Healthcare industry

The entire range of our blood and immune cells are derived from hematopoietic stem cells. Yet which genes influence how they develop into the different cell types? Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now developed a new technology to answer this question.

CeGat GmbH - 06/08/2020

Specific coronavirus antibody test for all

Have I perhaps already had COVID-19 in the past? This is a question many of us have been asking. Reliable tests that would provide the answer have simply not been available until now. However, the Tübingen-based biotech company CeGaT is now offering a coronavirus antibody test to anyone who wants one, thus answering this question with the highest probability currently possible. Response to the offer has been huge in the few weeks since the test…

Smallest 3D printed miniature endoscope in the world detects cholesterol plaques and thrombs inside human and mouse arteries.

Stem cell therapy for regenerating intervertebral discs - 16/07/2020

Ulm’s simulator has Europe’s back

Back pain is often caused by intervertebral disc disorders. Much has already been tried and is available to help patients. Despite extensive progress, there is still no surefire recipe for success. iPSpine, an EU-funded project to which researchers from Ulm are contributing interdisciplinary engineering and biomedical expertise, aims to design a novel therapy for back pain based on intervertebral disc regeneration.

The NMI Reutlingen is currently tackling a major problem associated with antibody tests for the detection of COVID-19: false positive test results.

Since May 11, 2020, CeGaT offers a CE certified corona antibody test. This test determines whether a person has antibodies against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. People who have antibodies are assumed to have undergone a coronavirus infection and are highly likely to be immune.

Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB - 24/04/2020

A rapid pyrogen test: the human immune system as model

Every year, around 11 million people die of sepsis (blood poisoning) caused by microorganisms or microbial residues, known as pyrogens, entering the bloodstream. The smallest amounts can trigger fever. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart have developed a pyrogen test that does not require a laboratory and is not tested on animals. It is expected to be placed on the market soon.

Multiple sclerosis - 12/03/2020

Direct application of biopharmaceuticals through the nose into the brain

There is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis, the most common neurological autoimmune disease in humans. Biopharmaceuticals that can delay the course of the disease or diminish its effects are often prevented from being fully effective by the blood-brain barrier. A European consortium led by the Fraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart is developing a new technology that can transport an innovative active ingredient directly to the central nervous system.

Article - 04/02/2020

Medicine from the blue blood of marine mollusks

A “living pharmacy” crawls on the ocean floor off the coastline that stretches from Southern California to Mexico: biosyn Arzneimittel GmbH, a pharmaceutical company based in the city of Fellbach in southern Germany, produces a drug to treat bladder cancer, using the haemolymph, a vertebrate fluid equivalent to blood, of Megathura crenulata, commonly known as a giant keyhole limpet.

Article - 18/11/2019

Researchers successfully rejuvenate the immune system in animal models

It is well known that stem cells age. Even the human immune system loses its power with age. Since all immune cells are derived from blood-forming stem cells, it is quite natural to associate the weakening of the immune system (immune senescence) with the ageing of blood-forming stem cells. Stem cell researchers and immunologists from the University of Ulm have now demonstrated the important role that blood-forming cells play in the ageing of the…

Article - 22/10/2019

Using CAR T cells for treating cancer

After successes in the treatment of advanced blood cancers, CAR T-cell immunotherapy has become a major beacon of hope in oncology. The first therapies have received regulatory approval. Despite their success, these immunotherapies can have serious side effects. The company AVA Lifescience develops antibodies with high tumour specificity to use as the basis for effective precision-guided CAR T-cell therapies that are better tolerated by patients.

Article - 01/07/2019

Microswimmers for guided drug delivery

Medicines should act as quickly as possible and ideally only at the site of disease. However, this may be difficult when the medicines are taken up via the digestive tract or the blood system. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have now developed a biohybrid microrobot consisting of red blood cells and bacteria that can be loaded with active ingredients.

Article - 11/06/2019

New pathogens in beef and cow's milk contributing to the risk of cancer

A team of researchers led by Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. mult. Harald zur Hausen has discovered a new type of infectious agent in dairy and meat products produced from European cattle that increases the risk for colon and breast cancer. These so-called Bovine Meat and Milk Factors (BMMFs) are small DNA molecules that are similar in sequence to both bacterial plasmids and certain viruses.

New edition - 24/05/2019

Tumour metastasis

Cancer is usually not curable when metastases have formed in the body. Metastases are often resistant to drugs that have successfully eliminated the primary tumour. The basic features of the complex process of metastasis are now known, but many details still remain elusive. Intensive research activities are focusing on new therapeutic concepts aimed at developing effective anti-metastatic therapies.

