Healthcare industry

Through a complex, self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, colorectal cancer cells make room for their own expansion by driving surrounding healthy intestinal cells to death - while simultaneously fueling their own growth. This feedback loop is driven by an activator of the innate immune system. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Heidelberg discovered this mechanism in the intestinal tissue of fruit…

Article - 14/01/2021

Newly discovered RNA as growth driver in liver cancer

Non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) molecules that do not encode proteins have many different functions, and some are associated with certain diseases. Prof. Dr. Sven Diederichs from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg has been conducting research into these molecules at the Freiburg University Medical Centre and discovered a ncRNA that regulates cell proliferation in cancer cells.

The Freiburg engineer and biologist Prof. Dr. Barbara Di Ventura receives a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), one of the most prestigious prizes for European researchers, for her project "InCanTeSiMo - Intelligent cancer therapy with synthetic biology methods". Di Ventura will use the 2 Million Euros to develop a novel cancer treatment based on molecular methods from synthetic biology.

The German Childhood Cancer Foundation is providing EUR 2.2m to fund the phase III clinical trial to investigate the treatment options for certain types of childhood brain cancer with a chronic course. Initiated by the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg, the trial will compare two standard chemotherapy treatments and a targeted therapy to establish which is the most effective and well tolerated as a standard therapy for young patients.

Atriva Therapeutics - 21/10/2020

COVID-19 pioneer drug in Phase II clinical trial – with double the power

The effective treatment of people with severe COVID-19 is a major goal during the corona pandemic. ATR-002, an oral small molecule that targets RNA viruses such as influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, has a dual effect: it impairs viral propagation and also has an immunomodulatory effect. And what’s more, due to its unique cellular mechanism of action, the efficacy of Atrivia Therapeutics’ drug candidate is not reduced by virus mutations and…

Tumors of the pancreas are particularly feared. They are usually discovered late and mortality is high. Until now, no targeted and personalized therapies exist. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine* (HI-STEM) have now succeeded for the first time in defining two differently aggressive molecular subtypes of pancreatic carcinoma.

Organ failure due to fatty liver - 24/09/2020

HepaRegeniX develops an active substance for liver regeneration

When the liver stops regenerating on its own, it might be possible in future for doctors to intervene with a chemical agent. Tübingen-based HepaRegeniX GmbH is developing a promising candidate with the aim of improving the treatment of both acute and chronic liver failure.

Microstructure Technology - 17/07/2020

An electronic nose for many applications

Sensory organs are sophisticated masterpieces of nature. That is why humans have often tried to copy them. Be it cameras or microphones - there are technical objects that have always been based on natural models such as the eye or the ear. For a long time, however, no artificial sense of smell has featured in the technical repertoire. Now researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed an electronic nose. It can…

Two Clusters of Excellence for the University of Freiburg: Biological Signalling Studies and Bioinspired Materials Research. It is a major boost to cutting-edge research in Freiburg: in the current Excellence Strategy competition, scientists at the University of Freiburg have been granted two Clusters of Excellence, CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies, and livMatS – Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials…

The next generation of Antiviral Therapies: Co-Led by Stichting Participatie Atriva and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Atriva Therapeutics GmbH has received a second tranche of its running seed financing in total of € 3 Mn from Dutch, German and Canadian investors, after lead compound ATR-002 (Atriva’s antiviral MEK-Inhibitor against Influenza) has passed an important preclinical milestone paving the way to clinical development stage.

Article - 04/07/2017

Ruxolitinib – successful graft-versus-host disease treatment

Graft-versus-host disease is a serious complication in leukaemia patients who have been given a blood stem cell transplant from a genetically different person. Prof. Dr. Nikolas von Bubnoff and Prof. Dr. Robert Zeiser from the Department of Haematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation at Freiburg University Medical Centre initiated a Germany-wide study to show that an active substance called ruxolitinib has a promising therapeutic effect.…

The next generation of Antiviral Therapies: Led by Stichting Participatie Atriva together with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Atriva Therapeutics GmbH has received seed financing from Dutch and German private investors to advance Atriva’s antiviral MEK-Inhibitors (Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor) against Influenza into the clinical development stage.

