Press release - 28/11/2010 Cardiac catheter surgery for children and young adults without X-ray radiation Heart specialists and electrophysiologists from Tübingen University Hospital have succeeded for the first time in Germany in treating cardiac arrhythmia without the need for X-ray radiation. This was done through the selection of a new method to control the contact force between the catheter and the blood vessel and cardiac walls. The intervention was successfully carried out on a 16-year-old girl and is regarded as a very attractive alternative…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/cardiac-catheter-surgery-for-children-and-young-adults-without-x-ray-radiation
Article - 18/10/2010 Maurits Ortmanns: visual prosthesis research benefits from microelectronics research in Ulm “Around one third of all visual prosthesis research in Germany is done by the Institute of Microelectronics at Ulm University,” said Maurits Ortmanns, a young electrical engineer who has been head of the Institute of Microelectronics since 2008. He is responsible for half of this figure and his colleague Albrecht Rothermel for the other half. The two engineers work for two German manufacturers who are developing competing versions of retinal…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/maurits-ortmanns-visual-prosthesis-research-benefits-from-microelectronics-research-in-ulm
Press release - 08/09/2010 Gene doping detectable with a simple blood test Scientists at the universities of Tübingen and Mainz have developed a blood test that is able to provide conclusive proof of gene doping. The test is still effective even if the actual doping took place some time before the test. The new test is based on a procedure developed in Tübingen in 2006 that enables transgenic DNA to be detected in the blood. The efficiency of this procedure has now been proven for the first time in laboratory mice. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/gene-doping-detectable-with-a-simple-blood-test
Article - 10/07/2010 Membrane proteins and the import business of mitochondria The powerhouses of cells are surprisingly dependent on external help. More than ninety per cent of all proteins required by the mitochondria are produced outside the outer mitochondrial membrane. How are these proteins transported across the membrane and how do they find their way into the mitochondria? A group of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Chris Meisinger at the University of Freiburg has been investigating the role of large protein complexes…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/membrane-proteins-and-the-import-business-of-mitochondria
Article - 07/07/2010 Excellent vascular research in Baden-Württemberg The fact that the DFG are continuing to fund the only collaborative research centre (SFB, Sonderforschungsbereich) in Germany that is exclusively focused on vascular research underlines the concentrated expertise found in Mannheim and Heidelberg in the field of vascular biology.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/excellent-vascular-research-in-baden-wuerttemberg
Press release - 08/05/2010 Natural movements with artificial legs Prosthesis users find it very difficult to cope with everyday situations: artificial legs do not always work as they should and movements often tend to be fairly awkward. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart are to present a motion control system that enables prosthesis users to intuitively move the prosthesis in the same way as a natural leg. The new system will be presented at…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/natural-movements-with-artificial-legs
Article - 17/04/2010 Sounding out human motion Although standing upright and moving forward may appear to be simple, they are in fact complex activities that are not yet understood in detail. Even less is known about how we hop, run and jump. Researchers at the Stuttgart-based Institute of Sport and Movement Science are looking into the ways the musculoskeletal system interacts to create movements as well as studying the effect of disorders. Computer simulation is one of the principal tools…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/sounding-out-human-motion
Article - 12/04/2010 The interplay of forces Biomechanics not only deals with forces and movements generated by an organism, but also with the effects of external forces acting on cells and organs: Mechanical forces can be specifically used to boost changes in the body. Scientists in the Continuum Mechanics Department at the University of Stuttgart are investigating the biomechanical basis of such forces and their effects.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-interplay-of-forces
Dossier - 12/04/2010 Biomechanics – a broad field Biomechanics is a combination of the life sciences and the engineering sciences. Based on their knowledge and understanding of mechanics and the development of complex mathematical models and computer simulations engineers mathematicians and computer specialists help scientists gain new insights and give medical specialists access to new therapeutic options. In many cases such as in the development of implants or in sports medicine engineers…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/biomechanics-a-broad-field
Article - 12/04/2010 Why do weightless bodies have to vibrate? “It is a totally new feeling,” said Ramona Ritzmann from the University of Freiburg referring to the feeling of weightlessness she experienced during her experiments on board the Airbus 300. Something that can trigger amazing sensations over a short period of time, can have seriously negative consequences for astronauts. Prolonged stays aboard the International Space Station ISS can lead to muscle degeneration. Along with her colleagues Andreas…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/why-do-weightless-bodies-have-to-vibrate
Press release - 26/03/2010 Restarting the muscular engine – Research Prize awarded to two medical practitioners from Ulm and Heidelberg Dr. Karin Jurkat-Rott, associate professor at the Institute of Applied Physiology at the University of Ulm, and Dr. Marc-André Weber, associate professor and chief physician in the Department of Radiology at the Heidelberg University Hospital, were awarded the Eva Luise Köhler Research Prize for Rare Diseases in Berlin on 1st March 2010. The prize was awarded by Luise Köhler in the presence the German Federal President Horst Köhler, the German…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/restarting-the-muscular-engine-research-prize-awarded-to-two-medical-practitioners-from-ulm-and-heid
