Using artificial intelligence to revolutionize drug development is the aim of the start-up "EmbryoNet AI Technologies" led by Konstanz biologist Patrick Müller. Müller and his team have now been awarded the start-up prize by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) for their business concept.

University of Tübingen research team shortens the search for attackers that can wipe out multiresistant pathogens – with the aim of treating infections without antibiotics

People with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and more so with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and MASLD-associated hepatic fibrosis can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease, and cancers. Future research might be beneficial for implementing precision medicine in MASLD.

Targeted molecular interventions in the replication cycle and the immune recognition of viruses are intended to prevent viral entry into cells and virus replication. Scientists work on new approaches to combating highly dangerous viral diseases such as yellow fever or Lassa fever. The European Union is supporting the project over a period of five years to the tune of just under eight million euros.

Konstanz biologist Patrick Müller receives a Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council for his project "EmbryoNet-AI". Its goal is the further development of an AI-supported platform for the automated evaluation of experiments – for example, in drug development.

A research team from Freiburg and Frankfurt has discovered how cells recognise and internally break down waste. The results are relevant for the development of therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Prize 2025 goes to Prof. Dr Robert Zeiser for his outstanding research in haematology and immunology. Zeiser’s research at the University of Freiburg and the Medical Center – University of Freiburg have led, among other things, to new types of cancer therapy that has increased survival rates and the patients’ quality of life.

The NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have signed a groundbreaking cooperation agreement. This partnership combines the expertise of both institutions in the fields of production and characterization of materials for biological systems and energy storage as well as the application of statistical methods in medicine.

The challenge: if conventional speaking valves are used improperly, dangerous overpressure can occur, which can cause serious complications and even death. In a collaboration at the University of Freiburg, researchers developed a speaking valve with an integrated pressure release valve and an acoustic warning signal, inspired by the trapping mechanism of the carnivorous bladderwort plant Utricularia vulgaris.

Advancing quantum technology into real-world applications - 06/11/2024

QSens: BMBF future cluster brings quantum sensors of the future into medicine

The BMBF-funded future cluster ‘QSens – Quantum Sensors of the Future’ is developing ultra-sensitive sensors that could open up new options in medicine, enabling faster drug research, more accurate diagnostics and improved rehabilitation. The universities of Stuttgart and Ulm are actively working with 17 industry partners to put these cutting-edge innovations to immediate practical use.

In the “Cluster4Future” QSens of the Universities of Stuttgart and Ulm, scientists, companies and start-ups are researching quantum sensors with a wide range of potential applications. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding QSens for a further three years as part of “Clusters4Future”.

Scientists have long sought ways to simulate the neural networks in the brain with computers in order to understand how it works. Now, researchers have combined new measurements of the wiring diagrams of the fruit fly with artificial intelligence methods to build a neural network that can do what few thought possible: To predict the activity of individual neurons without making a single measurement in a living brain.

A new molecular engineering technique can precisely influence the development of organoids. Microbeads made of specifically folded DNA are used to release growth factors or other signal molecules inside the tissue structures. This gives rise to considerably more complex organoids that imitate the respective tissues much better and have a more realistic cell mix than before.

Max Planck scientists will present a low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner in Lindau. Two researchers from the MPI for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, will present a model of a new low-field MRI system. It combines hyperpolarization with imaging techniques that can be run at low magnetic field strengths. The quality of the MRI images can be enhanced with the help of artificial intelligence.

Baden-Württemberg receives the EU Commission's "Regional Innovation Valley" label - 01/07/2024

Customised healthcare for all: BIOPRO is a partner in the EU project PRECISEU

The EU research project PRECISEU, which started in June 2024 and will run for five years, aims to connect innovation ecosystems across Europe and advance personalised medicine throughout Europe. BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg is one of 25 partner organisations from 11 European countries that are working on the further development of customised healthcare as part of the research project.

At the finale of the Cyber Valley Days, and Science Minister Petra Olschowski opened the ELLIS Institute Tübingen, heralding the next phase of the AI Innovation Campus. With the world's first ELLIS Institute, Cyber Valley is gaining further radiance. Olschowski also announced at the ceremony that the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is joining the Cyber Valley Community.

The results of a Tuebingen-led study raise hope that a newly developed drug could herald a new era in oncological liver surgery and transplantation. The drug could even have the potential to significantly improve the treatment of acute and chronic liver diseases. The drug candidate "HRX-215" is a so-called MKK4 inhibitor, i.e. the drug inhibits the MKK4 protein found in liver cells and thus leads to an increase in the regeneration of…

More than seven million people in Germany suffer from diabetes. At the same time, research into drugs to treat this widespread disease is still difficult. Scientists led by Prof. Dr. Peter Loskill from the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute and the Faculty of Medicine of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen have now developed a technique that significantly improves the view at the molecular and cell biological level in the pancreas.

Working with a new Emmy Noether Group, Dr. Pascal Schlosser is investigating how machine learning can aid in understanding the complex relationships between genes, proteins, and diseases.

Computer scientists from the Cluster of Excellence Collective Behaviour developed a model, that explains how collective scenarios such as diseases may proceed.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has announced the first pivotal decisions for the "Clusters of Excellence" funding line as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. The University of Stuttgart has been given the green light for two new cluster initiatives.

Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Freiburg discover key factor in the development of immune cells. New approaches for the treatment of ALPS.

Health Data Futures project - 11/01/2024

Creating a network of trust

In the three-nation project "Health Data Futures", stakeholders and experts from Germany, France and Switzerland have launched a series of patient-centred innovations. Using various future scenarios, the project partners may be able to come up with even more scenarios.

More than 65,000 men fall ill with prostate cancer each year in Germany. Twelve thousand of them develop a treatment-resistant form which eventually ends in death. Now, a team of researchers from the Medical Faculty at the University of Freiburg has developed an active substance that might in future represent a new treatment option.

For the first time, the active substance epifadin has been isolated at the University of Tübingen – Epifadin is produced by specific bacteria in the nose and on the skin of humans, has an antibiotic effect, and is the first example of a previously unknown antimicrobial compound class.