Healthcare industry

Press release - 28/01/2010

Kenta and Rentschler to develop antibodies against hospital-acquired infections

The young Swiss company Kenta Biotech will work with the Laupheim-based contract manufacturer Rentschler to develop a fully human monoclonal antibody against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Press release - 14/01/2010

Evolution caught in the act

Mutations are the raw material of evolution. Charles Darwin already recognized that evolution depends on heritable differences between individuals: those who are better adapted to the environment have better chances to pass on their genes to the next generation. A species can only evolve if the genome changes through new mutations, with the best new variants surviving the sieve of selection. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for…

Press release - 14/01/2010

Deep brain stimulation successful for treatment of severely depressive patient

A team of neurosurgeons at Heidelberg University Hospital and psychiatrists at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim have for the first time successfully treated a patient suffering from severe depression by stimulating the habenula, a tiny nerve structure in the brain. The 64-year-old woman, who had suffered from depression since age 18, could not be helped by medication or electroconvulsive therapy. Since the procedure, she is for…

Press release - 23/12/2009

The spread of HIV: optimal adaptation to the human host

A new study led by the virologist and Leibniz Award winner Frank Kirchhoff from Ulm might be about to provide an explanation as to why only one of several independent transmissions of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV) from chimpanzees to humans led to the global AIDS pandemic. The researchers now hope that these new findings will contribute to the search for new strategies to prevent the further spread of AIDS viruses.

This year’s presentations at the “Science meets Business Day 2009” once again showed that the exchange between science and the industry in the BioValley works extraordinarily well. The “Science meets Business Day 2009” concluded this year’s BioValley Life Science Week, where researchers from five completely different disciplines and their industrial partners presented their views on what makes the economic location in the area bordered by…

Article - 15/12/2009

AppliedSensor GmbH – Chemical gas sensors to detect contaminants

Sensors and sensor systems are the speciality of Reutlingen-based AppliedSensor GmbH. The company develops gas detectors for the detection of harmful inorganic and volatile organic compounds. The application of the detectors is as broad as the presence of such gases, and they can be used anywhere from small family houses to offices, from cattle sheds to cars.

Press release - 08/12/2009

Vaccination of honeybees against the Varroa mite is possible

For the first time ever, honeybees were orally ‚vaccinated’ with a genetically engineered product that was later detected in the bloodsucking Varroa mite. This product is a DNA-plasmid that is normally used for man, horses, swine and also for fish. The inventor of this innovative DNA-vaccination system for bees is Matthias Giese, PhD, who launches his own Institute for Molecular Vaccines (IMV) in Heidelberg/Germany starting in 2010.

Press release - 03/12/2009

ELARA Pharmaceuticals receives EUR 4.6 Million funding

ELARA Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a biotech company focused on the development of drugs for the treatment of different cancers, announced today the closing of a € 2.6 million Series A financing round, which will trigger an additional € 2 million from the BMBF GOBio and the Biotechnologie Rhein-Neckar (BioRN) Spitzencluster programs, leading to a total funding of € 4.6 million.

Article - 03/12/2009

Matthias Giese: DNA vaccine to combat worldwide honeybee deaths

Varroa mites attach to the body of bees and weaken them by sucking hemolymph infecting them with viruses that are believed to be the cause of the mass death of European honeybee colonies. Matthias Giese of the Heidelberg-based Institute for Molecular Vaccines developed a DNA vaccine that might just lead to a breakthrough in the quest to get rid of the Varroa parasites. Giese tells us about his project in the following interview.

Article - 19/11/2009

Iwona Adamska helps plants exposed to light stress

Light is a vital element for plants. They require light to carry out photosynthesis and to produce their body substance from inorganic substances such as water and carbon dioxide. On the other hand plants can also suffer from too much light. Plants have developed a number of protective mechanisms to survive light stress situations. The biologist Prof. Iwona Adamska from the University of Constance is looking closely into these protective…

Article - 16/11/2009

New network for systems biology seed research

What happens to plant seeds during germination? Researchers led by Dr. Gerhard Leubner from the University of Freiburg in collaboration with six international groups of researchers will be jointly looking into these processes. The virtual Seed (vSEED) consortium took first place in a field of 54 contestants in the European Research Era-Net Plant Genomics competition. What makes the scientists’ project so special is that they are planning to…

Article - 05/11/2009

The abatement of phytopathological fungi

In the past, fungal infestation of agricultural crops has been known to affect the fate of entire nations, and nowadays it still continues to pose a threat to the world’s food supply. There is huge need for the development of new environmentally friendly agricultural fungicides, as fungi are fast becoming resistant to standard fungicides. Scientists are concentrating on the use of fungus-derived natural substances as the specific targets of…

Article - 28/10/2009

State Viticulture Institute to combat mildew

Powdery and downy mildew can destroy entire wine harvests. More than 150 years ago, breeders attempted to increase the plants’ natural resistance to mildew by crossing them with more mildew-resistant grape varieties as an alternative to external abatements using fungicides. The majority of breeders soon abandoned the effort; only a handful of breeders, including biologists from the State Viticulture Institute in Freiburg, still believed that this…

Press release - 12/10/2009

Methadone for treating brain tumours - finally an effective therapy in sight?

