28. January 2008 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Tracking Down the AIDS Pathogen

Noted international experts will be gathering at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) on January 31, 2008, to discuss the current state of AIDS research. In addition to scientists from Germany and Europe, experts from Israel and the United States will be explaining what makes the HI-virus (HIV) so special, what therapies for HIV infection exist and what progress is being made toward the development of an HIV vaccine. The "'Day on AIDS" is slated to begin at 11 a.m. at the HZI Forum and will end around 6 p.m.

Link

more Information

20. May 2008 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Scientific accolade for HZI scientist

The microbiologist Prof. Ken Timmis, Head of the Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research has just been awarded the highest scientific accolade in Britain. He has just been elected Fellow of the Royal Society, Britain's most venerable scientific and philosophical academy.

Link

more Information

02. June 2008 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Six Nobel Prize Winners at International Congress of Genetics

Congress Chairman Balling: Olympic Games of Science in Germany - For the first time in 81 years the International Congress of Genetics takes place in Germany again. From July 12th through 17th 2008, six Nobel Prize winners get together with more than 2000 scientists in Berlin to discuss the latest findings in genetics and genome analysis. The congress, which takes place for the 20th time, was last hosted by Germany in 1927, the venue also being Berlin....

Link

more Information

09. January 2008 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Molecular Attachments Determine Mortality of Cancer Cells

A highly promising molecular constellation, discovered in the field of pharmaceutical cancer research, is now better understood in terms of its efficacy, thanks to years of laboratory testing. Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have determined the biological activity of the tubulysin molecule. Tubulysin is one of the most powerful cell division inhibitors known to science. Abnormally high, pathological cell division is what makes cancer so dangerous.

Link

more Information

13. February 2008 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Metabolism, Maths, Medicine: If Bacteria Were Calculable

For the first time, researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have produced a comprehensive model of the metabolic processes of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. With this, the basis is created for the development of possible new therapy concepts to counteract this infectious germ. The work of the Braunschweig-based researchers also provides an indication of the direction that modern biomedicine is taking: "Today, we increasingly regard cells as an integrated, biological system," says Project Leader Dr. Vítor Martins dos Santos. "With the aid of mathematical models we are now able to partially predict the behaviour of the system and then use simulations to develop new therapy concepts."

Link

more Information

28. January 2008 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Tracking Down the AIDS Pathogen

International Aids Researchers to meet at HZI. Noted international experts will be gathering at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) on January 31, 2008, to discuss the current state of AIDS research.

Link

more Information

06. January 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

Professor Walter Rosenthal new Scientific Director of the Max Delbrück Center

Physician Professor Walter Rosenthal has been appointed as Scientific Director of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, an institute which belongs to the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers. Professor Rosenthal, the former director of the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) succeeds cancer researcher Professor Walter Birchmeier who has served as the MDC Scientific Director for the past five years and who will now return his focus to his MDC research group.

Link

more Information

08. January 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Obesity starts in the head? Six newly discovered genes for obesity have a neural effect

Obesity is known to increase the risk of chronic disorders, such as diabetes (type 2). An international team of scientists with German participation through the Helmholtz Zentrum München identified six new obesity genes. Gene expression analyses have shown that all six genes are active in brain cells.

Link

more Information

08. January 2009 GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht

GKSS scientists refute argument of climate sceptics

Scientists at the GKSS Research Centre of Geesthacht and the University of Bern have investigated the frequency of warmer than average years between 1880 and 2006 for the first time. The result: the observed increase of warm years after 1990 is not a statistical accident. The results will now be published in the journal „Geophysical Research Letters“.

Link

more Information

09. January 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

When the hunters become the hunted

Braunschweig Helmholtz researchers show how bacteria drive immune cells to death. The immune system defends the body against pathogens.

Link

more Information

14. January 2009 GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht

Coastal research: GKSS to invest twelve million euros in a new observation system for the North Sea

With the major COSYNA project (Coastal Observation System for Northern and Arctic Seas), a comprehensive observation system is being created in the area of the German North Sea for the collection, prediction and scientific analysis of the current condition and development of the coastal sea. This project is being coordinated by the GKSS Geesthacht Research Centre.

Link

more Information

14. January 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Is there a relationship between sleep-wake rhythm and diabetes?

An international research team with German participation including Helmholtz Zentrum München, among other institutions, has succeeded in identifying a new gene variant which is associated with elevated fasting glucose levels and a high risk for type 2 diabetes.

