Article - 16/07/2012 Laupheim to become an international forum for biomanufacturing The 2nd Laupheimer Zelltage conference organized by Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH in Laupheim on 11th and 12th June 2012 focused on “Bioprocess light”. Twelve experts from applied research institutions and biotech companies from Germany and abroad provided the 200 or so guests with information on how modern bioproduction methods can be made simpler, more robust, cheaper, more reliable and hence more competitive.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/laupheim-to-become-an-international-forum-for-biomanufacturing
Dossier - 18/06/2012 Biobanks – treasure chests for biomedical research Biobanking is still a very specialist subject. The Research Committee at the German Bundestag, the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag and the German Ethics Council are all interested in this biomedical research tool, which is both necessary and meaningful. However, opinions with regard to the ethical, legal and technical approach to biobanks differ. Since March 2012 it has become absolutely clear that Germany will not pass a…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/biobanks-treasure-chests-for-biomedical-research
Article - 29/05/2012 Intestinal bacteria and human gut types The type of bacteria that colonize the human gut does not just influence our digestion and well-being. Metagenome sequencing has provided an international consortium involving scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory at the University Hospital of Heidelberg with evidence that certain individuals have different gut types with different types of bacteria. Such individuals not only differ in their predisposition to disease, but also…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/intestinal-bacteria-and-human-gut-types
Article - 21/05/2012 Interactions between the genome and the environment Parental neglect appears to lead to epigenetic changes in children, which result in behavioural problems in later years. This is one issue amongst the many that were addressed at the colloquium “Gene und Umwelt – Wie wir werden, was wir sind” (Genes and the environment – how we become what we are) recently organized by the Daimler and Benz Foundation in Berlin.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/interactions-between-the-genome-and-the-environment
Press release - 10/05/2012 FANCM gene plays key role in inheritance Scientists of KIT and the University of Birmingham have identified relevant new functions of a gene that plays a crucial role in Fanconi anemia, a life-threatening disease. The FANCM gene is known to be important for the stability of the genome. Now, the researchers found that FANCM also plays a key role in the recombination of genetic information during inheritance. For their studies, the scientists used thale cress as a model plant. Their…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/fancm-gene-plays-key-role-in-inheritance
Article - 16/04/2012 Endosymbiosis and horizontal gene transfer Mitochondria and plastids, which evolved by way of symbiogenesis, have over time come under the control of nuclear genes. It is still not known how the expression of genes encoded in the nucleus and mitochondrion is coordinated to make them functional. Model systems such as highly specialized plastid-incorporating marine slugs can be used to help clarify such issues. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/endosymbiosis-and-horizontal-gene-transfer
Article - 16/04/2012 DNA recombination for targeted plant breeding Did evolution invent games of chance? During the development of sperm and egg cells, maternal and paternal genes are mixed at random, thus giving rise to new combinations of traits. What are the molecular mechanisms of this process known as DNA recombination? How can it be used to breed plants with higher yields? Prof. Dr. Holger Puchta and his team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are investigating the processes associated with the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dna-recombination-for-targeted-plant-breeding
Press release - 04/04/2012 Insilico on the fast track: Supercomputer breaks into new high performance dimensions Starting today, Insilico Biotechnology will use Europe’s very fastest civil computer – going by the name of “Hermit“ – for its modeling and simulating processes. Hermit will cut computing time radically allowing metabolic predictions over several orders of magnitude. In the near future, predictions on the toxic effects of drugs across scales from cellular to organ level will be feasible.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/insilico-on-the-fast-track-supercomputer-breaks-into-new-high-performance-dimensions
Press release - 29/03/2012 GATC Biotech’s NightXpress sequencing service goes Europe-wide GATC Biotech, Europe’s leading sequencing provider, now offers its overnight sequencing service NightXpress Europe wide. This unique overnight service has been made possible by the recently opened European Custom Sequencing Centre in Cologne. In Constance, the company’s headquarters, GATC Biotech is building up the European Genome and Diagnostics Centre.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/gatc-biotech-s-nightxpress-sequencing-service-goes-europe-wide
Article - 26/03/2012 More public attention for exotic diseases - Part 1 An international conference on rare diseases was held in Freiburg Germany in February 2012 where BIOPRO talked with Prof. Dr. Bodo Grimbacher director of the Centre of Chronic Immunodeficiency CCI in Freiburg and Prof. Dr. Maximilian Muenke paediatrician and human geneticist from the National Human Genome Research Institute NHGRI in the USA. Between them the two experts have a great deal of experience in rare diseases amongst other areas. Read in…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/more-public-attention-for-exotic-diseases-part-1
Article - 26/03/2012 More public attention for exotic diseases - Part 2 An international conference on rare diseases was held in Freiburg Germany in February 2012 where BIOPRO talked with Prof. Dr. Bodo Grimbacher director of the Centre of Chronic Immunodeficiency CCI in Freiburg and Prof. Dr. Maximilian Muenke paediatrician and human geneticist from the National Human Genome Research Institute NHGRI in the USA. Between them the two experts have a great deal of experience in rare diseases amongst other areas. Read in…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/more-public-attention-for-exotic-diseases-part-2
Article - 19/03/2012 Quantification of the morphology of human blood vessels from 3D tomographic image data “QuantVessel”, an innovative approach designed to accurately determine the size and shape of blood vessels from 3D tomographic images, enables vascular diseases to be diagnosed more reliably and makes surgery more effective. The project is being carried out by researchers from the BioQuant centre at Universität Heidelberg and Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center) and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/quantification-of-the-morphology-of-human-blood-vessels-from-3d-tomographic-image-data
