Press release - 24/01/2023 Genome Editing Procedures Optimised Heidelberg scientists succeed in boosting the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 and related methods and modifying initially inaccessible DNA sequences.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/verfahren-der-genom-editierung-optimiert
Press release - 30/09/2021 New microscopy technique makes deep in vivo brain imaging possible A pioneering technique developed by the Prevedel Group at EMBL allows neuroscientists to observe live neurons deep inside the brain – or any other cell hidden within an opaque tissue. The technique is based on two state-of-the-art microscopy methods, three-photon microscopy and adaptive optics. The paper reporting on this advancement was published on 30th September 2021 in Nature Methods.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-microscopy-technique-makes-deep-vivo-brain-imaging-possible
Gene regulation - 20/07/2021 The many faces of the epigenetic regulator MOF Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in coordinated gene transcription, and are required for a fertilised egg cell to be able to develop into an organism with different cell types. Dr. Asifa Akhtar from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has been studying the essential epigenetic regulator protein MOF for 20 years.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/die-vielen-gesichter-des-epigenetischen-regulators-mof
Press release - 15/07/2021 Mechanism for differentiation of specific immune cell types discovered Under certain conditions, our immune system can efficiently fight off infectious diseases and cancer. T cells, especially the gamma delta T cell type, play an important role in this. The issue is that this cell type is extremely infrequent in the human body. Researchers at the University Hospital Tübingen, the University of Heidelberg and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have now succeeded in finding the cause for the formation of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/mechanism-differentiation-specific-immune-cell-types-discovered
Article - 07/06/2017 A gene that regulates body heat and fat storage Researchers from Heidelberg have shown that the organismal balance between heat production and energy storage is regulated by a gene called THADA. In animal experiments, knocking out the THADA gene leads to excessive food intake, obesity and sensitivity to cold. As humans spread throughout the world and settled in different climate zones, THADA was exposed to high selection pressure due to evolutionary adaptation. This explains why human…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-gene-that-regulates-body-heat-and-fat-storage
Article - 30/11/2015 Bacterial MccA is better than other enzymes when it comes to reducing sulphites Dr. Bianca Hermann from the University of Freiburg specialises in multi-haem enzymes, and investigates the enzymes’ structure and reaction mechanisms. She has clarified the enzymes’ crystal structure and reaction mechanisms and found out why the bacterial MccA enzyme complex can reduce sulphur-containing substances such as sulphites up to a hundred times faster than other enzymes.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/bacterial-mcca-is-better-than-other-enzymes-when-it-comes-to-reducing-sulphites
Article - 03/09/2015 Pattern formation: How undifferentiated cell clusters develop orderly structures Dr. Patrick Müller explores cellular signalling pathways that turn undifferentiated cell clusters into orderly structures as embryos develop. Supported by an ERC grant, the Max Planck researcher from Tübingen uses a broad range of methods from the fields of genetics, biophysics, mathematics and the computer sciences for his investigations. Regenerative medicine is one field that particularly stands to benefit from Müller’s findings. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/pattern-formation-how-undifferentiated-cell-clusters-develop-orderly-structures
Article - 01/06/2015 A protein complex that maintains order in the cell Researchers believe that the defective transport of proteins can be linked with diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Prof. Dr. Elke Deuerling and Dr. Martin Gamerdinger, molecular biologists from the University of Konstanz, have now discovered what is necessary to prevent erroneous protein transport.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-protein-complex-that-maintains-order-in-the-cell
Article - 23/09/2013 Giorgos Pyrowolakis to investigate the playground of evolution Amazing but true: the basic state of a cell theoretically enables it to develop into any other possible cell. However, certain signalling molecules (morphogens) and the quantity in which they are present cause cells to develop into specific cells. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, they may become part of the wing, part of a leg or an intestinal cell. Dr. Giorgos Pyrowolakis, a developmental biologist at BIOSS (Centre for Biological…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/giorgos-pyrowolakis-to-investigate-the-playground-of-evolution
Article - 28/06/2013 A world champion of regeneration Planarians can be cut into pieces, and each piece can regenerate into a complete organism. The flatworms are able to do this as they have a huge pool of adult totipotent stem cells that can differentiate into any body cell whatsoever, including germ cells. Scientists from the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies are using new algorithms to analyse the complex planarian genome structures with the aim of obtaining insights into the genetic…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-world-champion-of-regeneration
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/the-human-proteome-the-next-major-goal
