Gustavo Raskosky
Superhydrophobic device to model tumor progression
20.09.2024
Rice University bioengineers have harnessed the lotus leaf's unique properties to create a cutting-edge platform for culturing cancer cell clusters. This system offers a new approach to studying tumor progression and metastasis, providing essential insights into cancer biology and treatment.
From lab to market: How vessel-chips are changing drug testing
20.08.2024
As the medical field seeks more ethical and accurate alternatives to traditional drug testing, vessel-chip technology is a prospective solution. This technology promises greater accuracy and a reduced need for animal trials.
Hannes Woidich/DWI – Leibniz-Institut für Interaktive Materialien
Sonopharmacology research: Andreas Herrmann awarded ERC Advanced Grant
14.05.2024
Professor Andreas Herrmann, a leading researcher at the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, has been granted an ERC Advanced Grant totaling €2.5 million by the European Research Council (ERC). This funding will support his research into the use of biocompatible ultrasound for medical applications over the next five years.
Boris Hegger / ICRC
Optimizing humanitarian logistics enhancing medical supply distribution
22.02.2024
Amid global conflicts, accessing medical supplies is vital. The ICRC, dedicated to aiding millions affected, grapples with complex distribution challenges. Teaming up with ETH Zurich, they've devised new logistics solutions for efficient and timely supply delivery to crisis zones.
Bai Lab, UNC-Chapel Hill
Wireless drug patch: advancing chronic disease treatment
20.02.2024
Advancements in drug delivery technology are paving the way for innovative treatment methods for chronic diseases. A recent breakthrough at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill introduces the Spatiotemporal On-Demand Patch (SOP), a wireless drug delivery system that could revolutionize the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and neurological injuries.
Microneedle array patches: vaccinations made easy
29.01.2024
Dissolvable microneedle array patches (MAPs) consist of tiny, rapidly dissolving needles that can efficiently deliver vaccines into the skin. Their stability over time and easy application gives them great potential to not only simplify the vaccination process during a pandemic, but also in increase vaccination rates in low- and middle-income countries.
manjurulhaque
Detecting side effects of new drugs on the heart more efficiently
12.12.2023
Scientists at the University Medical Center and the University of Göttingen have developed a novel method to predict the side effects of new drugs and therapeutic approaches on the heart more efficiently.
JoPanwatD
Pancreas: nanoparticles for optimized cancer therapy
23.11.2023
Researchers from Göttingen and Karlsruhe have developed a new treatment approach for pancreatic cancer. The innovative method promises to be able to treat the disease in a more targeted way and with fewer side effects in the future. The therapy is now to be optimized for clinical application as quickly as possible.
Desktop Health
MHH produces world’s first patient-specific implants with drug release
22.11.2023
For the first time, the ENT clinic at Hannover Medical School (MHH) has provided an adult patient with a customized implant for the external auditory canal featuring drug release benefits.
HIPS
Strengthening of drug bioinformatics at the Saarbrücken site
21.11.2023
In the context of the tenure negotiations for Drug Bioinformatics Professor Olga Kalinina, the Klaus Faber Foundation is providing €100,000 to the "bioINFpro" project, thereby enabling her long-term stay at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Saarland University.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
MEDICA 2023: Checking for counterfeit medication using a smartphone
08.11.2023
The SmartID counterfeit-proof barcode system means anyone can use a smartphone to check a product is genuine, provided the manufacturer uses SmartID.
Anne Günther/Uni Jena
Timing is key in cortisone treatment of inflammation
30.08.2023
A special type of starch could soon be used as an excipient in medicine to improve the treatment of patients.
Uni Halle / Esfahani Golbarg
Pharmacy: Using starch as a novel drug transporter?
30.08.2023
A special type of starch could soon be used as an excipient in medicine to improve the treatment of 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.
Universitat Politècnica de València
Epileptika: app to help treatment of epilepsy in people with intellectual disability
02.08.2023
A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has participated in the development of Epileptika. This application aims to help the treatment of refractory epilepsy in people with intellectual disability.
