Brain-computer interfaces are able to restore some mobility to paralyzed people by controlling exoskeletons. However, more complex control signals cannot yet be read from the head surface because conventional sensors are not sensitive enough. A collaboration of Fraunhofer IAF, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, University of Stuttgart and other industrial partners has taken up this challenge.

On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, the Tübingen AI Center held a symposium to celebrate its permanent establishment as a national AI center. Since July 1, 2022, it has received 20 million euros a year in funding from the federal government and the state.

Biotech in outer space - 06/07/2022

yuri, a space start-up: weightlessness for commercial research

Growing cells without the effect of gravity could revolutionise drug development. A start-up called yuri on Lake Constance enables made-to-measure experiments on the ISS for stem cells, artificial organs, surfaces and materials. On board the next mission are some mini-cell labs from Berlin's Charité and Goethe University Frankfurt.

All cancer cells - even those within the same tumor - differ from each other and change over the course of a cancer disease. Scientists at Heidelberg University Hospital, the Medical Faculty in Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center discovered molecular changes in multiple myeloma that help individual cancer cells to survive therapy.

Centromeres, the DNA sections often found at the center of the chromosomes, display enormous interspecies diversity, despite having the same vital role during cell division across almost the entire tree of life. An international team of researchers has discovered that the variation in centromere DNA regions can be strikingly large even within a single species. The findings, now published in the journal Nature, shed light on the molecular…

Heidelberg scientists unveil genetic programmes controlling the development of cellular diversity in the cerebellum of humans and other mammals. The research results have now been published in the journal Nature.

Elastin as artificial muscle material - 02/03/2022

Artificial muscle from proteins for diverse future applications

As far as diversity and complexity are concerned, proteins are nature's smallest marvels. Biotechnologists have already used natural proteins as a basis for the development, bespoke design and production of artificial systems. This is what the livMatS cluster of excellence at the University of Freiburg has been doing. Researchers in the cluster have successfully produced an artificial muscle from elastin that functions autonomously.

Organ-on-chip for the analysis of drug effects - 20/07/2022

New 3D cell platform allows continuous metabolic monitoring

Organ-on-chips systems are systems containing miniature tissues grown inside mircrofluidic chips. By integrating microsensors, researchers at the IMTEK Freiburg, together with the RWTH Aachen University Hospital, created a novel variant that allows the measurement of metabolic activity directly on site and in real time. This enables the rapid and detailed analysis of drug effects outside an organism.

Neurodegenerative diseases - 12/12/2022

Blood-based biomarkers allow the early prediction of Alzheimer's risks

Most dementia diseases develop insidiously and are only detected at an advanced stage. Researchers at the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now identified the glial fibre acidic protein (GFAP) in the blood as a promising biomarker that can be used to determine an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease up to 17 years before diagnosis.

More than 65,000 men fall ill with prostate cancer each year in Germany. Twelve thousand of them develop a treatment-resistant form which eventually ends in death. Now, a team of researchers from the Medical Faculty at the University of Freiburg has developed an active substance that might in future represent a new treatment option.

Making a personalised T cell therapy for cancer patients currently takes at least six months; scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University Medical Center Mannheim have shown that the laborious first step of identifying tumor-reactive T cell receptors for patients can be replaced with a machine learning classifier that halves this time.

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), together with doctors from the Urological Clinic of the Mannheim University Hospital, have developed and successfully tested a chatbot based on artificial intelligence. "UroBot" was able to answer questions from the urology specialist examination with a high degree of accuracy, surpassing both other language models and the accuracy of experienced urologists.

The spliceosome, ensures that the genetic information from the genome, after being transcribed into mRNA precursors, is correctly assembled into mature mRNA. Splicing is a basic requirement for producing proteins. Researchers at the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH) have succeeded for the first time in depicting a faultily “blocked” spliceosome at high resolution and reconstructing how it is recognized and eliminated in the cell.