Article - 18/03/2010 Boehringer Ingelheim researchers to focus on inflammation Boehringer Ingelheim is hoping to find ways to use anti-inflammatory mechanisms of action to improve the treatment of respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Clinical studies will show what kind of improvements patients can expect from the substances, which are currently at different stages of development. Drugs to widen the bronchia, marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim, will in the medium term become…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/boehringer-ingelheim-researchers-to-focus-on-inflammation
Article - 15/03/2010 Innovative navigation system enables gene shuttles to reach their destination If everything goes to plan the Department of Gene Therapy at the University of Ulm will soon lose a work group to industry. Florian Kreppels team plans to turn a particular technology into hard cash using a method that can do something other gene shuttles are unable to do namely transport their freight to a specific destination.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/innovative-navigation-system-enables-gene-shuttles-to-reach-their-destination
Dossier - 01/02/2010 Metabolic diseases Metabolic diseases are characterised by disorders of the intermediary metabolism which can either be inherited or acquired. The extent and incidence of metabolic diseases can differ considerably and can range from widespread diseases such as diabetes to rare congenital diseases that frequently have a fatal outcome. Through new approaches in genome research amongst other things science and industry are increasingly focusing on metabolic diseases.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/metabolic-diseases
Article - 15/12/2009 Arming the immune system against cancer The theory that immune cells are able to attack tumours has long been a theory with only a minority of supporters. However, this theory is currently experiencing a renaissance. In the future, it might even be possible to specifically alter T-lymphocytes in order to improve their ability to identify and destroy certain tumour types. Prof. Dr. Hanspeter Pircher and his team at the Freiburg University Medical Centre are focusing on the development…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/arming-the-immune-system-against-cancer
Press release - 13/11/2009 New genetic cause of cardiac insufficiency discovered The heart needs to pump approximately 250 million litres of blood through the body during a person’s lifetime. In order to do this effectively, the cardiac muscle fibres need to be extremely resilient. A team led by Dr. Wolfgang Rottbauer, assistant medical director of the Department of Internal Medicine III at the University Hospital of Heidelberg, has discovered a protein component that is responsible for the stability of the smallest muscle…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-genetic-cause-of-cardiac-insufficiency-discovered
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/molecular-switches-for-gene-expression-in-the-embryo
Article - 28/09/2009 Electrified regulated protein transport Physiologists have for a long time regarded the communication between cells as a purely “external” process. However, research carried out by Dr. Nikolaj Klöcker and his team at the Freiburg University Medical Centre now shows that the cells do not exclusively regulate their electrical properties directly at the cell membrane. They also found a range of molecular switches in neurons and epithelial cells that are able to control the cells’…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/electrified-regulated-protein-transport
Press release - 24/09/2009 Researchers successfully colonize a textile implant with human stem cells Researchers at the Hohenstein Institute in Stuttgart, Germany developed a method to embed multipotent mesenchymal stem cells onto the surface fibers of common surgical fabric implants. Using such a product it may be possible to directly motivate the regrowth of critical tissue, such as myocardium after a heart attack. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/researchers-successfully-colonize-a-textile-implant-with-human-stem-cells
Press release - 18/09/2009 How HIV disables immune cells In order to be able to ward off disease pathogens, immune cells must be mobile and able to establish contact with each other. Professor Dr. Oliver Fackler’s group of researchers in the Department of Virology of the Institute of Hygiene at the University of Heidelberg has discovered a mechanism in an animal model revealing how HI viruses cripple immune cells: The mobility of cells is inhibited by the protein Nef. The study, which was published in…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-hiv-disables-immune-cells
Article - 10/09/2009 Cadherins – keeping cells together is not their only purpose If they are absent everything goes wrong. Right from the development of the embryo the cell adhesion molecules of the cadherin superfamily ensure that cells are bound together while they are developing and when they become adult organisms. Cadherins fix tissue in place and give it shape and identity. But this is far from being all that they do. Dr. Dirk Junghans and his team at the Freiburg University Medical Centre have carried out experiments…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cadherins-keeping-cells-together-is-not-their-only-purpose
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…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-lipid-metabolism-and-the-immune-system
Press release - 21/08/2009 How to organise cooperations effectively In order for a company to make efficient use of its potential and its specific skills it must focus on its own core competences and on the cooperation with other companies that have supplementary skills. This is all the more important in economically difficult times when investors and banks tend to shy away from investments. The implementation of cooperations between companies raises a number of general issues as well as specific issues relating…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-to-organise-cooperations-effectively
Article - 12/05/2009 Fatal relatives: adiposity and diabetes Martin Wabitsch was the first German pediatrician to investigate adiposity back when it was seen as a strange subject to study. Nowadays, in Germany the attitude towards adiposity has completely changed. More and more people are suffering from adiposity and diabetes and are consequently at risk of contracting other severe diseases as a result. In children and young adults the situation is alarming; many children are at risk of contracting…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/fatal-relatives-adiposity-and-diabetes
Article - 07/04/2009 Sick hearts as instructors In a joint project with heart surgeons from Freiburg pharmacologist Professor Dr. Lutz Hein and his team at the University of Freiburg are working to uncover the mystery of spontaneous self-healing in the case of chronic cardiac insufficiency. Initial results suggest the involvement of genetic mechanisms amongst other things.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/sick-hearts-as-instructors