Healthcare industry

Cancer cells use tricks to evade the immune system. Thus, for example, they attract specific blood cells which suppress the body’s own defense mechanisms. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), collaborating with colleagues of the University Surgical Hospital in Heidelberg and an international research team, have investigated these processes in bowel cancer. The results of their research have now…

Article - 22/09/2009

More than just waste removers

Cells need to get rid of misfolded proteins as quickly as possible, something that for a long time has appeared to be the major function of the enzyme ubiquitin and other similarly structured proteins. It has since become clear that ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins also interfere considerably with the signalling networks of cells. Dr. Klaus-Peter Knobeloch and his colleagues at the Freiburg Neurocentre are investigating the molecular…

Article - 03/09/2009

The lipid metabolism and the immune system

What has the lipid metabolism of the human body got to do with inflammation? Scientists in Dr. Petra May’s group at the Centre for Neuroscience at the University of Freiburg recently found that molecules which normally regulate the availability of cholesterol and other water-insoluble substances, also interact with the signalling networks of the immune system. According to their findings, a receptor which mediates the uptake of certain…

Dossier - 26/08/2009

Model organisms

Given that everything is very individual in nature, how can a biologist come up with general statements about how life functions? The answers can only be found using models that represent the entire whole. Modern research uses representative species from the kingdom of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals to glean information about fundamental biological principles. How can the knowledge gained be transferred to other organisms, including humans?…

Article - 20/08/2009

Evidence of a beneficial effect from a respiratory poison

Many surgical interventions are associated with the temporary interruption of an organ’s blood supply. In the lung, for example, this might lead to cell death. The anaesthesiologist Dr. med. Torsten Loop and his team at the Freiburg University Medical Centre are investigating the possibilities of protecting organs during surgery. The researchers have found a special gas that has a protective effect, but that normally tends to inhibit respiration.

Scientists of the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Centre have clarified the functional principles of an important receptor for bacterial infections: immune cells recognise bacterial and viral pathogens with a receptor known as toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), which mediates biochemical reaction chains in order to fend off intruders. This discovery made by the Heidelberg researchers paves the way to develop new anti-infective…

Press release - 07/08/2009

Hirschsprung’s disease: research into the biological and clinical principles of stem cell therapy

Hirschsprung’s disease is a congenital disease of the intestinal nervous system, which can lead to life-threatening bowel disorders. A new research project, which is being coordinated by the Centre for Regenerative Biology and Medicine (ZRM) in Tübingen, is paving the way for a novel cell therapy. The project is being carried out in co-operation with the NMI in Reutlingen and is being funded by a 1.1-million-euro BMBF-grant.

Press release - 03/08/2009

An investment in the future is being made at the University of Constance

A few weeks ago the Max Planck Society approved the establishment of a new International Max Planck Research School IMPRS for Organismal Biology at the Excellence University of Constance. The International Research School will be established in order to investigate the complex interactions between the organism and environment as well as between organisms.

Article - 14/07/2009

Tiny particles are a weapon against tumours

Prostate carcinoma is one of the most common malignant diseases claiming more than 84000 lives per year in the EU and the United States. In cooperation with the University of Constance the Thurgau Biotechnology Institute BITg is working on ways to remove prostate carcinomas and other tumours that are difficult to treat by using tiny particles made of biologically degradable polyester. Prof. Dr. Marcus Groettrup and his team of researchers have…

Press release - 09/07/2009

Marcus Groettrup: Discovery in the kingdom of cells

Prof. Marcus Groettrup has been closely investigating the daily defence battle of the human immune system for a number of years. The researcher from Constance has now found a substance that has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of rheumatism.

Article - 02/07/2009

A virus that hides while it waits for an opportunity to replicate

Thomas Mertens, Medical Director of the Institute of Virology in Ulm, has a strong scientific and clinical interest in the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a big virus with a big impact which, despite its size, is overshadowed by known viruses such as the HI virus that is the object of research for Mertens’ colleagues. HCMV research is a challenging area where quick successes are rare.