Article - 25/03/2013 Ralf Baumeister – tinkering, constructing and switching off genes The focus of Ralf Baumeisters research a small nematode that is known as Caenorhabditis elegans is a rather simple organism. Nevertheless the worm can be used to study complicated behaviour including associated learning. This is how Prof. Dr. Ralf Baumeister from the Institute of Biology III at the University of Freiburg describes the animal that he works with on a daily basis. The worm has now got very little left to hide. And the genetic…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/ralf-baumeister-tinkering-constructing-and-switching-off-genes
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/systems-biology-understanding-complex-biological-systems
Article - 18/09/2012 Michael Kühl: in search of the gene architects of the heart Michael Kühl is investigating the development of the heart using a broad range of different model organisms. The developmental biologist, director of the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Ulm, also uses evolutionary and systems biology approaches for his work. Kühl’s basic research does not follow an art for art’s sake principle, but also addresses the development of new therapies for the treatment of heart…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/michael-kuehl-in-search-of-the-gene-architects-of-the-heart
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/allegedly-useless-parts-of-the-human-genome-fulfil-regulatory-tasks
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/how-the-distance-from-the-source-affects-tissue-patterning-and-growth-in-embryos
Article - 23/07/2012 Evolution of regenerative mechanisms and stem cell systems Researchers from around the world participated in the first annual symposium organised by the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg in early July to discuss the evolution of the regenerative mechanisms and stem cell systems of plants and animals. Although stem cells and the multicellularity of animals and plants evolved independently from each other, their stem cell systems are nevertheless governed by the same principles. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/evolution-of-regenerative-mechanisms-and-stem-cell-systems
Article - 23/07/2012 The identification of stress molecules in living fish Fireflies use light to attract mates and hunt prey the zebrafish in Dr. Thomas Dickmeis laboratory mainly glow in situations of stress. The biologist from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT and two of his doctoral students have created a zebrafish line that can be used as a high-throughput test system for glucocorticoid hormones. Pharmaceutical companies might in future be able to use living vertebrate models i.e. zebrafish to test new…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-identification-of-stress-molecules-in-living-fish
Article - 23/07/2012 Inhospitable niches are a rich source of extremozymes At first sight nothing much seems to grow in either the Namib desert or the Antarctic. However a closer inspection of the ground a few centimetres below the surface reveals an enormous diversity of organisms. Industry is well aware of this rich source of microorganisms that have something to offer on the molecular level as well as for use in technical applications. So-called extremozymes have long been popular ingredients in cosmetics detergents…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/inhospitable-niches-are-a-rich-source-of-extremozymes
Press release - 29/06/2012 Researchers establish brain tissue bank for research on degenerative diseases of the nervous system Professor Manuela Neumann has been appointed to a joint professorship at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases DZNE and the University of Tübingen. In June she has been starting a the research group neuropathology at the DZNE site Tübingen and will also serve as the medical director of the neuropathology department at the Institute for Pathology and Neuropathology of the medical faculty and the university clinic. In her past research…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/researchers-establish-brain-tissue-bank-for-research-on-degenerative-diseases-of-the-nervous-system
Article - 18/06/2012 Not just a zoo for fish mutants The fish facilities of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT house around 9000 aquariums. Zebrafish with genetic defects are excellent model organisms for many biological studies. Prof. Dr. Uwe Strähle and his team at the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics ITG at KIT have been focusing for a long time on the development of the fish nervous system. The European Zebrafish Resource Center EZRC led by Prof. Strähle is currently being…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/not-just-a-zoo-for-fish-mutants
Press release - 22/05/2012 Microscope looks into cells of living fish Microscopes provide valuable insights in the structure and dynamics of cells, in particular when the latter remain in their natural environment. However, this is very difficult especially for higher organisms. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, and the American National Institutes of Health (NIH) have now developed a new method to visualize cell structures of an eighth of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/microscope-looks-into-cells-of-living-fish
Article - 21/05/2012 Kathrin Thedieck – the art of deciphering signalling The molecule mTOR is one of the most important cellular switch centres it controls cellular growth in relation to the availability of nutrients and also plays a key role in the pathogenesis of cancer neurodegenerative diseases and ageing. Dr. Kathrin Thedieck from the Institute of Biology III at the University of Freiburg is interested in solving the question as to how insulin growth factors or nutrients such as amino acids influence the complex…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/kathrin-thedieck-the-art-of-deciphering-signalling
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 - 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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/wolfgang-rottbauer-discovers-zebrafish-for-use-in-cardiology