4th Joint Meeting of GBM & BioPharma Cluster South Germany - 05/12/2025 Digital/AI (R)Evolution in Drug Development & Manufacturing Ulm, Germany , Informationsveranstaltung https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/event/digitalai-revolution-drug-development-and-manufacturing
Medical image analysis - 25/09/2025 Powerful AI systems using synthetic training data AI systems for image analysis are only as good as the data on which they are trained. The Göppingen-based start-up MIRA Vision has developed a novel method for generating synthetic, photorealistic images, enabling the efficient creation of large, high-quality training datasets. An intuitive platform also allows researchers to evaluate microscopy images with ease.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/powerful-ai-systems-image-analysis-using-synthetic-training-data
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/no-gps-head-how-brain-flexibly-switches-between-internal-maps
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/mutation-non-coding-dna-worsens-leukaemia-prognosis-ulm-study-uncovers-previously-unknown-disease-promoting-mechanism
Press release - 23/09/2025 Institutional Partnership: Heidelberg and Harvard Sign Memorandum of Understanding On the basis of the cooperative relations that have developed over time, Heidelberg University and Harvard University are going to deepen and expand their cooperation. They have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect. As an institutional internationalization project, the state of Baden-Württemberg is providing ten million euros to support this initiative, which is part of the state’s “Global Partnership in Science” activities.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/institutional-partnership-heidelberg-and-harvard-sign-memorandum-understanding
Save the date - 21/04/2025 - 22/04/2025 German Biotech Days 2026 Leipzig, Messe https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/event/german-biotech-days-2026
Press release - 23/09/2025 Not all ALK fusions act the same: Variants influence treatment success in lung cancer About five percent of lung adenocarcinomas, one of the most common forms of lung cancer, are driven by a faulty fusion of two genes, EML4 and ALK. This fusion results in different variants, and until now, clinicians have treated all patients with these fusions the same way. However, new research led by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Stanford University shows that not all fusion variants behave alike. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/not-all-alk-fusions-act-same-variants-influence-treatment-success-lung-cancer
Press release - 22/09/2025 Research into novel microelectrodes: Dr. Maximilian Becker receives NanoMatFutur funding With the FeMEA project – Ferroelectric Microelectrodes for Biomedical Applications – Hahn-Schickard is setting a pioneering course in bioelectronics research. The aim of the project is to develop novel microelectrode arrays in which ferroelectric materials are used as functional interfaces in CMOS chips for the first time. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/research-novel-microelectrodes-dr-maximilian-becker-receives-nanomatfutur-funding
Funding Alliance Industry Program Funding programme, Funded by: Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim, sb_search.searchresult.label.programSubmissionDate: 15/01/2026 https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/database/funding/alliance-industry-program
Press release - 17/09/2025 Fat cells are the guardians of our health Researchers have discovered part of the answer to why some people with obesity or diabetes develop fatty liver disease while others remain healthier. They showed that fat cells have their own protective mechanism that prevents them from dying prematurely under stress. If this mechanism fails, the fat cells disintegrate. This can lead to tissue damage, inflammation and serious metabolic disorders.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/fat-cells-are-guardians-our-health
Press release - 17/09/2025 AI model predicts disease risks decades in advance Scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed an AI model that assesses the long-term individual risk for more than 1,000 diseases. The model, which was trained and tested using anonymized medical data from the UK and Denmark, can predict health events over a period of more than a decade.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/ai-model-predicts-disease-risks-decades-advance
Event - 19/05/2026 - 22/05/2026 Hospitalar 2025 São Paulo, Brasilien, Messe https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/event/hospitalar-2025
Press release - 16/09/2025 New CRISPR method leads to a better understanding of cell functions The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the development of CRISPR/Cas9, a method also known as “gene scissors”, which enables researchers to better understand how human cells function and stay healthy. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have further developed CRISPR for this purpose. They present their CRISPRgenee method in Cell Reports Methods.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-crispr-method-leads-better-understanding-cell-functions
Press release - 15/09/2025 How HIV enters the genome – Researchers identify previously unknown mechanism Researchers at Heidelberg Uni Hospital have decoded a previously unknown mechanism by which HIV-1 selects its integration targets in the human genome. A research team identified RNA:DNA hybrids as molecular signposts for the virus. These findings reveal a vulnerability in the life cycle of HIV and provide therapeutic approaches for specifically controlling HIV reservoirs in the body. This has been one of the obstacles to curative HIV therapies.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-hiv-enters-genome-researchers-identify-previously-unknown-mechanism
