Doctors and scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and from Heidelberg University's Medical Faculty Mannheim have successfully tested a neoantigen-specific transgenic immune cell therapy for malignant brain tumors for the first time using an experimental model in mice.

Plastic products can be found everywhere in daily life, soft plastic in particular often being used for packaging or children's toys. These often contain so-called plasticizers which ensure that the material remains flexible. Because plasticizers are not bonded permanently to the plastic, they can escape from the material, meaning they can be absorbed by humans.

rMSI technology - 08/11/2021

New multispectral imaging technology improves endoscopic tumour detection capabilities

The quality of minimally invasive surgery depends to a large extent on the imaging properties of the endoscopes used. The Mannheim-based company Thericon GmbH has developed a multispectral imaging technology that overlays views from multiple light channels in real time to create a detailed image on which tumours can be better identified.

Nanoparticles are omnipresent in our environment: Viruses in ambient air, proteins in the body, as building blocks of new materials for electronics, or in surface coatings. Visualizing these smallest particles is a problem: They are so small that they can hardly be seen under an optical microscope.

Booster for neutrophil granulocytes - 27/10/2021

Acetate supports immune cells to fight against sepsis

Blood poisoning is the most dangerous complication of bacterial infections and often leads to death. Researchers at the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine at the University of Tübingen have now identified acetate as a potent agent for stimulating innate immune system cells, supporting their ability to destroy bacteria.

Rolandic epilepsy is a common form of epilepsy in children which occurs primarily during sleep. Short sounds played during sleep can partially suppress the neuronal discharges characteristic of epilepsy. That’s according to a research team from the University of Tübingen and Tübingen University Hospitals. The team is headed by Dr. Hong-Viet Ngo and Professor Jan Born from the Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology.

Die BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg begleitet in den Jahren 2021 und 2022 die Gründung des "Baden-Württemberg-Center for Academic Drug Discovery" (BWCAD2).

The mechanisms by which the body measures temperature and regulates its own body heat are vital, but still poorly understood. The discovery of the first heat sensor on nerve cells in the skin, for which the U.S. molecular biologist David Julius received this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine, was therefore pioneering.

Prof. Dr. Harald Gießen from the Institute of Physics (4) as well as Prof. Dr. Alois Herkommer and Dr. Simon Thiele from the Institute of Applied Optics at the University of Stuttgart received the Gips Schüle Research Award 2021 on October 19, 2021. The researchers were awarded the prize, which is valued at EUR 50,000.

An international study with about 3000 patients confirms the validity of a new classification system for meningiomas. It combines tissue characteristics (histology) with molecular analyses and thus improves therapy planning.

EMBL scientists pave the way for reducing the harmful side effects antibiotics have on gut bacteria. Antibiotics help us to treat bacterial infections and save millions of lives each year. But they can also harm the helpful microbes residing in our gut, weakening one of our body’s first lines of defence against pathogens and compromising the multiple beneficial effects our microbiota has for our health.

CureVac N.V., a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced the strategic decision to focus its COVID-19 vaccine development towards the development of second-generation mRNA vaccine candidates in collaboration with GSK and to withdraw its first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, from the current approval process.

Optimised peptides against infections and cancer - 07/10/2021

New bioactive ingredients from the peptidome treasure chest

Peptides are increasingly coming into scientific focus for application in diagnostics and therapy. The human body is full of these protein fragments, but only a fraction have been characterised. So there is enormous potential for discovering new biologically active substances that can help in the fight against bacteria, viruses and cancer. A collaborative research centre at Ulm University Hospital is on the trail of these promising fragments.

International research collaboration explores the properties of different neuron types in the brain motor cortex of mice, monkeys and humans using novel experimental and data analysis techniques.

A pioneering technique developed by the Prevedel Group at EMBL allows neuroscientists to observe live neurons deep inside the brain – or any other cell hidden within an opaque tissue. The technique is based on two state-of-the-art microscopy methods, three-photon microscopy and adaptive optics. The paper reporting on this advancement was published on 30th September 2021 in Nature Methods.