Research

The Hector Foundation is providing €1.3 million in funding for an interdisciplinary research project investigating the cardiological side effects of checkpoint inhibitors. The consortium, with partners at Heidelberg University’s Medical Faculty, the German Cancer Research Center, the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin, and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, is investigating why these cancer […]

The introduction of mammography screening programs in Europe has significantly changed breast cancer diagnoses, accompanied by a decline in breast cancer mortality rates. This is shown by one of the most comprehensive analyses of population-based data on breast cancer in 21 European countries to date, led by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The most […]

How can the risk of failure in the development of drug compounds be reduced? In a recent paper, researchers at the NMI present a newly developed framework that makes the development of drug compounds from so-called single-domain antibodies (sdAb) safer and more reliable. Until now, drug development has generally proceeded as follows: one starts with […]

Researchers at EPFL, Heidelberg University and Roche have built a human mini-bladder to show how urine composition weakens bladder tissue, helping infections recur even after antibiotics. The bladder is not just a static storage bag; its lining stretches, relaxes, and stays in constant contact with urine whose composition changes with hydration, diet, and disease. Urine […]

Together with the management consultancy P3, Fraunhofer IPA has investigated how component manufacturers could benefit from producing hardware components for humanoid robots. The results are available free of charge in the white paper “The Humanoid Hardware Value Chain: Can the European Manufacturing Industry Capitalize on the Humanoid Momentum?” Humanoid robots are currently developing at a […]

How Heidelberg scientists address photonic processors Addressing a photonic microchip that is driven by light just as easily as electronic components via a “plug”, rather than by expending extensive experimental effort: this vision has now been realized by physicists and chemists at Heidelberg University. Their development could serve as the basis for fast and cost-effective […]

Modular design strategy makes it possible to precisely control cellular functions through minimal temperature changes Protein activity can be precisely regulated via subtle changes in temperature using heat-sensitive switches. Underlying this capability is a novel modular design strategy developed by researchers at the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology of Heidelberg University. The strategy allows […]

Illuminating the tiniest details of living cells just got a major boost: Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research have developed new markers that glow in the far-red range and are activated by light. They are stable, easy to control, and compatible with several super-resolution microscopy techniques, as outlined in a paper published […]

Insights from theoretical physics are helping scientists understand how living cells process information and use it to self-organise A flock of birds, an ant colony, heavy traffic on a highway – what do they all have in common? In addition to being things you wouldn’t want to suddenly find yourself in the middle of, they […]