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
Press release - 03/04/2018 Double success for Heidelberg stem cell researchers Two awards at once, both carrying high monetary prizes, go to young researchers from the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Research and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM) at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ): Simon Raffel will receive the 2018 Walter Schulz Prize. Simon Haas will share the 2018 Otto Schmeil Prize with his colleague Lars Velten from EMBL. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/double-success-for-heidelberg-stem-cell-researchers
Dossier - 22/08/2011 Stress and molecular defence mechanisms Organisms can experience stress from exposure to bacteria and pathogenic fungi; in fact, stress can arise from exposure to any type of environmental influence. As they have evolved, biological cells have developed numerous molecular mechanisms that enable them to survive even in inhospitable conditions. What kind of effects do abiotic stress factors have on plants and human beings? How do cells protect themselves? Are researchers able to increase…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/stress-and-molecular-defence-mechanisms
Dossier - 23/07/2012 Extremophilic bacteria What causes stress for some, actually speeds others like extremophilic bacteria up. They love it hot, sour or salty, toxic substances like heavy metals also do them good and even give them energy. As molecular and systems biology techniques get better and better, industry is also becoming increasingly interested in these exotic organisms. What potential does knowing the biochemistry of extremophilic bacteria have for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/extremophilic-bacteria
Article - 20/01/2020 Brain tumour patients could benefit from heavy ion therapy Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumour. It does not respond anywhere near as well to conventional forms of therapy than other tumours because it contains particularly resistant cancer cells. Scientists at the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center (HIT) at Heidelberg University Hospital and the German Cancer Research Center have shown that heavy ion therapy is effective against these cells.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/Brain-tumour-patients-could-benefit-from-heavy-ion-therapy
Article - 18/02/2009 Dormant stem cells can be awakened with interferon alpha With a number of new papers published in renowned scientific journals Prof. Dr. Andreas Trumpp has been able to further cement his outstanding reputation as one of the world leaders in stem cell research. Trumpp who has been professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology at the German Cancer Research Centre DKFZ since summer 2008 also became head of the newly founded Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dormant-stem-cells-can-be-awakened-with-interferon-alpha
Company profile - 27/06/2016 Atriva Therapeutics GmbH: new ways to treat influenza Influenza viruses constantly change and mutate. This makes treatment difficult and vaccination rather touch and go. But what about targeting virus-manipulated cell events rather than using the virus itself as drug target? Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a start-up company from Tübingen, shows how this works.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/atriva-therapeutics-gmbh-new-ways-to-treat-influenza
Press release - 14/01/2008 Prostate cancer: Improving the success of treatment Prostate cancer is the most frequent malignant tumour in men. Researchers from Freiburg and Bonn have succeeded in developing the basics for new therapies in particular for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/prostate-cancer-improving-the-success-of-treatment
Article - 18/08/2016 Moonlighting proteins can make bacteria pathogenic The mechanism underlying the export of biomolecules from cells remains unknown. Prof. Dr. Friedrich Götz and his team at the Institute of Microbial Genetics at the University of Tübingen have found out that staphylococci can turn into dangerous pathogens by excreting normally harmless enzymes. The researchers believe that the enigmatic excretion of such enzymes is due to a completely new mechanism and are thus planning to carry out further…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/moonlighting-proteins-can-make-bacteria-pathogenic
Article - 03/10/2010 ColepCCL: A creative hub to prepare for the company’s move into the life sciences ColepCCL Rapid-Spray a ColepCLL subsidiary based in Laupheim Germany has made a name for itself as the largest European contract filler of aerosols. However ColepCLL which employs around 3500 people in five countries is now planning to open up new fields of activity in the life sciences area.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/colepccl-a-creative-hub-to-prepare-for-the-company-s-move-into-the-life-sciences
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 - 30/01/2012 Silicone application in medical technology Silicone is flexible, biocompatible and heat-resistant, characteristics that make organosilicone compounds ideal for a wide range of applications in medical technology. Up until now, the broad application of such compounds has been hampered chiefly by the high surface friction of silicone. The Reutlingen-based company Silcos GmbH has developed special methods for the treatment of surfaces that considerably improve the compound's range of…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/silicone-application-in-medical-technology
Article - 22/12/2014 Fighting hepatitis viruses with their own weapons Virologist Prof. Dr. Stephan Urban from the University of Heidelberg has been awarded the DZIF Prize for Translational Infection Research for the discovery and development of a promising peptide drug for the treatment of hepatitis B virus infections. The peptide prevents viruses from entering the liver cells, and is also effective against hepatitis D infection. Hepatitis D is the deadliest of all viral liver diseases and no specific antiviral…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/fighting-hepatitis-viruses-with-their-own-weapons
