Healthcare industry

Karin Scharffetter-Kochanek dermatologist and head of the Department of Dermatology and Allergology at the University Hospital of Ulm has spent a long time investigating skin ageing. Her specific focus on skin has not however restricted her understanding of ageing to barely deterministic or mechanistic details. Quite the opposite is true.

Dossier - 20/11/2008

Anti-Ageing is still a far-off dream

Is it possible to halt the ageing process? This question was first raised in the 1980s when researchers succeeded in delaying the ageing process in threadworms by modifying a specific gene. Nowadays hundreds of gene mutations are known to prolong the lifespan of yeast fruit flies and mice. Will the human dream of eternal youth eventually become reality? The truth is probably not.

Researchers from Heidelberg have discovered that certain oxygen compounds are produced in greater quantities in the body due to cancer or inflammation and that this leads to the alteration of a protein that controls the flexibility and adaptability of certain immune cells.

There are only a few signalling pathways that have been as well conserved during evolution as the Notch signalling pathway. This is due to the pathways unique biological function. Notch enables two identical cells to develop into completely different tissues. Anette Preiß professor at the University of Hohenheim has been working on the function of the Notch signalling pathway for almost 20 years.

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg have developed a software programme RepliExplore that enables the construction of individualised models for use in complicated surgical interventions.

Prof. Johannes Schropp and Gilbert Koch from the University of Constance are developing mathematical models for the pharmaceutical company Nycomed. These models examine the relationship between the concentration and the effect of administered drugs.

The Heidelberg team of 16 students has achieved an outstanding result at the renowned iGEM competition organised by the MIT in Boston. The team won the largest number of prizes with its project Ecolicence to Kill including a gold medal for their scientific work.

Hartmut Geiger a biochemist and stem cell researcher at Ulm University Hospital is using genetic methods to investigate the molecular basis of the physiological ageing of haematopoietic stem cells. After having spent a period in Cincinnati Geiger is currently head of the clinical research group Molecular and cellular ageing from the mechanisms of action to clinical perspectives.

Prof. Christoph Cremer Cremer hopes to use the Vertico-SMI nanoscope to decipher the molecular secrets of cells. After the 4Pi microscopy this system is the second development of his scientific career to break through the barrier of optical microscopy.

Dossier - 29/10/2008

Signal transduction - exciting research with huge potential for the future

Signal transduction is one of the most innovative fields of research in the life sciences. Although the scientists are far from being able to understand and decipher everything the signal researchers nevertheless have a good deal of knowledge about the transduction of signals and the different signalling pathways.

The Ludwig Heilmeyer Tumour Centre Comprehensive Cancer Centre Freiburg has received a grant from the Pfizer Foundation USA for an innovative anti-smoking cure programme developed as part of the CCCFs cancer prevention strategy.

Prof. Dr. Michael Reth is active in the field of immunology and signalling. He is an experienced scientist who is well aware of the difficulty and the cumbersome nature of deciphering signals and signalling pathways. The Freiburg bioss excellence cluster - the Centre of Biological Signalling Studies - is Reths brainchild. Karin Bundschuh from BioRegio Freiburg spoke with the scientist who works at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and the…

A group of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Frank-Michael Müller from Heidelberg has shown that mould fungi like Aspergillus fumigatus are able to develop biofilms in the lungs and protect themselves against the bodys immune defence system and drugs.

Boehringer Ingelheim has three oral compounds for the treatment of diabetes type II in phase II and III of clinical development. The most advanced compound a DPP-4 inhibitor is in the final clinical phase.

Harald zur Hausen the long-time chairman and scientific director of the German Cancer Research Centre DKFZ a member of the Helmholtz Society discovered that human papillomaviruses HPV lead to cervical cancer. His discovery led to the development of a vaccine for cervical cancer which is the third most frequent type of cancer in women.

Prof. Karin Scharffetter-Kochanek has recently become a member of the renowned Leopoldina Academy of Sciences. In her research the skin has become a model system that serves as the basis for a trans-organ systemic approach looking at the underlying mechanisms and the complex interactions with other organs.

ratiopharm has been given approval by the EU regulatory office for its filgrastim biosimilar which will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2008. The company has already applied for market authorisation of another genetically engineered pharmaceutical.

The Comprehensive Infectious Diseases Centre at the University of Ulm was recently presented to the public. The centre is responsible for coordinating the cooperation between specialists in the diagnosis and therapy of complex infectious diseases.

Professor Dr. Christoph Borner from the University of Freiburg and his team are investigating the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis. Their research also provides insights into the medical treatment of cells that do not want to die - cancer cells.

The German Society for Medical Physics DGMP has awarded its science prize to the medical physicist Gerhard Glatting for his research into the specific irradiation of tumour tissue using radioactively labelled antibodies.

The test detects K-RAS mutations and could be an additional tool for targeted therapies of patients with colorectal cancer who stand to benefit from newly developed cancer therapies that rely on the genotype of the K-RAS oncogene.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy DMD is a severe disease affecting boys characterised by rapid progression of muscle degeneration so that boys as young as 10 to 12 years of age have to use a wheelchair and leading to death in young men. In Germany about 2500 children and young adults suffer from DMD.

Many cancers are difficult to treat with drugs because they are resistant to them. A research group at Heidelberg is investigating the molecular mechanisms of multidrug resistance and has the goal to improve the treatment of cancer patients.

Professor Dr. Günther Schützs work on the cell- and development-specific gene regulation using nuclear receptors has led amongst other things to new insights into the steroid hormone-dependent early development and differentiation of the nervous system the molecular mechanisms of learning and the development and regulation of drug addiction. Schütz has now been appointed Helmholtz professor which will enable him to continue his work beyond…

The primary objective of greenovation Biotech GmbH is the implementation of a stable production platform for the manufacture of glycoproteins for industrial pharmaceutical applications in accordance with GMP guidelines. Now Gregor Mirow succeeds Hans Bodo Hartmann as the new managing director.