Healthcare industry

Press release - 25/10/2011

How Touch and Movement Contribute to the Development of the Brain

Neuroscientist at the Excellence Cluster CIN at the University of Tübingen together with French colleagues uncovered in an animal model the neuronal processes that underlay the development of sensory maps in the developing brain.

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…

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…

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

Article - 25/06/2012

The physiological importance of the Alzheimer protein

While the role of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the development of amyloid plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease is well known, the physiological role of this protein in the brain has remained elusive. However, the molecular biologist Professor Dr. Ulrike Müller from Heidelberg has now shown in mouse models that components of the APP gene family play a major role in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory.

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…

Article - 17/03/2009

Stefan Rotter – linking theory and experimentation in neurology

Neurobiology and mathematics are two different worlds with two completely different languages. However the two disciplines have come together in research into the brain. While neurologists hope to unveil the brains secrets through measurements mathematicians are using formulas and theoretical models to describe brain functions. Stefan Rotter from the Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience BCCN in Freiburg speaks the language of both…

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…

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…

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.

Dr. Carsten Mehring became the head of a junior researcher group at the Institute of Biology at the University of Freiburg just after finishing his PhD. His concept of coupling the brain to computers has been given the GO-Bio Award of the BMBF. At some stage in the future the brain-machine interface developed by Mehring and his team will enable paralysed patients to move body parts by thought power alone. Mehring is highly fascinated by the brain…

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…

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.

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…

Article - 10/11/2014

Alzheimer: amyloid-beta triggers mitochondrial dysfunction

Neurons are very sensitive to disturbances and many different functions are no longer able to work efficiently when the power supply is impaired. Prof. Dr. Chris Meisinger and his team at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Freiburg have found that amyloid-beta peptides block important enzymes in the mitochondria resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction.

Article - 25/02/2013

How can light be used to control the behaviour of neurons?

The control of the behaviour of individual neurons simply by switching light stimuli on and off sends neuroscientists into raptures as it reveals insights into as yet hidden and complicated processes in the brain. Thanks to optogenetics this particular science fiction became reality a few years ago. Working with researchers from the Bernstein Center at the University of Freiburg and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in…

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…

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…

Article - 23/09/2013

Calcium and memory

Calcium in the nuclei of neurons controls the transcription of genes that play a role in the structural changes that are responsible for the formation of long-term memory. Neurobiologists at Heidelberg University have identified this cellular “switch” in Drosophila melanogaster and have used sensational experiments to analyse its function in the formation of the long-term memory of flies.

Article - 17/05/2016

Innovative biochip for discovering drugs for treating neuronal conditions

Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and epilepsy are three prominent examples of neuronal conditions (disorders affecting the nerve cells) for which drugs for treatment are intensively sought. Paolo Cesare from the NMI in Reutlingen has developed an innovative 3D system for testing drugs that does not require animal testing. In 2015, the MEAFLUIT system was awarded first prize in BioRegio STERN Management GmbH's Science2Start idea competition.

Article - 13/12/2010

Christoph Kleineidam – communication without words

Neuroethologist Dr. Christoph Kleineidam from the University of Konstanz focuses mainly on ants and their highly sensitive sensory system that allows them to communicate with each other by way of pheromones. He believes that these sensory mechanisms can be technologically implemented in the fields of thermosensor and chemosensor technology in the not-too-distant future.