Healthcare industry

Heidelberg scientists succeed in boosting the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 and related methods and modifying initially inaccessible DNA sequences.

Using animal-free methods to assess the hazard potential of chemicals to the nervous system of unborn children? An international research team including toxicologists from Konstanz and Düsseldorf has developed a testing battery based on human cells that has the potential to replace traditional methods for assessing developmental neurotoxicity.

During the growth and development of living organisms, different types of cells must come into contact with each other in order to form tissues and organs together. A small team working with Prof. Dr. Anne Classen of the Excellence Cluster CIBSS of the University of Freiburg has discovered that complex changes in form, or morphogenesis, during development are driven exclusively via the affinity of cells to each other.

Gene regulation - 20/07/2021

The many faces of the epigenetic regulator MOF

Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in coordinated gene transcription, and are required for a fertilised egg cell to be able to develop into an organism with different cell types. Dr. Asifa Akhtar from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has been studying the essential epigenetic regulator protein MOF for 20 years.

University takes next hurdle in the German government’s Excellence Strategy funding program. The University of Tübingen is to have three new Clusters of Excellence.As part of the German government’s Excellence Strategy funding forhigher education research, Tübingen will host new outstanding research networks starting in January 2019. Representatives of Germany’s higher education policymakers announced the decision in Bonn on Thursday.

Two Clusters of Excellence for the University of Freiburg: Biological Signalling Studies and Bioinspired Materials Research. It is a major boost to cutting-edge research in Freiburg: in the current Excellence Strategy competition, scientists at the University of Freiburg have been granted two Clusters of Excellence, CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies, and livMatS – Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials…

Article - 02/06/2016

DNA origami for decoding the language of biological cells

Cells have their own language that they use to communicate with each other. They need this language to be able to form intact tissues and fulfil their specific functions in the body. If these signalling pathways are disrupted, metabolic processes will suffer and result in diseases. We know many “words” of the cellular language, i.e. signalling molecules that bind to specific surface receptors and thereby trigger chemical reactions inside the…

The main goal of the European Research Council (ERC) is to fund Europe’s brightest minds and thus encourage the highest quality research. In April 2016, the ERC announced the awarding of its prestigious Advanced Grants, and three life sciences researchers from Baden-Württemberg were among the recipients.

Dossier - 18/04/2016

Epigenetics – heritable traits without changing the DNA sequence

Epigenetics, i.e. the inheritance of traits that does not involve a change in the DNA sequence, was once a controversial subject that has since become a central focus of biological research. Epigenetic inheritance is now studied by numerous national and international research programmes. Many cellular regulatory and differentiation processes are controlled by epigenetic mechanisms that take place on different levels, including the DNA, histone,…

Article - 17/12/2015

Inhibition of bromodomain affects stem cell differentiation

DNA methylation and histone modification are epigenetic mechanisms that affect gene transcription. Moreover, protein complexes can regulate gene expression by modifying chromatin structure and function. Dr. Thomas Günther and his team from the Center for Clinical Research at the Freiburg University Medical Center are studying the effect of the inhibitor PFI-3 on the BAF complex. This protein complex modifies chromatin structure and controls the…

Article - 02/12/2015

Diabetes research: can foetuses develop susceptibility to diabetes in uteri?

The measurement of blood glucose levels reveals changes in foetal brain response after a pregnant woman has consumed glucose. The postprandial brain response generated by the unborn children of women with gestational diabetes differs from that of children of women without gestational diabetes. Researchers from Tübingen have been using magnetic encephalography to examine the effect of insulin on the brain and the relationships between gestational…

Article - 03/09/2015

Pattern formation: How undifferentiated cell clusters develop orderly structures

Dr. Patrick Müller explores cellular signalling pathways that turn undifferentiated cell clusters into orderly structures as embryos develop. Supported by an ERC grant, the Max Planck researcher from Tübingen uses a broad range of methods from the fields of genetics, biophysics, mathematics and the computer sciences for his investigations. Regenerative medicine is one field that particularly stands to benefit from Müller’s findings.

Article - 29/06/2015

How can influenza virus prediction be improved?