Article - 19/03/2012 Soil bacteria to produce new antibiotics An ever-growing number of genomes of soil bacteria of the genus Streptomyces are being sequenced. Using a method known as “genome mining”, researchers at the University of Tübingen are working on the identification of gene clusters that have the potential to be used in industrial biotechnology for the production of new antibiotics and other pharmaceutically active substances. To achieve this, the biosynthesis gene clusters are integrated into…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/soil-bacteria-to-produce-new-antibiotics
Article - 12/03/2012 Q-bios provides client-specific biotechnology services Q-bios GmbH, a spin-off from the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, is a biotechnology company that provides services related to the production and purification of diagnostic and therapeutic proteins as well as the development and amplification of suitable cell lines. The company offers its services, which are based on state-of-the-art technologies, to clients from the biotechnology, diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/q-bios-provides-client-specific-biotechnology-services
Article - 05/03/2012 Processing of olfactory cues in the brain The question as to how the brain produces useful information from the electrical stimuli coming from the sensory organs is a key issue in the neurosciences. Researchers from Heidelberg are investigating how mice discriminate odours and have shown that complex behaviour emerges from the properties of cells and molecules. Using highly specific genetic manipulations for their experiments, the researchers have been able to show that inhibitory…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/processing-of-olfactory-cues-in-the-brain
Article - 21/02/2012 How do toxins, viruses and bacteria invade cells? For a long time researchers believed that cells more or less invite Trojan Horses to invade them and this is what standard textbooks say. This all changed when Dr. Winfried Römer showed during his postdoctoral period what really happened when toxins invade cells. This has led to new ways of looking at the processes associated with intoxication and the infection of human cells with viruses and bacteria. Today junior professor Dr. Winfried Römer…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/how-do-toxins-viruses-and-bacteria-invade-cells
Article - 20/02/2012 "1KITE" project to unravel the evolution of insects The large international “1K Insect Transcriptome Evolution” research project aims to construct a robust phylogenetic tree of insects, which is the most species-rich group of organisms. The project aims to study the transcriptomes of 1000 (1K) insect species. The Heidelberg-based Institute for Theoretical Studies provides the software for producing the phylogenetic trees.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/1kite-project-to-unravel-the-evolution-of-insects
Press release - 01/02/2012 Defects in the packaging of genetic material in malignant brain tumors Glioblastomas are regarded as particularly aggressive brain tumors. In children with glioblastoma, Heidelberg scientists have now discovered genetic alterations that affect the function of DNA packaging proteins known as histones. In a cell, histones serve as coils around which the DNA wraps. At the same time, histones regulate gene activity. Mutations in histone genes have never before been tied to a disease. The group comprising scientists of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/defects-in-the-packaging-of-genetic-material-in-malignant-brain-tumors
Press release - 23/01/2012 Rigged to explode? An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University Hospital, all in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered. Their study, published online in Cell, also presents the first whole genome sequence of a paediatric…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/rigged-to-explode
Article - 16/01/2012 Manfred Jung: drug discovery and the epigenetic code Prof. Dr. Manfred Jungs team at the University of Freiburg are chemical epigeneticists whose research involves the development of methods that enable them to identify and optimise new therapeutic drugs which are able to alter the epigenetic code of cancer and other cell types. The team use a perfidious worm for their research.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/manfred-jung-drug-discovery-and-the-epigenetic-code
Article - 19/12/2011 Daniel Summerer: new ways of biosynthesising proteins with novel functions Dr. Daniel Summerer from the University of Konstanz deals with the design of proteins and peptides with novel functions. His approach involves the ribosomal incorporation of unnatural amino acids into proteins with the objective of producing proteins with novel functions in living cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/daniel-summerer-new-ways-of-biosynthesising-proteins-with-novel-functions
Article - 12/12/2011 Comprehensive Biomarker Center GmbH – next-generation biomarkers Biomarker research has moved on from proteins to nucleic acids where one of the main priorities is the use of microRNA expression profiles. The Heidelberg-based biotech company Comprehensive Biomarker Center GmbH (CBC, formerly febit) has state-of-the-art technologies and the skills and knowledge to advance the development of new nucleic acid biomarkers for complex diseases in cooperation with partners from research and industry. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/comprehensive-biomarker-center-gmbh-next-generation-biomarkers
Dossier - 12/12/2011 Development of new molecular biomarkers Biomarkers are playing an increasing role in drug discovery and development. They can be used as molecular indicators for diseases and disease risks as well as for monitoring the effectiveness of therapy. Highly specific molecular biomarkers are being identified using state-of-the-art technologies from the fields of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/development-of-new-molecular-biomarkers
Article - 07/11/2011 Martin van der Laan and the labyrinth inside mitochondria Mitochondria contain an intertwined membrane system that is necessary for the production of energy. Errors in the inner mitochondrial membrane architecture prevent energy from being produced. A group of researchers led by Dr. Martin van der Laan at the University of Freiburg in cooperation with partners has identified a protein complex that plays a key role in the architecture and functioning of the mitochondria.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/martin-van-der-laan-and-the-labyrinth-inside-mitochondria
Press release - 04/11/2011 “Junk DNA“ May Give Rise to Evolutionary Innovation The vast majority of the human genome consists of DNA without any apparent function so-called junk DNA. A study conducted by the scientists Dr. Laurence Ettwiller and Michael Eichenlaub at Heidelberg Universitys Centre for Organismal Studies COS now highlights this dark matter of the genome as a resource for evolutionary novelty.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/junk-dna-may-give-rise-to-evolutionary-innovation