Healthcare industry

Article - 05/08/2019

The answer to antibiotic resistance may lie in the microbiome

Globally, increasing numbers of bacteria are becoming resistant to common antibiotics. Moreover, many reserve group antibiotics are no longer effective for infections caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens. Researchers in an excellence cluster at the University of Tübingen are investigating an alternative approach to combating bacterial infections. Their goal is to specifically influence the microbiome, the human microbial community.

Article - 23/05/2018

Bacteriophages as alternatives to antibiotics

Multidrug-resistant bacteria are resistant to many existing antibiotics and can be difficult to treat. There are increasing numbers of them worldwide. Although novel antibiotics are being developed, there are far too few of them to tackle the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In Eastern Europe, doctors have been treating bacterial infections with viruses that infect bacteria, so-called bacteriophages, for almost 100 years.

Article - 27/11/2017

Antimicrobial layer expected to fight hospital acquired infections

Infections caused by bacteria that contaminate the surface of medical devices such as catheters and wound dressings are not that rare and can even be life-threatening. However, at present there is no really effective way to keep these products germ-free until they are used. Scientists at the University of Freiburg have now developed a surface coating that reliably kills bacteria, but is harmless to human cells.

Article - 28/08/2017

SpinDiag GmbH – rapid test makes it difficult for pathogens

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are becoming an increasing problem, especially in hospitals. Infected patients must be isolated as soon as possible. However, appropriate methods for testing patients upon admission to hospital and isolating them if necessary are still lacking. A young biotechnology company from Baden-Württemberg called SpinDiag GmbH has developed a cost-effective method for the rapid testing of microbial resistance in normal…

Article - 02/03/2017

Personalised antibiotics therapy: fewer antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Antibiotics have long been used as all-purpose weapons against infectious diseases – too often and too early, as we now know. This tendency has caused many bacteria to become resistant to standard antibiotics. The search for new substance classes has proved quite difficult. Care must therefore be taken to use existing antibiotics prudently in order to reduce the number of bacteria becoming resistant to them in the long term. Researchers from…

Article - 18/08/2016

Moonlighting proteins can make bacteria pathogenic

The mechanism underlying the export of biomolecules from cells remains unknown. Prof. Dr. Friedrich Götz and his team at the Institute of Microbial Genetics at the University of Tübingen have found out that staphylococci can turn into dangerous pathogens by excreting normally harmless enzymes. The researchers believe that the enigmatic excretion of such enzymes is due to a completely new mechanism and are thus planning to carry out further…

Article - 20/06/2016

New diagnostic tool for greater health safety when dealing with multidrug-resistant pathogens

Infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and diseases such as breast or colon cancer are among the major causes of death worldwide. Early diagnosis is therefore key for the identification of people affected and for providing immediate therapy. The R&D service provider Hahn-Schickard and its partners are currently working on the development of a rapid and simple diagnostic system that can detect life-threatening infections and cancer at…

Researcher profile - 13/06/2016

Matthias Willmann wants to get the big picture – tracking down infectious agents

While fighting and curing bacterial infections in sick patients is one part of the picture, epidemiological investigation of the spread of pathogens is another. Dr. Matthias Willmann also assesses the impact of these factors on the healthcare system as a whole and draws conclusions that might boost early detection of pathogens and prevention of infections.

Article - 19/10/2015

New compound that may kill hospital germs is close to clinical testing

Bacteria's increasing resistance to antibiotics is a very serious medical issue. An infection with pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria can be life-threatening for hospital patients because MRSA has become resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics. Although reserve antibiotics are available in cases where others have lost their ability to control or kill bacterial growth effectively, they do not…

Article - 16/03/2015

Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt - searching for novel antibiotics in bacteria

Microbial metabolic products can be used in the fight against dangerous pathogens such as multidrug-resistant bacteria. Since summer 2014, microbiologist Prof. Dr. Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt has been investigating the mechanisms of action of bacterial substances at the University of Tübingen with the aim of paving the way for new antibiotics. Interesting candidates have already been identified.

Article - 22/04/2014

Sugar code and hygiene in the fight against multi-resistant pathogens

Horizontal gene transfer between bacteria is a major reason for the spread of bacterial antibiotic resistance. It is the transfer of bacterial DNA from one bacterium to another, even distantly related species, by bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. Microbiologists from the University of Tübingen are investigating these mechanisms with the aim of finding new strategies that would effectively combat bacteria such as methicillin-resistant…

Article - 24/03/2014

Hain Lifescience GmbH: modern test systems help to heal

Hain Lifescience GmbH is a biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and distributes molecular genetic test systems and instruments. The company was established by brothers David and Tobias Hain in 1988 and employs over 100 people at its headquarters in the city of Nehren in the district of Tübingen. Hain Lifescience also has four subsidiaries abroad. The company focusses on the development of test systems for the early and rapid…