Thomas Dennison/University of Cambridge
Lab-grown 'mini-guts' offer new insights for Crohn’s disease treatments
06.09.2024
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed lab-grown "mini-guts" to better understand and treat Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease affecting millions worldwide. These mini-guts, or organoids, mimic the gut lining's key functions and could pave the way for more personalized and effective treatments.
Karin Kaiser/MHH
Heart health: New tool developed to investigate telomere length
10.06.2024
A research team from Hannover Medical School (MHH) has developed a new molecular tool to investigate the influence of telomerase on the development of heart muscle cells. This study could have significant implications for the treatment and prevention of heart diseases.
New findings on short-term cultivated CAR T cells in cancer treatment
28.05.2024
Chimeric Antigen Receptor T (CAR T) cells are a breakthrough in immunotherapy, offering hope for blood cancer patients who have exhausted other options. These genetically modified cells are designed to attack cancer cells by recognizing specific antigens. The therapy has shown promise, particularly in treating B-cell leukemias and lymphomas.
Plasmids in the human intestine: new findings on their use as biomarkers
27.05.2024
The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg has published a study in which an international research team reports on the discovery of a potential biomarker from the human intestine. This plasmid could be used in the future to detect fecal contamination or monitor inflammatory bowel diseases. The results were published in the journal Cell.
Joe Carrotta for NYU Langone Health
Breakthrough transplant surgery: Heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney combined
21.05.2024
NYU Langone Health has achieved a medical milestone with the first-ever combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery.
David Baillot/University of California San Diego
Faster and more accurate pathogen detection through DNA melting
05.03.2024
Unlike conventional blood cultures, which can take anywhere from 15 hours to several days to yield results, the new digital DNA melting analysis delivers actionable insights in under six hours. This accelerated turnaround time enables clinicians to initiate targeted treatment strategies promptly, minimizing the risk of disease progression and improving patient outcomes.
privat
Chronic lung diseases: funding for precision medicine
20.12.2023
Associate Professor Dr Jonas Schupp receives funding for his research into chronic lung diseases.
Stephan Spangenberg
UNFOLD research project receives prestigious ERC Synergy Grant
01.11.2023
Physicist and veterinarian Prof. Dr. Kristian Franze, Director at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) and Director of the Institute for Medical Physics and Microtissue Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), has been awarded an ERC Synergy Grant.
Barth van Rossum, FMP
Microscopy and fluorescence show how synapses are formed
23.10.2023
How are synapses formed, those points of contact that allow the transmission of information from one neuron to the other? Working with an international team, researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) have now uncovered a crucial mechanism and elucidated the identity of the axonal transport vesicles that generates synapses.
Linköping University
A step towards AI-based precision medicine
19.10.2023
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have developed an AI-based method applicable to various medical and biological issues. Their models can for instance accurately estimate people’s chronological age and determine whether they have been smokers or not.
Oxford Nanopore
Nanopore sequencing and DNA barcoding method gives hope of personalised medicine
03.10.2023
With the ability to map dozens of biomarkers at once, a new method could transform testing for conditions including heart disease and cancer.
Knoblich Lab / IMBA-IMP Graphics
Autism: brain organoid shows genetic bases
21.09.2023
Technology, developed by researchers from the Knoblich group at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Treutlein group at ETH Zurich, permits the identification of vulnerable cell types and gene regulatory networks that underlie autism spectrum disorders.
svitlanah
New blood marker can identify parkinsonian diseases
20.09.2023
Is it possible that a single biomarker can detect all types of diseases related to dopamine deficiency in the brain? Yes, that's what a research group in Lund is discovering.
Ryan Hull
Pathogen detection through electronic detection of DNA nanoballs
19.09.2023
Researchers at Karolinska Institute have developed a novel method using DNA Nanoballs to detect pathogens, aiming to simplify nucleic acid testing and revolutionize pathogen detection.
