Healthcare industry

Article - 07/02/2011

Jens Kremkow – does the neural network work like a gate?

Billions of nerve cells in our brain communicate with each other and lead to phenomena such as thought feeling and memory would be better. What fundamental information-processing principles govern the chaos of electrical impulses? Dr. Jens Kremkow from the Bernstein Center in Freiburg creates computer models of neural processes. Kremkow and his team carried out many complex simulations from which they were able to develop simple models of the…

Press release - 03/02/2011

A Possible Cause of Parkinson’s Disease Discovered

When a person has Parkinsons disease the dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain die which leads to the characteristic symptoms of this neurological disorder. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum DKFZ have discovered that this group of nerve cells of patients with Parkinsons contains defective nucleoli.

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.

The Baden-Württemberg Foundation is providing a total of 1.3 million euros in funding to two stem cell research projects from Ulm. The objective of the researchers working on these projects is to find out how adult stem cells can contribute to organ regeneration and wound healing.

Article - 29/11/2010

How axons find their way

A group of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Martin Bastmeyer from the Institute of Zoology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT is investigating how a complex network of molecular landmarks guides fully grown retinal axons to the correct point in the visual centre map. The researchers use chickens as model organism to simulate the mechanisms involved in axonal pathfinding and target recognition in cell cultures and computer simulations.

The combination of a newly developed bioinformatic model and experimental data provides new insights into the causes of Alzheimers disease. Researchers found that whilst the activity of a particular enzyme is reduced specific nerve cells are able to counteract this deficiency by rerouting the metabolic fluxes.

Press release - 23/11/2010

Viscofan BioEngineering: Cell culture inserts with a collagen membrane

Viscofan BioEngineering is the first company to market cell culture inserts for the cultivation of cells and tissues that are entirely made from collagen. In contrast to traditional PTFE membranes, Viscofan´s cell culture inserts do not need to be coated with collagen prior to use. The new collagen inserts are extremely suitable for the cultivation of adherent primary cells such as cardiomyocytes, neurons, fibroblasts, cell lines, stem cells as…

Article - 18/10/2010

Abigail Morrison – How does the brain learn?

The physicist and neuroscientist Prof. Dr. Abigail Morrison from the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience BCCN in Freiburg has always been interested in theoretical questions relating to thinking and remembering. She now works on the development of computer models of different brain areas. Is it possible to untangle the complexities of neural networks in the brain using mathematics and informatics?

Press release - 18/10/2010

Can computers be used to understand brain function?

The newly established Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Heidelberg-Mannheim, which has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research since summer 2010, brings together brain researchers, psychiatrists, psychologists, mathematicians and biologists from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim and the University of Heidelberg. The researchers are investigating the neural basis of higher cognitive…

Article - 09/08/2010

IBAM GbR - Enzymes, neurotransmitters and Greek mountain tea

The Denzlingen-based company IBAM GbR offers solutions that enable faster and cost-effective drug discovery. IBAM GbR was spun off from the University of Freiburg and supports industrial customers in identifying biochemical targets of potential drugs or the modes of action of enzymes and second messengers in the central nervous system and other tissues. Over the last few years the companys managing director Dr. Rainer Knörle and his partner Dr.…

Article - 11/07/2010

Complex issues relating to membranes

Dr. Uwe Schulte of the Freiburg-based biotech company Logopharm GmbH is a specialist in the analysis of membrane proteins membrane protein complexes and functional networks involving membrane proteins. In an interview with BIOPRO Schulte expresses his views on the direction research should take.

Press release - 30/04/2010

Highly charged nerve cells: improved neuronal communication and improved acquisition of motor skills

Back in 2009 two researchers from the Department of Neurology at the Freiburg University Medical Centre were able to show during their research stay in the USA that the repeated stimulation of the brain with weak direct current increases the brains ability to acquire new complex motor skills. The researchers have now investigated the underlying mechanisms and published the results in the current issue of the renowned scientific journal Neuron.

Article - 29/04/2010

Cancer stem cells arise from tissue stem cells

The Tlx transcription factor induces the transformation of neural stem cells into new nerve cells in the adult brain. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg showed that the overproduction of Tlx and the silencing of the p53 tumour suppressor gene in mice stimulates the development of malignant brain tumours glioblastomas from brain stem cells.

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…

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…

Press release - 06/04/2010

Neurochips for scientific and medical applications

The Max Planck Society (MPG) is going to transfer its know-how in neurochip technology to Reutlingen. The Reutlingen-based NMI and its partners are set to develop the technology into a versatile product and measurement tool.

Article - 15/03/2010

Borna disease virus and cell death in the brain

A research group led by Prof. Dr. Bernd Heimrich at the University of Freiburg is investigating how the Borna disease virus can alter characteristic neuronal circuits and destroy the hippocampal nerve cells. The scientists have developed an extremely practical petri dish test system. Their results show which cell types sustain the most damage following infection and also give indications as to how apoptosis cell death can be prevented.

Article - 15/12/2009

Jochen Staiger – Looking for the basic module in the brain

The neuroanatomist Prof. Dr. Jochen Staiger from the University of Freiburg is investigating the so-called barrels in the somatosensory cortex of rodents which represent a body map with which the tactile environment can be perceived. Prof. Staiger is looking for the basic circuit in this highly ordered and structured part of the brain which enables the connection between perception and behaviour.

Press release - 11/11/2009

Mobile microscopes illuminate the brain

By building a tiny microscope small enough to be carried around on a rats head, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, have found a way to study the complex activity of many brain cells simultaneously while animals are free to move around. With this new technology scientists can actually see how the brain cells operate while the animal is behaving naturally, giving rise to immense new insights into…

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 - 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’…

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…

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…

Press release - 17/08/2009

Death Receptor Regulates Brain Regeneration

The so-called death receptor is well known among experts – it induces programmed cell death. In brain stem cells, however, this molecule has an entirely different function, as shown by scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in an article published in CELL Stem Cell. Here, signals to the death receptor cause the formation of new nerve cells (neurons). When the researchers switched off the receptor…

Press release - 10/08/2009

Biomarkers help predict the risk of Alzheimer’s in patients with mild cognitive impairment

A large multicentre study has shown that CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) biomarkers can be used to predict, with good accuracy, as to which patients with mild cognitive impairments will develop Alzheimer’s disease. The biomarkers used are microtubule-associated proteins that are abundant in CNS neurons as well as beta amyloid, which is a peptide that forms brain plaques in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Changes in the concentrations of these proteins…