Article - 16/03/2015 The critical balance between liver fibrosis and liver regeneration When the liver has been damaged, a receptor protein of the hepatic stellate cells called endosialin controls the balance between liver repair and scar formation. A team of researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim has shown that endosialin is a positive regulator of fibrogenesis and a negative regulator of hepatocyte proliferation. Endosialin therefore seems to be a promising therapeutic drug target in non-neoplastic settings. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-critical-balance-between-liver-fibrosis-and-liver-regeneration
Article - 16/03/2015 Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt - searching for novel antibiotics in bacteria Microbial metabolic products can be used in the fight against dangerous pathogens such as multidrug-resistant bacteria. Since summer 2014, microbiologist Prof. Dr. Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt has been investigating the mechanisms of action of bacterial substances at the University of Tübingen with the aim of paving the way for new antibiotics. Interesting candidates have already been identified.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/heike-broetz-oesterhelt-searching-for-novel-antibiotics-in-bacteria
Article - 09/03/2015 Treating cancer by activating the immune system Vaccines that prevent infection with cancer-causing viruses are already available. Moreover, the development of therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of a number of other cancers is well under way. These vaccines not only prevent the development of cancer, but also treat early stages of cancer. Antigen-armed antibodies have long been used in vaccines against infectious diseases, and can now also be used for treating cancer. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/treating-cancer-by-activating-the-immune-system
Dossier - 09/03/2015 Advances in the study and treatment of liver diseases Liver diseases are often underestimated despite being quite common and potentially having serious and even life-threatening consequences, especially in chronic cases. The most common causes of liver diseases are hepatitis viruses, excessive alcohol consumption, and obesity; congenital or autoimmune liver diseases are quite rare. Thanks to advances in medical research, diseases such as hepatitis B and C can be treated effectively. Fewer advances…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/advances-in-the-study-and-treatment-of-liver-diseases
Press release - 09/03/2015 Gilead Sciences aquires FXR-program of Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Foster City, CA, U.S.A.) and Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG (Ludwigshafen/Heidelberg, Germany), a privately-held biotechnology company, announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Gilead will acquire Phenex’s Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) program comprising small molecule FXR agonists for the treatment of liver diseases including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/gilead-sciences-aquires-fxr-program-of-phenex-pharmaceuticals-ag
Article - 09/03/2015 Malaria: when an antimalarial drug is no longer fit for purpose Malaria can be treated with atovaquone a drug that inhibits a particular enzyme in Plasmodia. However the parasites are becoming increasingly resistant to the drug. Carola Hunte and Dominic Birth from the Institute for Biochemistry at the University of Freiburg have shown how atovaquone binds to the protein and what happens at the molecular level in resistant plasmodia. Their research provides an impetus for structure-based drug design aimed at…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/malaria-when-an-antimalarial-drug-is-no-longer-fit-for-purpose
Press release - 07/03/2015 Genome Analysis of Cancer Cells: Germany’s Biggest Sequencing Unit Established in Heidelberg Thorough examination of the genome of cancer cells is essential for a better understanding of the disease and to improve treatment. Therefore, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), with the support of the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), will invest in the Illumina HiSeq X Ten Sequencing System, the world’s first and only platform to deliver full coverage human whole genome for less than 1000 Euros per genome with the power to sequence more…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/genome-analysis-of-cancer-cells-germany-s-biggest-sequencing-unit-established-in-heidelberg
Press release - 06/03/2015 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invests €46 million in CureVac The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CureVac announced that the foundation has made a commitment to invest €46 million in CureVac, a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in mRNA-based vaccine technologies. As part of the agreement, the foundation will also provide separate funding for several projects to develop prophylactic vaccines based on CureVac’s proprietary messenger RNA platform. In addition, CureVac’s…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/the-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-invests-46-million-in-curevac
Article - 02/03/2015 EU supports biophysicists from Ulm to elucidate the structure of chromatin Human DNA consists of three billion base pairs, which corresponds to a total length of approximately two metres. DNA must be compressed 200,000-fold in order to fit into the tiny nuclei of mammalian cells. The thread-like complex of DNA and proteins is called chromatin. Although chromatin has been widely studied, relatively little is yet known about the spatial and temporal organisation of chromatin in interphase cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/eu-supports-biophysicists-from-ulm-to-elucidate-the-structure-of-chromatin
Article - 23/02/2015 Miriam Erlacher: apoptosis research – balancing clinical work and research Programmed cell death plays an important role in embryonic development and has also been identified as the cause of a range of diseases. It also plays a key role in the development and survival of higher organisms. Its regulation is based on a sophisticated system of interacting antagonistic signals in a network that is still largely unknown. Disturbances in this delicate balance promote the development of diseases such as cancer. Dr. Miriam…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/miriam-erlacher-apoptosis-research-balancing-clinical-work-and-research
Article - 23/02/2015 Systems biology: Ulm scientists' search for molecules that delay ageing As stem cells get older, they gradually lose their ability to grow and reproduce. They accumulate damage and lose their ability to regenerate, thus knocking tissue homeostasis off balance. If stem cell ageing could be delayed or, even better, reversed, organs would work longer more effectively. The SyStaR research consortium is using systems biology methods and tools to investigate the mechanisms of age-dependent reduction of stem cell function…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/systems-biology-ulm-scientists-search-for-molecules-that-delay-ageing
Article - 16/02/2015 Therapeutic vaccines against brain tumours Therapeutic cancer vaccines have the potential to boost the immune system's ability to destroy tumour cells. Cancer researchers around the world are intensively studying the potential of this therapeutic concept and initial positive results have been obtained. Cancer researchers from Heidelberg have developed a vaccine that triggers an immune response against a protein that is mutated in brain cancer. The vaccine, which successfully arrested…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/therapeutic-vaccines-against-brain-tumours
