Article - 10/09/2012 Jan Wehkamp to investigate the causes of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases It takes a great deal of courage to question a common scientific doctrine especially for scientists at the very beginning of their careers. But around ten years ago Dr. Jan Wehkamp did not shy away from doing just that and as a result he and his scientific partner Professor Dr. Eduard Stange came up with a new explanation for the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/jan-wehkamp-to-investigate-the-causes-of-chronic-inflammatory-bowel-diseases
Article - 10/09/2012 "BrainLinks-BrainTools" – how an intention becomes reality An accident victim is no longer able to pick up a tea cup because the nerves between the brain and the arm are severed. Researchers from the faculties of biology medicine and technology at the University of Freiburg are able to translate pure thought into the movement of a cursor on a computer screen. The researchers are part of the BrainLinks-BrainTools consortium.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/brainlinks-braintools-how-an-intention-becomes-reality
Article - 10/09/2012 Osamu Tabata – DNA origami for assembling nanomachines Cells, receptor proteins, enzymes and DNA have outstanding properties. The question is, can they also be used as building blocks in computer processors, sensor systems and other micromachines in next generation microelectronics? In cooperation with his research group at the University of Kyoto and his partners in Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Osamu Tabata, microengineer and External Senior Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/osamu-tabata-dna-origami-for-assembling-nanomachines
Article - 10/09/2012 EU cooperations at the interface of research and industry It is also in the interest of small companies to look beyond their national borders: biotechnology and medical technology specialists in neighbouring European countries offer excellent prospects to German companies – and vice versa. Regional life sciences networks help establish and intensify contacts and collaborative activities between international partners.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/eu-cooperations-at-the-interface-of-research-and-industry
Article - 10/09/2012 Osamu Tabata – DNA origami for assembling nanomachines Cells, receptor proteins, enzymes and DNA have outstanding properties. The question is, can they also be used as building blocks in computer processors, sensor systems and other micromachines in next generation microelectronics? In cooperation with his research group at the University of Kyoto and his partners in Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Osamu Tabata, microengineer and External Senior Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/osamu-tabata-dna-origami-for-assembling-nanomachines
Dossier - 10/09/2012 Horizon 2020 – the EU framework programme for research and innovation – a boost for top-level research in Europe In the face of the ongoing financial crisis Europe is working on a new research strategy that is aimed at creating new economic growth and jobs. The new EU framework programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020 replaces the 7th Framework Programme FP7 and will run from 2014 with a budget of 80 billion. In July 2012 Brussels launched the final FP7 calls for proposals for 2013 that offer numerous market-based instruments designed to bridge…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/dossiers/horizon-2020-the-eu-framework-programme-for-research-and-innovation-a-boost-for-top-level-research-i
Dossier - 10/09/2012 Horizon 2020 – the EU framework programme for research and innovation – a boost for top-level research in Europe In the face of the ongoing financial crisis Europe is working on a new research strategy that is aimed at creating new economic growth and jobs. The new EU framework programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020 replaces the 7th Framework Programme FP7 and will run from 2014 with a budget of 80 billion. In July 2012 Brussels launched the final FP7 calls for proposals for 2013 that offer numerous market-based instruments designed to bridge…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/horizon-2020-the-eu-framework-programme-for-research-and-innovation-a-boost-for-top-level-research-i
Article - 03/09/2012 The Matryoshka principle of green symbiosis Unicellular, aquatic dinoflagellates are masters of what is known as nested symbiosis. They engulf chloroplast-carrying organisms which enable them to photosynthesize sunlight. While this type of symbiotic relationship enables dinoflagellates to survive, the toxins produced by algal blooms, which typically involve dinoflagellates, can have a deadly effect on marine life. This in turn can also affect organisms that consume marine life – including…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/the-matryoshka-principle-of-green-symbiosis
Article - 03/09/2012 Systems biology and hepatitis C research The international research project SysPatho aims to advance the understanding of HCV (hepatitis C virus) infections using systems biology approaches. The goal of the project coordinated by Universität Heidelberg is to develop new mathematical and computational methods to reconstruct HCV-infected hepatocytes, which can be used to identify new drug targets and help treat this dangerous disease.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/systems-biology-and-hepatitis-c-research
Article - 27/08/2012 Why don't dogs talk? Humans have developed a unique ability to communicate through speech and language. Research focusing on the development of human language and its genetic basis focuses specifically on the developmental gene FOXP2. Evo-devo research has shown that a human-specific FOXP2 variant is key for the human ability to talk. It is likely that the human variant of the rather common FOXP2 protein was already present in Neanderthals.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/why-don-t-dogs-talk
Article - 27/08/2012 How the distance from the source affects tissue patterning and growth in embryos During the embryonic development of fruit flies, zebra fish and humans, just a handful of molecules control cell migration, induce cell division and determine which cells form which type of tissue. A group of researchers led by Dr. Giorgos Pyrowolakis at the University of Freiburg is specifically focused on one of these so-called master regulators. How do the differently patterned BMP gradients develop in Drosophila melanogaster eggs, embryos and…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/how-the-distance-from-the-source-affects-tissue-patterning-and-growth-in-embryos
Press release - 27/08/2012 New insights to the Function of Molecular Chaperones Heidelberg molecular biologists have gained new insights into the function of so-called molecular chaperones in protein synthesis. The team headed by Dr. Günter Kramer and Prof. Dr. Bernd Bukau of the DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance was able to demonstrate how a molecular chaperone in bacterial cells can influence the formation of the three-dimensional structure of new proteins.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-insights-to-the-function-of-molecular-chaperones
