Healthcare industry

Press release - 20/01/2008

LifeCodexx AG - Clarity within the genetic data jungle

Constance based GATC Biotech founds the subsidiary company LifeCodexx AG. LifeCodexx is the first web-based information service for the storage and utilisation of biological and medical data from the analysis of genetic codes and protein codes in the EU.

Article - 14/12/2016

Transcranial brain stimulation to counteract chronic tiredness

You may well be familiar with the ”leaden” feeling associated with lack of sleep. However, chronic tiredness lasting many months might be a sign of a serious disease. Dr. Lukas Frase, together with Prof. Dr. Christoph Nissen’s team at the Freiburg University Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, has come up with a method to help patients with abnormally high sleep needs. The method uses weak electrostimulation and has the…

Press release - 13/12/2016

Early-diagnosis systems from Baden-Württemberg help prevent the spread of drug-resistant pathogens

More and more bacteria are developing resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs. These multidrug-resistant bacteria can impede the action of common antibiotics via mutations or DNA transfer. More than 30,000 people are infected every year with multidrug-resistant bacteria in German hospitals alone. This could be prevented with appropriate hygiene measures and innovative test systems. Innovative test systems that enable reliable and rapid…

Article - 14/12/2009

Clever surveillance system keeps yeast in check

The spectrum of human diseases (mycoses) caused by fungi ranges from trivial nail infections to life-threatening systemic infections. The latter are mainly caused by Candida albicans. The dermatologist Prof. Dr. med. Martin Schaller from Tübingen is investigating how this fungus, which is actually part of the normal microbial flora of humans, becomes a pathogen. At the same time, he is looking into the role the patient’s immune system plays in…

Article - 06/03/2011

Heidelberg Translational Lung Research Centre

University and non-university research institutions in Heidelberg that carry out research into lung diseases have established an expert network – the Heidelberg Translational Lung Research Centre – which is part of the new BMBF-funded German Centre for Lung Research. In Heidelberg, research focuses on the development and treatment of cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and lung cancer.

The University of Tübingen opened its new laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology of the Werner Siemens Foundation. The professorship is the only one in Europe combining preclinical imaging and the development of new imaging technologies.

Article - 03/03/2016

Liquid biopsies – beacons of hope for cancer diagnosis?

Researchers around the world, including researchers from the Freiburg University Medical Center, are working on developing simple blood tests, so-called liquid biopsies, that can be used to obtain accurate information about tumour staging and the progress of therapy. An international liquid biopsy symposium was held in Freiburg in October 2015 and has produced valuable insights.

Press release - 15/11/2010

ASPEX- an advanced Schizosaccharomyces expression system

The ASPEX system Asahi Glass Schizosaccharomyces Expression is a full-scale contract manufacturing service for recombinant proteins with up to the 3000 L scale. It is based on S. pombe an endotoxin-free fission yeast isolated from east African beer. Examples for gene expressions in the ASPEX system are manifold. The dedicated production facility located close to the Research Center is organized under cGMP rules and thus enables supply of…

Scientists at the University Hospital of Ulm and the Hanover Medical School MHH have succeeded in deciphering genetic defects in patients suffering from acute myeloid leukaemia. Their findings allow for more individualised therapies in the future.

Five new companies from the Stuttgart/Tübingen region in southwestern Germany have joined the Cyber Valley Start-Up Network. The innovative technologies and products of AmbiGate, Cytolytics, Mojin Robotics, plus10 and Tactai aim to achieve ground-breaking improvements in the fields of public health, manufacturing, and customer service. These start-ups join ten other companies that are already part of the Cyber Valley Start-Up Network.

Article - 21/07/2014

Predicting the efficiency of cancer drugs using mathematical models

A research consortium was established at the Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology SRCSB at the University of Stuttgart in January 2013 with the goal of establishing models that help predict the action of targeted therapeutics. The scientists combine molecular biology experiments with complex mathematical models in order to achieve a holistic understanding of disease and therapy.

