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Image: Two men in the zoo holding turtles in their hands; Copyright: Oliver Dietze

Diagnostics: Animal blood samples help predict human diseases

17.07.2019

Penguins, Asian elephants and many other animal species live in the zoos of Saarbrücken and Neunkirchen. As they come from different continents, blood is regularly taken from the animals to check their health.
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Image: man in the lab looks into a microscope; Copyright: panthermedia.net/alexraths

Laboratory medicine: engineers revolutionize molecular microscopy

15.07.2019

Control Engineers of the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, in collaboration with colleagues from the Jülich Research Center, have developed a method for measuring the electrical potentials of molecules and molecular surfaces with previously unattainable precision and speed.
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Image: young woman in the laboratory loading MiniON by injecting something in it; Copyright: Quadram Institute

Rapid test: diagnosing pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections

09.07.2019

Scientists at the Quadram Institute and the University of East Anglia (UEA) have developed a new, rapid way of diagnosing bacterial lower respiratory tract infections in hours rather than days, that could improve patient care and slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance. The method is published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
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Image: A computer-generated image of short DNA strands; Copyright: Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry

Diagnostics: A rapid, easy-to-use DNA amplification method

19.06.2019

Scientists in Japan have developed a way of amplifying DNA on a scale suitable for use in the emerging fields of DNA-based computing and molecular robotics. By enabling highly sensitive nucleic acid detection, their method could improve disease diagnostics and accelerate the development of biosensors, for example, for food and environmental applications.
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Image: cells are placed on a microfluidic organ-chip; Copyright: Dr. Gad Vatine/BGU

Blood-brain barrier chip: using stem cells for the first time

18.06.2019

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles have, for the first time, duplicated a patient's blood-brain barrier (BBB), creating a human BBB chip with stem cells, which can be used to develop personalized medicine and new techniques to research brain disorders.
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Image: microscope images of the human Blood-Brain Barrier-on-Chip; Copyright: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

Blood-Brain Barrier Chip: in vivo-like drug and antibody transport

17.06.2019

Like airport security barriers that either clear authorized travelers or block unauthorized travelers and their luggage from accessing central operation areas, the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) tightly controls the transport of essential nutrients and energy metabolites into the brain and staves off unwanted substances circulating in the blood stream.
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Image: A DNA sample is taken from the mouth of a woman; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Peter Jobst

Advance in genome analysis: DNA tests for patients move closer

05.06.2019

Diseases caused by genetic changes could be detected more readily thanks to an advance in DNA analysis software. The development will make it easier to integrate genetic testing into health care systems such as the UK's National Health Service, which cares for around three million people affected by genetic diseases in the UK.
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Image: A coloured microscopic image of an organoid; Copyright: Cincinnati Children's

Organ-on-a-chip: Bioengineered human liver disease

04.06.2019

Scientists successfully bioengineered human liver organoids that faithfully mimic key features of fatal liver disease in the laboratory. This allowed them to uncover underlying disease biology in the organoids and test a potential therapy that in preclinical lab tests reversed an often-fatal childhood condition called Wolman disease.
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Image: graphic of disrupted regulation of autism-related genes; Copyright: Troyanskaya lab

AI detects a new class of mutations behind autism

30.05.2019

Many mutations in DNA that contribute to disease are not in actual genes but instead lie in the 99% of the genome once considered "junk." Even though scientists have recently come to understand that these vast stretches of DNA do in fact play critical roles, deciphering these effects on a wide scale has been impossible until now.
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Image: Preview picture of video

Multi-organ chips: Drug research without animal testing at vasQlab

15.05.2019

New active substances that are suitable for drugs are initially tested in animal experiments. However, the results cannot always be transferred to the human organism. At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Prof. Ute Schepers from vasQlab explains how active substances can be tested in human tissue without endangering human health.
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Image: man in the laboratory, in front of him a screen; Copyright: Joseph Xu, UM College of Engineering

Laboratory medicine: new method for liquid biopsies

07.05.2019

Advancing technology is allowing scientists increasingly to search for tiny signs of cancer and other health issues in samples of patients' blood and urine. These "liquid biopsies" are less invasive than a traditional biopsy, and can provide information about what's happening throughout the body instead of just at a single site.
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Image: Preview picture to the video

Interview with Hombrechtikon Systems Engineering AG

15.11.2018

Whether DNA testing, tissue analysis or blood tests – the secrets of life are unraveled in the laboratory. In order to master this challenge, all processes must first be optimized and automated. Which role HSE AG plays here, the Swiss company explains at MEDICA 2018.
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Image: Three men in suits and a woman in a laboratory coat are standing in a laboratory; Copyright: Ministry of Economy of Mecklenburg-Hither Pomerania/Norbert Fellechner

On the trail of cancer: personalized cancer vaccine

01.03.2018

Conventional cancer treatment selection typically depends on the location of the tumor. However, this approach ignores the distinct gene mutations in the tumor of the individual patient. New cancer research approaches increasingly emphasize the concept of personalized therapy.
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Image: A group of physicians is holding large colorful puzzle pieces in their hands and is putting them together; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Andriy Popov

Personalized medicine: a paradigm shift is gaining momentum

01.03.2018

Personalized medicine does not follow a "one-size-fits-all" treatment approach but emphasizes a "tailor-made" paradigm, meaning a treatment is customized to each individual person's case. For patients, this increases the chances of treatment success and means fewer side effects. While the approach originates in the field of oncology, it is now also increasingly applied to other disease patterns.
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Image: yellow tape measure with capsules in front of it; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Jiri Hera

Personalized cancer medicine: customized treatment

01.03.2018

Everyone is different. This statement also applies to our health. Cancer, in particular, can look and progress differently depending on the individual person. That’s why every patient ideally also needs a customized treatment that is tailored to their individual needs. But how feasible is this idea?
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Image: Collage made of two images, one show a round, transparent plastic disc with micro channels, one shows a plastic chip; Copyright: Hahn-Schickard, Image Bernd Müller

Prenatal diagnosis: genetic analysis using droplet PCR

24.07.2017

A new analysis method that uses fetal DNA extracted from the mother’s blood is designed to non-invasively reach a prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders in a child. A task force of the Hahn Schickard Society for Applied Research is an active part of the "ANGELab" project and co-developed this diagnostic procedure.
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Image: Children playing outside, getting wet in the water; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Wavebreakmedia ltd

Pneumonia in Children: Ultrasound or X-Rays?

08.03.2017

Pneumonia is the most frequent respiratory disease in children and can even cause death. That is why it is extremely important to make an accurate diagnosis as quickly as possible. If this requires imaging tests, normally X-rays are taken. But there is an alternative: ultrasound.
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Image: Different medical pictograms; Copyright: panthermedia.net/aimage

Collect Data? Utilize Data! – The Blessings of Big Data

01.03.2017

Genome data, MRI images, and blood test results – data collected in the medical sector is not only very heterogeneous but also extremely extensive. However, it is important to not only collect this data but to also utilize it. After all, processed, linked and analyzed data provides many opportunities in research, hospital management and ultimately also for the individual patient.
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Image: Image of a bird in greyscale and blurred; Copyright: Universitätsklinikum Tübingen

Gene therapy for the treatment of achromatopsia

01.02.2017

Achromatopsia is a rare hereditary visual disorder. Along with total color blindness, patients most notably suffer from reduced visual acuity and increased sensitivity to light and glare.
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