Digital bone twin by OSORA medical - 04/05/2026

Fractures in focus: predicting rather than waiting

Bone fractures are generally healed by the body without any issues. However, there are hundreds of thousands of cases each year in which a fracture either fails to heal or only does so slowly. To reduce the number of cases where this happens, a start-up called OSORA medical has developed methods to predict the healing process and, if necessary, make preventative adjustments.

A new technique based on labelled sugar molecules is providing previously unknown insights into the inner ear. A study by the University of Konstanz and Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin shows that the cupula in the inner ear of zebrafish completely regenerates within approximately two months. These findings open up a new avenue for research into sudden hearing loss and acute disorders of the sense of balance.

Within biological cells, molecules are constantly in motion. Investigating these motions, however, is still difficult, due to the fact that these processes occur on very small length and time scales. To overcome these challenges, researchers from HITS and MPI-P have developed a simulation method that works rapidly and can predict chemical processes in cells with high precision. Their findings have been published in Nature Communications.

Photoimmunotherapy - 09/04/2026

Switching off tumours with light: how photons can be used to target prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in Germany. Relapses and the harsh side effects of traditional treatments remain a major challenge, even with advanced surgical techniques. At the University of Freiburg, Dr. Wolf is pioneering the development of photoimmunotherapy. Photoimmunotherapy combines light, antibodies and a specialised dye to precisely target tumour cells - simultaneously 'waking up' the immune system.

Researchers in Freiburg have found a way to selectively replace defective immune cells in the blood vessels of the brain using an animal model. This is an important first step towards cell therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders. The findings were recently published in the journal Nature Immunology.

Traumatic brain injuries often lead to complications with long-lasting consequences on memory, concentration and movement control. Detrimental secondary inflammatory reactions at the injured tissue sites are often responsible for this. Researchers from Ulm have now shown that a transcription factor plays a key role in reactions to TBI. When this gene regulator is activated, an elevated neuroimmune response promotes inflammation.

Ageing is a highly individual process. An international consortium coordinated by researchers in Konstanz has developed a method that uses biomarkers to determine a person's biological age – a valuable tool for research on ageing and the development of new approaches in preventive medicine.

It has only recently become known that two parallel systems of blood formation exist in the body. Researchers at the DKFZ have developed a method to examine both systems separately in mice for the first time. Their surprising finding: the majority of immune cells do not originate from classic blood stem cells in the bone marrow, but from precursor cells that are independent of blood stem cells and are already present in the embryo.

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.

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.

Konstanz researchers identify an enzyme that plays a role in the migration of cells in our body - not only during normal tissue formation and wound healing, but also when tumor cells metastasize. This makes the enzyme an interesting candidate for potential future therapeutic approaches.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg and ETH Zürich have created the first integrated map detailing the metabolic and molecular changes in human blood stem cells as they age, specialize, or turn cancerous. Their innovative research, made possible by highly sensitive low-input techniques, identifies the nutrient choline, as a key player in preserving youthful stem cell traits.

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.

Zebrafish can completely replace damaged heart muscle cells: The affected organ becomes fully functional again. Researchers at Ulm University have discovered that a specific cell-to-cell communication signal helps them to cope better with replication stress. This stress inhibits tissue regeneration in humans and mammals as they age. In Zebrafish a signalling protein ensures that the cells of the damaged organ continue to divide and thus multiply.

A research team from the Heidelberg Medical Faculty, the German Cancer Research Center, the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and the Max Delbrück Center has discovered new details about the spread of the incurable bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma in the body: When the cancer cells break out of the bone and multiply outside the bone marrow, a wide variety of tumor cells arise, accompanied by a significantly altered immune response.

University of Tübingen research team observes biochemical process in living cells – indications of new approach to preventing heart attacks and strokes

NMI spin-off develops theranostics - 02/12/2024

immuneAdvice develops diagnostics to predict the efficacy of immunotherapies

Certain types of cancer are already being effectively treated using immunotherapies, though success rates can vary significantly between patients. Researchers from the Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) in Reutlingen, along with colleagues at the University of Tübingen, are working on a diagnostic approach to accompany therapy, which would rapidly assess whether the treatment is effective or requires adjustment.

The Damietta Server broadens the accessibility to protein design research and its applications in various biotechnological and biomedical fields. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, the University of Tübingen, and the University Hospital Tübingen have developed a web-based toolkit to accelerate and simplify protein design without needing powerful computers or extensive protein design expertise on the user’s end.

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.

Together with colleagues from Israel and USA, HITS researcher Frauke Gräter investigates the effects of physical force on the collagen protein in two different animal model systems. Their goal is to measure the effects of mechanoradicals on the integrity of the tissue and the well-being of the organism, with impact on health and aging.

Collagen has been used in ophthalmology since the 1990s, particularly in the treatment of corneal defects. However, why and how this technique works was only known in theory. Researchers at the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute in Reutlingen led by Lu Fan have found the necessary evidence and can now reliably explain how this technique works.

All cancer cells - even those within the same tumor - differ from each other and change over the course of a cancer disease. Scientists at Heidelberg University Hospital, the Medical Faculty in Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center discovered molecular changes in multiple myeloma that help individual cancer cells to survive therapy.

CAR-T cell therapy is a last hope for many patients with blood, bone marrow or lymph gland cancer when other treatments are unsuccessful. A limiting factor of this very effective and safe therapy is that the cells used in the process quickly reach a state of exhaustion. Researchers at the University of Freiburg have now been able to prevent this exhaustion and thus significantly improve the effect of the therapy in a preclinical animal model.

Help with osteoarthritis of the knee - 27/09/2023

Individualised knee-joint cartilage: artificial tissue that fits

Knee joints are subject to considerable stress throughout our lives. The natural shock absorber cartilage wears out over a lifetime, so many people develop knee osteoarthritis. Treatment is available in the form of artificial cartilage. This "off-the-shelf" tissue often does not grow well. Researchers are developing an individualised cartilage replacement made from biomaterial that is produced by 3D printing based on MRI images.

Project SMARTGAIT - 13/09/2023

Safe and cost-effective analysis of neurological gait disorders with AI

Stroke, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis often resulting in gait disorders in those affected. Gait analyses play a crucial role in the successful evaluation and therapy of such disorders. Current measurement methods are costly and time-consuming. The SMARTGAIT project is therefore developing an innovative AI-based system aimed at performing meaningful gait analyses with the help of simple smartphone video recordings.