Press release - 04/03/2021 Induced pluripotent stem cells reveal causes of disease Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are suitable for discovering the genes that underly complex and also rare genetic diseases. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), together with international partners, have studied genotype-phenotype relationships in iPSCs using data from approximately one thousand donors.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/press-release/induced-pluripotent-stem-cells-reveal-causes-disease
Press release - 24/02/2021 Supposedly "silent" mutation with serious consequences So-called silent mutations have no effect on the composition of a protein. They are therefore not considered to promote cancer. However, scientists from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), partner site Essen, now describe in a case of kidney cancer an overlooked silent mutation with a major impact on prognosis.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/press-release/supposedly-silent-mutation-serious-consequences
Press release - 24/02/2021 Disease progression in childhood cancer: Lengthening of telomeres promotes relapse 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. https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/press-release/disease-progression-childhood-cancer-lengthening-telomeres-promotes-relapse
Article - 14/01/2021 Newly discovered RNA as growth driver in liver cancer Non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) molecules that do not encode proteins have many different functions, and some are associated with certain diseases. Prof. Dr. Sven Diederichs from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg has been conducting research into these molecules at the Freiburg University Medical Centre and discovered a ncRNA that regulates cell proliferation in cancer cells.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/newly-discovered-rna-growth-driver-liver-cancer
Infection control - 07/01/2021 Gene accordions as potential markers for pathogenic properties Bacteria must react to changes in the environment in order to survive. This is partly done by adapting genetic material, for example by multiplying and shortening individual genome segments. The research group led by Dr. Simon Heilbronner from the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine at the University of Tübingen has shown that these so-called gene accordions are frequently found in the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/gene-accordions-potential-markers-pathogenic-properties
Bioinspired technologies - 03/04/2020 Diagnostics with molecular scissors – is this also possible for on-site COVID-19 tests? The CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology is one of the most important developments in molecular biology in recent years. It utilises molecular scissors with which nucleic acids can be cut and edited almost arbitrarily. Researchers in Freiburg, Germany have now successfully used the technology for diagnostic purposes. They are currently working intensively on expanding the system to enable it to detect genome sequences of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/Diagnostics-with-molecular-scissors-is-this-also-possible-for-on-site-COVID-19-tests
Dossier - 06/12/2019 Microbiome: human health is closely connected with our microbial communities People have 1.3 times more microorganisms than body cells. This microbial community influences how we digest our food, how active our immune system is, as well as whether we tend to be more anxious or curious. A number of diseases have also been shown to be associated with a disturbed microbiome. Researchers still have a long way to go before the knowledge acquired can be used for developing therapies.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/microbiome-human-health-closely-connected-with-microbial-communities
Article - 09/10/2019 Epigenomics from the Cyber Valley Cyber Valley Stuttgart-Tübingen is a European hotspot for artificial intelligence and home to many renowned experts and scientists. They are now joined by Gabriele Schweikert, who heads up the Computational Epigenomics research group in the Cyber Valley’s Division of Computational Biology. Schweikert is interested in exploring epigenetic mechanisms using machine learning methods.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/epigenomik-aus-dem-cyber-valley
Article - 11/06/2019 New pathogens in beef and cow's milk contributing to the risk of cancer A team of researchers led by Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. mult. Harald zur Hausen has discovered a new type of infectious agent in dairy and meat products produced from European cattle that increases the risk for colon and breast cancer. These so-called Bovine Meat and Milk Factors (BMMFs) are small DNA molecules that are similar in sequence to both bacterial plasmids and certain viruses.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/new-pathogens-in-beef-and-cows-milk-contributing-to-the-risk-of-cancer
Article - 22/03/2019 Personalised therapies for treating metastasing breast cancer Breast cancer is characterised by broad genetic diversity. Successful treatment is made even more difficult by the fact that, in advanced breast cancer, the properties of metastases often differ significantly from the primary tumour. The Heidelberg CATCH study is now collecting genetic profiles from patients' metastasis tissue samples, which can be used to tailor therapy to individual requirements.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/personalisierte-therapieansaetze-bei-metastasiertem-brustkrebs
Article - 05/03/2019 Vaccination against oncogenic Epstein-Barr viruses Almost all humans are infected with Epstein-Barr viruses (EBV), which are linked to the development of benign diseases such as infectious mononucleosis as well as several cancers. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center have developed a new strategy for creating a vaccine that targets different EBV virus life phases and has the potential to provide effective protection against EBV infection.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/vaccination-against-oncogenic-epstein-barr-viruses
