Press release - 18/01/2021 How a protein variant could explain resistance to sleeping sickness drug A specific variant of the surface protein VSG of African trypanosomes, the causative agents of sleeping sickness, is associated with resistance to the important drug Suramin. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have now been able to find a possible explanation for the formation of resistance based on the crystal structure of this protein variant.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-protein-variant-could-explain-resistance-sleeping-sickness-drug
Press release - 09/11/2020 Infection diagnostics 3.0: Faster thanks to nanopore sequencing To ensure that sepsis patients receive appropriate antibiotics as quickly as possible, Fraunhofer IGB researchers have developed a diagnostic procedure that uses high-throughput sequencing of blood samples and delivers results much faster than conventional culture-based techniques. Thanks to the latest single-molecule sequencing techniques, this process has now been further improved so that pathogens can be identified after just a few hours.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/infection-diagnostics-30-faster-thanks-nanopore-sequencing
Press release - 08/10/2020 New class of highly effective inhibitors protects against neurodegeneration Heidelberg neurobiologists decode central mechanism of degenerative processes in the brains of mouse models and develop new principle for therapeutic agents.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-class-highly-effective-inhibitors-protects-against-neurodegeneration
Press release - 13/05/2020 Drug counterfeiters use fear of corona epidemic Falsified chloroquine tablets identified in Africa - University of Tübingen supports local pharmacists in the analysis.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/arzneimittelfaelscher-nutzen-angst-vor-corona-epidemie
Expert interview on NTDs – part 2 - 29/05/2019 Neglected tropical diseases - Gisela Schneider: the burden of disease "Leaving no one behind". The motto of the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which was signed by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 makes clear that combatting poverty and its consequences is an essential part of sustainable development. The fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is defined as a major aim of the Agenda’s sustainable development goals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) regards twenty…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/neglected-tropical-diseases-gisela-schneider-the-burden-of-disease
Expert interview on NTDs – part 1 - 11/04/2019 Neglected tropical diseases – Carsten Köhler: impulses from Baden-Württemberg More than one billion people worldwide suffer from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NTDs are mostly poverty-related infectious diseases that prevail in tropical countries due to lack of research and measures to detect, prevent and control them. Dr. Dr. Carsten Köhler reports on the political, economic and scientific contributions Germany and Baden-Württemberg can make to successfully change this situation.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/vernachlaessigte-tropenkrankheiten-carsten-koehler-impulse-aus-baden-wuerttemberg
Article - 25/04/2018 Resistance, immunity and malaria vaccination People who have survived a malaria infection often develop immunity to the disease. International malaria research is aimed at exploiting a person's natural immunity in order to treat malaria effectively and avoid resistance to previously effective drugs. These new approaches also raise hopes that one day countries at high risk of malaria may be able to eradicate the devastating disease. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/resistance-immunity-and-malaria-vaccination
Article - 20/02/2018 New strategies against malaria Malaria, which is a mosquito-borne disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, is still one of the worst infectious human diseases. The parasites have developed resistance against previously effective drugs and new strategies to combat malaria are urgently needed.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-strategies-against-malaria
Press release - 13/02/2018 CureVac to Pursue Innovative mRNA Vaccines Against Flu and Malaria Extends ongoing collaboration with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with award of two new grants. CureVac AG, a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of mRNA-based drugs, today announced the awarding of two new grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/curevac-entwickelt-innovative-mrna-impfstoffe-gegen-influenza-und-malaria
Article - 01/06/2017 New TBE transmission pathways discovered Researchers have discovered two new TBE transmission pathways: the first related to the consumption of raw milk and raw milk cheese that can cause encephalitis, and the second is another tick species that can pass on the TBE virus, thus increasing the risk of contracting the disease even in winter. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-tbe-transmission-pathways-discovered
Article - 22/02/2016 Generating malaria parasite gene deletion mutants The fight against malaria is one of the targets of goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages). The research carried out by Prof. Dr. Frischknecht and Mirko Singer from the Centre for Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg University Hospital is one of several steps towards eradicating malaria. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/generating-malaria-parasite-gene-deletion-mutants
Article - 08/02/2016 MalVa GmbH – a protein cocktail that could potentially produce a high protection malaria vaccine MalVa GmbH was founded as a spin-off company of Heidelberg University Hospital around five years ago and its aim is to develop an effective and safe inactivated vaccine against malaria. MalVa GmbH’s innovative strategy to combat this infectious disease involves a cocktail of several parasite antigens. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/malva-gmbh-a-protein-cocktail-that-could-potentially-produce-a-high-protection-malaria-vaccine
Article - 09/03/2015 Malaria: when an antimalarial drug is no longer fit for purpose Malaria can be treated with atovaquone a drug that inhibits a particular enzyme in Plasmodia. However the parasites are becoming increasingly resistant to the drug. Carola Hunte and Dominic Birth from the Institute for Biochemistry at the University of Freiburg have shown how atovaquone binds to the protein and what happens at the molecular level in resistant plasmodia. Their research provides an impetus for structure-based drug design aimed at…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/malaria-when-an-antimalarial-drug-is-no-longer-fit-for-purpose
