High-resolution microscopy technology bypassing the diffraction limit - 26/10/2023

From micro- to nanoscope

It has long been impossible to distinguish objects closer than 200 nanometres using light microscopes. However, novel devices developed by a company called abberior Instruments GmbH, which use technology developed by Nobel Prize winner Prof. Dr. Stefan Hell and his teams in Heidelberg and Göttingen, are now able to bypass this resolution limit and provide detailed insights into living cells in the lower nanometre range.

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Priscilla Briquez, junior professor at the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Freiburg University Medical Center and member of the Medical Faculty at the University of Freiburg, has received a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant from the European Commission. Her DRESSCODE project will receive a total of 1.5 million euros funding for five years.

The development of highly specific T-cell engagers directed against pHLA tumor targets will be quick and easy. BioCopy's innovative pHLA screening technology characterizes drug candidates in great depth for their specific binding against the desired pHLA tumor target. YUMAB develops highly specific antibodies with their advanced antibody technologies.

A research team of scientists from the Fraunhofer IPA, the Bosch Digital Innovation Hub at Bosch Health Campus and the Institute of Image-Guided Surgery (IHU) of Strasbourg has jointly launched the DAIOR project. Within the framework of the project, the project partners are working on realizing the operating room of the future with help of artificial intelligence and robot assisted telemedicine.

Project SMARTGAIT - 13/09/2023

Safe and cost-effective analysis of neurological gait disorders with AI

Stroke, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis often resulting in gait disorders in those affected. Gait analyses play a crucial role in the successful evaluation and therapy of such disorders. Current measurement methods are costly and time-consuming. The SMARTGAIT project is therefore developing an innovative AI-based system aimed at performing meaningful gait analyses with the help of simple smartphone video recordings.

The computational design of new proteins for biomedical or other applications involves long computing times on powerful servers. A joint team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen and the University Hospital Tübingen has now developed and tested a new computational method to greatly speed up the necessary energy calculations. Their framework allows for a precise and efficient design of functional proteins.

Germany has the most active market, Southern Europe wants more variety, and people in Poland find dairy substitutes too expensive, according to a recent study by the University of Hohenheim.

Project BlindZero - 03/08/2023

Hope for patients with eye diseases: human cornea from 3D printers

Thousands of cornea transplants are performed every year. However, donors are rare and the procedure is not always without complications. Researchers at the University of Heidelberg are developing an innovative technique in the project BlindZero. It involves ‘printing’ human corneas directly onto patients’ eyes using 3D bioprinting. The reprogrammed genetically engineered cells used for this purpose are not expected to cause a rejection reaction.

NeuroQ project - 26/07/2023

Quantum sensors for exoskeletons: can quantum physics beat paralysis?

Could people suddenly be able to move again decades after being paralysed? State-of-the-art quantum sensors integrated in exoskeletons could make this possible. Technology being developed as part of the BMBF-funded NeuroQ beacon project by researchers from organisations including the Fraunhofer IAF, the Charité in Berlin and the University of Stuttgart might achieve even more: besides facilitating movement, it could also help cure paralysis.

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.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a magnetically controlled soft medical robot with a unique, flexible structure inspired by the body of a pangolin. The robot is freely movable despite built-in hard metal components. Thus, depending on the magnetic field, it can adapt its shape to be able to move and can emit heat when needed.

CureVac N.V. today announced that it has dosed the first patient with its investigational cancer vaccine CVGBM in a Phase 1 study. CVGBM is based on CureVac’s proprietary second-generation mRNA backbone and features a single mRNA, encoding eight epitopes derived from known tumor-associated antigens with demon­strated relevance in glioblastoma. A first data readout is expected in the second half of 2024.

The AutoProNano German/French collaborative project involves developing a process for the automated production of nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo diagnostics. The project is being launched within the smart analytics cooperation network. This international initiative has been funded by the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) since May 2020.

Detecting drug resistance of tumour cells - 25/05/2023

AI-assisted diagnostics declares war on lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and has a particularly high mortality rate. A significant challenge in treating this disease lies in the resistance of lung tumours to conventional drug therapies, rendering chemotherapy ineffective. There is hope on the horizon as a team of experts from Baden-Württemberg has joined forces to develop an innovative AI-supported test procedure that paves the way for individualised therapy approaches.

The recently established ITCC-P4 gGmbH provides academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies with a comprehensive repertoire of modern laboratory models of pediatric tumors. The aim is to systematically test new treatment options for children and adolescents with cancer and to contribute data to regulatory approval processes in order to make the development of new cancer therapies for children and adolescents more attractive.

Proteins have characteristic amino acid sequences, the analysis of which is fundamental for research and medicine. These can be decoded; however, so-called protein sequencing is expensive and time-consuming. A large-scale research project led by Prof. Dr. Jan Behrends from the Institute of Physiology at the University of Freiburg now aims to establish a new technology for protein sequencing using nanopores, which will be rapid and cost-effective.

Heidelberg University is to acquire a research building to develop innovative engineering science strategies and technologies on the basis of life-inspired molecular systems. The German Science and Humanities Council has now expressed its backing for the idea with an outstanding rating. This recommendation is the crucial precondition for a new building on the university campus Im Neuenheimer Feld.

Tablet-based diagnostics - 12/04/2023

TuCAN - innovative diagnostic procedure for neuropsychiatric disorders

Neuropsychiatric disorders are often diagnosed late and have a negative impact on quality of life. Diagnosing the disease at an early stage is vital to be able to help those affected by offering them treatment adapted to their specific requirements. This is what the TuCAN project in Tübingen aims to achieve through the early and differential diagnosis of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Bacteria of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa are antibiotic-resistant hospital germs that can enter blood, lungs and other tissues through wounds and cause life-threatening infections. In a joint project, researchers from the Universities of Freiburg and Strasbourg in France have discovered a mechanism that likely contributes to the severity of P. aeruginosa infections.

This month marks the launch of an outstanding project integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and neuromedicine – the Hertie Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Brain Health (Hertie AI). Founded on February 1 at the Medical Faculty of the University of Tübingen, it will be the first institute in Germany to research the prevention and early diagnosis of diseases of the nervous system using artificial intelligence methods.

Non-profit limited liability company creates institutional framework for interdisciplinary research collaboration, innovative technology development and outstanding healthcare in the Rhine-Neckar region.

Photon-counting technology - 01/02/2023

PC3 consortium: innovative computed tomography for Baden-Württemberg

The University Hospitals of Freiburg, Tübingen and Mannheim have been cooperating with each other since 2021 to test new types of computed tomography devices. With the help of photon-counting technology, the aim is not only to improve patient care, but also to encourage local companies to develop downstream data processing technologies.

In the 2022 allocation round for the award of the prestigious Consolidator Grants of the European Research Council, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have been successful. For their projects in the fields of photovoltaics and medical sensor technology, physicist Ulrich W. Paetzold and chemist Frank Biedermann will receive approximately two million euros over the next five years.

With the "Česká Hlava" awards, the Czech government has been honoring the country's most brilliant minds every year since 2002 and recognizing exceptional achievements in research, development and innovation. Martina Benešová-Schäfer of the German Cancer Research Center was among the six laureates honored in 2022 at Charles University in Prague.

Researchers at the University of Freiburg Medical School led by Prof. Dr. Johannes Letzkus and the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research have discovered that a little-studied area of the brain, the "zone of uncertainty" or "zona incerta," communicates with the neocortex in unconventional ways to rapidly control memory formation.