Article - 17/08/2015 CDT – a bacterial toxin that mediates its own delivery into cells Clostridium difficile is totally harmless in healthy people. However, in combination with antibiotics it can cause severe diarrhoea and intestinal inflammation in elderly and debilitated people. But how does the spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium deploy its power? And how does it enter the cell? Dr. Panagiotis Papatheodorou and his colleagues from the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (Director: Prof. Dr. Klaus…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cdt-a-bacterial-toxin-that-mediates-its-own-delivery-into-cells
Article - 15/06/2015 Marja Timmermans: Humboldt Professor with a penchant for small RNAs Molecular biologist Marja Timmermans has found out how plant cells can communicate with each other using mobile ribonucleic acid molecules. The use of small RNAs (sRNA) is a fundamental principle that applies not only to plant cells, but also to animal and human cells. These days, Timmermans' laboratory methods are used around the world. She has recently been awarded Germany’s most highly endowed international research award - the Alexander…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/marja-timmermans-humboldt-professor-with-a-penchant-for-small-rnas
Article - 18/05/2015 Parvoviruses can destroy brain tumours Parvoviruses such as H-1PV have been shown to selectively attack and destroy human cancer cells. However, they are unable to replicate in healthy human cells. A preliminary clinical trial is currently being carried out to assess the suitability of parvoviruses for treating malignant brain cancer. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered the cause of the selective effect of H-1PV. The finding helps identify…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/parvoviruses-can-destroy-brain-tumours
Article - 11/05/2015 Lung cancer: MTSS1 is a putative marker of tumour progression and metastatic disease Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. 90% of all lung cancer cases in men and 80% in women are due to long-term exposure to tobacco smoke. In Germany, around 140 new cases are diagnosed every day, and 50,000 people die of lung cancer every year. PD Dr. Gian Kayser, senior consultant in the Department of Clinical Pathology at Freiburg University Medical Centre,…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/lung-cancer-mtss1-is-a-putative-marker-of-tumour-progression-and-metastatic-disease
Article - 30/03/2015 How psychological stress weakens the immune system Too much stress makes you sick – this is the widely held opinion. But exactly how chronic psychological stress affects our body is not yet fully understood. This is the question Dr. Annette Sommershof and her team from the University of Konstanz are trying to answer. The scientists are exploring stress-related changes in the immune system and have found evidence for the observation that long-term stress weakens the immune system, resulting in…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/how-psychological-stress-weakens-the-immune-system
Article - 16/03/2015 Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt - searching for novel antibiotics in bacteria Microbial metabolic products can be used in the fight against dangerous pathogens such as multidrug-resistant bacteria. Since summer 2014, microbiologist Prof. Dr. Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt has been investigating the mechanisms of action of bacterial substances at the University of Tübingen with the aim of paving the way for new antibiotics. Interesting candidates have already been identified.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/heike-broetz-oesterhelt-searching-for-novel-antibiotics-in-bacteria
Article - 16/02/2015 The cellular power station of the cholera pathogen – from the structure to new antibiotics The bacterium Vibrio cholerae causes cholera, a severe disease that affects up to 3.5 million people a year. A team of scientists from the universities of Freiburg, Hohenheim and Konstanz have now gained new insights into the way the bacterium produces energy. They have elucidated the structure and function of the bacterium’s energy-production machinery. The research results provide new insights into biochemical energy production and the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-cellular-power-station-of-the-cholera-pathogen-from-the-structure-to-new-antibiotics
Article - 26/01/2015 Pooling efforts against infectious diseases in Germany Over 150 scientists at various locations throughout Germany work together as part of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF). The centre focuses on the development of new diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic methods for treating infectious diseases. Scientists from the University and University Hospital of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology are also part of the project. The researchers from Tübingen are…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/pooling-efforts-against-infectious-diseases-in-germany
Article - 22/12/2014 The immune system – both weak and overreactive in the absence of CTLA4 The ability to recognise a pathogen and combat it effectively is certainly one of the most complex and sophisticated processes the human body has evolved. People with an immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease may have a genetic defect in one of the genes involved in the immune response. Working with immunologists from London scientists Desire Schubert and Prof. Dr. Bodo Grimbacher from the Centre for Chronic Immunodeficiency CCI at the Freiburg…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-immune-system-both-weak-and-overreactive-in-the-absence-of-ctla4
Article - 24/11/2014 Lipid zipper triggers bacterial invasion Millions of people die each year from infections both in developing and industrial countries. There is still no effective treatment for a large number of diseases caused by pathogens. In order to treat infectious diseases effectively, we need to understand the mechanisms that bacteria use to infect human cells. The cytoskeleton of the host cell usually plays a key role in this process. Researchers at the University of Freiburg have discovered a…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/lipid-zipper-triggers-bacterial-invasion
Article - 20/10/2014 QIAGEN Lake Constance – pocket-sized laboratories for the efficient identification of pathogens Quick, simple and decentralized – this is how QIAGEN Lake Constance GmbH envisages diagnostics applications in the future. The Stockach-based QIAGEN subsidiary develops test systems for point-of-need diagnostics, i.e. tests that can be carried out in close proximity to the sample collection point, for example in GP surgeries. They enable the rapid identification of pathogens, and as a result the timely initiation of suitable treatment.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/qiagen-lake-constance-pocket-sized-laboratories-for-the-efficient-identification-of-pathogens