Article - 16/02/2015 The cellular power station of the cholera pathogen – from the structure to new antibiotics The bacterium Vibrio cholerae causes cholera, a severe disease that affects up to 3.5 million people a year. A team of scientists from the universities of Freiburg, Hohenheim and Konstanz have now gained new insights into the way the bacterium produces energy. They have elucidated the structure and function of the bacterium’s energy-production machinery. The research results provide new insights into biochemical energy production and the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-cellular-power-station-of-the-cholera-pathogen-from-the-structure-to-new-antibiotics
Article - 09/02/2015 Joining forces to develop anti-cancer immunotherapies No cancer therapy is currently achieving such promising results as immunotherapy. The German Cancer Research Center and Bayer HealthCare have established a joint laboratory to develop novel immunotherapies that selectively reactivate the body’s own immune system and incite it to attack tumour cells, thereby supporting the faster translation of concepts from the laboratory into clinical application.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/joining-forces-to-develop-anti-cancer-immunotherapies
Dossier - 09/02/2015 Chemical tools for biological applications The boundaries between traditional scientific disciplines are becoming less and less distinct. Interdisciplinary cooperation is often required to study complex processes and biomolecular issues. Interdisciplinary cooperation is central to chemical biology, a scientific discipline that applies chemical substances, methods and tools to the study of biological systems ranging from the chemical synthesis of biologically active substances to the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/chemical-tools-for-biological-applications
Article - 02/02/2015 Rentschler Biotechnologie invests in new production plant The Laupheim-based contract manufacturer Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH is greatly expanding its production capacities. The company is investing €24 million in the construction of two 3,000 litre stainless steel bioreactors, which should be operational in early 2017 and will more than double the production capacities for cell culture-derived proteins. Rentschler also announced recently that it was adding a new 2,000 litre single-use bioreactor…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/rentschler-biotechnologie-invests-in-new-production-plant
Article - 26/01/2015 A biomarker as indicator for the likelihood of developing aggressive prostate cancer Overexpression of the protein BAZ2A, which leads to alterations in epigenetic patterns, increases the malignant properties of tumour cells, including their mobility and their ability to form metastases. The findings of a team of researchers from Heidelberg, Zurich and Hamburg may have led to the discovery of an urgently needed prognostic biomarker that would make it possible to differentiate aggressive prostate cancer from the less malignant…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-biomarker-as-indicator-for-the-likelihood-of-developing-aggressive-prostate-cancer
Article - 26/01/2015 JatroSolutions: Jatropha oil for biofuel and more Jatropha is an extremely hardy and frugal plant species native to tropical and subtropical areas where it grows on wasteland. Jatropha seeds contain large quantities of oil that can be processed into a variety of products such as biofuels, animal feed, cosmetics and organic fertiliser. However, few Jatropha species have been properly domesticated, and the yields of the plants that grow in the wild are too small to be economically viable. Jatropha…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/jatrosolutions-jatropha-oil-for-biofuel-and-more
Article - 26/01/2015 Pooling efforts against infectious diseases in Germany Over 150 scientists at various locations throughout Germany work together as part of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF). The centre focuses on the development of new diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic methods for treating infectious diseases. Scientists from the University and University Hospital of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology are also part of the project. The researchers from Tübingen are…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/pooling-efforts-against-infectious-diseases-in-germany
Article - 19/01/2015 Kay Gottschalk and the physics of cells You learn a great deal about the physical aspects of cells when you talk to Prof. Dr. Kay-E. Gottschalk. For example, their ability to react as solid and liquid, to adapt their environment to suit themselves and to exert and respond to forces. The 42-year-old has great respect for the smallest of living units, i.e. cells, which he calls smart composite materials. Working on the boundaries of medicine, biology, chemistry and physics, Gottschalk…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/kay-gottschalk-and-the-physics-of-cells
Guest article - 19/01/2015 Rich in contrasts – three research months in Shanghai After graduating, Johannes Zang applied for a Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts China Scholarship to spend three months in Shanghai before going on to do his PhD. At the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he was, amongst other things, involved in elucidating the crystal structures of proteins. He also had time to learn about the city of Shanghai, China and the Chinese…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/rich-in-contrasts-three-research-months-in-shanghai
Article - 12/01/2015 Bionic chemistry: developing tailor-made functional units for bacterial cells Dr. Stefan Schiller from the Center for Biological Systems Analysis (ZBSA) at the University of Freiburg combines synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry concepts in order to equip bacterial cells with organelle-like compartments. He has countless biotechnological applications in mind. In 2014, Schiller received the research prize “Next Generation of Biotechnological Methods – Biotechnology 2020+”. The prize is awarded every two years and…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/bionic-chemistry-developing-tailor-made-functional-units-for-bacterial-cells
Press release - 08/01/2015 Biotech-Cluster Rhine-Neckar (BioRN) leads InnoLife consortium to success BioRN is a member of the consortium InnoLife, which has won the call for the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) Healthy Living and Active Ageing (EIT Health) of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT). With a grant volume of up to 700 million euros and a total project volume of more than 2 billion euros, this is one of the largest publicly funded initiatives in the health sector worldwide.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/biotech-cluster-rhine-neckar-biorn-leads-innolife-consortium-to-success
Press release - 08/01/2015 IMI 2: Fourth Call - CSA: Enabling platform on medicines adaptive pathway to patients The Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI 2) opened their fourth call. It is aimed to support a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with the topic "Enabling platform on medicines adaptive pathway to patients". The submission deadline for stage 1 proposals is 11 February 2015.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/imi-2-fourth-call-csa-enabling-platform-on-medicines-adaptive-pathway-to-patients