Healthcare industry

Article - 19/12/2011

Wolfgang Rottbauer discovers zebrafish for use in cardiology

Zebrafish is a popular model organism for many researchers around the world. Life scientists such as evolutionary biologists, neurobiologists and toxicologists frequently use the small vertebrate for their investigations. Wolfgang Rottbauer has discovered and established the zebrafish as a model organism for cardiovascular disease research. He has also made a name for himself in this field. However, Rottbauer recalls that his efforts were…

Article - 19/12/2011

Lenhard Rudolph prepares four biomarkers for clinical application

Lenhard Rudolph’s biomarker quartet is extremely promising in terms of progressing medical and clinical treatment in ageing societies. The quartet - EF-1 alpha, Chi3L3, CRAMP and OP 18 – is made up of four proteins that can potentially be used as biomarkers. Specific concentrations of these molecules in human blood provide information on the biological age and renewal capacity of the tissue and organs of patients. The biomarker quartet also…

Article - 24/10/2009

Molecular switches for gene expression in the embryo

Prof. Dr. Andreas Hecht and his team at the University of Freiburg are investigating one of seven known fundamental signalling systems that are involved in almost all embryonic development processes and that determine the fate of cells. The scientists are mainly interested in gaining insights into why the same molecules initiate different genetic programmes and hence development pathways depending on the cell type where they have their effect.

Press release - 23/04/2010

International Cancer Genome Project Publishes Article in Nature

Information obtained in the various projects of the International Cancer Genome Consortium may soon be used to the benefit of cancer patients worldwide because the data will be freely accessible and not patentable. The project thus aims to make sure that the molecular data of the various tumor types can be used as swiftly as possible for new diagnostic methods or therapies.

Article - 18/10/2010

A chip to support three-dimensional tissue culture

The KITChip developed by researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT improves the three-dimensional self-organisation of cells by enabling the active flow and circulation of the cell culture media. Using smart microtechnical methods the scientists are able to adapt the microenvironment of cell types to their specific requirements which leads to specific cellular behaviour and development.

A new surgical repair of the aorta that obviates the necessity to open the thorax and the abdominal cavity is highly suited to high-risk patients that could not previously be operated due to concomitant diseases or previous surgery.

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.

Article - 15/10/2012

Vegetables help fend off bacteria in the intestines

Their discovery in the human intestines came as quite a surprise up until a few years ago LTi lymphoid tissue inducer - cells were only known to be involved in the embryonic development of the immune system. A team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach from the University of Freiburg Medical Centre has since been able to show the protective role played by LTi cells in fortifying the intestinal wall as a reaction to nutrients found…

An international research project coordinated at Heidelberg University revolves around the development of new mathematical methods for investigating the interaction between virus and host cell as exemplified by the hepatitis C virus. The integrated “PathoSys” project assembles ten research groups of virologists, systems biologists, mathematicians, computer scientists, bioinformaticians and molecular biologists from Germany, France, Cyprus,…

Article - 25/04/2018

Resistance, immunity and malaria vaccination

People who have survived a malaria infection often develop immunity to the disease. International malaria research is aimed at exploiting a person's natural immunity in order to treat malaria effectively and avoid resistance to previously effective drugs. These new approaches also raise hopes that one day countries at high risk of malaria may be able to eradicate the devastating disease.

Article - 19/03/2012

Scientists from Heidelberg study the assembly of ribosomes

Ribosomes are highly complex cellular nano-machines that synthesize new proteins. Their structure is relatively well known. They are assembled from immature pre-ribosomes in the cell nucleus in a process that involves numerous biogenesis factors. Researchers from Heidelberg have made a major contribution to our present understanding of the structure and function of the pre-ribosomal assembly and transport processes, and the biogenesis factors…

Press release - 12/10/2011

Autoimmune Diseases Affect Cancer Risk

In a recently published study, scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have calculated the interrelations between autoimmune diseases and cancer of the digestive tract. They discovered that many autoimmune diseases increase the cancer risk, while others, such as rheumatism, are associated with a significantly lower bowel cancer risk. These differing impacts on cancer risk may be attributable to the…

Article - 31/03/2009

BERG medizinische Systeme: The Sonozentrum Freiburg – more than just baby cinema

The Freiburg-based company Berg medizinische Systeme e.K. offers ultrasound devices in the Sonozentrum Freiburg Sonography Centre which have a surprising number of different functions. Managing Director Manfred Berg and his team have a clear and passionate focus on their clients.

