Selected press releases

The targeted engineering of artificial proteins with unique properties – that is possible with the assistance of a novel method developed by a research team of Heidelberg University. It centers around a new AI model. This allows for forecasting how two proteins have to be fitted together at the molecular level from individual parts – subunits – in order to engineer a functional, adjustable new protein.

FOXP1 syndrome is a congenital disorder in which the brain development of affected children is severely impaired due to a genetic variant. A research team from the Medical Faculty Heidelberg at Heidelberg University has now demonstrated in mice, that the inhibition of a specific enzyme in the brain can improve abnormal behavior and immune cell dysfunction in the brain. The results have been published in the journal Advanced Science.

Tumors of the pancreas seldom cause symptoms in their early stages. This means that in many cases, they are not diagnosed until late, when the chances of successful treatment are poor. A new non-invasive diagnostic method designed by Fraunhofer researchers is set to make it possible to detect this aggressive form of cancer early on with high accuracy, significantly improving the prognosis for treatment.

Less radiation exposure during diagnosis and treatment for breast and lung cancer: New Fraunhofer method combines X-ray imaging and radar. In the MultiMed project, which explores multimodal medical imaging in 3D, researchers are developing a method that combines X-ray imaging and radar. It´s not only expected to improve the accuracy and efficacy of diagnosing, monitoring and treating breast and lung cancer but also lighten the burden on patients.

EMBL's latest Science and Society conference brought together researchers, ethicists, communicators, policy professionals, and more to discuss the thorny question of trust in science.

Designing protein binders from scratch has long been a daunting challenge within the field of computational biology. Researchers have now developed an innovative, training-free pipeline that uses the fundamental principle of shape complementarity to design site-specific protein binders, which are then optimised to fit precisely onto chosen target sites. The researchers tested this on proteins linked to cancer.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institutes for Medical Research in Heidelberg with its new departments based in Heilbronn, and for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar in Bonn, and at the Institute for Basic Science at Yonsei University in Seoul will pool their expertise in future. The aim of the new Max Planck Center is to visualize cellular processes deep within human tissue and influence them in a targeted manner — without damaging the tissue.

How can the transformation to increase sustainability in hospitals succeed? Participants in the SustainMed project presented their answers at the closing event on 27 June 2025 in Stuttgart. The Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg provided approximately 500,000 euros in funding to develop solutions for goals such as reducing volumes of waste in hospitals.

Stem cell-like leukemia cells are responsible for relapses in children and adolescents with a certain type of blood cancer, T-ALL. Researchers at the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), the Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit and the German Cancer Research Center were able to show this in a study. The results could help to overcome resistance in this form of blood cancer and prevent relapses.

Konstanz researchers identify an enzyme that plays a role in the migration of cells in our body - not only during normal tissue formation and wound healing, but also when tumor cells metastasize. This makes the enzyme an interesting candidate for potential future therapeutic approaches.

Medical students at Ulm University can train in a virtual shock room and practise treatment procedures regardless of time and place. Together with the company TriCAT, the Medical Faculty has created a virtual learning environment that is based on the real-life training shock room in the TTU training hospital. The benefit: through repeated training, students deepen their skills and become more confident in dealing with emergencies.

A team of researchers from HITS and MPIP have developed a model that learns how to generate proteins whose structures are highly flexible, even with patterns that are uncommon in natural proteins. Their work, presented at the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), marks a step towards the goal of designing new proteins for applications in biotechnology, therapeutics and environmental research.