Dossier - 22/02/2010 Respiratory disease - congestion in the respiratory system Lung diseases are by far the most frequent cause of death worldwide. Every year three million people die from chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases 2.3 million die from lung cancer and 1.5 die from tuberculosis WHO World Health Organisation. There is no improvement in sight and experts believe that the number of deaths will continue to rise particularly in the case of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases COPD lung cancer and tuberculosis TB.…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/respiratory-disease-congestion-in-the-respiratory-system
Press release - 10/07/2008 New pharmacological study for leukaemia patients Julia Kirchheiner from Ulm is examining why some leukaemia patients do not respond to cytarabin treatment. She is now hoping to identify the genetic factors that come together to determine how a patient responds to cytarabin treatment.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-pharmacological-study-for-leukaemia-patients
Article - 18/01/2018 Medications that target metastasing tumours Tumour metastases are often resistant to the drug that is used to eliminate the primary tumour. Genome-wide analyses of mutation patterns in the primary tumour and its metastases provide information on the aggressiveness of cancer and may help to find the best available means of further treatment. This has been demonstrated by scientists from Heidelberg in a clinical trial on the molecular evolution of renal cancer.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/medications-that-target-metastasing-tumours
Article - 10/06/2014 Ribosome assembly as target for innovative antibiotics Although bacterial ribosomes are a popular target of common antibiotics, there are no drugs that specifically target ribosome assembly. To date, there is simply no screening method that would be suitable for assaying inhibitors of ribosomal subunit assembly. Prof. Dr. Elke Deuerling and Dr. Rainer Nikolay from the University of Konstanz have now achieved a breakthrough. They have developed a method that enables the high-throughput identification…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/ribosome-assembly-as-target-for-innovative-antibiotics
Press release - 30/03/2009 Stem Cells: Deathly Awakening by Interferon Interferon-alpha, a messenger substance of the immune system, awakens dormant hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow to become active, thus making them vulnerable for the effect of many drugs. This finding was published in Nature by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) jointly with colleagues from Lausanne. The researchers suppose that this might also be a way to stimulate tumor stem…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/stem-cells-deathly-awakening-by-interferon
Article - 19/07/2016 Licence to kill – the enormous potential of CAR T cells With 6 million euros of EU funding, the CARAT project aims to optimise a technology called CAR T that is used to equip T cells with antibody fragments and specifically direct them to destroy cancer cells. The CARAT consortium comprises a multinational team of experts from the Institute for Cell- and Gene Therapy at the Freiburg University Medical Center led by Prof. Dr. Toni Cathomen and seven partner institutions. Cathomen’s team is developing…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/licence-to-kill-the-enormous-potential-of-car-t-cells
Article - 04/07/2011 The adhesion of cells to the endothelium and to artificial surfaces Professor Stefan W. Schneider from the Mannheim Medical Faculty is investigating the function of the vascular endothelium and its interaction with blood and tumour cells using microfluidics methods that enable him to measure the adhesion of cells to the walls of blood vessels under physiological flow conditions. As part of an interdisciplinary project, he is investigating the characteristics of wafer-thin surfaces covered with living cells, which…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-adhesion-of-cells-to-the-endothelium-and-to-artificial-surfaces
Press release - 14/01/2009 Hunters of lost treasures On 1st December 2008 Prof. Dr. Karl Schmid the first person to hold the F.W. Schnell Foundations endowed professorship for crop biodiversity and breeding informatics started the ball rolling on a unique European-wide project. Schmid and his colleagues are searching gigantic databases in which genetic analyses and plant descriptions are stored for hidden treasures. https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/hunters-of-lost-treasures
Press release - 22/06/2009 Many animal experiments are superfluous Researchers at the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences are working on an alternative to the large number of animal experiments that are still being carried out. Researchers under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Bettina Weiß have received a grant from the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg foundation for work on this particular research area.https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/many-animal-experiments-are-superfluous
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
Press release - 04/11/2016 Atriva Therapeutics Announces Upcoming US Patent Issuance for MEK Treatment against Viral Diseases https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/atriva-therapeutics-announces-upcoming-us-patent-issuance-for-mek-treatment-against-viral-diseases
Article - 18/05/2013 Biofilm research aims at fighting hospital germs Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common bacterium that can be found in many different places – soil, water, washing basins, toilets and washing machines, to name but a few examples. Due to its resistance to antibiotic treatment, P. aeruginosa is mainly known as the cause of hospital-acquired infections. David Schleheck, a biologist from Konstanz University, deals specifically with the bacterium’s presence in biofilms. His research could open up new…https:////www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/biofilm-research-aims-at-fighting-hospital-germs