Article - 11/08/2014 dsl-Labor: developing PCR tests for medical diagnostics PCR has become a common application in medical diagnostics, in areas ranging from the detection of microbes to genetic testing. The demand for new tests is huge, given that there is a seemingly endless list of applications for which PCR can be used. dsl-Labor für Molekulargenetische Diagnostik specialises in the development of PCR tests and also gives advice and training to medical laboratory personnel. Veterinarians are among the company’s major…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dsl-labor-developing-pcr-tests-for-medical-diagnostics
Dossier - 13/05/2013 The human proteome – the next major goal The “Human Proteome Project”, a ten-year global initiative that is making a systematic effort to map all human proteins, has moved from the planning to the experimental stage. How significant and how effective the project will be depends on how much the resources offered are used by proteome researchers and on the data that the researchers bring into the project. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/the-human-proteome-the-next-major-goal
Article - 06/05/2013 HeLa, a human bauplan in the Petri dish Scientists from EMBL have recently sequenced the genome of HeLa cells, which are the world’s most commonly used human cell line. They found that the HeLa genome and that of normal human cells reveal striking differences, caused by chromothripsis and other aberrations. Some evolutionary researchers believe that HeLa cells are developing a new human bauplan as they adapt to cultivation in the Petri dish. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/hela-a-human-bauplan-in-the-petri-dish
Article - 15/10/2012 gerbion®: hunting down pathogens Detecting viruses, bacteria or parasites in human, animal, food and environmental samples is routine for the staff of gerbion GmbH & Co. KG. The company has been using virological, microbiological and serological methods for many years, but is now also using cutting-edge molecular biology methods for detecting pathogens. The founders of the Kornwestheim-based diagnostics company have concentrated on own research work and the development of…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/gerbion-hunting-down-pathogens
Article - 12/06/2012 Symbionts, parasites and a new hormone biosynthesis pathway Plants release strigolactones into the soil in order to attract friendly organisms and establish a symbiotic association with them. Unfortunately these plant hormones are also perceived by parasitic weeds. A team of researchers led by Salim Al-Babili from the University of Freiburg has now identified important steps in the biosynthesis of strigolactones as well as coming up with unexpected discoveries. Does the new knowledge enable researchers to…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/symbionts-parasites-and-a-new-hormone-biosynthesis-pathway
Press release - 31/01/2012 HITS Scientist Rebecca Wade receives professorship at the University of Heidelberg Today, Dr. Rebecca Wade, head of the “Molecular and Cellular Modelling” research group at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), has been appointed to the W3 professorship “Computational Structural Biology” (Faculty of Biosciences/HITS) at the University of Heidelberg.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/hits-scientist-rebecca-wade-receives-professorship-at-the-university-of-heidelberg
Article - 16/01/2012 Manfred Jung: drug discovery and the epigenetic code Prof. Dr. Manfred Jungs team at the University of Freiburg are chemical epigeneticists whose research involves the development of methods that enable them to identify and optimise new therapeutic drugs which are able to alter the epigenetic code of cancer and other cell types. The team use a perfidious worm for their research.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/manfred-jung-drug-discovery-and-the-epigenetic-code
Article - 22/08/2011 Dieter Spiteller is taking an in-depth look at the chemistry of microbial symbionts Prof. Dr. Dieter Spiteller, head of the new Department of Chemical Ecology at the University of Konstanz, is investigating how organisms interact with each other by way of chemical signals, antibiotics and toxins. Spiteller and his team of researchers are using leafcutter ants endemic to South and Central America as one of several research objects.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dieter-spiteller-is-taking-an-in-depth-look-at-the-chemistry-of-microbial-symbionts
Article - 29/07/2011 Labor Dr. Merk und Kollegen - Viruses under control It is difficult to imagine how Ochsenhausen-based Labor Dr. Merk und Kollegen (LMK) would be able to develop, produce and test medical products for bacterial and viral contaminations without using cell cultures. The medium-sized company also produces viruses for testing and has stored more than 80 different viruses – enveloped and non-enveloped ones, animal and human pathogens – at -80˚C.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/labor-dr-merk-und-kollegen-viruses-under-control
Press release - 07/04/2011 Novel compounds for fighting against parasitic diseases Parasites of the Trypanosomatidae family cause a number of serious human diseases. Researchers from Italy, Belgium, and Germany have published the identification of novel anti-parasitic compounds targeting an enzyme unique to the parasites. These compounds are promising for the development of drugs with fewer side-effects than current medical treatments.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/novel-compounds-for-fighting-against-parasitic-diseases
Dossier - 28/02/2011 Allergies – a major human plague According to the Federal Health Monitoring Information System a persons life expectancy is reduced by around one per cent due to allergies and their effects. Knowledge about the molecular mechanisms that lead to disorders in the interplay of the immune system and the environment is a prerequisite for developing new therapies for the causal treatment of allergies.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/allergies-a-major-human-plague
Article - 23/08/2010 Antibiotics for the prevention of malaria Researchers from Heidelberg and Berlin have shown that if malaria-infected mice are administered an antibiotic, no parasites appear in the blood and the mice are protected from this life-threatening disease. The scientists believe that antibiotics also have the potential to strengthen the human immune system as well as making it possible to provide a natural needle-free vaccination against malaria.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/antibiotics-for-the-prevention-of-malaria