Research

Revealing a new layer in lung cancer diagnostics using direct RNA sequencing HEIDELBERG, Germany, December 16, 2025 – Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH, a pioneer in harnessing blood-based small RNAs for early disease detection and characterization, today announced the publication of a new study in Nature Communications Medicine introducing an Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT)-based method for detecting small RNA […]

Tenderness can literally get under your skin: An international research group led by Heidelberg University’s Medical Faculty and Heidelberg University Hospital has found that small skin wounds heal significantly faster in couples who are particularly affectionate with each other in everyday life and who also receive the hormone oxytocin. At the same time, they had […]

Persistent inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, chronic rhinosinusitis, is a common comorbidity in cystic fibrosis and significantly impairs quality of life. The working group led by Dr. Niclas Hagen, Institute for Medical Informatics at Heidelberg University’s Faculty of Medicine and Heidelberg University Hospital, is currently developing a method that uses AI to contribute to the […]

Researchers at the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Heidelberg Medical Faculty (MFHD) of Heidelberg University, and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) have taken a decisive step toward more precise diagnosis of brain tumors. The latest version of the internationally used AI-based Heidelberg CNS Tumor Methylation Classifier can identify […]

Researchers release a comprehensive viral genome database covering diverse ecosystems to advance understanding of viral evolution and ecosystem functions Summary Researchers have developed VIRE, a database that integrates approximately 1.7 million viral genomes derived from more than 100,000 metagenomes worldwide. Metagenomic data is obtained by comprehensively sequencing all DNA present in an environment. This approach enables […]

Health communication content created using artificial intelligence (AI) can reach people on social media more effectively and encourage more interaction than conventional posts. This opens up new opportunities for effective and cost-efficient information campaigns—especially in the field of cancer prevention and early detection. The prerequisite is that AI-generated content must be used transparently, validated by […]

New research suggests that inflammatory support cells play a key role in damaging bone marrow early in cancer development – potentially offering a new target for treatments that stop blood disorders before becoming cancerous. Summary The following news article is an amended version of a news release from UMC Mainz Office of Communications, published with […]

Motion patterns help the transition between tissue compartments – explanation for asymmetry in the body plan of the pathogen With victims numbering in the millions, malaria is an infectious disease caused by the bite of a mosquito carrying the malaria parasite. After penetrating the skin, the pathogen moves with helical trajectories. It almost always turns […]

It has only recently become known that two parallel systems of blood formation exist in the body, originating from different precursor cells. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed a method to examine both systems separately in mice for the first time. Their surprising finding: the majority of immune cells do not […]