Microorganisms produce nutrients in bioreactors - 12/03/2025

CO2 and H2 as starting materials for proteins and vitamins

Agricultural land needed to sustain the world's growing population is becoming increasingly scarce. To help address this challenge, researchers from the Environmental Biotechnology Group at the University of Tübingen have developed an innovative and sustainable power-to-vitamin technology. This breakthrough enables protein- and vitamin-rich foods to be produced with the help of microorganisms in a bioreactor using carbon dioxide and…

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 - 28/04/2014

Data mining new opportunities for medicine and public health

Research and healthcare activities produce huge quantities of data that need to be presented in an understandable structure. This requires computer-assisted extraction of relevant data and the use of statistical methods. This process, known as data mining, enables the discovery of patterns in large data sets. Data mining methods are of particular importance in fields that use high-throughput, visualisation methods and telemedical applications.

Microorganisms can increase their host’s ability to adapt to the environment and reproduce – evolutionary biologists are now studying the underlying molecular mechanisms. A research team headed by Dr. Fabian Staubach and Yun Wang from the Institute of Biology I at the University of Freiburg has now studied the relationship of Gluconobacter bacteria and fruit flies. They have found that specific Gluconobacter variants supply the flies with vitamin…

Climate protection and sustainability in hospitals - 09/11/2022

Sustainable activities in the healthcare sector

The healthcare sector is not only facing major challenges in dealing with the consequences of climate change on human health, but it also needs to make a concrete contribution to reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions. Analyses show there are many opportunities to make medical care more sustainable, especially in hospitals’ daily routines. This is where the Heidelberg University Hospital and the viamedica foundation from Freiburg come in.

Climate protection and sustainability in hospitals - 09/11/2022

Sustainable activities in the healthcare sector

The healthcare sector is not only facing major challenges in dealing with the consequences of climate change on human health, but it also needs to make a concrete contribution to reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions. Analyses show there are many opportunities to make medical care more sustainable, especially in hospitals’ daily routines. This is where the Heidelberg University Hospital and the viamedica foundation from Freiburg come in.

Climate protection and sustainability in hospitals - 09/11/2022

Sustainable activities in the healthcare sector

The healthcare sector is not only facing major challenges in dealing with the consequences of climate change on human health, but it also needs to make a concrete contribution to reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions. Analyses show there are many opportunities to make medical care more sustainable, especially in hospitals’ daily routines. This is where the Heidelberg University Hospital and the viamedica foundation from Freiburg come in.

Life-saving smartphone app delivers rapid help during cardiac arrest - 19/05/2025

Do smartphone-based first responder alerting systems increase the chances of survival in the event of cardiac arrest?

Every minute counts when the heart suddenly stops beating or pumps so weakly that the brain is no longer receiving enough oxygen. The HEROES trial, coordinated in Freiburg, is investigating whether the survival rate of patients requiring out-of-hospital resuscitation improves when qualified first responders are alerted via the ‘Region of Lifesavers’ app - enabling them to begin high-quality resuscitation measures as early as possible.

Infection control - 07/01/2021

Gene accordions as potential markers for pathogenic properties

Bacteria must react to changes in the environment in order to survive. This is partly done by adapting genetic material, for example by multiplying and shortening individual genome segments. The research group led by Dr. Simon Heilbronner from the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine at the University of Tübingen has shown that these so-called gene accordions are frequently found in the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.

Product testing under real conditions - 11/05/2022

INSPIRE Living Lab: a bridge between industry and the clinic

Coming up with innovative ideas and products in the medical care area is highly relevant not only for the further development of Baden-Württemberg as a health region, but also for improving healthcare itself. However, bridging the gap between industry and the clinic often proves difficult. To drive this process forward, the INSPIRE Living Lab was opened at the University Medical Centre Mannheim in 2021.

In the brain of adult mammals neural stem cells ensure that new nerve cells, i.e. neurons, are constantly formed. This process, known as adult neurogenesis, helps mice maintain their sense of smell. A research team led by Dr Francesca Ciccolini at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences (IZN) of Heidelberg University recently discovered a second stem cell population in the mouse brain.

In most cancers, it is not the growth of the primary tumor that determines the prognosis for the patient, but whether it will spread and form metastases. This process is very complex. There are often years between the development of the cancer and the aggressive growth of the metastases. Scientists from the DKFZ, the HI-STEM, the Ruhr University Bochum, Helmholtz Munich and ETH Zurich have studied and identified metastasis growth in breast cancer