Healthcare industry

Article - 10/12/2012

A machine learning method for the prediction of regulatory interactions

Heidelberg bioinformaticians have developed a novel method for the automated prediction of regulatory interactions. The regulatory interaction predictor, a machine-learning based approach for predicting interactions between DNA-binding transcription factors and their target genes and obtaining important insights into the gene regulatory networks in complex cells.

Press release - 05/12/2012

Next Generation Sequencing of GATC Biotech AG accredited by German DAkkS

Being the first in Europe, the Next Generation Sequencing Laboratories of the Constance Genome and Diagnostics Centre has been accredited according to ISO 17025 from the national accreditation body for the Federal Republic of Germany (DAkks). The independent governmental institution has acknowledged the high quality standard of the sequencing service on technology platforms Illumina HiSeq and Roche GSFLX sequencing.

Dossier - 26/11/2012

Genetic diagnostics: technology reaches the limits of what is medically reasonable

Rapid progress in sequencing technologies is poised to set the imagination of biomedical researchers on fire. Experts now believe that progress is about to make possible what seemed to be utopian a few years ago – it seems likely that it will soon be possible to sequence the human genome in only a few minutes and store and automatically analyse it using tiny automates. However, is everything that is technically feasible also reasonable?

Press release - 22/11/2012

CeGaT and Genomatix are finalists of Boston Children’s Hospital’s CLARITY challenge

CeGaT (Center for Genomics and Transcriptomics) GmbH, the Department of Prostate Cancer Research, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Bonn and Genomatix Software GmbH were announced as finalist (Top 3) of the CLARITY challenge, organized by Boston Children’s Hospital.

Article - 19/11/2012

Uncovering the genetics of prostate cancer

The prostate genome project, which is part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium, is focused on the genetic and epigenetic causes of the development and progression of this highly variable cancer and finding markers that enable the reliable diagnosis of the disease. The German research groups involved in the project are coordinated by the German Cancer Research Center and concentrate on prostate cancer patients under 50 years of age, as…

Press release - 12/11/2012

Searching for new strategies against prostate cancer

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced that Roland Schüle, Scientific Director at the Department of Urology, University of Freiburg Medical Centre has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant. Professor Schüle will receive €2.5 million for a period of 5 years for his research proposal to identify and characterize the molecular and physiological functions of the epigenetic enzyme LSD1 and to explore its role in prostate cancer.

Press release - 12/11/2012

Spot the difference: The 1000 Genomes Project

The 1000 Genomes Project presents a map of normal human genetic variation – everything from tiny changes in the genetic code to major alterations in our chromosomes. In a DNA version of ‘spot-the-difference’, EMBL scientists and their colleagues studied the genomes of 1092 healthy people from Europe, the Americas and East Asia, systematically tracking what makes us different from each other. Their results, published in Nature, open new approaches…

Press release - 12/11/2012

GATC Biotech joins a new EU research network for young researchers

Seven European research institutions and GATC Biotech have formed a consortium providing cutting-edge training in the scientific study of the human past. The BEAN (Bridging the European and Anatolian Neolithic) Initial Training Network has been awarded four years of funding from the European Commission through the Marie Curie Actions program. It is a new multinational and multidisciplinary Marie Curie Research initiative exploring the origins of…

Press release - 12/11/2012

immatics appoints Peter Chambré as Chairman

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced the appointment of Peter Chambré as Chairman of the Board with immediate effect. Peter Chambré has had extensive senior management experience in the biopharmaceutical sector and now holds several Chairman positions in the life sciences industry. He will replace Thomas Widmann, who has…

Dossier - 05/11/2012

Cancer – basic research, successes and trends

Science is approaching cancer treatment by using new systems biology approaches and setting up large-scale multidisciplinary projects such as the International Cancer Genome Consortium. Progress in genome, epigenome and gene expression analyses of cancer cells, new insights into the regulation and interaction of cells gained in cooperation with stem cell research and virus research contributes to gaining a causal understanding of cancer. This…

Article - 05/11/2012

Biophysicist Jens Michaelis takes a look into the molecular machine room

Jens Michaelis is extremely interested in the molecular machines that control the gene expression process. He has developed a method that enables basic researchers to localise biomolecules in real time as well as gaining insights into their spatial order. In fact what the method does is actually allow researchers to watch proteins at work.

Press release - 30/10/2012

DKFZ and Genetic Immunity Sign Collaboration Agreement to Develop HPV Therapeutic Vaccine

Genetic Immunity, Budapest, a leader in immunotherapy technology product development, and DKFZ (German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany) signed a collaborative agreement to develop a DNA-based vaccine for the treatment of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection that causes cervical cancer and other cancers of the anus, penis, vulva, vagina, and oropharynx. Present HPV vaccines (Cervarix, Gardasil) have no therapeutic effect on…

Press release - 26/10/2012

What causes chronic bowel disease?

Europe-wide network for investigating irritable bowel syndrome headed by Heidelberg University HospitalEuropean Science Foundation provides 500000 euros in funding for understanding causes improving options for diagnosis and treatment.