Link

more Information

14. January 2009 German Cancer Research Centre

Reduced Breast Cancer Risk: Physical Activity after Menopause Pays off

The breast cancer risk of women who are regularly physically active in the postmenopausal phase is reduced by about one third compared to relatively inactive women. This is the result of a study of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and the University Hospitals of Hamburg-Eppendorf.

Link

more Information

26. January 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Climate change enhances grassland productivity

More frequent freeze-thaw cycles in winter can increase biomass production according to the results of a recent study conducted by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), the University of Bayreuth and the Helmholtz Center in Munich. For their experiment at the Ecological-Botanical Garden of the University of Bayreuth the researchers installed underground heating on their plots, thereby enabling five additional thawing periods to take place in the winter of 2005/2006. They found that on the manipulated plots ten percent more biomass grew compared to on the control plots.

Link

more Information

29. January 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

European Fusion Computer Comes to Jülich

A new supercomputer will help us to understand the complex physical effects taking place inside the ITER fusion reactor. The computer known as HPC-FF will deliver computing power of about 100 teraflop/s and is optimally suited for the fusion scientists’\\\' simulation programs. The European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) has charged its member Forschungszentrum Jülich, one of the world’s leading supercomputing centres, with constructing and operating the computer.

Link

more Information

30. January 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Preparing for climate change: Helmholtz Zentrum München researchers analyze the genome of a heat and drought resistant cereal plant

The global climate is changing, and this change is already impacting food supply and security. People living in regions already affected by aridity need plants that can thrive / grow under dry conditions.

Link

more Information

03. February 2009 German Cancer Research Centre

Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer: Immunological Tests for More Accurate Detection of Cancer Precursors

The detection of hidden blood in the stool (fecal occult blood) is an important part of the early detection of colorectal cancer. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now shown that a number of immunological tests are significantly superior to the commonly used enzymatic method (HaemOccult). However, the scientists found a wide variance in diagnostic performance of tests by different providers.

Link

more Information

05. February 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Economic stimulus package I: Helmholtz investments approved

The Helmholtz Association will receive around €65 million from the German government’s first economic stimulus package to invest in expanding and developing crucial research infrastructures. This investment will not only enhance Germany’s competitiveness, it will also benefit suppliers and thus contribute toward boosting the economy.

In the face of the financial crisis and looming recession, the federal government considers promoting education and research all the more important. “It will serve to make Germany even more attractive as a location for research and development,” says Federal Research Minister Dr. Annette Schavan. The realisation of a list of urgently needed investments in research infrastructure, which the Helmholtz Association presented to the minister in late 2008, would increase the volume of orders for the high-tech industry.

“Investing in research has a greater impact on the economy in the long term than creating incentives for consumption, for example,” says Prof. Jürgen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association. “Basic research is all the more important in light of the crisis, because remaining innovative is the only way we can only sustain economic power and prosperity in the long run.”

The funds will be invested in Helmholtz Centres all over Germany, being primarily spent on urgently needed research instruments and facilities, with a focus on energy efficiency and CO₂ reduction. These include experimental facilities for materials research to develop new lightweight materials for vehicles, and new research technologies to help reduce energy consumption and noise levels in road, rail and air traffic. The Helmholtz Association also aims to speedily set up a new centre of membrane technology to develop membranes that can separate out greenhouses gases affordably during combustion. Money will be invested in producing sensors for atmosphere and climate research to allow the collection of crucial data. In addition, capacities in high-performance computing will be expanded, and the energy efficiency of these super-computers improved. A number of highly sophisticated imaging devices will be developed that will allow physicians and health researchers to take a closer look at cellular processes and signal transduction, particularly important in cancer and neurological research. Finally, there are plans to set up a specially equipped laboratory that will allow researchers to work with dangerous pathogens safely.

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Transport and Space. With 28,000 employees in 15 research centres and an annual budget of approximately 2.4 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).

Contact

06. February 2009 German Cancer Research Centre

Pathologically Elevated Blood Fat Levels in Obesity: Researchers Discover Molecular Causes

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have discovered a mechanism in liver metabolism that is responsible for pathologically elevated blood fat levels found in severe metabolic disorders. Mice suffering from metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes produce only small amounts of a molecule called LSR in the liver, as reported by researchers headed by Dr. Stephan Herzig of DKFZ in the specialist journal Diabetes. As a result, only small amounts of fat are transported from the blood into the liver and blood fat levels rise immensely. Stephan Herzig heads the Research Group "Molecular Metabolic Control" at DKFZ.

