Healthcare industry

Article - 24/09/2012

MTS: Shock wave technology for the therapy of diabetic foot ulcer

Almost 15 percent of an estimated seven million diabetes mellitus patients in Germany suffer from diabetic foot syndrome DFS. It is associated with damage to the foot nerves and blood vessels as well as the presence of chronic wounds which in thousands of cases every year precede lower leg amputations. The Konstanz-based company MTS Medical has developed a shock wave therapy system that has the potential to considerably reduce the number of…

Article - 02/07/2012

amcure GmbH is working on a new compound against pancreatic cancer

amcure GmbH has identified a new compound with a new efficacy profile against pancreatic cancer. Animal experiments have shown promising results: the drug candidate successfully prevents tumour growth and destroys existing metastases. The company, which was spun out from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 2011, is now working on its first financing round and is looking for new investors. At the same time it is carefully planning its…

Article - 21/05/2012

Interactions between the genome and the environment

Parental neglect appears to lead to epigenetic changes in children, which result in behavioural problems in later years. This is one issue amongst the many that were addressed at the colloquium “Gene und Umwelt – Wie wir werden, was wir sind” (Genes and the environment – how we become what we are) recently organized by the Daimler and Benz Foundation in Berlin.

Article - 02/04/2012

Looking for the molecular conductors of neuroembryogenesis

Tissue development in areas such as the nervous system can be likened to the arrangement of various elements in a concert. Genetic control centres play a key role in coordinating which pieces of music are played in which order. These control centres regulate the expression of genes. A team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Uwe Strähle from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT uses zebrafish to understand the gene networks that control…

Article - 13/02/2012

Suzanne Kadereit: assessing nanotoxicity using stem cells

Nanotoxicity has become the subject of concern because of increasing toxic effects of nanomaterials on living organisms. However such effects are difficult to detect in people. In an interview with BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg Dr. Susanne Kadereit biologist at the University of Konstanz reports about her work involving the development of a human in-vitro system that enables the more effective assessment of the toxicity of nanoparticles.

Article - 13/02/2012

A strange combination: green tea extract and light for treating Alzheimer’s

Andrei Sommer from the University of Ulm and colleagues from Ulm, Heidelberg and Berlin have succeeded in reducing amyloid beta deposits in human neuroblastoma cells by up to 60 per cent in vitro. The researchers found that the apparently strange combination of green tea and red light has the potential to lead to the development of new therapies for Alzheimer’s. There are currently no treatments available that stop or reverse the progression of…

Press release - 30/09/2011

Blood Vessels from Your Printer

Researchers have been working at growing tissue and organs in the laboratory for a long time. These days, tissue engineering enables us to build up artificial tissue, although science still hasn’t been successful with larger organs. Now, researchers at Fraunhofer are applying new techniques and materials to come up with artificial blood vessels in their BioRap project that will be able to supply artificial tissue and maybe even complex organs in…

Press release - 31/08/2011

Insilico’s alternatives to animal testing

Insilico Biotechnology is partner in several EU research projects aimed at developing testing methods for cosmetic substances without using animals. Computer-based models and simulations will be implemented to support and advance the development of cell and tissue cultures which produce reliable results even for long-term applications.

Article - 29/08/2011

Ute Schepers – the therapeutic potential of small RNAs and molecular transporters

Small RNAs can specifically interfere with cellular mechanisms; or more precisely, with the cells’ protein biosynthesis machinery. Scientists have therefore decided to exploit this potential by using small RNAs against cancer cells or cells damaged in other ways. But the question arises as to how the small RNAs can reach the site where their role is to prevent the generation of dangerous proteins. Dr. Ute Schepers and her team from the Karlsruhe…

Article - 29/07/2011

Labor Dr. Merk und Kollegen - Viruses under control

It is difficult to imagine how Ochsenhausen-based Labor Dr. Merk und Kollegen (LMK) would be able to develop, produce and test medical products for bacterial and viral contaminations without using cell cultures. The medium-sized company also produces viruses for testing and has stored more than 80 different viruses – enveloped and non-enveloped ones, animal and human pathogens – at -80˚C.

Dossier - 25/07/2011

Cell culture technology: it all started with frog nerve fibres

The history of cell culture technology is closely connected with cell biology and the discoveries made in the field of cell biology. Ever since the study of science became a professional activity, researchers have been trying to keep cells and tissues alive outside organisms for purposes of investigation.

Article - 27/06/2011

New therapeutic approaches: nitric oxide for the treatment of brain tumours

Researchers led by neurosurgeon Dr. Astrid Weyerbrock from the Freiburg University Medical Centre are working on the improvement of therapies for the effective treatment of glioblastomas that involve deciphering the biological mechanisms that lead to these complex brain tumours. They are using a volatile molecule that is also found in the earths atmosphere.