Karin Ziegler / TUM
Cardiac disease: new technique shows cause of sleep disturbance
27.07.2023
In a paper published in the journal Science, a team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) shows that heart diseases affect the production of the sleep hormone melatonin in the pineal gland.
Anna Schroll/Leibniz-HKI
Robotics: modular platform for antibiotics research
27.07.2023
The high cost and limited commercial value of new antibiotics discourage their development, as they are used sparingly to avoid resistance. To address this, a new robotics platform aims to simplify the development of active substances to combat the problem of antibiotic resistance. While we cannot always prevent resistance, this approach offers a promising solution.
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.
Gregor Hübl / Universität Bonn
Researching organoids: two new Argelander Professors at the University of Bonn
21.06.2023
Two new assistant professors at the University of Bonn are setting out to develop “mini-organs” in order to study metabolic and disease mechanisms.
B. Schröder/HZDR
Cancer: new theranostic for imaging and treatment
01.06.2023
Thanks to the radiation they emit, radioactive compounds are suited both to imaging and treating cancers. By appropriately combining them in novel, so-called radionuclide theranostics, both applications can be dovetailed.
MPI-INF
3D-printed pills with desired drug release
29.05.2023
A group of Computer Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken, Germany, and the University of California at Davis, have invented a process that relies solely on the shape of the object for a time-controlled release.
Karolinska Institutet
New method reveals bacterial reaction to antibiotics in five minutes
26.05.2023
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a molecular method able to detect whether or not bacteria respond to antibiotics within minutes.
Prostock-studio
TimeTeller: tenth spin-off of the BIH Digital Health Accelerator
25.05.2023
An interdisciplinary team led by Prof. Angelo Relógio, a scientist at Charité’s Molecular Cancer Research Center (MKFZ) and Institute for Theoretical Biology and the MSH Medical School Hamburg, has developed a non-invasive method for profiling a person’s unique circadian rhythm.
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.
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.
TUD/Magdalena Gonciarz
A sweet solution to a cracking problem: new bio-inspired molecules to promote bone regeneration
08.05.2023
An interdisciplinary team of scientists in Dresden developed novel bio-inspired sugar-based molecules that show potential to improve bone regeneration.
nd3000
Atrial fibrillation: Targeted drug therapy approach discovered for the first time
04.05.2023
When the heart gets out of rhythm, characteristic processes occur in the heart muscle cells. Among other things, the currents of electrically charged particles (ions) change. In chronic atrial fibrillation, one of these currents is reduced.
Ines Villalba (EPFL)
Antibiotic resistance: fast, cheap, and easy test method
02.05.2023
“We have developed a technique in our laboratories that allows us to obtain an antibiogram within 2-4 hours – instead of the current 24 hours for the most common germs and one month for tuberculosis,” says Dr Sandor Kasas at EPFL.
RUB, Marquard
Ultrasound activates anticancer agent
14.04.2023
Chemotherapy treatments produce strong side effects. A new agent that accumulates in the tumour tissue and is activated there by ultrasound waves does not have this problem.
Fraunhofer-Translationszentrum/Fraunhofer ISC
SAPs4Tissue: human tissue models with customized biomaterials
12.04.2023
In a joint project of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, and the Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, Würzburg, scientific principles and biomaterials for the standardized production of valid tissue models are to be developed.
erika8213
AI meets zebrafish: is this the future of drug discovery?
04.04.2023
New drug candidates must undergo lengthy testing using animal models before being given to participants in human trials. This means many active ingredients must already be sorted out in test series because they either do not have the desired or even have an adverse effect. These test series require many test animals. The use of zebrafish larvae could lead to a reduced demand in this setting.
Uni Tübingen
Targeted computer modelling to accelerate antiviral drug development
31.03.2023
Andreas Dräger from the University of Tübingen is working on a computer-based method that can help to accelerate the time-consuming identification and development of antiviral agents.
