Healthcare industry

Article - 30/01/2019

candidum – computer-assisted enzyme design

Industry has been using enzymes for over a hundred years. While it initially had to content itself with natural enzymes, it is now increasingly possible to design tailor-made biocatalysts with specific properties. The start-up company candidum GmbH from Stuttgart promises to achieve this faster than ever before - mostly thanks to accelerated virtual screening.

Dossier - 28/08/2018

With molecular diagnostics to biomarker-based personalised therapy

Diagnosing suitable biomarkers is a prerequisite for tailoring personalised therapies to patient heterogeneity. Genetic tests and genome sequencing play a key role in these diagnoses. Up until now, personalised therapy has achieved the greatest success in the field of oncology. However, personalised treatments are also gaining in importance for treating other diseases.

Big Data - 26/03/2018

Eliciting reliable information from big data with classifiers and multimodal data fusion

Prof. Hans A. Kestler knows a great deal about large amounts of data. He heads up the Institute of Medical Systems Biology at the University of Ulm and is constantly inundated with cooperation enquiries from clinicians. On behalf of BIOPRO, Walter Pytlik asked him whether the conditions for using big data more in biomedical research are already largely present.

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…

Dossier - 18/04/2016

Epigenetics – heritable traits without changing the DNA sequence

Epigenetics, i.e. the inheritance of traits that does not involve a change in the DNA sequence, was once a controversial subject that has since become a central focus of biological research. Epigenetic inheritance is now studied by numerous national and international research programmes. Many cellular regulatory and differentiation processes are controlled by epigenetic mechanisms that take place on different levels, including the DNA, histone,…

Article - 07/03/2016

Looking at the control of cellular homeostasis

Many biological processes that occur in our body are driven and controlled by protein complexes. In order to better understand these processes, biochemist Prof. Dr. Florian Stengel from the University of Konstanz is developing methods that will eventually make it possible to study the architecture, interactions and general dynamics of intact protein complexes quantitatively and in detail. Stengel combines structural mass spectrometry methods with…

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.

The latest articles, press releases and dossiers on basic research in Baden-Württemberg

Article - 23/02/2015

Systems biology: Ulm scientists' search for molecules that delay ageing

As stem cells get older, they gradually lose their ability to grow and reproduce. They accumulate damage and lose their ability to regenerate, thus knocking tissue homeostasis off balance. If stem cell ageing could be delayed or, even better, reversed, organs would work longer more effectively. The SyStaR research consortium is using systems biology methods and tools to investigate the mechanisms of age-dependent reduction of stem cell function…

Article - 21/07/2014

Predicting the efficiency of cancer drugs using mathematical models

A research consortium was established at the Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology SRCSB at the University of Stuttgart in January 2013 with the goal of establishing models that help predict the action of targeted therapeutics. The scientists combine molecular biology experiments with complex mathematical models in order to achieve a holistic understanding of disease and therapy.

Article - 30/06/2014

Scale is key: biodata for optimising bioproduction

Biotech research is aimed at improving industrial-scale microbial production, making it more profitable and more competitive. However, laboratory-scale data cannot easily be transferred one to one to large-scale production. New systems biology concepts for the simulation of large-scale production are now set to make this possible.

Article - 10/06/2014

Mathematical models for predicting cellular signalling pathways

The micrometre-sized cells in organisms are biological systems in which countless vital processes take place. However little is yet known about most of these cellular metabolic chains because they interact with each other in a complicated manner. The research carried out by junior professor Nicole Radde and her doctoral student and engineer Patrick Weber from the Institute for Systems Theory and Automated Control IST at the University of…

Article - 19/05/2014

Computational chemistry as atomistic magnifying glass for biological systems

Studying biological macromolecules such as proteins in their entirety on the atomistic level is a huge experimental challenge. Prof. Dr. Christine Peter from the University of Konstanz is therefore working on the development of special computer models that are able to calculate and visualize the complex interaction of atoms. She is using these models to study the chemical basis of complex biological phenomena such as protein folding and the…