Article - 14/06/2011

Retinitis pigmentosa: a new form of cell death

What form of cell death do the photoreceptors of people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa undergo and how can their degeneration be prevented or delayed with pharmaceutical substances? Dr. Paquet-Durand from the Institute for Ophthalmic Research in Tübingen is working to resolve these questions.

Article - 04/04/2011

Technical innovations for better diagnostics

The quantitative detection of DNA single-strand breaks is of great importance for many areas of biomedical research and diagnostics. The Fluorescence-detected Alkaline DNA Unwinding FADU assay assists in the investigation of mechanisms of DNA damage and repair following DNA strand breaks upon exposure to chemicals. Prof. Alexander Bürkle and his team at the University of Konstanz have automated and optimised the original FADU assay which was…

Press release - 21/03/2011

Polymer brushes with mini proteins protect implants

Patients who have had surgical implants are at risk of developing serious complications due to bacterial infections. This affects around two to six per cent of patients with implants. Scientists from the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG) have now succeeded in developing a protective layer that prevents bacteria from adhering to implants and creating dangerous biofilms that can lead to serious infections. The protective layer has proven…

Article - 07/03/2011

Thomas Brunner: steroid synthesis in the intestine

A research team led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Brunner at the University of Konstanz has found out that intestinal epithelial cells are able to synthesise anti-inflammatory steroids glucocorticoids following immunological stress which makes a considerable contribution to the maintenance of local immune homoeostasis. Brunner plans to use his findings to develop a therapeutic approach for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Article - 13/09/2010

Molecules adapted to the environment

For many years Prof. Dr. Klaus Kümmerer from the University Medical Centre Freiburg has been investigating how the chemical structures of drugs and other chemicals can be modified in order to enable them to be degraded more quickly in rivers and soils. There has to be a new way of thinking said Kümmerer going on to add the appropriate methods are already in place.

Press release - 15/08/2010

The man who saved white rabbits

When Stefan Fennrich received a telephone call asking for his opinion on replacing animal testing with in vitro human blood testing he was immediately thrilled by the idea. This is brilliant said the enthusiastic physician and biochemist from Tübingen. The call was from Professor Thomas Hartung and Albrecht Wendel from the University of Constance who came up with the idea of the PyroDetect assay which experts regard as a groundbreaking innovation…

Article - 24/05/2010

Alternative CAM: chicken eggs to precede mouse experiments

Researchers who test whether in vitro results can be transferred to living organisms prefer to use mice rats or rabbits. Many questions can be answered using the chorioallantoic membrane CAM of fertilised chicken eggs an alternative model to animal experiments that provides rapid results and only costs 50 cents per egg.

Article - 24/05/2010

Nose drops replace transplantation

Dr. Lusine Danielyan a scientist from Tübingen has developed a method that enables her to administer therapeutic cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases to animals without requiring syringes or surgery. The animals simply snort the cell suspension. In September 2009 Danielyan received the Baden-Württemberg Research Prize for Alternative and Complementary Methods to Animal Testing for her development.

Article - 24/05/2010

A long path from development to worldwide acceptance

In cooperation with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore the University of Constance has established the Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing Europe CAAT-EU in Constance. The goal of the transatlantic cooperation is to establish new and innovative methods to replace the use of laboratory animals in studies to combine the skills of the partners to provide a better safer and more human future for humans and animals…

Dossier - 24/05/2010

Animal experiments: alternatives need to be found urgently

In Baden-Württemberg alone up to 600000 animals are used for scientific purposes every year. In order to reduce their pain and suffering as much as possible researchers all over the world are working on the development of innovative methods to replace animal experiments including cell culture methods for drug analysis artificial blood vessel systems for testing chemicals and rapid computer simulations used in diabetes research.

Article - 15/04/2010

Bone-hard basic research for an ageing society

Osteoporotic bones not only break very easily, they also heal badly when a fracture occurs. A fractured femur neck might mean that elderly patients have to remain bedridden for a long period and maybe even need nursing care. Fractures that heal badly, in combination with other diseases, frequently lead to a fatal outcome. A panregional team of researchers, including researchers from Ulm, has been working together since 2007 on basic research into…

Article - 28/03/2010

Acrovis biostructures: because the beginning of a process is crucial

Targeted substance design using an advanced platform technology that takes into account the natural dynamics of pharmaceutical substances and targets early on during the discovery process – this is what the Ulm-based biopharmaceutical company Acrovis biostructures GmbH offers. Acrovis has all the instruments needed to be able to optimally determine the structure of pharmaceutical substances.

Press release - 22/02/2010

AgenoLab GmbH: Improved quality of life for patients with chronic wounds

Since its foundation three years ago, AgenoLab GmbH & Co. KG in Stuttgart has become a leading service provider in the area of life sciences and biotechnology. The company’s cell culture technology unit focuses on the preparation of cells that can largely eliminate the need for animal testing. In the area of regenerative medicine, AgenoLab GmbH concentrates on the growth of skin cells as transplants for patients suffering from burns and…