Dr. Stefan Schiller and Dr. Matthias Huber from the University of Freiburg’s livMatS Cluster of Excellence have succeeded in developing a muscle solely on the basis of natural proteins. The autonomous contractions of the material, which the researchers presented in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems, can be controlled with the help of pH and temperature changes.

Acute Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a life-threatening complication after leukemia treatment with allogeneic stem cell transplantation i.e. the transplantation of cells from another person. GvHD occurs when the transplanted immune cells are overly active and damage the receiving patient's healthy tissue. Researchers found that an endogenous molecule can mitigate this misdirected immune response.

In the medicine of the future, tiny robots will navigate independently through tissue and medical instruments will indicate their position inside the body during surgery. Both require doctors to be able to localize and control the devices precisely and in real time. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now described a signaling method based on an oscillating magnet that can significantly improve such medical applications.

Metastatic breast cancer requires complex and lengthy treatment, the side effects of which affect the quality of life of patients. These often include sexual problems. In a large international randomized exercise intervention trial, researchers have now shown that women who received a nine-month supervised exercise program reported significantly fewer symptoms than women who did not participate in the training program.

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.

Ependymomas, brain tumors that occur particularly in young children, are especially difficult to treat and more than half of the children affected have an increased risk of relapse. As part of an international consortium, the KiTZ, the DKFZ, the MFHD and UKHD have received a grant of 1.5 million pounds sterling (GBP) from the British organization The Brain Tumor Charity to develop a new type of immunotherapy for ependymoma.

Physician and cancer researcher Mirco Julian Friedrich from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the stem cell research institute HI-STEM*, and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) has received two awards for two independent research projects: his novel approach to preventing liver metastases and his research on T cells, which he modifies to better protect them from attacks by natural killer cells.

At the University Hospital Tübingen, clinical evaluation of an in-house developed vaccine (CoVac-1) against SARS-CoV-2 was started in November 2020 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Juliane Walz in the CCU Translational Immunology of the Medical Clinic (Medical Director Prof. Dr. Helmut Salih). Now the results of the Phase I study are available and demonstrate a potent activation of the T-cell response against the coronavirus.

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.

In the 2022 allocation round for the award of the prestigious Consolidator Grants of the European Research Council, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have been successful. For their projects in the fields of photovoltaics and medical sensor technology, physicist Ulrich W. Paetzold and chemist Frank Biedermann will receive approximately two million euros over the next five years.

A phase I clinical trial is now starting at Tuebingen University Hospital in the Clinical Collaboration Unit (CCU) Translational Immunology, in collaboration with the Department of Internal Medicine I, which is investigating the therapeutic cancer peptide vaccine Fusion-VAC-XS15 in combination with immune checkpoint blockade by atezolizumab (Tecentriq®).

Medulloblastomas, childhood brain tumors in children, are thought to develop between the first trimester of pregnancy and the end of the first year of life. Researchers have now published their findings in the journal Nature. They analyzed the genetic changes of each individual cancer cell in tumor samples in order to reconstruct which genetic changes occur first during tumor development and when.

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).

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD), and Mannheim University Medical Center (UMM) are presenting a method that enables artificial intelligence (AI) to learn how to transfer medical image data from animals to humans. This “xeno-learning” could help make surgical procedures safer and more precise in the future – without relying on human training data.

The results of the EPIsoDE study show that psilocybin can have a significant antidepressant effect. It is important that its use be integrated into psychotherapeutic pre- and post-treatment care.

Article - 22/03/2019

Personalised therapies for treating metastasing breast cancer

Breast cancer is characterised by broad genetic diversity. Successful treatment is made even more difficult by the fact that, in advanced breast cancer, the properties of metastases often differ significantly from the primary tumour. The Heidelberg CATCH study is now collecting genetic profiles from patients' metastasis tissue samples, which can be used to tailor therapy to individual requirements.

The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidisis primarily a harmless microbe found on the skin and in the noses of humans. Yet some strains of this species can cause infections – in catheters, artificial joints, heart valves, and in the bloodstream – which are difficult to treat. These bacteria are often resistant to a particularly effective antibiotic, methicillin, and are among the most feared germs in hospitals.

Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.

Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.

The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and Arts (MWK) is supporting medical researchers at Ulm University with start-up funding totalling 600,000 euros. The aim is to establish an EU consortium for the broad therapeutic use of mesenchymal stromal cells. The funding is being awarded as part of the "BEGIN - Participation in major European projects and initiatives" programme.

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.

With victims numbering in the millions, malaria is an infectious disease caused by the bite of a mosquito carrying the malaria parasite. After penetrating the skin, the pathogen moves with helical trajectories. It almost always turns toward the right, as a team of physicists and malaria researchers from Heidelberg University recently discovered.

Women who have experienced a stroke or heart attack are at a higher risk of mortality than men. Fraunhofer researchers want to improve gender-specific aftercare with a customized assistance system – thus helping to prevent further heart disease.

Not only actual chronological age, but also individual aging at the molecular level is a key factor in the development of cancer. This was discovered by scientists at the DKFZ and the Saarland Cancer Registry. If the so-called “epigenetic clocks” indicate accelerated biological aging, the likelihood of a cancer diagnosis increases. This finding could help identify at-risk groups and make early detection screenings more targeted

A novel biomimetic tissue substitute combines precisely tunable mechanical properties with biological functionality and is now ready for applications in medical technology. The material was developed in the »PolyKARD« project by Fraunhofer IAP and the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute. From 20.-24.04, 2026, the material will be presented together with further developments at the Hannover Messe, Fraunhofer joint booth.