Dossier - 28/04/2014

Data mining new opportunities for medicine and public health

Research and healthcare activities produce huge quantities of data that need to be presented in an understandable structure. This requires computer-assisted extraction of relevant data and the use of statistical methods. This process, known as data mining, enables the discovery of patterns in large data sets. Data mining methods are of particular importance in fields that use high-throughput, visualisation methods and telemedical applications.

Dossier - 10/03/2014

Cancer therapy and cancer diagnostics

Thanks to improved diagnostics and therapy, today’s cancer patients can live considerably longer than patients several years ago. Nevertheless, some cancers, especially the strongly metastatic ones, are difficult to treat. Therapies targeting immune cells or cancer stem cells could potentially improve the current situation.

Dossier - 02/12/2013

RNA interference confidence is returning

The 15-year history of RNA interference is not short on dramatic effects. It begins with the unexpected discovery and publication of the process of post-transcriptional gene silencing in 1998 for which Andrew Fire and Craig Mello were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine just eight years after their discovery. In 2001 Thomas Tuschl succeeded in switching off genes in human cells with small synthetic pieces of RNA siRNA.

Dossier - 05/08/2013

Progress expands bioethical boundaries

Bioethics is a rich and continually evolving field. In the broadest sense, bioethics relates to the way human individuals treat any form of life. The issue of whether human beings have the right to do whatever they want goes way back. Rapid progress in genetic engineering and cell biology means that it is necessary to look at certain issues in a new way and recognise that not everything that is technically feasible should actually be carried out.

Dossier - 01/07/2013

Electrophysiology from cardiac pacemakers to drug discovery

Electrochemical reactions are involved in many processes in the human organism. Electrophysiology is the study of the central processes of electrical and chemical interaction and communication between neurons and muscle cells, including the transmission and processing of signals in the nerves and the subsequent contraction of the muscles. For example, electrophysiology studies examine the rhythm which which our heart pumps blood through the body.

Dossier - 21/05/2013

No new drugs to be placed on the market without clinical trials

New pharmaceuticals are subject to approval by drug authorities. Here clinical trials are performed to ensure the quality efficacy and safety of a medicinal product. Clinical development is a time-consuming and costly process and takes on average ten to fifteen years before a pharmaceutical company can apply for the approval of the drug. The costs including failures can amount to approximately one billion US dollars per drug.

Dossier - 01/04/2013

Retroviruses from infectious agent to therapeutic assistant

Viruses are infectious particles that use the machinery and metabolism of a host cell to replicate. The family of retroviruses is particularly known for its most notorious representative i. e. the human immunodeficiency virus HIV. However retroviruses are not only of interest for researchers looking for effective cures for viral infections their characteristic properties also make them promising laboratory and gene therapy tools.

Dossier - 26/11/2012

Genetic diagnostics technology reaches the limits of what is medically reasonable

Rapid progress in sequencing technologies is poised to set the imagination of biomedical researchers on fire. Experts now believe that progress is about to make possible what seemed to be utopian a few years ago – it seems likely that it will soon be possible to sequence the human genome in only a few minutes and store and automatically analyse it using tiny automates. However, is everything that is technically feasible also reasonable?

Dossier - 08/10/2012

Marine biotechnology unknown sources of hope from the depths of the sea

Biotechnological methods are used to investigate marine life and the results obtained from these investigations advance research in the fields of medicine and energy and into substances used as food supplements and cosmetics. The area of marine biotechnology is fairly diverse. Although it is not on the coast even the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg is involved in marine biotechnology.

Dossier - 01/10/2012

Systems biology understanding complex biological systems

Systems biology studies complex interactions within biological systems on the genome proteome and organelle level. Many techniques from the fields of systems theory and associated fields can be used to gain an understanding of the behaviour and biological mechanisms of cellular systems.

Dossier - 09/07/2012

Bachelors and masters under scrutiny has the new study system stood the test?

More practical relevance, shorter courses and courses that are compatible across Europe – when the decision to implement the bachelor’s and master’s system was made in Germany in 1999, there were high expectations and hopes for the positive changes to come. The question is, have these expectations been met?

Dossier - 18/06/2012

Biobanks treasure chests for biomedical research

The Research Committee at the German Bundestag, the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag and the German Ethics Council are all interested in this biomedical research tool, which is both necessary and meaningful. However, opinions with regard to the ethical, legal and technical approach to biobanks differ. Since March 2012 it has become absolutely clear that Germany will not pass a biobanking law during the current mandate.

Dossier - 12/03/2012

Regenerative medicine makes use of patients own resources

Die Regenerative Medizin bietet neue Therapieoptionen quer durch die ärztlichen Fachgebiete. Zumeist sind es zellbasierte Verfahren und sie werden häufig mit innovativen Biomaterialien kombiniert. Regenerative Therapien vereinen Know-how aus den Biowissenschaften mit moderner Medizintechnik und sie profitieren von den Fortschritten in den Ingenieur- und Materialwissenschaften.

Dossier - 23/01/2012

The neurosciences

In recent years, the neurosciences have increasingly made the leap from a purely basic science to applied research. Despite all this, basic research in south-west Germany is more diverse than ever. The discipline still has a number of breakthroughs to look forward to. The brain remains the most enigmatic human organ and one of the fascinating mysteries of the 21st century.