Press release - 09/09/2025 Signals from the brain reveal what color a person is seeing Visual areas of the brain can reveal the colors a person is seeing while watching moving color rings. This was the result of a study by the University of Tübingen. Using MRI scanning they recorded images from the brains of subjects who were observing visual stimuli, and identified signals for red, green and yellow. The pattern of brain activity appeared similar in subjects, meaning that the color they saw could be predicted simply by comparison…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/signals-brain-reveal-what-color-person-seeing
Press release - 21/08/2025 Ultrafast Pace in the Brain: New Insights into Calcium Transport and Signal Processing Researchers at the University of Freiburg, together with partners, have uncovered the mechanism of ultrafast transport by calcium pumps in nerve cells. These pumps, complexes of PMCA2 and neuroplastin proteins, operate at more than 5,000 cycles per second and terminate calcium signals within milliseconds – 100 times faster than previously known. They play a crucial role in rapid information processing in the brain. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/ultrafast-pace-brain-new-insights-calcium-transport-and-signal-processing
Press release - 12/08/2025 Biomarkers for Brain Insulin Resistance Discovered in the Blood If the brain no longer responds properly to insulin (insulin resistance), this can lead to overweight, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the DZD in Potsdam and Tübingen have discovered small chemical modifications to genetic material (epigenetic changes*) in the blood that indicate how well the brain responds to insulin. These markers could help to detect insulin resistance in the brain – by means of a simple blood test.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/biomarkers-brain-insulin-resistance-discovered-blood
Press release - 11/08/2025 The Cerebral Cortex Ages Less than Thought The human brain ages less than thought and in layers – at least in the area of the cerebral cortex responsible for the sense of touch. Researchers at DZNE, the University of Magdeburg, and the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research at the University of Tübingen come to this conclusion based on brain scans of young and older adults in addition to studies in mice. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/cerebral-cortex-ages-less-thought
Press release - 25/06/2025 Otto Hahn Medal for Jonas Wilhelm For his outstanding achievements in his doctorate at the interface between chemistry and biology, Jonas Wilhelm is awarded an Otto Hahn Medal 2025 by the Max Planck Society. He wrote his thesis in the department Chemical Biology of Kai Johnsson at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research. In his doctorate, Jonas Wilhelm developed a molecular tool, a biosensor that records and permanently stores biological activities at the cellular level.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/otto-hahn-medal-jonas-wilhelm
Press release - 16/04/2025 Hereditary Alzheimer’s: Blood Marker for Defective Neuronal Connections Rises Early Individuals with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease show altered blood levels indicating damaged neuronal contacts as early as 11 years before the expected onset of dementia symptoms. This is evident in the levels of the protein “beta-synuclein”. An international team report these findings in the journal “Alzheimer’s & Dementia”. The biomarker studied here could potentially help to detect neurodegeneration at an early stage.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/hereditary-alzheimers-blood-marker-defective-neuronal-connections-rises-early
Press release - 14/04/2025 Brain waves in harmony The human brain continuously processes sensory impulses that compete for our attention. Our ability to select enables us to process specific information and ignore irrelevant stimuli. In this way, we can recognize a familiar face in a large crowd of people. But how is this made possible? https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/brain-waves-harmony
Press release - 28/02/2025 Recognise developmental disorders early with AI: Automatically classifying movement patterns in babies Using a new combination of three sensors and artificial intelligence, researchers at Heidelberg Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital are recognising patterns in babies' movements that show whether their nervous system is developing healthily.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/recognise-developmental-disorders-early-ai-automatically-classifying-movement-patterns-babies
Press release - 17/02/2025 Pancreatic cancer: blocked nerves as a possible new treatment strategy Pancreatic cancer is fueled by connections to the nervous system. This is reported by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM)*. The team discovered that the tumor reprograms the neurons for its own benefit. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/pancreatic-cancer-blocked-nerves-possible-new-treatment-strategy
Press release - 11/02/2025 New perspectives for personalized therapy of brain tumors Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and ShanghaiTech University have developed an innovative method for growing brain tumors of individual patients in the laboratory that mimic the original structure and the molecular property of the parental tumor as closely as possible. Drug tests in this model were found to correlate very well with actual patient responses, making it a valuable method for investigating therapies.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-perspectives-personalized-therapy-brain-tumors
Press release - 13/12/2024 Schizophrenia: NMI observes processes in nerve cells Up to now, schizophrenia has mainly been treated symptomatically, as little is known about the exact underlying processes. Researchers at the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute in Reutlingen have succeeded in gaining a better understanding of the driving mechanisms of the disease. This offers opportunities for the development of new drugs. They have published their findings in the journal BMC Psychiatry.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/schizophrenia-nmi-observes-processes-nerve-cells
Press release - 09/12/2024 Brain tumour cells rapidly integrate into brain-wide neuronal circuits Researchers at the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University and the Heidelberg University Hospital have used modified rabies viruses to label glioblastoma tumour cells and their direct cell contacts in the mouse brain. The new method showed that the tumour cells are connected to different types of nerve cells throughout the entire brain at a very early stage of the disease. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/brain-tumour-cells-rapidly-integrate-brain-wide-neuronal-circuits