Article - 27/08/2012 Cardiac or intestinal progenitor cells? What controls the fate of pluripotent stem cells? Cell fate decisions are made in the early mouse embryo when it is nothing more than a spherical mass of cells. A molecule known as eomesodermin determines whether pluripotent stem cells become cardiac or intestinal progenitor cells. Dr. Sebastian Arnold and his research group at the Freiburg University Medical Centre have recently discovered why one single molecule can have a twofold effect. These findings provide Arnold and his team with greater…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cardiac-or-intestinal-progenitor-cells-what-controls-the-fate-of-pluripotent-stem-cells
Article - 27/08/2012 The discovery of homeotic genes Research into the genes that cause erroneous developments in fruit flies have led to one of the most exciting discoveries in the field of developmental biology: the same type of gene that controls early embryonic development in Drosophila, also controls early embryogenesis of other organisms, including humans. These homeotic genes are lined up on the DNA in exactly the same order as they are expressed along the body axis during embryogenesis. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/the-discovery-of-homeotic-genes
Dossier - 27/08/2012 Evo-devo - the synthesis of developmental biology and evolution Evo-devo research has led to completely new ideas concerning the evolution of animals, their tissues and organs. The huge variety of animals on the planet is the result of changes in the activity of a limited number of master genes that control early embryonic development. These master genes have been highly conserved throughout evolution, which is why their analysis allows conclusions to be drawn concerning the evolution of multicellular animals…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/evo-devo-the-synthesis-of-developmental-biology-and-evolution
Article - 27/08/2012 A worm that turned The body plan of vertebrates resembles an earthworm turned on its back. Unsurprisingly, this radical idea initially met with great criticism but modern evo-devo research supports this idea of inversion. An evolutionarily conserved gene cassette determines the dorsoventral axis in the developing embryo. It does so in both vertebrates and invertebrates. However, the body plans of vertebrates and invertebrates are dorsoventrally inverted with…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/a-worm-that-turned
Press release - 24/08/2012 Cancer Survival in Germany after the fall of the Iron Curtain Two decades after the fall of the Wall, cancer survival rates in East and West Germany have become almost equal. This is reported in a recent study by a team of epidemiologists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and eleven German cancer registries. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/cancer-survival-in-germany-after-the-fall-of-the-iron-curtain
Press release - 22/08/2012 Glial cells protect the brain from epileptic seizures Epileptic fits are like thunderstorms raging in the brain Nerve cells excite each other in an uncontrolled way so that strong rhythmic electrical discharges sweep over whole brain regions. In the wake of such a seizure the nerve cells are severely affected and permanent damage is possible. The glia a class of cells that surround the neurons in the brain was long suspected to contribute to the damaging effects of epilepsy. Quite the opposite is…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/glial-cells-protect-the-brain-from-epileptic-seizures
Press release - 21/08/2012 Freiburg research team sheds light on important metabolite in bacteria Scientists from the research groups of Prof. Dr. Susana Andrade and Prof. Dr. Oliver Einsle, members of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, Cluster of Excellence of the University of Freiburg, have collected the first precise data ever on the function of a transport protein for formate – an important metabolite in bacteria. The findings could potentially lead to the development of new antibiotic…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/freiburg-research-team-sheds-light-on-important-metabolite-in-bacteria
Press release - 20/08/2012 Viruses with integrated gene switch Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) with colleagues from the University of Konstanz have developed “RNA switches” which allow them to specifically turn on and off genes in viruses. This will help to enhance regulation of gene therapy and viral therapy of cancer. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/viruses-with-integrated-gene-switch
Press release - 17/08/2012 Max Planck scientist investigates the evolutionary model of Muller’s ratchet Especially in small asexual populations unfavourable mutations can accumulate. This process is known as Mullers ratchet in evolutionary biology. The ratchet predicts that the genome deteriorates irreversibly leaving populations on a one-way street to extinction. In collaboration with colleagues from the US Richard Neher from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology has shown mathematically how Mullers ratchet operates and he has…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/max-planck-scientist-investigates-the-evolutionary-model-of-muller-s-ratchet
Press release - 16/08/2012 Blood cancer cells initiate signalling cascade Researchers of the University of Freiburg have identified a new mechanism that causes immune cells to convert into malignant cancer cells. In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia CLL one of the most common types of blood cancer in the Western world cells themselves carry the key for the pathogenic transformation the scientists report in the journal Nature. Understanding these underlying mechanisms could facilitate new therapies with reduced side…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/blood-cancer-cells-initiate-signalling-cascade
Press release - 13/08/2012 Strong growth in PLA production capacity expected The nova-Institute has published initial results of a multi-client market survey of the international bioplastics market. The results predict worldwide PLA (polylactic acid) bioplastic production capacity to reach around 800,000 tonnes/y by 2020. The "Market Study on Bio-based Polymers and Plastics in the World” will be published in January 2013.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/strong-growth-in-pla-production-capacity-expected
Press release - 08/08/2012 Apogenix: APG101 Exceeds Expectations with Controlled Phase II Clinical Trial The biopharmaceutical company Apogenix GmbH announced today that the phase II clinical proof of concept trial with APG101 as treatment of recurrent glioblastoma has met and exceeded expectations in the final analysis of the data. In this randomized controlled clinical study the patients were treated either with a combination of APG101 plus radiotherapy (APG101+RT group) or radiotherapy alone (RT group). The primary objective of the trial was to…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/apogenix-apg101-exceeds-expectations-with-controlled-phase-ii-clinical-trial
Press release - 07/08/2012 immatics announces publication of IMA901 cancer vaccine data in Nature Medicine immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced that key data covering the scientific and clinical development of its lead cancer vaccine, IMA901, have been published in Nature Medicine. The paper highlights that renal cell carcinoma patients experience longer survival times when their immune system produces an immune response to…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/immatics-announces-publication-of-ima901-cancer-vaccine-data-in-nature-medicine