Beate Armbruster/University Hospital of Tuebingen
Protection for cancer patients
05.09.2023
Tübingen T-cell activator offers protection against coronaviruses in immunocompromised patients
Gregor Hübl/University of Bonn
Researchers decode new antibiotic
29.08.2023
Cooperation between the University of Bonn, the USA and the Netherlands cracks the mode of action of clovibactin
LanaSweet
Research gives new insights into fighting antimicrobial resistance
25.08.2023
Cooking food thoroughly and avoiding some types of vegetables and salad during a course of antibiotic treatment could potentially reduce antibiotic resistance, by preventing bacteria carrying resistance genes getting into the gut, according to a new study.
LMU
Immunotherapy: Antibody kit to fight tumors
25.08.2023
A new study highlights the potential of artificial DNA structures that, when fitted with antibodies, instruct the immune system to specifically target cancerous cells.
Karin Kaiser / MHH
How harmless turns dangerous
24.08.2023
MHH researcher Prof. Galardini from the RESIST Cluster of Excellence finds causes for bloodstream infections in the genes of bacteria. This will enable better diagnostics and vaccinations in the future.
Elisha Krieg und Yu-Hsuan Peng
Programmable DNA hydrogels for advanced cell culture and personalized medicine
22.08.2023
The team of Dr. Elisha Krieg at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden has developed a dynamic DNA-crosslinked matrix (DyNAtrix) by combining classical synthetic polymers with programmable DNA crosslinkers.
European Society of Cardiology
AI and precision medicine may discover risk of cardiovascular disease
31.07.2023
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, among others, have now found that artificial intelligence seems to play a role in identifying the risk of cardiovascular disease.
istock.com/viorika
AI brings hope for children with lyosomal storage disease
20.07.2023
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important in drug discovery. Advances in the use of Big Data, learning algorithms and powerful computers have now enabled researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH) to better understand a serious metabolic disease.
drazenphoto
Revolutionizing virus detection: the power of AI and CRISPR
04.07.2023
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly working to develop innovative and accurate tests to identify the presence of viruses. One breakthrough technology that has emerged is the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and CRISPR, which has revolutionized virus detection.
University Hospital of Bonn (UKB)
Ataxias: international award for Bonn patient care and research
28.06.2023
The Ataxia Center at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and DZNE have been awarded the title “Ataxia Center of Excellence” by the US National Ataxia Foundation (NAF) for their patient care and research – as the only organization in Europe.
Universidad de Barcelona
MRI shows new altered neural circuits in Huntington's disease
16.06.2023
Huntington’s disease is a genetically-based neurodegenerative disorder that causes motor, cognitive and psychiatric disorders in the affected individuals. Understanding the alterations in the neural circuits in this disorder is essential in order to design therapeutic approaches.
seventyfourimages
Blood biomarkers plus genomics in the prediction of disease risk
16.06.2023
Being to identify people at high risk of chronic disease means that they can be targeted with prevention measures before they become sick. Polygenic risk scores, where genomic information alone is used to assess the risk of developing diseases, have been receiving a lot of attention recently.
mstandret
AI in eye scans: improved diagnosis of inherited disease of the retina
14.06.2023
Researchers from the UK and Germany have used artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a system that they believe will enable more widespread provision of testing, together with improved efficiency.
Pixabay
Lung: bacterial colonisation also depends on genes of the host
13.06.2023
We know from previous studies that changes in the lung microbiome are associated with diseases such as cystic fibrosis, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Environmental factors such as smoking, nutrition in infancy or the use of antibiotics are important factors for the composition and stability of the microbial community in the lung.
Dennis Gankin / TUM
Algorithm helps search for the cause of hereditary diseases
07.06.2023
A Munich research team has developed an algorithm that predicts the effects of genetic mutations on RNA formation six times more precisely than previous models.
University of Surrey
UK AI world leader in identifying location and expression of proteins
18.05.2023
A new advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system has shown world-leading accuracy and speed in identifying protein patterns within individual cells.
Universidad de Barcelona
Rare disease diagnosis: AI algorithms do not include human diversity
17.05.2023
Most of the AI-generated algorithms have databases with populations of European origins and they ignore the genetic and morphological diversity of human populations of around the world.
DZNE/AG Milovanovic
Tuning brain cells with light
11.05.2023
An international research team, comprising scientists from University Hospital Bonn, DZNE, the Netherlands, and the US has been awarded a US$ 1.3 million grant by the “Human Frontier Science Program” to investigate brain immune cells and manipulate them via light irradiation.