Every February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) publishes recommendations on the composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the upcoming influenza season. The WHO’s decision is based on observations and laboratory tests as well as experience and intuition. The particular type of influenza virus that is likely to be circulating in a given season has previously been mainly a matter of speculation. Richard Neher from the Max Planck…

Article - 15/06/2015

Marja Timmermans: Humboldt Professor with a penchant for small RNAs

Molecular biologist Marja Timmermans has found out how plant cells can communicate with each other using mobile ribonucleic acid molecules. The use of small RNAs (sRNA) is a fundamental principle that applies not only to plant cells, but also to animal and human cells. These days, Timmermans' laboratory methods are used around the world. She has recently been awarded Germany’s most highly endowed international research award - the Alexander…

Article - 08/06/2015

New construction kit for designing new proteins

Protein building blocks with well-defined properties that can be assembled into new molecules with desired structures and functions are highly sought after in biotechnology and medicine. Birte Höcker, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, is currently working on this in a project she calls “Protein Lego”.

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…

Article - 15/12/2014

Heart muscle cell 1.0 and 2.0 – two epigenetic programmes in one cell

All the cells in an organism have to adapt to changing requirements as they develop and grow - including muscle cells in the heart. Crucial to this process are the cells’ growth in size and epigenetic factors that play a role in modulating the expression of various genes. The role of epigenetics in cancer development has been the focus of research for quite some time. The question is, what role do epigenetic factors play in the development of the…

Article - 01/12/2014

Stem cell research for preventing radiation-induced developmental damage

Although ionizing radiation is known to cause cell damage and genetic modifications, its effects on embryonic development are still poorly understood. This is why Prof. Dr. Suzanne Kadereit from the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University of Applied Sciences is involved in a cooperative project that uses human embryonic stem cells for studying the effects of ionizing radiation on prenatal brain development. She heads up the only university of applied…

Article - 29/09/2014

Andrei Lupas – fascination for the complex world of proteins

Prof. Dr. Andrei Lupas is a molecular biologist and director of the Department of Protein Evolution at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Developmental Biology in Tübingen. He became fascinated by the incredible complexity of proteins early on during his scientific career. His work focuses on the use of laboratory and computational methods to solve the question as to how a simple amino acid chain becomes a protein ‘nanomachine’. Lupas and his…

Article - 31/03/2014

Lsd1 – a gatekeeper for differentiation onset of embryonic mouse stem cells

Epigenetics is an emerging field of research that studies heritable changes in gene expression that are not caused by changes in the underlying DNA sequence. Prof. Dr. Roland Schüle, Director of Central Clinical Research at the Freiburg University Medical Centre, and his team are specifically focused on epigenetic modifiers that regulate the timely development of placental mouse tissue. Schüle and his team have discovered in mouse embryos that a…

Article - 17/03/2014

Hox gene found to influence germline stem cell niche

Prof. Dr. Ingrid Lohmann and her team at the Centre for Organismal Studies COS at the University of Heidelberg are studying the effect of Hox proteins on the early development of Drosophila using genomic genetic molecular and biochemical methods along with complex computer analyses and simulations. They have cast light on a basic regulatory mechanism of stem cell differentiation. They were able to show that the Hox transcription factor Abd-B is…

Article - 14/10/2013

ERC Starting Grant for developmental research on microproteins

Very small proteins play a very important role in the research of Dr. Stephan Wenkel, head of a group of researchers at the Centre for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP) in Tübingen. Wenkel has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant, a highly prestigious award given by the European Research Council to up-and-coming research leaders. Wenkel will use the grant to characterise microproteins in order to obtain important insights into the molecular basis of…

Article - 23/09/2013

Giorgos Pyrowolakis to investigate the playground of evolution

Amazing but true: the basic state of a cell theoretically enables it to develop into any other possible cell. However, certain signalling molecules (morphogens) and the quantity in which they are present cause cells to develop into specific cells. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, they may become part of the wing, part of a leg or an intestinal cell. Dr. Giorgos Pyrowolakis, a developmental biologist at BIOSS (Centre for Biological…

Article - 09/09/2013

Karsten Borgwardt, a specialist in data mining

The use of cutting-edge genomics, proteomics and metabolomics methods generates ever-increasing amounts of data in ever decreasing timescales. Special mathematical and computational methods are required for deducing relevant information from specific patterns. The data mining specialist Karsten Borgwardt from Tübingen is developing such methods for specific application in the life sciences.

Article - 29/07/2013

Genetic fingerprinting - a useful method in fruit production

Genetic fingerprinting is a well-known technique used for paternity testing and in forensic science. However, the technique is also used in the field of agriculture. Molecular genetics makes it possible to develop and apply new research and breeding methods to the field of fruit production in order to improve production and quality standards. Dr. Haibo Xuan from the Competence Centre for Fruit Production (KOB) at Lake Constance has been working…