Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels is not only making the continent economically and politically vulnerable, it also has consequences for the population’s health. Growing air pollution, heat damage and the climate-related spread of infectious diseases are looming, warns the 2026 Europe Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, which its co-directors are about to present to the public.

Desmoplastic small- and round-cell tumor is rare, aggressive, and difficult to treat. Researchers at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have comprehensively analyzed 30 tumors and identified potential personalized treatment options for nearly all patients. In some patients, new targeted approaches were able to halt the disease for a surprisingly long time.

Computer simulations and Artificial Intelligence are the main pillars of the “SIMPLAIX” collaboration, initiated by the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). Together with colleagues from Heidelberg University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, HITS researchers are addressing challenges in the simulation of biomolecules and molecular materials by pooling their expertise in multiscale computer simulation and machine learning.

Computer simulations and Artificial Intelligence are the main pillars of the “SIMPLAIX” collaboration, initiated by the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). Together with colleagues from Heidelberg University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, HITS researchers are addressing challenges in the simulation of biomolecules and molecular materials by pooling their expertise in multiscale computer simulation and machine learning.

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in mapping the organization of immune cells in human lymph nodes. The study was led by scientists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf University Hospital, the DKFZ, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), and the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) in Berlin. They were able to demonstrate why the architecture of healthy lymph nodes is altered in malignant lymphomas.

Why does heart function often continue to deteriorate after a heart attack, even though blood flow has been restored? A research team from the DZHK sites Heidelberg and North has now identified an important mechanism: an inflammatory switch in cardiomyocytes can impair cellular energy production and thereby drive the development of heart failure. The results were published in Nature Communications.

The German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) conducts nationwide research on individualized treatments for depression, anxiety disorders, and addiction. Its approach combines established therapeutic methods with innovative strategies to enhance overall treatment efficacy. The primary beneficiaries are patients for whom conventional therapies have so far proven insufficiently effective.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) belong to a spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases with overlapping symptoms. Many patients have a common hallmark: A protein called TDP-43 clumps together in the neurons of the brain to form tiny lumps. Researchers at DZNE and Ulm University Hospital, together with international experts, have now discovered that these pathological changes primarily affect certain cells.

In a study, a team of researchers show that groups of magnetic microrobots can generate fluidic forces strong enough to rotate objects in different directions without touching them. These microrobot swarms can turn gear systems, rotate objects much larger than the robots themselves, assemble structures on their own, and even pull in or push away many small objects. The work was now published in Science Advances.

Chemotherapy is often a central component of treatment for advanced colorectal cancer. However, not every therapy is equally effective for every patient. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the HI-STEM* stem cell institute, and the biotech company Xilis in Utrecht, Netherlands, have now developed a new method for selecting the most effective drug before treatment begins.

In a published scientific study, researchers have succeeded in accurately diagnosing common types of brain tumors in children and adolescents based on tumor-derived genetic material in cerebrospinal fluid. Until now, these so-called liquid biopsies were not capable enough for such reliable diagnostics. The international research team has therefore optimized a sequencing technique and developed an AI-based computational method. In a later step,…

A severe side effect of radiation therapy can be debilitating fibrotic skin damage. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now identified a key factor in the development of this radiation damage. Modulating this factor could potentially prevent this severe adverse effect.

CorTec GmbH, a pioneer in active implantable medical technologies, announced the successful second implantation of its proprietary Brain-Computer Interface system in a clinical trial. The implantation follows neurological gains observed in the study’s first participant. This represents another key milestone to evaluate CorTec’s fully implantable closed-loop BCI platform for therapeutic applications.

A key molecular mechanism drives the growth of liver cell cancer while simultaneously suppressing the body's immune response to the tumor. This has now been published in the journal Nature by a team led by researchers from the DKFZ, the UKT, and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. However, the results also show that this very mechanism could help identify patients who respond particularly well to immunotherapy in the…

Researchers at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed a digital tool that significantly accelerates and improves clinical decisions in molecular precision oncology. The Knowledge Connector enables the structured and standardized evaluation of very extensive molecular tumor profiles and makes them available for personalized therapy decisions faster than before.

Inside cells, RNAs and proteins form biomolecular condensates. These droplets are essential for organizing cellular life, yet why some RNAs cluster more readily than others has remained unclear. Disruptions in condensate formation are linked to developmental defects, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers at KIT have now identified a new class of RNA called smOOPs and gained a better understanding of how biomolecular condensates form

Heidelberg University has been successful in the current approval round of the German Research Foundation (DFG) with three grant applications for major research consortia. In the life sciences and medicine, a Collaborative Research Centre working on the Wnt signaling pathway will enter its third funding period. Two transregional consortia with major participation by researchers from Ruperto Carola have also been extended.

In the current selection round, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has granted funding for two new Collaborative Research Centres at the University of Konstanz. Over the next four years, the research teams will be working intensively on trigger signals in biological cells as well as on "silence" and "noise" in human speech.

The technology company KyooBe Tech GmbH and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on future research and development projects. The aim of the collaboration is to evaluate an innovative technology for inactivating pathogens using the specific effect of low-energy accelerated electrons (Low Energy Electron Irradiation—LEEI) and to make it available to DZIF scientists.

Light affects how we sleep, feel, and perform – yet public awareness of its impact remains limited. The Light for Public Health initiative aims to make evidence-based knowledge on light and health both accessible and actionable, thus turning scientific insight into public benefit.

In the PRECISION-ImmunoRad project, a multidisciplinary team of scientists from Heidelberg, USA, and Cyprus will unite their expertise to develop novel curative therapeutic strategies for currently hard-to-treat cancers. These strategies will integrate high-precision ion beam therapy with genetically engineered immune cells therapies (CAR-T cells), personalized cancer vaccines, and the targeted reprogramming of the tumor immune microenvironment.

An imaging technique developed by Freiburg researchers provides insights into cardiac arrhythmias that can cause sudden cardiac death in animal models. The changes discovered could explain why even seemingly healthy people are sometimes affected.

Tumors of the pancreas seldom cause symptoms in their early stages. This means that in many cases, they are not diagnosed until late, when the chances of successful treatment are poor. A new non-invasive diagnostic method designed by Fraunhofer researchers is set to make it possible to detect this aggressive form of cancer early on with high accuracy, significantly improving the prognosis for treatment.

Cancer can take decades for cancer-promoting changes in the genome to eventually lead to the formation of a malignant tumor. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center have now developed a method that allows for the first time to reconstruct the temporal development—the evolution—of cancerous cells from a single tissue sample.

Sarcomas in soft tissue usually occur in young people and are difficult to treat. Due to a lack of laboratory models, the causes of their development are poorly understood. A team of researchers has now succeeded in creating mouse models with a functioning immune system that replicate sarcoma types that remain unstudied. The method opens up new avenues for the targeted development of immunotherapies for children and adolescents with sarcomas.