Cell division, cell differentiation, cell repair and cell death play fundamental roles in the human organism, its development, health and reproduction. Cellular transformation processes are governed by two regulatory mechanisms: chromatin modifications and cell signaling networks. The EpiSignal Research Training Group sheds light on the hitherto little-researched interplay between these two complex systems.

Whether we are predisposed to particular diseases depends to a large extent on the countless variants in our genome. However in the case of genetic variants the influence on the presentation of certain pathological traits has been difficult to determine. Researchers have introduced an algorithm based on deep learning that can predict the effects of rare genetic variants.

Innovation for sustainable plastic packaging - 04/09/2024

Liquid Plug & Play: eco-designed plastic packaging – not just for ultrasound gel

In the healthcare industry tons of consumables such as ultrasound gel go to waste because packaging can’t be completely emptied. An invention called Liquid Plug & Play could offer a solution for the future. This innovation, which consists of a reusable outer shell and a disposable product pouch for viscous substances, can be completely emptied. It also prevents cross-contamination and offers many other benefits.

Baden-Württemberg receives the EU Commission's "Regional Innovation Valley" label - 01/07/2024

Customised healthcare for all: BIOPRO is a partner in the EU project PRECISEU

The EU research project PRECISEU, which started in June 2024 and will run for five years, aims to connect innovation ecosystems across Europe and advance personalised medicine throughout Europe. BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg is one of 25 partner organisations from 11 European countries that are working on the further development of customised healthcare as part of the research project.

Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.

Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.

Tumor vaccines can help the body fight cancer. These vaccines alert the patient's immune system to proteins that are harbouring cancer-typical alterations. Physicians and cancer researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim have now treated adult patients with advanced midline gliomas, difficult-to-treat brain tumors, with a peptide vaccine for the first time.

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.

During infections, the hematopoietic system switches from normal to emergency mode. This improves the defense against the pathogens. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now found an epigenetic switch in blood stem cells and progenitor cells of mice that can trigger the switch from one mode to the other.

Toxicologists from the University of Konstanz have found that the protein p53 continuously protects our cells from tumorigenesis by coordinating important metabolic processes that stabilize their genomes.

Inspiration, innovation, networking are the name of the game on April 12, 2022, when the trinational event “Innovation Day Upper Rhine” (IDUR) takes place at the Palais Universitaire on the University of Strasbourg campus. Twelve universities in the Upper Rhine region, including the University of Freiburg and 100 partner companies of the EU funded project “Knowledge Transfer Upper Rhine” (KTUR), invite to a day of exchange and meeting.

5G-OR is one of the 4 winning projects jointly selected by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action in Germany and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Relaunch in France for the call “Technical developments and application ecosystems for 5G private networks”. The joint Franco-German 5G-OR project takes up the challenge in the healthcare domain.

Gene regulation as a starting point for cancer therapies - 02/12/2021

New investigation method for deciphering complex epigenetic networks

The development and maintenance of uncontrolled cell division in tumours is often due to the unbalanced, complex interplay of regulatory epigenetic networks. Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry in Stuttgart have developed a new screening system to identify essential components that can serve as targets for anticancer drugs.

Plastic products can be found everywhere in daily life, soft plastic in particular often being used for packaging or children's toys. These often contain so-called plasticizers which ensure that the material remains flexible. Because plasticizers are not bonded permanently to the plastic, they can escape from the material, meaning they can be absorbed by humans.

International research collaboration explores the properties of different neuron types in the brain motor cortex of mice, monkeys and humans using novel experimental and data analysis techniques.

Scientists use super-resolution microscopy to study previously undiscovered cellular worlds, revealing nanometer-scale details inside cells. This method revolutionized light microscopy and earned its inventors the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In an international collaboration, AI researchers from Tübingen have now developed an algorithm that significantly accelerates this technology.

Gene regulation - 20/07/2021

The many faces of the epigenetic regulator MOF

Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in coordinated gene transcription, and are required for a fertilised egg cell to be able to develop into an organism with different cell types. Dr. Asifa Akhtar from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has been studying the essential epigenetic regulator protein MOF for 20 years.

Article - 22/06/2021

Using virtual reality in the clinic to rehabilitate patients with cognitive disorders

Outdated and inadequate methods of neurological rehabilitation are still being used for patients with neurological diseases or injuries – and what’s more, the treatment is usually too late. This is because cognitive training is especially important in the critical phases when the brain is particularly plastic. The Heidelberg-based company living brain proves that early treatment is possible using an extremely innovative method – with concentrated…

Article - 14/04/2021

Calling for quality seal for implants

Today's seniors are older and more active, which is why implants remain in the body longer and are subjected to greater strain than before. Improved surfaces are expected to ensure that the implants heal and integrate into the bone optimally. In an interview with BIOPRO, Dietmar Schaffarczyk, CEO of Konstanz-based stimOS GmbH, explains why a voluntary quality seal makes sense and gives consumers a better chance of recognising high-quality…

Neuroblastoma can spread relentlessly or shrink spontaneously. Scientists from the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the University of Heidelberg and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg have shown that some malignant neuroblastomas employ a trick to avoid cell death: they use a special mechanism to lengthen the telomeres at the end of their chromosomes.

Researchers from EMBL and Heidelberg University Hospital combine high-resolution imaging to observe the infection process in cell nuclei, opening the door for new therapeutics.

Innovative Therapies - 20/08/2020

Labor Dr. Merk is fully committed to viral therapies

Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen is reorienting its business towards viral therapeutics. With this change of strategy, the company, which has decades of expertise in virology, wants to position itself in a timely fashion in the growing new market for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP). In gene and virotherapies (oncolytic viruses), tumour vaccines and CAR-T cell therapies, viruses are essential as vectors, killers of tumour cells or…

High-tech - 20/10/2016

Industry 4.0 in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industry sectors

The digitalisation of industry affects the entire value chain. From individual products to digitising workflows in companies and connecting companies with clients and service providers via the Internet of Things – Industry 4.0 makes completely new manufacturing processes possible and requires new and specific business models.

Dossier - 02/12/2013

RNA interference confidence is returning

The 15-year history of RNA interference is not short on dramatic effects. It begins with the unexpected discovery and publication of the process of post-transcriptional gene silencing in 1998 for which Andrew Fire and Craig Mello were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine just eight years after their discovery. In 2001 Thomas Tuschl succeeded in switching off genes in human cells with small synthetic pieces of RNA siRNA.