Healthcare industry

People with know-how must bear responsibility said the microbiologist Dr. Kilian Hennes who lectures bioprocess engineering at Constance University of Applied Sciences HTWG. Teaching is one of the major challenges for the experienced scientist and practitioner in particular because his discipline is seen as somewhat exotic by future process engineers and requires a different way of looking at things. But this is what makes his job truly…

Since autumn 2007 Constance has been one of Germanys Elite Universities. UNI-ZEITUNG spoke with Prof. Dr. Andreas Marx spokesperson for the Department of Chemistry and head of the winning Chemical Biology graduate school about the practical consequences.

Baden-Württemberg universities have adapted their healthcare training and education to different requirements and a number of different specialised courses are on offer.

Professor Roland Schuele from the University Womens Hospital in Freiburg originally studied biochemistry. Nowadays Schuele is researching the development of prostate cancer. During his scientific career he has learnt that research cannot be steered in a particular direction. It develops and we follow it said Schuele who has been able to gain astonishing insights into the molecular processes in tumour cells.

Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center have discovered a key molecule that is responsible for the immature structure of blood vessels in malignant tumors. If this molecule is switched off in mice vessels normalize so that immune cells are better able to get to the tumor tissue.

Boehringer Ingelheim enjoyed continued success in 2007 and its growth is outpacing the pharmaceuticals market for the eighth year in a row. The companys turnover rose by 8.8 in local currency to almost EUR 11 billion.

In the second article in the series on the platforms successful cooperations BioValley presents an encouraging approach for improving the quality of life of severely ill cancer patients and the successful establishment of an industrial biochip platform.

The first European Conference for Clinical Nanomedicine is to be held soon in Basel. BIOPRO has therefore discussed this promising area of application with Beat Löffler and Dr. Patrick Hunziker the founders of the European Foundation for Clinical Nanomedicine.

Working with colleagues from the Harvard Medical School in Boston USA researchers from Freiburg University have discovered a previously unknown role of insulin in ageing and lifespan. Insulin inhibits a master stress regulator protein known as SKN-1.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen and their colleagues from the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines succeeded in accelerating rice plant breeding by using artificial small RNA molecules.

The medical online learning programme by the Tübingen-based E-learning publisher INMEDEA GmbH simulates procedures and situations in different departments of a hospital with their respective typical patient groups.

The paper by Lohmueller et al. 2008 shows that there is proportionally more deleterious genetic variation in European than in African populations. This revelation enables conclusions to be made on the group that emigrated from Africa several thousand years ago.

Article - 16/03/2008

New indication for lead compound of Apogenix

Isolated tumour cells use to invade healthy brain tissue during the development and growth of glioblastoma multiforme GBM. This mechanism involves the CD95CD95L death system. These results supports the therapeutic potential of Apogenix APG101 for the treatment of glioblastomas.

The directors of the Tübingen Max Planck Institute MPI for Developmental Biology are pleased to have a Leibniz prizewinner in their ranks for the second year running. Dr. Elisa Izaurralde and her colleague Dr. Elena Conti have both been awarded the 2008 prize for their outstanding work in the field of RNA research.

Nils Johnssons work focuses on communication research involving living objects. The 48-year-old biochemist is investigating how proteins manage the complicated process of cytokinesis the division of the cell plasma. Thanks to a specific method Johnsson is able to detect when proteins are interacting with each other.

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.

The leaders of the two countries research policy groups met in the French capital to discuss strategies on how to cope with challenges that are faced by both countries in the field of research. Several Agreements signed at the end of the Forum are the basis of strategic partnerships.

The Dietmar Hopp Foundation has donated one million euro for a new small-animal tomograph at the University Hospital in Heidelberg. The new system is suitable for small animals such as rats and mice and can be used to investigate diseases and therapies.

The Expert Commission for Research and Innovation EFI established by the German government presented its first report on research innovation and technological capabilities to Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Minister of Education and Research Annette Schavan.

The professorship is unique in Europe In January 2008 Bernd Pichler received an endowed chair from the Werner Siemens Foundation for developing new non-invasive imaging methods for research and clinic. The engineer is in charge of the Laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology at the University Hospital in Tübingen.

Article - 01/03/2008

New active substance against hepatitis B

Scientists at the University Hospital in Heidelberg have discovered a hepatitis B virus peptide that can prevent viral infections in a mouse model. A team led by Professor Stephan Urban is developing a virus blocker against hepatitis B infections. Despite vaccinations every year about 750000 people die from the consequences of hepatitis B infections.

A wide spectrum of high quality support is available to young scientists in Germany. This is the conclusion of the government report on support for young scientists Bundesbericht zur Förderung des Wissenschaftlichen Nachwusches - BuWiN presented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Dr. Gilbert Gorr has been fascinated by the moss Physcomitrella patens for many years in fact it occupies a great deal of his waking moments. The enthusiasm with which the CSO of greenovation Biotech GmbH talks about the key object of his work is both intoxicating and contagious. The latest discovery The moss produces a therapeutic antibody that is far more effective than its predecessors created in animal cell cultures.

Article - 25/02/2008

How crustaceans help bridge the gaps of knowledge in early evolution

The team of researchers led by Dieter Waloßek zoologist at Ulm University is working on the organisation of knowledge in their discipline. The taxonomists are documenting living creatures in particular arthropods which also includes issues of evolution. Only recently Waloßek along with Andreas Maas and their foreign colleagues have hit the headlines.

The Heilbronn region has many years of experience with telematics projects. In October 2007 the region started a field test in which GPs and pharmacies were asked to test the functionality of the electronic health card in the region.