Press release - 15/11/2024 Patient association raises 10,000 euros for work on PURA syndrome - Donation for research into rare neuronal developmental disorder at Ulm University PURA syndrome is a rare developmental disorder of the brain for which there is currently no cure. The patient association PURA Syndrome Germany was founded last year. Since then, the affected families have been collecting donations with great dedication – and have decided to donate the majority of this money to research into the syndrome at Ulm University. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/patient-association-raises-10000-euros-work-pura-syndrome-donation-research-rare-neuronal-developmental-disorder-ulm-university
Press release - 16/10/2024 Sensitive Arm Prostheses A quantum sensor that can register nerve impulses without contact opens up new possibilities in prosthetics. Researchers at Fraunhofer IPA are developing together with the industrial partner Q.ANT the prototype of one Prosthetic arm that is controlled by neural commands like healthy limbs.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/sensitive-arm-prostheses
Press release - 17/09/2024 Five new cross-border doctoral networks at Universität Heidelberg Five transnational and cross-institutional doctoral networks at Heidelberg University are being funded as part of the “Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions”. They work together on current scientific topics with high innovation potential. Ruperto Carola coordinates an MSCA Doctoral Network on artificial intelligence in physics, two networks in medicine, life sciences and engineering. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/five-new-cross-border-doctoral-networks-universitat-heidelberg
Press release - 11/09/2024 Researchers combine the power of artificial intelligence and the wiring diagram of a brain to predict brain cell activity Scientists have long sought ways to simulate the neural networks in the brain with computers in order to understand how it works. Now, researchers have combined new measurements of the wiring diagrams of the fruit fly with artificial intelligence methods to build a neural network that can do what few thought possible: To predict the activity of individual neurons without making a single measurement in a living brain. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/researchers-combine-power-artificial-intelligence-and-wiring-diagram-brain-predict-brain-cell-activity
Press release - 04/09/2024 Epigenetic changes reprogram astrocytes into brain stem cells With mice, researchers showed that experimentally induced lack of blood flow in the brain epigenetically reprograms astrocytes into brain stem cells, which in turn can give rise to nerve progenitor cells. This discovery shows that astrocytes could potentially be used in regenerative medicine to replace damaged nerve cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/epigenetic-changes-reprogram-astrocytes-brain-stem-cells
Press release - 31/05/2024 Heidelberg University successful with six bids for collaborative research In the current approval round of the German Research Foundation (DFG) Heidelberg University has been successful with six applications for grants to fund major, internationally visible research consortia. The six research consortia − three of them will reach the maximum funding length of twelve years after their extension − are to receive financial resources totalling nearly 87 million euros over a period of four years.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/heidelberg-university-successful-six-bids-collaborative-research
Press release - 17/04/2024 Cell Biology: Molecular Code Stimulates Pioneer Cells to Build Blood Vessels in the Body Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and myocardial infarction, are the world's leading causes of mortality, accounting for over 18 million deaths a year. A team of KIT researchers has now identified a new cell type in blood vessels responsible for vascular growth. This discovery may allow for novel therapeutic strategies to treat ischemic cardiovascular diseases, i.e. diseases that are caused by reduced or absent blood flow.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/zellbiologie-molekularer-code-regt-pionierzellen-zum-aufbau-von-blutgefaessen-im-koerper
Press release - 22/02/2024 A new approach to recording cellular activities In living cells, a vast number of transient events occur simultaneously. The recording of these activities is a prerequisite for a molecular understanding of life. Scientists at the MPI for Medical Research in Heidelberg and their collaboration partners have created a novel technology that allows cellular events to be recorded through chemical labeling with fluorescent dyes for later analysis, opening up new ways to study cellular physiology.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-approach-recording-cellular-activities
Press release - 02/02/2024 University of Stuttgart successful with cluster draft proposals The German Research Foundation (DFG) has announced the first pivotal decisions for the "Clusters of Excellence" funding line as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. The University of Stuttgart has been given the green light for two new cluster initiatives. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/universitaet-stuttgart-mit-clusterskizzen-erfolgreich
Press release - 05/01/2024 How memories are formed in the brain – a new role for the internal compass University of Tübingen neuroscientists discover new functions of head-direction cells suggesting they may contribute to episodic memory formation.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-memories-are-formed-brain-new-role-internal-compass
Press release - 29/11/2023 Tracing the Evolution of the Cerebellum Heidelberg scientists unveil genetic programmes controlling the development of cellular diversity in the cerebellum of humans and other mammals. The research results have now been published in the journal Nature.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/tracing-evolution-cerebellum
Press release - 17/05/2023 Playing hide and seek in the centromere Centromeres, the DNA sections often found at the center of the chromosomes, display enormous interspecies diversity, despite having the same vital role during cell division across almost the entire tree of life. An international team of researchers has discovered that the variation in centromere DNA regions can be strikingly large even within a single species. The findings, now published in the journal Nature, shed light on the molecular…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/playing-hide-and-seek-centromere
Press release - 24/01/2023 Controlling neural exoskeletons more precisely with diamond sensors Brain-computer interfaces are able to restore some mobility to paralyzed people by controlling exoskeletons. However, more complex control signals cannot yet be read from the head surface because conventional sensors are not sensitive enough. A collaboration of Fraunhofer IAF, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, University of Stuttgart and other industrial partners has taken up this challenge.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/mit-diamant-sensoren-neurale-exoskelette-praeziser-steuern