Article - 18/11/2013

Insilico Biotechnology AG: strategic orientation secures corporate growth

Insilico Biotechnology AG from Stuttgart designs and optimises biotechnological processes for the chemical pharmaceutical and food industries. The company makes predictions on the behaviour of cells and organisms. This knowledge can be used to reduce the time required for the development or optimisation of biotechnological processes involving the production of drugs. The company owns a worldwide unique systems biology platform that integrates…

Dossier - 04/11/2013

Biotechnology – driver of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

The biotech industry is the innovative driver for a pharmaceutical industry that, due to the shift from blockbluster products to personalised medicine, now depends on new concepts. The production of new drugs using genetic engineering relies on knowledge gained from genomics, proteomics and systems biology and creates new treatment strategies that combine therapy and diagnostics (i.e. companion diagnostics) to provide a specific individualised…

Article - 07/10/2013

Hans Kestler brings order to biological data

Hans Kestler works on the borders between the faculties, administration and different disciplines at Ulm University. Molecular biologists and life scientists at Ulm University fight over the lively engineer who is in his late forties. They all need the assistance of the systems biologist who knows how to deal with the enormous amounts of data they produce using mathematical models and algorithms.

Article - 28/06/2013

A world champion of regeneration

Planarians can be cut into pieces, and each piece can regenerate into a complete organism. The flatworms are able to do this as they have a huge pool of adult totipotent stem cells that can differentiate into any body cell whatsoever, including germ cells. Scientists from the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies are using new algorithms to analyse the complex planarian genome structures with the aim of obtaining insights into the genetic…

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…

Press release - 30/04/2013

Impressions from the 2013 BIO International Convention in Chicago

A trade fair turns 20 and an industrial sector is coming of age. Where does BIO stand today? The number of exhibitors has slightly decreased the conference is characterised by general themes and trends and partnering has become the most important and indispensable part of the global event for biotechnology. What was once a gold rush atmosphere has given way to an experienced self-confidence about the economic importance of biotechnology.

Article - 01/04/2013

Waltraud Schulze – the appeal of extreme sports and other extreme activities

Waltraud Schulze is like the plants she studies: a master in the art of living and extremely diverse. For her explorations by bike, the biologist loves the arctic cold of Lake Baikal as much as the desert heat of Australia. She is considered to be the first woman to have climbed three 6,000 m summits in the Tibetan Plateau, she writes travel guides, runs her own website and has recently started learning Chinese. Since November 2012, Schulze has…

Article - 10/12/2012

A machine learning method for the prediction of regulatory interactions

Heidelberg bioinformaticians have developed a novel method for the automated prediction of regulatory interactions. The regulatory interaction predictor, a machine-learning based approach for predicting interactions between DNA-binding transcription factors and their target genes and obtaining important insights into the gene regulatory networks in complex cells.

Dossier - 05/11/2012

Cancer – basic research, successes and trends

Science is approaching cancer treatment by using new systems biology approaches and setting up large-scale multidisciplinary projects such as the International Cancer Genome Consortium. Progress in genome, epigenome and gene expression analyses of cancer cells, new insights into the regulation and interaction of cells gained in cooperation with stem cell research and virus research contributes to gaining a causal understanding of cancer. This…

Article - 08/10/2012

A systems biology approach to understanding tumour growth

Researchers at the Center Systems Biology in Stuttgart are developing multi-scale models of tumour growth with the aim of predicting how drugs spread and disperse in the tissue. The simulations can also take into account potential effects of pharmacological compounds and irradiation. The method will benefit researchers and clinicians by assisting them in their efforts to develop more efficient therapies.

Dossier - 01/10/2012

Systems biology: understanding complex biological systems

Systems biology studies complex interactions within biological systems on the genome proteome and organelle level. Many techniques from the fields of systems theory and associated fields can be used to gain an understanding of the behaviour and biological mechanisms of cellular systems.