Every year, around 5,500 people in Germany are diagnosed with malignant brain tumours. The chances of effectively treating patients with such tumours have barely improved over the last decades. A new therapeutic appears to be promising. Scientists at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University Hospital of Ulm have been able to show that methadone has the ability to combat brain tumours.

A group of researchers led by Prof. Hess at the University of Freiburg reports on the use of both strands of the DNA double helix during the copying of the genetic information encoded by the genes. As reported in the renowned scientific magazine Molecular Systems Biology, the antisense RNA created during this process can contribute to the development of new therapeutic concepts.

Malignant brain tumours do not often respond to promising new drugs. Researchers from Heidelberg have now uncovered a mechanism and a tumour marker that are linked to the development of this resistance. A “death receptor” might possibly indicate the chances of success of chemotherapy at the same time as providing new approaches for developing a new therapy for the successful treatment of brain tumours.

Press release - 01/09/2009

Seal of quality for hygienic equipment

The processing and packaging of food is governed by very strict hygiene rules. Researchers are now testing production equipment for cleanroom suitability and are listing qualified products in an online database.

Article - 04/08/2009

Wilfried Weber recombines new cell constituents

Prof. Dr. Wilfried Weber who was appointed professor of synthetic biology at the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies bioss at the University of Freiburg in May 2009 has always had a great interest in the practical application of biology. Weber and his team have a thorough understanding of how different parts of signalling networks can be reassembled for specific purposes for example switching off the antibiotic resistance of bacteria.

Article - 23/07/2009

Making cancer cells commit suicide

They divide and divide, and no natural border can stop them. Tumours such as the Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer that occurs predominantly in teenagers, grow incessantly, making treatment difficult. A few years ago, Prof. Dr. Udo Kontny and his team from the University Hospital in Freiburg discovered a way to stop the growth of this particular tumour by activating a switch on the surface of cells which induces cellular death. Can physicians learn to…

Dossier - 16/07/2009

Patents – the exploitations of inventions in the life sciences

According to statistics from the European Patent Office a total of 1065 biotechnological patents were filed in 2007 by inventors based in Germany. This puts Germany second behind the USA. In the coming years experts expect that a much larger number of biotech patents will be filed. For life sciences inventors the registration of patents quite often represents a real challenge. People entering the world of patents and licences are faced with a…

Article - 02/07/2009

A virus that hides while it waits for an opportunity to replicate

Thomas Mertens, Medical Director of the Institute of Virology in Ulm, has a strong scientific and clinical interest in the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a big virus with a big impact which, despite its size, is overshadowed by known viruses such as the HI virus that is the object of research for Mertens’ colleagues. HCMV research is a challenging area where quick successes are rare.

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.

Article - 12/05/2009

Fatal relatives: adiposity and diabetes

Martin Wabitsch was the first German pediatrician to investigate adiposity back when it was seen as a strange subject to study. Nowadays, in Germany the attitude towards adiposity has completely changed. More and more people are suffering from adiposity and diabetes and are consequently at risk of contracting other severe diseases as a result. In children and young adults the situation is alarming; many children are at risk of contracting…

Dossier - 11/05/2009

Diabetes, a danger that is still underestimated

In 2010 there will be 10 million diabetes patients in Germany and nearly 33 millions in Europe. The diabetes avalanche is rolling and what is Germany doing? So far so little say experts. There is a lot happening at the same time in different places little is evaluated and a lot is lost in the maelstrom of individual interests. The figures are clear The metabolic disease known as diabetes has reached the proportions of a worldwide epidemic. It not…

Article - 11/05/2009

Metastasis-inducing cancer stem cells

Just a small subpopulation of cancer cells namely metastasis-inducing cancer stem cells MICs is potentially responsible for the formation of distant malignant tumour metastases. The characterisation of MICs and the clarification of mechanisms that lead to their reactivation from a dormant state opens up new strategies for the development of new effective therapies against metastasising tumours.