Link

more Information

09. February 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Eosinophils as markers for asthma

Asthma and allergic diseases are associated with a number of biological reactions. One of these reactions is an elevated blood count of eosinophils, multifunctional leukocytes that release highly active proteins primarily to combat parasites. In the largest study so far on asthma genetics, an international consortium of scientists used this immune reaction as an easily measurable marker to elucidate the underlying disease mechanisms. The study has been published online, ahead of print, in the journal Nature Genetics [*February 8, 2009*].

Link

more Information

10. February 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Researchers identify novel genetic markers linked to increased risk of heart attack

An international team of researchers including scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München has succeeded in identifying new gene variants associated with an increased risk for myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack. The identified genes and their underlying mechanisms provide new starting points for understanding genetic patterns in MI and for developing new treatment options.

Link

more Information

11. February 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

New Insights into Cell Migration and Tissue Morphogenesis in Zebrafish

Using zebrafish embryos as a model system, researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have gained new insights into the complex morphogenesis of epithelial cells during their development and migration. David Hava, Dr. Ulrike Forster and Dr. Salim Abdelilah-Seyfried studied the development of the lateral line organ in zebrafish, a sensory system found in fish and amphibians which serves to detect water flow and movements. Their findings show that two genes regulate cell organization within this epithelial tissue, which is found at different points along the fish body surface. Both genes also play a role in cancer development.

Link

more Information

12. February 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

"Science": Novel Quantum Effect Directly Observed and Explained

An international research team has succeeded in gaining an in-depth insight into an unusual phenomenon, as reported in the current edition of the high-impact journal "Science". The researchers succeeded for the first time in directly measuring the spin of electrons in a material that exhibits the quantum spin Hall effect, which was theoretically predicted in 2004 and first observed in 2007. Astonishingly, the spin currents flow without any external stimulus as a result of the internal structure of the material. The flow of information is loss-free, even for slight irregularities. This paves the way towards fault-tolerant quantum computers and towards a source of spin currents.

Link

more Information

16. February 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

When acute hepatitis develops into chronic hepatitis

Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre in Braunschweig demonstrate how the immune system reacts to a hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B is the most prevalent infectious disease in the world.

Link

more Information

19. February 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Founding director for dementia centre

The Helmholtz Association is launching a new research centre to advance progress in research on dementia and in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Today the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Dr. Annette Schavan, announced that biomedical researcher Prof. Pierluigi Nicotera has been appointed as the centre’s founding director.About a year ago, Minister Schavan commissioned the Helmholtz Association with devising a concept for a new research centre that would focus resources on closing gaps in scientists’ understanding of dementia and speeding up progress in improving the care and treatment of dementia patients. “Neurodegenerative diseases and age-related dementia are a growing problem that we need to address with more research on their causes and with improved treatment methods,” said Helmholtz Association President Prof. Jürgen Mlynek. In addition to the main centre in Bonn, which will have an annual budget of €66 million, partner locations will be established in Munich, Tübingen, Rostock/Greifswald, Witten-Herdecke, Göttingen and Magdeburg.

“I am delighted that we were able to gain an experienced researcher and  manager of such international renown as Prof. Nicotera for this key position,” Minister Schavan said on Thursday. A native of Italy, 52-year-old Nicotera is head of the Medical Research Council’s Toxicology Unit in Leicester, where one of the primary focuses of his research has been the mechanisms that cause damage to nerve cells. Before going to the UK, Nicotera worked at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm for several years and was head of the molecular toxicology department at the University of Konstanz in Constance, Germany.

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Aeronautics, Space and Transport. With 28.000 employees in 15 research centres and an annual budget of approximately 2.4 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).

