peptides with various, customized functions, such as recycling gold from electronic waste.

Take your chance!
Join our quest!