Press release - 12/09/2025 In bad company: Immune cells in the tumor environment determine the success of therapy for childhood brain tumors The cellular environment of a tumor can either support or sabotage recovery. The most comprehensive study to date on the tumor microenvironment in low-grade gliomas, conducted by KiTZ, Jena University Hospital, the DKFZ, and Heidelberg University Hospital, shows what a supportive or obstructive “neighborhood” looks like in childhood brain tumors. The study also provides clues as to how tumor communication might be blocked. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/bad-company-immune-cells-tumor-environment-determine-success-therapy-childhood-brain-tumors
Fluorescence and smartphones instead of laboratories - 11/09/2025 Mobile blood-analysis system for at home medication monitoring For many medications, regular monitoring of drug concentrations in the blood is necessary to ensure efficacy and safety. Until now, this process has been time-consuming and required laboratory personnel and resources. The Heidelberg based start up QuantiLight has developed a mobile device with innovative sensor technology that enables quick, easy measurements at home or in a doctor's surgery.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/mobile-blood-analysis-system-home-medication-monitoring
Press release - 09/09/2025 Soft materials for smarter robots Soft robots, robot systems made of soft materials, open up new perspectives for medical technology and industry. Jun.-Prof. Dr. Aniket Pal from the University of Stuttgart is conducting research into viscoelastic materials that have the potential to embed intelligent functions in soft robots. He is receiving 1.5 million euros in funding for this research as part of the Emmy Noether Program. The funding period began on September 1, 2025.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/soft-materials-smarter-robots
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 - 09/09/2025 Molecular Biomimetics: The Cell Nucleus as a Model for DNA-based Computer Chips In the human body, stem cells process genetic information in an exceptionally reliable and very fast manner. To do this, they access certain sections of the DNA in the cell nucleus. Researchers at KIT have investigated how the DNA-based information processing system works. Their results show that this process is comparable to processes in modern computers and could therefore serve as a model for new types of DNA-based computer chips.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/molecular-biomimetics-cell-nucleus-model-dna-based-computer-chips
Press release - 08/09/2025 New and simple detection method for nanoplastics A joint team from the University of Stuttgart in Germany and the University of Melbourne in Australia has developed a new method for the straightforward analysis of tiny nanoplastic particles in environmental samples. One needs only an ordinary optical microscope and a newly developed test strip—the optical sieve. The research results have now been published in “Nature Photonicshttps://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-and-simple-detection-method-nanoplastics
Press release - 05/09/2025 After EMBL: Umlaut.bio and its potential role in drug development Alumnus Bastian Linder discusses the origin of this start-up and how a tRNA mechanism is helping scientists understand the importance and use of various RNA modifications as they pertain to disease.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/after-embl-umlautbio-and-its-potential-role-drug-development
Press release - 04/09/2025 Rare bone tumors: Tailor-made mini-proteins switch off tumor drivers Chordomas are rare bone tumors for which there are no effective drugs. A research team from the DKFZ and the NCT Heidelberg has now developed a promising approach: Tailor-made mini-proteins specifically block the driver of tumor development. In the result, slowing the growth of chordoma cells in the laboratory and in a mouse model, while also revealing further molecular vulnerabilities of the tumor that could be addressed with approved drugs.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/rare-bone-tumors-tailor-made-mini-proteins-switch-tumor-drivers-1
Press release - 04/09/2025 Fraunhofer researchers develop innovative diagnostics for detecting antibiotic resistance in bacterial infections The rapid increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is one of the most pressing challenges facing global health. A new transatlantic Fraunhofer research project aims to counter these threats with an innovative diagnostic approach: a microfluidic rapid test system using carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) will make bacterial resistance visible in just a few minutes, significantly faster than conventional methods.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/fraunhofer-researchers-develop-innovative-diagnostics-detecting-antibiotic-resistance-bacterial-infections
Press release - 03/09/2025 Nature publication: Mechanical tensions as a driver of evolution When embryos grow, cells and tissue are constantly bumping into each other. This creates mechanical tensions that could endanger their development. A team from University of Hohenheim and the Japanese RIKEN Center have discovered that fly embryos have strategies to deal with this pressure. The different species have developed two different solutions. This ability to control mechanical tension could be a key to why so many body plans have evolved.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/nature-publication-mechanical-tensions-driver-evolution
Press release - 03/09/2025 Therapeutic vaccination against HPV-related tumors: Nanoparticles make the difference Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have collaborated with the SILVACX project group at Heidelberg University to develop a therapeutic vaccination concept that can mobilize the immune system to target cancer cells. The team showed that virus peptides coupled to silica nanoparticles can elicit effective T-cell responses against HPV-related tumors. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/therapeutic-vaccination-against-hpv-related-tumors-nanoparticles-make-difference