Press release - 30/06/2009

Gentle rather than radical: ways to improve the treatment of autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases are usually treated with drugs that block the entire immune system rendering the body very susceptible to all kinds of infections. A team of Constance researchers under the leadership of Prof. Marcus Groettrup has developed a treatment method that only targets part of the immune system and is therefore far better tolerated by patients.

Press release - 22/06/2009

Many animal experiments are superfluous

Researchers at the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences are working on an alternative to the large number of animal experiments that are still being carried out. Researchers under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Bettina Weiß have received a grant from the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg foundation for work on this particular research area.

Article - 10/06/2009

Dirk Linke - a vaccine is ready - just in case

There is a well-known saying: travel broadens the mind. This is not the only consequence of travel – the biochemist Dr. Dirk Linke from Tübingen travelled to India on holiday and brought back an idea for a new scientific project. Since his return, his idea, the possibility of developing a vaccine with a wide-ranging effect against some of the most frequent diarrhoea pathogens, has even generated financial backing from prominent supporters.

Article - 11/05/2009

Can stem cells treat diabetes?

Stem cells are seen as the miracle cure of the future for many degenerative diseases. Scientists and physicians also hope that stem cells will exert their regenerative effect in the treatment of diabetes type 1 which is caused by damaged tissue.

Article - 21/04/2009

Two separate defence systems?

Are the innate and the adaptive immune systems really completely independent from each other? Dr. Mathias Lucas from the University of Freiburg investigates receptor proteins that are found in the cells of both systems. It is possible that such systems might not only play a role in infections or cancer, but also in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Interferon-alpha, a messenger substance of the immune system, awakens dormant hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow to become active, thus making them vulnerable for the effect of many drugs. This finding was published in Nature by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) jointly with colleagues from Lausanne. The researchers suppose that this might also be a way to stimulate tumor stem…

German citizens made as many as 4.166 haematopoietic stem cell donations in 2008. The cells were donated in order to help patients suffering from leukaemia as well as other malignant blood or immune system diseases. “Haematopoietic stem cell donations are often the only chance of a cure for many of these sufferers,” explained Dr. Dr. Carlheinz Müller, Managing Director of the Central German Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ZKRD).

Article - 12/03/2009

Chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases – the search for greater tolerance

Intestinal flora plays a key role in the development of Crohns disease or ulcerative colitis. Dr. Julia-Stefanie Frick a microbiologist from Tübingen is investigating why some of these usually harmless bacteria suddenly lead to severe inflammation. Her research which has recently been awarded a research prize might now pave the way to preventive therapy.

Press release - 12/03/2009

New strategy for the investigation of haematopoietic stem cells

With the newly developed mouse model irradiation is no longer required. While the mutation in the growth factor receptor Kit KitWWv weakens the recipients stem cell compartment and makes room for the incoming donor cells the other two mutations are known to prevent rejection of donor haematopoietic stem cells by the recipients immune system. Thus these mice appear to accept all blood stem cells regardless of the mouse strain origin of the…

Press release - 02/03/2009

Paralysed parasites

Researchers at Heidelberg University Hospital have discovered a protein that is vital for the toxoplasmosis pathogen. This quite common infectious disease which is mainly transferred to humans from cats is especially dangerous for pregnant women as it can harm an unborn child.

Article - 18/02/2009

Dormant stem cells can be awakened with interferon alpha

With a number of new papers published in renowned scientific journals Prof. Dr. Andreas Trumpp has been able to further cement his outstanding reputation as one of the world leaders in stem cell research. Trumpp who has been professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology at the German Cancer Research Centre DKFZ since summer 2008 also became head of the newly founded Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine…

At present active immunotherapy seems to produce the best results in the treatment of cancer. The Tübingen-based biotech company CureVac is now hoping to achieve a breakthrough in cancer therapy with a worldwide unique vaccine. The first clinical trials have recently commenced.

Staying healthy as you get older that is probably what many people would wish for. As part of the European research network LifeSpan 130 scientists are now looking into how to make this wish come true. Prof. Dr. Graham Pawelec from the University Hospital of Tübingen UKT is one of the 130 scientists and his principal focus is immunological ageing processes.

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.