Kingston University
Medication adherence tool predicts hospital admissions of Type 2 Diabetes patients
28.03.2023
A pioneering behavioural diagnostic tool developed by Kingston University, London and healthcare technology company Observia to help patients take their medication as prescribed is the first holistic model in the world to accurately predict hospital admissions and readmissions in people living with Type 2 Diabetes, according to a new study.
Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University
Upgraded tumor model optimizes search for cancer therapies
27.03.2023
Rice University researchers developed an upgraded tumor model that houses osteosarcoma cells beside immune cells known as macrophages inside a three-dimensional structure engineered to mimic bone. Using the model, bioengineer Antonios Mikos and collaborators found that the body’s immune response can make tumor cells more resistant to chemotherapy.
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.
Colourbox
Stem cell model: research into malformation of the newborn lung
15.03.2023
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is one of the deadliest birth defects. To better understand and treat this condition in the future, an international team of researchers involving Leipzig University Hospital designed a new cell model in the laboratory and tested a drug therapy on it.
Carlos Marques / ENS Lyon
Standard model of electroporation refuted
15.03.2023
Technology developed at the University of Freiburg enables experimental test. The new findings could help to improve the transport of active substances into cells
manjurulhaque
RIANA: Viennese start-up develops novel, precise anti-cancer drugs
14.03.2023
The technological basis is a proprietary platform technology for the discovery of drugs that target cancer-causing protein-protein interactions (PPIs).
DC_Studio
New artificial model validates antibodies ability to reach the brain
03.03.2023
A research group at Uppsala University has developed a simple and effective artificial blood-brain barrier model that can be used to determine how well antibody-based therapies can enter the brain.
Paul Scherrer Institut/Markus Fischer
Using light to switch drugs on and off
27.02.2023
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).
Dietze / HIPS
HIPS and CISPA join forces to make future active ingredients safer
23.02.2023
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).
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.
The Project Team / Claudia Pock
Multinational research consortium to advance nanomedicine manufacturing
15.02.2023
Gattefossé, InProcess-LSP, Knauer, Microfluidics, Skyepharma, and the University of Graz join the RCPE-led European Consortium for Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (ECCPM) to jointly develop a modular, flexible toolkit to advance industrial-scale production of lipid nanoparticles.
Fraunhofer ISC
Bioresorbable membrane for healing internal and external wounds
10.02.2023
Fraunhofer researchers have succeeded in using the bioresorbable silica gel Renacer to produce an electrospun membrane that is neither cytotoxic to cells nor genotoxic.
wichayada69
Funding to produce biodegradable antiviral and antibacterial materials
08.02.2023
A new junior research group at Freie Universität Berlin, which will investigate the production of biodegradable antiviral and antibacterial materials, with one of the goals of synthesis being new alternatives to conventional antibiotics, will receive a total budget of more than 1.8 million euros from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) over the next five years.
MPI-P
New insights into the utilization of nanotechnology-based drugs
01.02.2023
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now followed the path of such a particle into a cell using a combination of several microscopy methods. They were able to observe a cell-internal process that effectively separates blood components and nanoparticles.
iLexx
Bacterial electricity: Membrane potential influences antibiotic tolerance
27.01.2023
The electrical potential across the bacterial cell envelope indicates when bacteria no longer operate as individual cells but as a collective. Researchers at the University of Cologne's Institute for Biological Physics have discovered this connection between the electrical properties and the lifestyle of bacteria.
Hoverstock
Sequential antibiotic therapy in the laboratory and in patients
23.01.2023
Rapid switching between different antibiotics could prevent the evolution of resistance and lead to successful treatment of patients.
Amac Garbe/Fraunhofer IWS
Radioactive substances fight cancer in the mini-lab
13.01.2023
Two Dresden research institutes want to reduce the number of animal experiments in radiopharmaceutical research with a new idea.
