Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and industry with top scientific achievements in six research areas: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Transport and Space. With 28,000 employees in 16 research centres and an annual budget of approximately 2.8 billion euros, the Helmholtz Association is Germany’s largest scientific organisation. Its work follows in the tradition of the great natural scientist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894).
News from Research
To overview of Press Releases of the Helmholtz Association and the Helmholtz Centres
| 08.02.10 | German Aerospace Center (DLR) |
An all-round view in space: Panoramic dome on its way to the ISS
Astronauts on the International Space Station will soon be able to enjoy a special view. The 130th shuttle mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 8 February 2010 at 10:14 Central European Time. Space Shuttle Endeavour carried the 'Cupola' and the 'Tranquility' station module into space. The Cupola has seven windows and will offer a previously unavailable panoramic view of Earth.
An all-round view in space: Panoramic dome on its way to the ISS
| 04.02.10 | Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research |
Antarctica: Neumayer Station III successfully raised
Hydraulic lifting devices prevent Neumayer Station III from sinking in the ice. The snow and ice surface in the Antarctic grows continuously so the research station has to be raised annually. The construction concept and technology prove effective right from the beginning.
| 03.02.10 | German Cancer Research Centre |
Signaling Pathway in Cancer Cells Needs Acid: New Targets for Tailor-Made Therapy?
What is known as the Wnt signaling pathway plays an important role during embryonic development and also in diseases such as cancer. When the Wnt protein binds to its receptor on the cell surface, this triggers several steps within the cell which ultimately lead to tumor suppressor genes being switched off and, thus, cell division is started. Not all of the individual steps of this signaling pathway are known in detail yet. In particular, the mechanism by which the Wnt protein activates the Wnt receptor when binding to it was still unclear. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now made a substantial contribution to uncovering this mechanism. Their results have been published in the renowned specialist journal Science.
Signaling Pathway in Cancer Cells Needs Acid: New Targets for Tailor-Made Therapy?
| 02.02.10 | GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht |
Stirred, not struck? new riveting process from GKSS
Friction riveting, or FricRiveting, is the name of the new joining process developed by materials researcher Dr. Sergio Amancio of the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht. The new process is particularly suitable for joining plastics or plastic-metal composites. On the strength of his research work, the young materials scientist received the prize donated by the Nordmetall-Stiftung for the best doctoral thesis in 2007 at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg.