Press release - 09/10/2012

European Commission proposes measures to tackle 'biopiracy' and facilitate nature-based research

On 4th October 2012 researchers and companies in the EU received a boost today with a new proposal that should provide reliable access to genetic resources from outside the Union. The proposal is designed to protect the rights of countries and of indigenous and local communities that allow their genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge to be used while also giving researchers in Europe improved reliable access to quality samples of…

Article - 08/10/2012

The Heidelberg Institute of Human Genetics celebrates its 50th anniversary

On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the Institute of Human Genetics at the University Hospital of Heidelberg celebrates its major achievements in molecular genetic analyses, the diagnosis of hereditary diseases and tumour diseases as well as its research into the molecular causes of genetic defects. The largest institute of human genetics in Germany is also at the forefront of genetic counselling and debates on health policies and ethical…

Press release - 02/10/2012

One- or two-way transcription depends on gene loops

In certain toy racecar tracks sneaky players can flip a switch trapping their opponents vehicles in a loop of track. Cells employ a less subtle approach they change the tracks layout. In a study scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory EMBL and Oxford University discovered that by forming or undoing gene loops cells manipulate the path of the transcription machinery which reads out instructions from DNA controlling whether it…

Dossier - 01/10/2012

Systems biology: understanding complex biological systems

Systems biology studies complex interactions within biological systems on the genome proteome and organelle level. Many techniques from the fields of systems theory and associated fields can be used to gain an understanding of the behaviour and biological mechanisms of cellular systems.

Article - 24/09/2012

20 millilitres of blood to diagnose Down syndrome

Down syndrome, or trisomy 21, occurs when there is an extra copy of chromosome 21. LifeCodexx AG has developed PraenaTest®, an innovative diagnostic test that is able to reliably confirm or exclude trisomy 21 from a blood sample of a pregnant woman. The non-invasive test developed by the Konstanz-based biotech company has recently been placed on the market as an alternative to current invasive tests which result in up to 700 miscarriages per year…

Press release - 12/09/2012

Allegedly Useless Parts of the Human Genome Fulfil Regulatory Tasks

The international ENCODE project aims to assemble an encyclopedia of all functional DNA elements in the human genome. The Heidelberg scientists were able to confirm in a showcase with the model organism Medaka fish that surprisingly many of the analysed elements in the non-protein-coding part of the DNA can actually regulate gene activity in a very specific way.

Article - 27/08/2012

A worm that turned

The body plan of vertebrates resembles an earthworm turned on its back. Unsurprisingly, this radical idea initially met with great criticism but modern evo-devo research supports this idea of inversion. An evolutionarily conserved gene cassette determines the dorsoventral axis in the developing embryo. It does so in both vertebrates and invertebrates. However, the body plans of vertebrates and invertebrates are dorsoventrally inverted with…

Article - 27/08/2012

How the distance from the source affects tissue patterning and growth in embryos

During the embryonic development of fruit flies, zebra fish and humans, just a handful of molecules control cell migration, induce cell division and determine which cells form which type of tissue. A group of researchers led by Dr. Giorgos Pyrowolakis at the University of Freiburg is specifically focused on one of these so-called master regulators. How do the differently patterned BMP gradients develop in Drosophila melanogaster eggs, embryos and…

Article - 27/08/2012

Why don't dogs talk?

Humans have developed a unique ability to communicate through speech and language. Research focusing on the development of human language and its genetic basis focuses specifically on the developmental gene FOXP2. Evo-devo research has shown that a human-specific FOXP2 variant is key for the human ability to talk. It is likely that the human variant of the rather common FOXP2 protein was already present in Neanderthals.

Press release - 17/08/2012

Max Planck scientist investigates the evolutionary model of Muller’s ratchet

Especially in small asexual populations unfavourable mutations can accumulate. This process is known as Mullers ratchet in evolutionary biology. The ratchet predicts that the genome deteriorates irreversibly leaving populations on a one-way street to extinction. In collaboration with colleagues from the US Richard Neher from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology has shown mathematically how Mullers ratchet operates and he has…

Press release - 03/08/2012

Dosage compensation in male flies: Balance between sexes

The sex of many organisms is determined by the number of X chromosomes. In humans women have two X chromosomes whereas men have only one but also have an additional Y chromosome. Why this does not result in an imbalance in the expression of important genes on the X chromosome is what researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg have examined in collaboration with researcher in Cambridge UK. They have been able to show that the initiation…

Press release - 01/08/2012

Combination of businesses of SYGNIS and GENETRIX’ subsidiary X-Pol proposed

SYGNIS Pharma AG and GENETRIX announced today, that the biotechnology companies SYGNIS and GENETRIX have signed a binding Term Sheet under which the companies propose to combine the GENETRIX’ DNA sequencing subsidiary X-Pol Biotech and SYGNIS. Goal is to develop and market X-Pol Biotech, S.L.’s DNA sequencing technologies and products.