Press release - 16/10/2025 ZEW Mannheim To Develop Research on Health Care Markets in the Digital Age The committee of the Joint Science Conference of the federal government and federal states in its meeting cleared the way for the application submitted by ZEW Mannheim for a research programme focusing on the implications of the digital transformation for the analysis and the design of digital health care markets. This paves the way for an expansion of the Institute's activities by establishing an independent health economics research unit.
Press release - 16/10/2025 Sleep as the key to understanding ME/CFS The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is supporting the “Sleep-Neuro-Path” research network with around 1.6 million euros. Coordinated by the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) in Mannheim, a team of scientists is investigating the role of sleep-related biomarkers in the development of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
Press release - 15/10/2025 NGS-based diagnostics for identifying sepsis pathogens wins EARTO Innovation Award A method developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB enables bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic pathogens in sepsis patients to be identified much faster than before and with the highest precision. The approach is based on high-throughput sequencing of cell-free DNA circulating in the blood and was honored with the EARTO Innovation Award in the "Impact Delivered" category on October 14,…
Press release - 13/10/2025 Miniature 3D-printed objects inside the body Dr. Andrea Toulouse from the Institute of Applied Optics receives €1.8 million in funding from the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung as part of the CZS Nexus program to establish a new junior research group. She conducts research in the field of micro-optics and fiber-based 3D printing. Her vision is to develop 3D printers that will one day be able to build biological tissue directly inside the body.
Press release - 10/10/2025 Acidic tumor environment promotes survival and growth of cancer cells Tumors are not a comfortable place to live: oxygen deficiency, nutrient scarcity, and the accumulation of sometimes harmful metabolic products constantly stress cancer cells. A research team from the DKFZ and the IMP in Vienna has now discovered that the acidic pH value in tumor tissue is a decisive factor in how pancreatic cancer cells adapt their energy metabolism in order to survive under these adverse conditions.
Press release - 10/10/2025 New tool offers single-cell study of specific genetic variants EMBL scientists created SDR-seq, a tool for single-cell DNA-RNA-sequencing that studies both DNA and RNA simultaneously, linking coding and non-coding genetic variants to gene expression in the same single cell.
Press release - 09/10/2025 Transparent artificial intelligence improves assessment of prostate cancer aggressiveness Until today, the aggressiveness of prostate cancer has been assessed primarily using the Gleason grading system—an analysis of cancer tissue in a pathology laboratory that is highly subjective. An international research team led by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) has now developed a novel, explainable AI model that aims to make the diagnosis of prostate cancer more transparent and less susceptible to error.
Press release - 09/10/2025 Another step towards a cure Vitamin A transporter reactivates latent HIV Human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are insidious. They can evade the immune defence and antiviral drugs by becoming "latent". In this state, they are largely invisible and unassailable. As long as these dormant viruses persist, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. However, researchers at Ulm University Hospital have discovered a new way to reactivate latent HI viruses.
Press release - 06/10/2025 3D imaging points to possible cause of sudden cardiac death An imaging technique developed by Freiburg researchers provides insights into cardiac arrhythmias that can cause sudden cardiac death in animal models. The changes discovered could explain why even seemingly healthy people are sometimes affected.
Press release - 29/09/2025 Actin scaffold in cell nucleus explains survival of cancer cells Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS have demonstrated that an actin scaffold stabilizes the cell nucleus upon mechanical stress. This protective mechanism helps cancer cells to avoid dying during their migration in the body. In the long term, targeted interventions in this mechanism could help to prevent metastases.
Press release - 24/09/2025 No GPS in the head: How the brain flexibly switches between internal maps Since their discovery in 2004, the grid cells in the brain, which are important for our orientation, have been regarded as a kind of “GPS in the head.” However, scientists at the DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital have now shown that grid cells work much more flexibly than previously assumed. In experiments with mice, the researchers found that the cells adapt their activity to different reference points depending on the situation.
Press release - 23/09/2025 Mutation in non-coding DNA worsens leukaemia prognosis Ulm study uncovers previously unknown disease-promoting mechanism Why is blood cancer particularly aggressive in some patients? Researchers at Ulm University Hospital have characterised a mutation in the so-called NOTCH1 gene that significantly influences the prognosis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Remarkably, this mutation is located in the non-coding region of the gene – an area of DNA long considered less relevant for disease mechanisms.