PantherMedia / MyVector
Successful Strategies to Enter the Medical Market in Africa
11.01.2022
There are many factors to consider when you plan to enter the medical market in another country. Every country requires different market entry strategies – and countries in Africa are no exception.
Autonomous medical technology: independently in the body
01.02.2021
Therapies need to be carried out with high reliability by trained personal. This will not change in the future. But maybe we will be able to let systems in the patient’s body do some of the work. Some approaches are already aiming to make implants more independent so they will be able to flexibly react to changes. Read more in our Topic of the Month!
Intelligent implants: when the material is the key to the solution
01.02.2021
Today we use implants to stabilize or compensate for injuries inside the body and to aid in the healing process. Implants cannot act autonomously and treat the patient if they deem it necessary. However, it is just a matter of time before this happens because research on intelligent implant materials that respond to stimuli is on the cusp of a breakthrough.
Tumor therapy: drug delivery pump instead of injection
01.02.2021
Drugs always have undesired side effects. Cytostatics are powerful drugs used to treat cancer. They reach almost all cells in the body, killing healthy cells as well as cancer cells in the process. A targeted delivery to the specific cellular site would be a gentler treatment.
mein.klinikplan.de
eMMa: medication management app improves patient care
08.05.2020
A conversation between the patient and the doctor is always at the start of the health journey. The idea is to set the stage and share important information. This process can be shortened if information is already available in digital form. In the future, patients can submit their medication plan via app thanks to "eMMa".
Medicine at the pulse of time: Innovations and trends at MEDICA 2019
04.11.2019
Soon, the world's largest trade fair for medical technology will open its doors again: More than 5.000 exhibitors will present their newest products and ideas at MEDICA from 18 to 21 November. You will not only meet well-known companies here, but also lots of young start-ups. Or, you can visit the MEDICA forums and conferences to experience a rich program of lectures and discussions.
Combating antibiotic resistance: One step ahead through technology
01.08.2019
Antibiotic resistance is on the rise in all parts of the world, complicating medical treatment of serious bacterial infections in patients. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 33,000 people die each year from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Europe alone. Bacteria that are resistant to multiple or even all known antibiotics pose an ever-increasing threat.
Photonics: "We want a rapid and easy method to identify pathogens and antibiotic resistance"
01.08.2019
The medical devices value chain has gaps between academic research and industrial practice that slow down innovation processes. This also applies to time-sensitive and urgently needed products such as rapid diagnostic tests to identify resistant pathogens. At the InfectoGnostics Research Campus in Jena, partners from research and medicine team up to close these gaps.
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.
Antibiotic resistance: technical tricks against pathogens
01.08.2019
An untreatable infection is a nightmare for physicians and potentially life-threatening to the patient. Unfortunately, more and more pathogens emerge that are resistant to drugs, especially antibiotics. We need to use our drugs smartly and come up with technical solutions as well to prevent our weapons from blunting in the future.
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.
React early, breathe free – comprehensive COPD management
01.03.2019
COPD is considered the third most common cause of death worldwide and mainly affects smokers. It is not curable, but with the right combination of early diagnosis, therapy and self-management, a significant part of the quality of life can be regained. The comprehensive care is supported by various devices and technical tools. Learn more about the all-round care of COPD in our Topic of the Month.
All-round care for COPD: diagnosis, treatment, self-management
01.03.2019
COPD affects more than 200 million people in the world. Those affected by this chronic pulmonary disease are often slow to notice the symptoms and get a medical diagnosis. This results in secondary complications and high medical costs. That's why an early diagnosis, comprehensive treatment, and frequent monitoring are very important. Various devices and tools support this all-round care.
Fraunhofer ITEM/Till Holland
Gentle medication for the little ones – with every breath
22.02.2019
According to the WHO, ten percent of babies worldwide are born prematurely. Since most organs of these tiny babies have not fully developed yet, it can quickly lead to complications and disorders and most notably affect the lungs of the premature infants. What's more, infections require gentle treatment, as the preemies themselves are fragile and susceptible – making this a challenging situation.