Article - 05/12/2008 Merckle Research Prize for excellent research Three of the four scientists from the University of Ulm who have been awarded the 27th Merckle Research Prize are in the field of life sciences. The prizes, each with a purse of 5,000 euros, were awarded to Richard Schlenk, Bernd Baumann and Dirk Volkmer.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/merckle-research-prize-for-excellent-research
Article - 17/10/2011 Aristides Arrenberg uses light to investigate the working memory Dr. Aristides Arrenberg from the University of Freiburg did his doctorate in the USA where he further developed a method that can be used to silence or activate specific zebrafish nerve cells at will. The method is based on light stimuli that trigger cellular switches. In addition the researchers have recently published an article on research into how eye movements are stored in the hindbrain. Standard network models used for so-called integrator…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/aristides-arrenberg-uses-light-to-investigate-the-working-memory
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/hirschsprung-s-disease-research-into-the-biological-and-clinical-principles-of-stem-cell-therapy
Article - 08/10/2012 Epilepsy changes brain architecture Epileptic fits, i. e. abnormal excessive neuronal activity in the hippocampus, severely affects nerve cells and can lead to permanent damage. A team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Carola Haas from the Neurocenter at the University of Freiburg is focusing on changes in the brain anatomy of patients suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy as well as on the molecular and cellular processes underlying the disease. The team’s research focuses on stem…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/epilepsy-changes-brain-architecture
Article - 26/08/2009 Are fruit flies on the rise again? An inconspicuous buzzing insect – it is difficult to imagine that such a creature could be used as a model for humans. Nevertheless, since the beginning of the 20th century Drosophila melanogaster has provided us with decisive insights into human genetics, development and neurobiology. Prof. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Fischbach of the University of Freiburg has been focusing on the development and function of the fruit fly brain for several decades. What…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/are-fruit-flies-on-the-rise-again
Press release - 28/01/2008 Funding programme "Neurodegenerative diseases" The deadline for submitting proposals is 7th April 2008.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/funding-programme-neurodegenerative-diseases
Article - 07/01/2016 New protein helps B cells generate an effective immune response The human immune system plays a key role for human health. Dr. Gina Fiala, a scientist in Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel’s team in the Department of Immunology at Freiburg University, has discovered Kidins220/ARMS in B cells. Kidins220/ARMS is part of the adaptive immune system where it plays a key role in the maturation of B cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/kidins220-hilft-b-zellen-bei-der-immunabwehr
Article - 29/10/2008 Cannabinoids - important for memory? Cannabis intoxication is certainly not the original purpose of the cannabinoid receptors in the human brain. Nowadays there are known body substances which dock to the receptor molecules of nerve cells in a similar way to cannabis. A group of researchers led by pharmacologist Prof. Dr. med. Bela Szabo at the University of Freiburg is investigating the role of this molecular system in the human brain.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cannabinoids-important-for-memory
Article - 16/12/2013 Tools of the future Optogenetics is a relatively new technique that enables scientists to manipulate nature with light. Light-sensitive proteins coupled to enzymes or channelrhodopsins embedded in membranes that guide ions across plasma membranes all of these can be used to modulate cell behaviour. Researchers around the world are working on the emerging technique in order to refine and optimise it for application in their research projects. Optogenetics seems to…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/tools-of-the-future
Press release - 11/11/2009 The brain plans in advance – if it can Researchers led by Jörn Rickert at the Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience and the University of Freiburg have now discovered that completely different neural activities in the motor cortex can lead to identical movements depending on how well the movement is planned in advance. The results were recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience and amongst other things are of importance for the development of brain-controlled…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/the-brain-plans-in-advance-if-it-can
Article - 12/09/2011 Claudia Stürmer: the growth and regeneration of nerve fibres Axons are the long, slender projections of nerve cells whose growth is governed by the intrinsic properties of neurons as well as by growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting molecules present in the neurons’ environment. In fish, the injured axons of the central nervous systems are able to regenerate. This is not the case in mammals, and therefore humans. A group of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Claudia Stürmer at the University of Konstanz is…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/claudia-stuermer-the-growth-and-regeneration-of-nerve-fibres
Press release - 29/07/2011 The brain’s connectome – from branch to branch The human brain is the most complex of all organs, containing billions of neurons with their corresponding projections, all woven together in a highly complex, three-dimensional web. To date, mapping this vast network posed a practically insurmountable challenge to scientists. Now, however, a research team from the Heidelberg-based Max Planck Institute for Medical Research has developed a method for tackling the mammoth task. Using two new…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/the-brain-s-connectome-from-branch-to-branch
Press release - 16/04/2010 Why we remember and forget What happens in our brain when we see things, when we think, when we remember things and when we forget them? Prof. Dr. Hannah Monyer, Director of the Department of Clinical Neurobiology at the University Hospital in Heidelberg, has been working on the molecular principles of conscious awareness and memory for many years. Her scientific work, which has generated considerable insights in this field, is to be funded by the European Research Council…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/why-we-remember-and-forget