Article - 22/12/2014

The immune system – both weak and overreactive in the absence of CTLA4

The ability to recognise a pathogen and combat it effectively is certainly one of the most complex and sophisticated processes the human body has evolved. People with an immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease may have a genetic defect in one of the genes involved in the immune response. Working with immunologists from London scientists Desire Schubert and Prof. Dr. Bodo Grimbacher from the Centre for Chronic Immunodeficiency CCI at the Freiburg…

The X-ray-based determination of bone density is currently the only method that enables the early diagnosis of osteoporosis. However this examination method has rather limited informative value. That is why the University Hospital in Tübingen is now establishing high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging MRI that provides the physicians with completely new insights into the microarchitecture of the bones.

Dossier - 13/05/2013

The human proteome – the next major goal

The “Human Proteome Project”, a ten-year global initiative that is making a systematic effort to map all human proteins, has moved from the planning to the experimental stage. How significant and how effective the project will be depends on how much the resources offered are used by proteome researchers and on the data that the researchers bring into the project.

Article - 05/06/2012

Max Planck Director Izaurralde honored for groundbreaking research

Professor Dr. Elisa Izaurralde has made important contributions to the field of RNA biology in recent years. The managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen explores the complex mechanisms of cellular gene regulation. For her work on mRNA regulation she has now been honored with the prestigious Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine.

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…

Article - 12/06/2017

IHO: global consulting for the molecular diagnosis of leukaemia

IHO GmbH from Mannheim offers a professional solution for the international exchange of information and services concerning the molecular diagnosis of leukaemia. This drives forward the harmonisation of these methods and brings therapy monitoring to a new global level.

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center DKFZ in Heidelberg have now shown that inspection of both sides of the colon also reduces cancer risk in the right part of the colon by more than 50 percent. The overall risk was found to be 77 percent lower. This means that colonoscopy provides very good protection from colon cancer - even though it is not a 100 percent guarantee.

Press release - 01/06/2011

Heidelberg expert to coordinate European network on inherited metabolic disorders

A European network for research into rare inherited metabolic disorders will be coordinated by PD Dr. Stefan Kölker, head of the Division of Inherited Metabolic Diseases at the Centre for Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University of Heidelberg. The project, which will initially run for three years, has a financial volume of 1.3 million euros. More than 40 partners from 17 European countries are part of the “European registry and network for…

So-called silent mutations have no effect on the composition of a protein. They are therefore not considered to promote cancer. However, scientists from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), partner site Essen, now describe in a case of kidney cancer an overlooked silent mutation with a major impact on prognosis.

The first European Conference for Clinical Nanomedicine is to be held soon in Basel. BIOPRO has therefore discussed this promising area of application with Beat Löffler and Dr. Patrick Hunziker the founders of the European Foundation for Clinical Nanomedicine.

MEDICA and COMPAMED continue to develop in an extremely vital manner. The world's leading medical trade fair and the international No. 1 for the medical technology supply sector once again impressively underscored their positive results from the previous year with strong numbers – despite continuing adverse conditions. A significant increase in bookings on the part of the exhibiting companies was followed after four days by a marked increase…

Press release - 22/06/2009

Successful start: cooperative projects of the Rhine-Neckar Biotechnology Cluster (BioRN)

The first joint public appearance of the numerous players of the BioRN top cluster underlines the importance of cooperations between industry and science. At the first annual BioRN conference the Cell-based and molecular medicine top cluster announced the successful start of five cooperative projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In a strategy workshop the companies involved in the projects presented all 36…

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

Article - 14/08/2018

Simple and fast: new optical method for analysing living cells

The junior researchers Dr. Daniel Geiger, Tobias Neckernuß and Jonas Pfeil from Ulm have developed an innovative method for non-contact real-time analysis of cells and other particles. The analysis involves low data rates and correspondingly little effort. This is what makes the method so attractive for medical applications.