Article - 29/01/2019 Targeted RNA editing with the body’s own enzyme activity Completely new possibilities for research and gene therapy became available following the development of the CRISPR/Cas method for targeted modification of the genome. However, treatment with molecular scissors is not without risk as potential errors are stored in the genome forever. Scientists from Tübingen have developed an alternative method in which the intervention takes place at the RNA level using the body's own enzymes and is thus…https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/news/targeted-rna-editing-with-the-bodys-own-enzyme-activity
Dossier - 28/08/2018 With molecular diagnostics to biomarker-based personalised therapy Diagnosing suitable biomarkers is a prerequisite for tailoring personalised therapies to patient heterogeneity. Genetic tests and genome sequencing play a key role in these diagnoses. Up until now, personalised therapy has achieved the greatest success in the field of oncology. However, personalised treatments are also gaining in importance for treating other diseases.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/with-molecular-diagnostics-to-biomarker-based-personalised-therapy
Dossier - 14/06/2016 CRISPR/Cas – genome editing is becoming increasingly popular The number of publications and patents that involve the CRISPR/Cas system has been increasing exponentially since the technique was first described a few years ago. The increase in funding for projects involving CRISPR/Cas also demonstrates how powerful this new method is. The targeted modification of genomes (also called gene or genome editing) using CRISPR/Cas is extraordinarily accurate and also has the potential to cure hereditary diseases. https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/crisprcas-genome-editing-is-becoming-increasingly-popular
Dossier - 18/04/2016 Epigenetics – heritable traits without changing the DNA sequence Epigenetics, i.e. the inheritance of traits that does not involve a change in the DNA sequence, was once a controversial subject that has since become a central focus of biological research. Epigenetic inheritance is now studied by numerous national and international research programmes. Many cellular regulatory and differentiation processes are controlled by epigenetic mechanisms that take place on different levels.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/epigenetics-heritable-traits-without-changing-the-dna-sequence
Dossier - 10/11/2014 Cell and gene therapies from bench to bedside https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/cell-and-gene-therapies-from-bench-to-bedside
Dossier - 02/06/2014 Bioanalysis techniques for the characterization of biological material Science constantly provides researchers with new challenges biologists and bioanalysts have to deal with and which come from sources as varied as the ever increasing number of resistant pathogenic bacterial strains or the famine conditions in Third-World countries. In the search for scientific truths bioanalysis is the development optimization and application of the entire range of analytical methods available. However we need to keep in mind…https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/bioanalysis-techniques-for-the-characterization-of-biological-material
Dossier - 10/03/2014 Cancer therapy and cancer diagnostics Thanks to improved diagnostics and therapy, today’s cancer patients can live considerably longer than patients several years ago. Nevertheless, some cancers, especially the strongly metastatic ones, are difficult to treat. Therapies targeting immune cells or cancer stem cells could potentially improve the current situation. https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/cancer-therapy-and-cancer-diagnostics
Dossier - 01/04/2013 Retroviruses from infectious agent to therapeutic assistant Viruses are infectious particles that use the machinery and metabolism of a host cell to replicate. The family of retroviruses is particularly known for its most notorious representative i. e. the human immunodeficiency virus HIV. However retroviruses are not only of interest for researchers looking for effective cures for viral infections their characteristic properties also make them promising laboratory and gene therapy tools.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/retroviruses-from-infectious-agent-to-therapeutic-assistant
Dossier - 26/11/2012 Genetic diagnostics technology reaches the limits of what is medically reasonable Rapid progress in sequencing technologies is poised to set the imagination of biomedical researchers on fire. Experts now believe that progress is about to make possible what seemed to be utopian a few years ago – it seems likely that it will soon be possible to sequence the human genome in only a few minutes and store and automatically analyse it using tiny automates. However, is everything that is technically feasible also reasonable?https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/genetic-diagnostics-technology-reaches-the-limits-of-what-is-medically-reasonable
Dossier - 05/11/2012 Cancer basic research successes and trends Science is approaching cancer treatment by using new systems biology approaches and setting up large-scale multidisciplinary projects such as the International Cancer Genome Consortium. Progress in genome, epigenome and gene expression analyses of cancer cells, new insights into the regulation and interaction of cells gained in cooperation with stem cell research and virus research contributes to gaining a causal understanding of cancer.https://biopro-v9-test-gi.xanium.io/en/article/dossier/cancer-basic-research-successes-and-trends