Article - 29/09/2014 myPOLS Biotec UG - made-to-measure enzymes for diagnostics and research The company myPOLS Biotec UG, a spin-off from the University of Konstanz, specializes in services involving DNA and RNA polymerases and creates artificial enzymes by evolution in test tubes. These next-generation polymerases can be used for many research and diagnostics applications. myPOLS Biotec’s polymerases are promising enzymes for future applications with the potential to make the detection of pathogens and DNA analysis faster and easier. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/mypols-biotec-ug-made-to-measure-enzymes-for-diagnostics-and-research
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 - 16/06/2014 Biotechnology as a tool for the production of food Biotechnology opens up numerous opportunities for the food industry. The targeted use of biotechnological methods can, amongst other things, help reduce the quantity and number of unhealthy ingredients in foods as well as degrade allergenic substances. Genomic research and targeted breeding also greatly facilitate progress in agriculture. Food biotechnology therefore contributes significantly to saving resources, optimising harvest yields and…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/biotechnology-as-a-tool-for-the-production-of-food
Article - 02/06/2014 Researchers shed light on important metabolic pathway A research team led by microbiologist Dr. David Schleheck, in cooperation with chemists from the University of Konstanz, has discovered how sulpho-glucose is degraded in Escherichia coli bacteria. As this sulphurous glucose analogue is produced by all photosynthetically active organisms, the researchers’ discovery is of great importance for our understanding of the global sulphur cycle. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/researchers-shed-light-on-important-metabolic-pathway
Dossier - 02/06/2014 Bioanalysis – techniques for the characterization of biological material Science constantly provides researchers with new challenges biologists and bioanalysts have to deal with and which come from sources as varied as the ever increasing number of resistant pathogenic bacterial strains or the famine conditions in Third-World countries. In the search for scientific truths bioanalysis is the development optimization and application of the entire range of analytical methods available. However we need to keep in mind…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/bioanalysis-techniques-for-the-characterization-of-biological-material
Article - 12/05/2014 A DNA cracker from Ulm for making clean drinking water Drinking water that is pathogen-free and safe for humans flows from German taps. There is no nutrient as vital to human beings as water and – at least in Germany – that is subjected to so many checks and controls. Nevertheless, access to clean drinking water is not to be taken as given. According to the latest WHO figures (2011), 768 million people do not have access to healthy drinking water, especially in some of the poorer African countries.…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-dna-cracker-from-ulm-for-making-clean-drinking-water
Article - 28/04/2014 New ways to interfere with bacterial strategies Bacteria themselves provide the key to their destruction. New insights into the growth and interaction between different pathogens are used in microbial genetics to develop new methods and active substances for combatting multidrug-resistant bacterial strains.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-ways-to-interfere-with-bacterial-strategies
Article - 22/04/2014 Sugar code and hygiene in the fight against multi-resistant pathogens Horizontal gene transfer between bacteria is a major reason for the spread of bacterial antibiotic resistance. It is the transfer of bacterial DNA from one bacterium to another, even distantly related species, by bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. Microbiologists from the University of Tübingen are investigating these mechanisms with the aim of finding new strategies that would effectively combat bacteria such as methicillin-resistant…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/sugar-code-and-hygiene-in-the-fight-against-multi-resistant-pathogens
Article - 31/03/2014 The growing significance of peptide therapeutics The therapeutic use of peptides lags behind that of proteins. And there are good reasons for this. However, it seems that this is beginning to change and that peptide therapeutics are growing in significance. As a matter of fact, peptides have become rather popular candidates for drugs. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-growing-significance-of-peptide-therapeutics
Article - 10/03/2014 P450-catalysed glycopeptide biosynthesis Specific cytochrome P450 enzymes are essential for the biosynthesis of glycopeptide antibiotics such as vancomycin that are used as a last resort for the treatment of life-threatening bacterial infections. However, an increasing number of bacteria are developing resistances to these antibiotics as well. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg are investigating the structure and function of these enzyme-antibiotics complexes in…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/p450-catalysed-glycopeptide-biosynthesis
Article - 17/02/2014 Soil bacteria explored as source of new antibiotics Two scientists from the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine IMIT at the University of Tübingen PD Dr. Evi Stegmann and Dr. Yvonne Mast are exploring the biosynthesis of antibiotic substances with the aim of modifying them to make them suitable for application in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/soil-bacteria-explored-as-source-of-new-antibiotics
Dossier - 10/02/2014 Multiresistant pathogens – a self-inflicted threat? Most bacterial infections have lost their capacity to cause terror thanks to antibiotics. However, the increase in antibiotic resistances is making the fight against bacterial pathogens rather difficult, and the widespread overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics continues to fuel the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Strict surveillance strategies and hygiene rules have been in place for some years with the aim of ensuring the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/multiresistant-pathogens-a-self-inflicted-threat
Article - 25/01/2014 Call for responsible antibiotics prescription Heidelberg University Hospital and the University Medical Centre in Mannheim are working hard to counteract the increase of antibiotic resistance. Strategies include a European-wide system for infection surveillance, the training of health professionals in the responsible use of antibiotics and the search for novel antibiotic substances in unconventional organisms.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/call-for-responsible-antibiotics-prescription
Article - 20/01/2014 Microarray copier – for copying DNA, RNA and protein arrays Dr. Günter Roth from the Centre for Biological Systems Analysis at the University of Freiburg is working on the development of a microarray copier that can almost at the push of a button copy arrays of any type of molecule DNA RNA and proteins from next-generation sequencing chips onto standard slides thereby combining the world of microarrays with the sequencing world. The approach has a huge application potential for the production of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/microarray-copier-for-copying-dna-rna-and-protein-arrays