Contact

Thomas Gazlig

Head Communications and Media Relations,
Press spokesperson

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-57
+49 30 206329-60
presse(at)helmholtz.de

Dr. Antonia Rötger

Press Officer Science Communication
Inquiries, Press Releases, Texts, Editor Newsletter „hermann“

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-38
+49 30 206329-60
antonia.roetger(at)helmholtz.de

20. February 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

German research station in Antarctica

Today Federal Minister of Education and Research, Dr. Annette Schavan, will inaugurate the new Neumayer III station in Antarctica. Although the actual topping-out ceremony will take place on the Ekström ice shelf in eastern Antarctica’s Dronning Maud Land, a live video feed to Berlin will allow Dr. Schavan to participate. Neumayer Station III was set up by the Helmholtz Association’s Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Thanks to the station’s new, patented construction, it is expected to have a useful life of about 25 or 30 years.“The circumpolar regions are key areas where the interdependencies between the earth’s biosphere, geosphere and atmosphere can be seen particularly clearly. Year-round data from the Antarctic are especially crucial for climate research,” says the Helmholtz Association’s president, Prof. Jürgen Mlynek. As Germany’s biggest research organisation, the Helmholtz Association is charged with developing and maintaining a complex research infrastructure, which includes the research vessel Polarstern, research stations, satellites and supercomputers – to the benefit of its own scientists as well as that of many others from various universities and other research institutions. Thus several thousand researchers from all over the world come to Germany each year to work with these facilities. “The sophisticated infrastructure and facilities we have to offer – many of which are the only ones of their kind in the world – help attract some of the brightest minds in science to Germany,” Mlynek pointed out.

One of the Helmholtz Association’s top priorities is climate research, not only in polar regions, but also in the more temperate latitudes of Europe. This entails the long-term collection of a wide variety of data documenting the effects of climate change on ecosystems and their management, and maintaining four regional climate centres that offer concrete advice to municipalities, companies and citizens. Helmholtz scientists also occupy prominent positions in the Institute for Advanced Studies Climate, Earth System and Sustainability Sciences (IASS), which receives funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Brandenburg State Ministry of Science, Research and Culture.

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Aeronautics, Space and Transport. With 28.000 employees in 15 research centres and an annual budget of approximately 2.4 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).

Contact

27. February 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

Latest Issue of "Science": Nano-Sonar Uses Electrons to Measure under the Surface

Just as sonar sends out sound waves to explore the hidden depths of the ocean, electrons can be used by scanning tunnelling microscopes to investigate the well-hidden properties of the atomic lattice of metals. As researchers from Göttingen, Halle and Jülich now report in the high-impact journal "Science", they succeeded in making bulk Fermi surfaces visible in this manner. Fermi surfaces determine the most important properties of metals.

Link

more Information

02. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

When necessary, the lung slows down the immune system

HZI researchers explain the control of the T cell reaction in lung alveoli. The lung’s mucous membrane comes into contact daily with thousands of molecules – many of them are harmless and many are threatening.

Link

more Information

02. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Help for children with sick hearts

Each year, around 15 million children fall ill with rheumatic heart disease worldwide; half a million of them die as a consequence. At the beginning of the medical cases of these children stands a simple throat infection with streptococcus – spherical bacteria responsible for causing a range of different infections. However, it is only certain streptococcal strains that trigger a whole chain of reactions in the body that culminates in the life-threatening rheumatic heart disease.

Link

more Information

02. March 2009 GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht

Research in the Nano-Realm

Transparent foils which are conductive and thus use sunlight for generation of energy. Hulls of ships, which no longer rust due to a nano-coating (nano-technology offers numerous surprising solutions for a variety of applications). The new Helmholtz-Group of Academic Talents ‘Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering’ deals intensively with the design and the development of new materials for industrial applications and, as part of the Geesthacht Institute for Polymer Research, the new group thus expands the research programme of the GKSS.

Link

more Information

12. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

A sustainable water supply for Brasília

Scientific and technological cooperation between Germany and Brazil has a great tradition going back almost 40 years. The UFZ presents a new water project at the ECOGERMA environmental technology fair in São Paulo.

Link

more Information

10. March 2009 German Cancer Research Centre

Iron Induces Death in Tumor Cells

Tumor cells and healthy cells differ considerably in metabolism intensity. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have taken advantage of this difference: By releasing cellular iron they were able to induce death selectively in tumor cells.

Link

more Information

19. February 2009 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

New Cement Spares Climate and Resources

Hydraulic binders like cement are fundamental materials for the construction and construction materials sector, both of major importance to the world economy. Scientist at KIT found a new family of high-performance hydraulic mineral compounds (“cements”). These new cements are produced by a novel method at temperatures below 500°C, and passed laboratory tests.

Link

more Information

13. March 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Ion beam experiments for materials

Three new experimental units for conducting materials research are being inaugurated today at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt. The units have been set up alongside the GSI’s accelerator in a joint project by the GSI, the Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy and the universities of Darmstadt, Dresden, Göttingen, Heidelberg, Jena and Stuttgart.