Article - 16/04/2019

Tumour monitoring using liquid biopsy

Liquid biopsy, the analysis of cancer biomarkers and circulating tumour cells in body fluids such as blood, is revolutionising the diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. It has also been possible to expand circulating tumour cells from the blood under laboratory conditions. It is expected that in the future, liquid biopsy will be able to precisely characterise tumour cells at every stage of a cancer.

Expert interview on NTDs – part 1 - 11/04/2019

Neglected tropical diseases – Carsten Köhler: impulses from Baden-Württemberg

More than one billion people worldwide suffer from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NTDs are mostly poverty-related infectious diseases that prevail in tropical countries due to lack of research and measures to detect, prevent and control them. Dr. Dr. Carsten Köhler reports on the political, economic and scientific contributions Germany and Baden-Württemberg can make to successfully change this situation.

Article - 22/03/2019

Personalised therapies for treating metastasing breast cancer

Breast cancer is characterised by broad genetic diversity. Successful treatment is made even more difficult by the fact that, in advanced breast cancer, the properties of metastases often differ significantly from the primary tumour. The Heidelberg CATCH study is now collecting genetic profiles from patients' metastasis tissue samples, which can be used to tailor therapy to individual requirements.

Press release - 10/12/2018

High distinction for stem cell researcher Andreas Trumpp

This year's State Research Prize of Baden-Württemberg awarded for outstanding achievements in applied research goes to Andreas Trumpp from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM). Theresia Bauer, State Minister of Science, Research and the Arts, presented the award, which carries a monetary prize of €100.000, at a festive ceremony on December 10, 2018.

Three researchers at the MPI for Immunobiology and Epigenetics receive millions in funding from the European Research Council. Dominic Grün, Nicola Iovino and Ritwick Sawarkar from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg will each be awareded one of the prestigious Consolidator Grants of the European Research Council. This means that 6 million euros in funding will go to fundamental research in Freiburg over the next…

Biosensor - 13/11/2018

Rapid medical test for at-home use

For quite a number of illnesses, patients need to have the concentrations of the medications they are taking and their blood metabolites checked on a regular basis, which can make life rather difficult. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg have now developed a test based on the firefly enzyme luciferase. This enzyme can be used to quickly and cheaply measure parameters of interest.

Expert interview - 08/08/2018

Ludolph: diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative disorders

Ulm has long been a world leader in diagnosing and treating rare neurological disorders, notably amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Huntington's disease (HD). We spoke with Professor Albert C. Ludolph, spokesperson for the Ulm DZNE site, medical director of the Clinic for Neurology at the RKU (University and Rehabilitation Clinics of Ulm) and world-renowned ALS researcher.

Stem cell research - 12/07/2018

The role of stem cell dormancy in regeneration and cancer

Scientists at the HI-STEM stem cell institute in Heidelberg have shown that the stem cells responsible for replenishing blood cells have the greatest potential of self-renewal of any other stem cells. However, they are normally in a dormant state, and only become active upon exposure to certain stress factors. An oncogene called MYC controls the stem cells' transition from dormancy to active self-renewal.

Expert interview - 26/06/2018

Genome analyses: "Germany lags behind dramatically"

Around 6,000 genetic diseases can be diagnosed using genetic tests. Genetic testing enables the accurate identification of diseases especially when symptoms are unclear, and also allows statements to be made about disease progression. However, restrictive regulations considerably hinder the use of genetic diagnostics. BIOPRO spoke with Dr. Dr. Saskia Biskup, a human genetics specialist and co-founder of the Tübingen-based company CeGaT.

Press release - 03/04/2018

Double success for Heidelberg stem cell researchers

Two awards at once, both carrying high monetary prizes, go to young researchers from the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Research and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM) at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ): Simon Raffel will receive the 2018 Walter Schulz Prize. Simon Haas will share the 2018 Otto Schmeil Prize with his colleague Lars Velten from EMBL.

Big Data - 26/03/2018

Eliciting reliable information from big data with classifiers and multimodal data fusion

Prof. Hans A. Kestler knows a great deal about large amounts of data. He heads up the Institute of Medical Systems Biology at the University of Ulm and is constantly inundated with cooperation enquiries from clinicians. On behalf of BIOPRO, Walter Pytlik asked him whether the conditions for using big data more in biomedical research are already largely present.