Telemedizin - 19/10/2015

SMARTY – a new way to treat and care for chronically ill children

Chronic and complex diseases in children are often a heavy burden on their families. Parents naturally want their children to have the latest treatment, and children are usually treated by several specialists. This makes it rather difficult, or, at the very least, involves considerable effort to keep everyone up to date. Dr. Joachim Riethmüller from the University Children’s Hospital in Tübingen and his team of doctors are using telemedicine in…

Article - 02/05/2016

Hepatitis C: a new starting point for vaccine development

With approximately 150,000 infected people in Germany, hepatitis C is a common disease for which therapies, but no vaccine, are available. Dr. Tobias Böttler from the Freiburg University Medical Center and his team are exploring the body’s immune response to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and have found valuable information that could be used for vaccine development.

The new cancer medication sorafenib inhibits resistant tumour stem cells in pancreatic cancer and is especially effective when combined with sulforaphane, an organic compound found in broccoli and cauliflower.

Press release - 05/09/2017

Cell marking opens up a window into the body

A new and particularly reliable method for marking cells can simplify research into diseases such as myocardial infarction, diabetes or Alzheimer's and reduce the use of test animals: Scientists from the University of Tübingen have developed a method by which they can target specific cell types in mice and monitor their behavior using positron emission tomography (PET). PET-based cell tracking allows scientists to observe complex life…

Article - 29/01/2019

Targeted RNA editing with the body’s own enzyme activity

Completely new possibilities for research and gene therapy became available following the development of the CRISPR/Cas method for targeted modification of the genome. However, treatment with molecular scissors is not without risk as potential errors are stored in the genome forever. Scientists from Tübingen have developed an alternative method in which the intervention takes place at the RNA level using the body's own enzymes and is thus…

Article - 14/02/2011

A molecule that enables local virus defence

Dr. Markus Mordstein has spent the last four years as a doctoral student at the University of Freiburg investigating the previously relatively unknown interferon lambda. He has been able to show that this molecule has similar protective functions to type I interferons and he has also found that it is far more selective in terms of the site where it exerts its effect.

Article - 15/03/2010

Campaign to eradicate malaria

After many decades, efforts to develop an effective vaccine against malaria have finally brought researchers closer to their goal. However, the goal of eradicating malaria completely can only be reached through a complex strategy, to which researchers from Heidelberg are making intensive contributions.

Article - 24/10/2011

Ascendis Pharma: transient drug conjugates

Ascendis Pharma’s proprietary technology platform, TransCon, is a novel prodrug technology for the production of new patentable versions of drugs already on the market, which has been developed for improving the dosage form and effect in patients. A Phase II clinical study of Ascendis Pharma’s most advanced drug candidate, a PEGylated growth hormone that only needs to be administered once-weekly to growth hormone-deficient adults, has recently…

The actual age of a person not only depends on the date he or she was born. Biological age, which is far more important in determining lifespan, can so far only be estimated rather than precisely calculated. The European MARK-AGE research project is working on finding a solution to this problem. Esslingen plays a major role in this project for two reasons: the structure of the city and the company BioTeSys.

Article - 04/07/2011

The adhesion of cells to the endothelium and to artificial surfaces

Professor Stefan W. Schneider from the Mannheim Medical Faculty is investigating the function of the vascular endothelium and its interaction with blood and tumour cells using microfluidics methods that enable him to measure the adhesion of cells to the walls of blood vessels under physiological flow conditions. As part of an interdisciplinary project, he is investigating the characteristics of wafer-thin surfaces covered with living cells, which…

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.