Article - 26/01/2008 New prosthetic methods All movements - each grip and step - have their origin in the brain. Carsten Mehring and his group at the Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience and the Institute for Biology I at the University of Freiburg plan to use brain signals for the control of prostheses or for the operation of computers.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-prosthetic-methods
Article - 27/10/2008 What determines the shape of neuronal contact sites? Tobias M. Boeckers an anatomist at the University of Ulm works on an important aspect of basic neurobiological research - the transmission of signals between nerve cells. Two years ago his findings suddenly began to be seen in a different light and became important for clinical research.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/what-determines-the-shape-of-neuronal-contact-sites
Article - 09/06/2008 The brain can learn to hear again Cochlear implants can restore hearing to many of those afflicted with deafness. Prof. Robert Illing from the University of Freiburg explores the plastic properties of the nervous system that facilitate the application of these implants.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-brain-can-learn-to-hear-again
Press release - 22/04/2010 How nerve cells discriminate olfactory clues Whether different odours can be quickly discriminated depends on whether certain synapses in the brain are able to inhibit neuronal information processing. Scientists led by Professor Dr. Thomas Kuner at the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Heidelberg Medical Faculty and Dr. Andreas Schäfer at the Max Planck Institute of Medical Research have shown that mice lacking a certain receptor in the olfactory bulb are able to discriminate…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-nerve-cells-discriminate-olfactory-clues
Article - 30/06/2009 More targeted treatment of the brain network “Casting out the demons with the ruler of the demons” – is what the majority of neuroactive drugs still do. A group under the leadership of Dr. Ralf Meyer at the University Medical Centre in Freiburg is investigating why substances used to treat epilepsy or depression have a negative effect on many patients. Their research shows that the drugs interact with the hormonal system, resulting in undesired side effects. Meyer and his team of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/more-targeted-treatment-of-the-brain-network
Article - 12/05/2008 What is happening at synapses? As the proper function of the network of nerve cells in our brain depends on the kind of contacts between the individual neurons Professor Peter Jonas from the Institute of Physiology I at the University of Freiburg is investigating processes that occur at these contact sites - i.e. the synapses.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/what-is-happening-at-synapses
Dossier - 20/01/2014 Optogenetics: switching cell activity on and off with light What still sounds like science fiction to the general public has long been within reach for many years scientists have been able to manipulate neural activity selectively with light. They use different wavelengths to turn cells on and off as if they were a standard switch. Optogenetics is an emerging technology that combines optics and genetics. The technology is already used in many different ways for many different purposes by numerous research…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/optogenetics-switching-cell-activity-on-and-off-with-light
Press release - 02/10/2012 Scientists find explanation for formation of connections between nerve cells Multiple synaptic contacts between nerve cells facilitate the creation of a new contact as neuroscientists from the Bernstein Center Freiburg and the Forschungszentrum Jülich report in the latest issue of the journal PLoS Computational Biology. An integral mechanism of memory foundation is the formation of additional contacts between neurons in the brain.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/scientists-find-explanation-for-formation-of-connections-between-nerve-cells
Dossier - 01/07/2013 Electrophysiology – from cardiac pacemakers to drug discovery Electrochemical reactions are involved in many processes in the human organism. Electrophysiology is the study of the central processes of electrical and chemical interaction and communication between neurons and muscle cells, including the transmission and processing of signals in the nerves and the subsequent contraction of the muscles. For example, electrophysiology studies examine the rhythm which which our heart pumps blood through the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/electrophysiology-from-cardiac-pacemakers-to-drug-discovery
Press release - 01/04/2015 Migrating immune cells promote nerve cell demise in the brain The slow death of dopamine-producing nerve cells in a certain region of the brain is the principal cause underlying Parkinson's disease. In mice, it is possible to simulate the symptoms of this disease using a substance that selectively kills dopamine-producing neurons. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown for the first time in mouse experiments that after this treatment, cells of the peripheral immune…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/migrating-immune-cells-promote-nerve-cell-demise-in-the-brain
Press release - 22/08/2012 Glial cells protect the brain from epileptic seizures Epileptic fits are like thunderstorms raging in the brain Nerve cells excite each other in an uncontrolled way so that strong rhythmic electrical discharges sweep over whole brain regions. In the wake of such a seizure the nerve cells are severely affected and permanent damage is possible. The glia a class of cells that surround the neurons in the brain was long suspected to contribute to the damaging effects of epilepsy. Quite the opposite is…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/glial-cells-protect-the-brain-from-epileptic-seizures
Article - 13/02/2012 A strange combination: green tea extract and light for treating Alzheimer’s Andrei Sommer from the University of Ulm and colleagues from Ulm, Heidelberg and Berlin have succeeded in reducing amyloid beta deposits in human neuroblastoma cells by up to 60 per cent in vitro. The researchers found that the apparently strange combination of green tea and red light has the potential to lead to the development of new therapies for Alzheimer’s. There are currently no treatments available that stop or reverse the progression of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-strange-combination-green-tea-extract-and-light-for-treating-alzheimer-s