Universität des Saarlandes/Oliver Dietze
Exploring the molecular mechanisms of ageing
09.05.2023
A team led by bioinformatics experts Andreas Keller and Fabian Kern from Saarland University together with researchers at Stanford University have gained new insights into manifestations of ageing at the molecular level.
Okrasyuk
Map of spinal cord formation gives new knowledge on diseases of the nervous system
03.05.2023
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have mapped how cells in the human spinal cord are formed in the embryo and what genes control the process.
UCD Research and Innovation
Novel combination of therapies may provide new treatment option for bone cancer
03.05.2023
New research has identified a potential therapeutic target and developed a unique delivery system to treat osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that primarily affects children and adolescents.
Agnes Toth-Petroczy, Nature Communications
New tool facilitates clinical interpretation of genetic information
27.04.2023
Max Planck and Harvard research teams develop DeMAG, a new method shared as an open-source web server (demag.org) to help interpret mutations in disease genes and improve clinical decision-making.
Daniel Kokotek
New method makes rare cell types visible
13.04.2023
In cooperation with Helmholtz Munich, Professor Matthias Meier from the Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedicine at Leipzig University and his research group have developed a new, effective and comparatively inexpensive method to make rare cell types, cell communication types and disease patterns visible in tissue.
YuriArcursPeopleimages
Shining light on aging hearts
30.03.2023
Light therapy has demonstrated its usefulness in treating a variety of diseases. But can it delay the occurrence of age-related disease? The answer may be yes, according to a study in mice published in February in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
Fraunhofer IPK / Larissa Klassen
New technologies for producing mRNA-based pharmaceuticals
24.03.2023
Together with partners from science and industry, Fraunhofer IPK is researching how mRNA therapeutics and other medication can be better produced and more effectively applied.
Bielefeld University/Sarah Jonek
Predicting outbreak of ALS disease with AI methods
08.03.2023
Using artificial intelligence (AI) methods, researchers led by Professor Dr Alexander Schönhuth from Bielefeld University’s Faculty of Technology have succeeded in recording and deciphering the genotype profiles of 3,000 ALS patients and thus learning more about the development of the disease.
MBExC/spförtner
Optical cochlea implant: ERC Proof of Concept Grant for Tobias Moser
02.03.2023
In the ImageTox project, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security are pooling their expertise in the fields of drug discovery and artificial intelligence (AI).
Karin Kaiser / MHH
What leads to severe COVID-19 diseases?
01.03.2023
Infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to severe disease in some people, while others do not get ill or only experience mild disease. But why is this the case? Unfortunately, we do not know exactly. We do know that an overactive innate immune system is causing severe COVID-19 disease, but it is unclear how this is regulated.
Rawpixel
Packaged DNA: new method to promote bone growth
17.02.2023
DNA can help to stimulate bone healing in a localised and targeted manner, for example after a complicated fracture or after severe tissue loss following surgery.
amenic181
AI finds twisting of eye vessels could cause high blood pressure and heart disease
16.02.2023
Research led by scientists at St George’s, University of London has discovered 119 areas in the genome that help to determine the size and shape of blood vessels at the back of the eye, and that an increase in ‘twisting’ of the arteries could cause high blood pressure and heart disease.
HIPS/Boese
New cell model for the human lung
16.02.2023
A team led by Prof Claus-Michael Lehr of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has developed a novel human lung cell line that should enable much more accurate predictions of the behavior of active substances or dosage forms in humans than previous systems.
NTNU
Super quick COVID test uses new technology
13.02.2023
The ability of gold particles to reflect light in different colours is used in applications from stained glass to pregnancy tests. Now researchers are set to exploit the same properties in an ultra-fast sensor for the coronavirus.
iLexx
The architecture of shattered genomes
27.01.2023
Hunting for disease clues in the dark matter of our DNA. Scientists have reconstructed the chromosomes of patients with an extremely high number of aberrations in their genome that could alter the expression of nearby genes and potentially cause disease. Their results were published in Nature Communications in October 2022.
