Healthcare industry

Article - 23/05/2018

Bacteriophages as alternatives to antibiotics

Multidrug-resistant bacteria are resistant to many existing antibiotics and can be difficult to treat. There are increasing numbers of them worldwide. Although novel antibiotics are being developed, there are far too few of them to tackle the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In Eastern Europe, doctors have been treating bacterial infections with viruses that infect bacteria, so-called bacteriophages, for almost 100 years.

Article - 30/04/2012

Antibiotic resistance in hospitals

There is an alarming rise in infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to common antibiotics. A particular problem is nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections of newborns, for which a Germany-wide surveillance system has been established. Novel natural substances with an antibiotic effect might be able to contain the danger.

Many cancers are difficult to treat with drugs because they are resistant to them. A research group at Heidelberg is investigating the molecular mechanisms of multidrug resistance and has the goal to improve the treatment of cancer patients.

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…

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…

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…

Article - 19/10/2015

New compound that may kill hospital germs is close to clinical testing

Bacteria's increasing resistance to antibiotics is a very serious medical issue. An infection with pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria can be life-threatening for hospital patients because MRSA has become resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics. Although reserve antibiotics are available in cases where others have lost their ability to control or kill bacterial growth effectively, they do not…

Article - 21/11/2011

Johannes Huebner's interest in intestinal bacteria and their sweet-sour capsule

Some Enterococcus species are common commensal organisms in human intestines and other species are used in raw-milk cheese where they enhance flavour development. On the negative side enterococci are also a common cause of hospital-acquired infections. Prof. Dr. Johannes Huebner from the Freiburg University Medical Centre is hoping that the bacterias capsular polysaccharides might at some point in the future be used as a vaccine opening the door…

On the 1st of July 2008 a new Collaborative Research Centre SFB 773 was launched at the University of Tübingen to look into the Therapy resistance of solid tumours and potential remedies. In order to clarify the basic mechanisms in the development of resistance the German Research Foundation DFG has granted the researchers a total of 9.1 million euros in funding over a period of four years.

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.

Article - 09/03/2008

Successful attack on resistant tumour cells

In laboratory experiments Dr. Anja Apel from the University Hospital in Heidelberg proved that cancer cells that are resistant to radiation therapy can be made to become susceptible to this kind of treatment again by blocking the cells own recycling system.

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.

Article - 24/01/2019

Scientists to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wastewater

In Germany, around 1,500 tonnes of antibiotics per year are administered to humans and animals. As a result, more and more bacteria are developing resistance to common antibiotics. As part of HyReKA, a cooperative project funded by the BMBF, scientists led by Professor Thomas Schwartz from the KIT are investigating how antibiotic-resistant pathogens spread and how they can be prevented from doing so.

Article - 20/06/2016

New diagnostic tool for greater health safety when dealing with multidrug-resistant pathogens

Infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and diseases such as breast or colon cancer are among the major causes of death worldwide. Early diagnosis is therefore key for the identification of people affected and for providing immediate therapy. The R&D service provider Hahn-Schickard and its partners are currently working on the development of a rapid and simple diagnostic system that can detect life-threatening infections and cancer at…

Article - 28/08/2017

SpinDiag GmbH – rapid test makes it difficult for pathogens

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are becoming an increasing problem, especially in hospitals. Infected patients must be isolated as soon as possible. However, appropriate methods for testing patients upon admission to hospital and isolating them if necessary are still lacking. A young biotechnology company from Baden-Württemberg called SpinDiag GmbH has developed a cost-effective method for the rapid testing of microbial resistance in normal…

Article - 30/07/2012

Fungus protects strawberries against grey rot and does away with the need for chemicals

Summer time is strawberry time: strawberries are grown worldwide on an area of 300,000 hectares and are harvested in early summer. Fungicides that are used to treat grey rot might actually be the only thing that diminishes the pure pleasure of eating juicy, tasty strawberries. The Konstanz-based company bio-ferm Research GmbH has developed a fungicide that protects strawberries against Botrytis cinerea infections, one of the most common fruit…

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…

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…

Article - 05/08/2019

The answer to antibiotic resistance may lie in the microbiome

Globally, increasing numbers of bacteria are becoming resistant to common antibiotics. Moreover, many reserve group antibiotics are no longer effective for infections caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens. Researchers in an excellence cluster at the University of Tübingen are investigating an alternative approach to combating bacterial infections. Their goal is to specifically influence the microbiome, the human microbial community.

Press release - 13/12/2016

Early-diagnosis systems from Baden-Württemberg help prevent the spread of drug-resistant pathogens

More and more bacteria are developing resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs. These multidrug-resistant bacteria can impede the action of common antibiotics via mutations or DNA transfer. More than 30,000 people are infected every year with multidrug-resistant bacteria in German hospitals alone. This could be prevented with appropriate hygiene measures and innovative test systems. Innovative test systems that enable reliable and rapid…

Article - 16/01/2012

Alexander Titz: molecular design to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become an important cause of infection, and is often picked up in hospitals, especially by patients with weakened immune systems. It can cause respiratory and urinary tract infections, as well as lead to infections on implants and wounds. P. aeruginosa lives in a gel-like matrix, a so-called biofilm that is highly resistant to antibiotics, making it very difficult to eradicate. Dr. Alexander Titz and his team at the…

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.

Article - 29/04/2013

Bioactive plant foods: plant substances against cancer stem cells

Many findings indicate that the consumption of cruciferous vegetable plants rich in mustard oil glycosides has a cancer-inhibiting effect. Researchers from Heidelberg have now shown that sulforaphane, a broccoli mustard oil, blocks a signalling pathway that makes tumour stem cells resistant to cytotoxic drugs. The administration of sulforaphane can prevent therapy resistance and metastasis of pancreatic cancer in animal models.

Press release - 10/12/2018

High distinction for stem cell researcher Andreas Trumpp

This year's State Research Prize of Baden-Württemberg awarded for outstanding achievements in applied research goes to Andreas Trumpp from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM). Theresia Bauer, State Minister of Science, Research and the Arts, presented the award, which carries a monetary prize of €100.000, at a festive ceremony on December 10, 2018.

The new cancer medication sorafenib inhibits resistant tumour stem cells in pancreatic cancer and is especially effective when combined with sulforaphane, an organic compound found in broccoli and cauliflower.