Article - 12/09/2016

New target for the therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma discovered

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. If the tumour is at an advanced stage, doctors have few treatment options. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Lars Zender from the University of Tübingen have now identified one of the cancer's Achilles' heels, namely, the interaction between C-MYC and AURKA proteins, which can be destabilised with a drug, thus killing cancer cells.

Article - 05/09/2016

Apogenix: immuno-oncological protein drugs for the treatment of malignant diseases

Apogenix AG, a biopharmaceutical company from Heidelberg that specialises in immuno-oncology, develops protein drugs that target central signalling pathways involved in regulating the growth, migration and apoptosis of malfunctioning cells and thus offer novel treatment options for cancer and other malignant diseases.

Article - 02/06/2016

DNA origami for decoding the language of biological cells

Cells have their own language that they use to communicate with each other. They need this language to be able to form intact tissues and fulfil their specific functions in the body. If these signalling pathways are disrupted, metabolic processes will suffer and result in diseases. We know many “words” of the cellular language, i.e. signalling molecules that bind to specific surface receptors and thereby trigger chemical reactions inside the…

Article - 13/01/2016

New approach for treating depression

Depression is the most common mental health condition; it must be taken seriously and requires treatment. Exactly how and where therapies work is still unclear. Prof. Dr. Dietrich van Calker and Prof. Dr. Knut Biber from Freiburg University Medical Center have been looking into mechanisms of action and have discovered a molecule that appears to be implicated in numerous neuropsychiatric disorders and the effect of various anti-depression…

Article - 07/01/2016

New protein helps B cells generate an effective immune response

The human immune system plays a key role for human health. Dr. Gina Fiala, a scientist in Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel’s team in the Department of Immunology at Freiburg University, has discovered Kidins220/ARMS in B cells. Kidins220/ARMS is part of the adaptive immune system where it plays a key role in the maturation of B cells.

Researcher profile - 09/11/2015

Michael Boutros – from the study of social gene networks to the management of the DKFZ

Deregulation of cell signalling pathways is a major driver of cancer. Prof. Dr. Michael Boutros has pioneered the development of new methods for the analysis of genetic interactions in such complex networks. He has been acting Chairman and Scientific Member of the Management Board of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) since September 1st 2015.

Article - 03/09/2015

Pattern formation: How undifferentiated cell clusters develop orderly structures

Dr. Patrick Müller explores cellular signalling pathways that turn undifferentiated cell clusters into orderly structures as embryos develop. Supported by an ERC grant, the Max Planck researcher from Tübingen uses a broad range of methods from the fields of genetics, biophysics, mathematics and the computer sciences for his investigations. Regenerative medicine is one field that particularly stands to benefit from Müller’s findings.

Article - 26/05/2015

Novel effect of B-Raf inhibitors against bowel cancer discovered

Colorectal carcinoma is the most frequent type of bowel cancer and the second most common tumour disease in men and women in Germany. A particularly aggressive form occurs when a mutation is present in the proto-oncogene BRAF. As part of the Collaborative Research Centre 850 at the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research at the University of Freiburg, Dr. Ricarda Herr and Dr. Tilman Brummer are trying to find out how a mutated BRAF gene…

Article - 08/09/2014

Molecular effects of traumatic stress

After a traumatic experience, people often suffer not only mental, but also physical effects. Dr. María Moreno-Villanueva from the University of Konstanz has investigated the molecular effects of traumatic stress in people and has found a higher than normal number of DNA strand breaks. In the worst cases this can lead to diseases such as cancer. However, her study also shows that successful psychotherapy can reverse DNA damage. Her findings will…

What still sounds like science fiction to the general public has long been within reach for many years scientists have been able to manipulate neural activity selectively with light. They use different wavelengths to turn cells on and off as if they were a standard switch. Optogenetics is an emerging technology that combines optics and genetics. The technology is already used in many different ways for many different purposes by numerous research…

Article - 17/06/2013

Evolution of light perception networks in plants

Genetically identical plants develop rather differently depending on the light conditions in which they live. In the dark the plant grows in length in order to reach the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. Exposed to light the plant then switches to a different development programme becomes green and assembles its photosynthesis machinery. Prof. Dr. Andreas Hiltbrunner from the University of Freiburg is interested in finding out how the…

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.

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.