Karin Kaiser / MHH, Freepik.com
MHH leads EU large-scale project for personalized cancer care
26.01.2023
CAN.HEAL aims to expand the available innovations in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment in the Member States in order to improve care for all patients in the EU. The project focuses on measures of personalized medicine. Genomics is an important cornerstone for this.
manjurulhaque
Analyzing disease progression and cell processes with TIGER: in vivo and non-invasively
18.01.2023
Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) in Würzburg have developed a technology they call TIGER. It allows complex processes in individual cells to be deciphered in vivo by recording past RNA transcripts.
Universitätsklinikum Bonn (UKB)
AI improves colorectal cancer screening in Lynch syndrome
10.01.2023
Researchers at the National Center for Hereditary Tumor Diseases (NZET) at Bonn University Hospital (UKB) have now found that artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the effectiveness of colonoscopy in the presence of Lynch syndrome.
DC_Studio
Why some people get a more severe COVID-19 progression than others
22.08.2022
A team of scientists from the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) together with colleagues from the United Kingdom and Canada have found genes and proteins that contribute to a higher risk of severe COVID-19.
ktsimage
Big Data in genetics: reaching diagnosis through heaps of data
01.08.2022
Most laboratory tests only produce small amounts of data that are already sufficient for successful diagnosis. It becomes more difficult with genetic questions: whether it is about a genetic disease or the properties of tumors, there are large amounts of data that must be considered. Both research and medicine need help to identify the connections and patterns in the data to find a diagnosis.
Felix Petermann | MDC
Project "ikarus" provides new insights for cancer research
01.08.2022
Artificial intelligence (AI) is about to become a game changer, especially in diagnostics. However, there are still limits to the use of AI. Dr. Altuna Akalin had to recognize this as well. The head of the Max Delbrück Center's (MDC) technology platform for "Bioinformatics and Omics Data Science" developed "ikarus" with his team.
LipiTUM
MoSBi: Algorithm identifies disease subtypes
01.08.2022
Doctors have always used symptoms, imaging, and laboratory data to define and diagnose diseases, but at times it is simply not enough: while patients may have the same illness, it may exhibit different changes at the molecular level. A team from the Technical University of Munich has developed the so-called MoSBi algorithm and makes it available to researchers to identify molecular differences.
westend61
Big Data: Helper and game changer in laboratory medicine and genetics
01.08.2022
Big data, the use of large volumes of data in diagnostics and research, is giving medical science a powerful boost. Especially in laboratory medicine, big data can provide unprecedented support as doctors must consider a multitude of data and parameters to facilitate accurate medical decision-making.
Philippine Genome Center Mindanao
SARS-CoV-2: portable sequencing platform for developing countries
02.09.2021
Philippine Genome Center Mindanao (PGC Mindanao) has partnered with Accessible Genomics, a group of volunteering scientists from all around the world to implement a low start-up cost genomic sequencing platform for laboratories in developing countries.
PantherMedia/lucadp
Genetic test better than blood test for cardiovascular diseases
31.08.2021
Determining an individual’s blood group based on genetic tests instead of merely traditional blood tests can provide a better picture of the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Manabu Tokeshi
SARS-CoV-2: rapid method to quantify antibodies
29.07.2021
Scientists have developed a rapid, highly accurate test to detect antibodies against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 in human serum, opening a new avenue for understanding the full extent of the pandemic and evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines.
PantherMedia/Wavebreakmedia Ltd
Controlling insulin production with a smartwatch
15.06.2021
Many modern fitness trackers and smartwatches feature integrated LEDs. The green light emitted, whether continuous or pulsed, penetrates the skin and can be used to measure the wearer's heart rate during physical activity or while at rest.
rhCollagen: genetically engineered building block for regenerative medicine
03.02.2020
Collagen is the stuff that holds our bodies together and that houses our cells. In regenerative medicine, it is also the stuff that can be applied to wounds to support healing. However, collagen from animal or human sources has some drawbacks for today’s medicine. This is where rhCollagen from the Israeli company CollPlant comes into play.
Last-resort antibiotics: "We can identify carbapenemases within half an hour"
01.08.2019
Antibiotic resistance is modern medicine's greatest challenge. Some bacteria only respond to a handful of antibiotics, prompting hospitals to spend a lot of time finding an effective drug. That’s why it is critical for physicians to rapidly identify antibiotic resistance to avoid ineffective treatments.
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.