“This will allow us to conduct ion beam experiments for materials research at the Helmholtz Association in a single place that is ideally equipped for the task,” enthused the Helmholtz Association’s president Prof. Jürgen Mlynek. Until the end of 2006 the Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy (formerly known as the Hahn-Meitner Institute) also operated an ion beam laboratory, whose experimental units have now been partially transferred to the GSI. The Berlin centre will now be focusing on neutron research and on the operation and development of the BESSY II synchrotron radiation facility.

The merger had been proposed by a committee of renowned international experts, whose recommendations the Helmholtz Association was quick to take up by arranging for the transfer of the units. The Initiative and Networking Fund made €704,000 available for the transfer.
The new units will allow scientists to build nanostructures and to study semiconductors and materials that can be used in the aerospace industry (e.g. satellite technology) or in the construction of the FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) accelerator. The units will allow the ion radiation produced by the linear particle accelerator to be fully exploited, as only part of the radiation generated will be needed for FAIR later.

"The fact that we have ensured important materials research projects access to the GSI’s heavy-ion accelerator for experiments," says Mlynek, "proves once again that the Helmholtz Association is able to identify and utilise synergy effects in order to boost its performance and use resources in a highly efficient way. The evaluations conducted regularly as part of our programme-oriented approach to funding play an important part in this."

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Aeronautics, Space and Transport. With 28.000 employees in 15 research centres and an annual budget of approximately 2.4 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).

Contact

13. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Seven recommendations from Aarhus to COP15!

More than 1.000 prominent representatives from science, industry, policy and NGO’s have been gathered in Aarhus for the international climate conference "Beyond Kyoto: Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change".

Link

more Information

17. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Brothers in Arms

Researchers from Helmholtz-Centre in Braunschweig and immunologists from Magdeburg investigate the connection of flu and pneumonia.. Influenza, or flu, is an unpleasant affair with fever, cough, as well as head and body ache.

Link

more Information

18. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

When intestinal bacteria go surfing

The EHECs adhere to the surface of the mucosal cells and alter them internally: a part of the cellular supportive skeleton - the actin skeleton - is rearranged in such a manner that the cell surface beneath the bacteria forms plinth-like growths, so-called pedestals. The bacteria are securely anchored to this pedestal; the pedestals, in contrast, are mobile. This enables the bacteria, seated upon them, to surf over the cell surface and reproduce upon it, without being flushed from the intestine.

Link

more Information

19. March 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Research to secure a safe water supply

World Water Day on Sunday, 22 March aims to raise public awareness of the increasing scarcity of clean drinking water on our planet. In a densely populated world, droughts and floods are causing more damage than ever before.

Helmholtz scientists in the research field Earth and Environment are working on solutions to precisely these problems. In cooperation with partners from other countries and in multidisciplinary teams, they are looking at the issue from all angles – from its biological aspects to its economic dimensions and the legal framework. “Our research is targeted towards clarifying how the different aspects of this question interrelate, and making detailed recommendations on the sustainable management of water as a fundamental natural resource,” says Prof. Jürgen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association.

Below we present a selection of the research projects currently in progress at Helmholtz Centres on issues including water management, maintenance of water quality, flood risk management and climate research. For more detailed information, contact persons and addresses, images and follow-up links, please refer to our virtual press pack at:

www.helmholtz.de/weltwassertag2009-pressemappe (currently only available in German)

WATER MANAGEMENT

A sustainable water supply for Brasília
Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have launched a joint German and Brazilian project to develop system solutions for the various water-related problems in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

GOODWATER ITN: Specialists for environmentally friendly groundwater management
A new EU research programme, the Goodwater Initial Training Network (ITN), trains specialists in the field of groundwater research and management, imparting cutting-edge scientific skills. The Institute of Groundwater Ecology at the German Research Center for Environmental Health in Munich is one of the institutes at the helm of this project.

Project: Water 2050 – Opportunities for the German Water Industry
A consortium including the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, the Institute for Social-Ecological Research and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research is investigating how modern technology can help solve water management problems and how German industry can help achieve water protection goals.

Water in Central Asia – From climate change to water management
The Water in Central Asia (CAWa) research network aims to develop a sustainable cross-border water management system in five Central Asian states and to provide further training for Central Asian specialists in the field. The CAWa consortium includes the Helmholtz Centres AWI and DLR, and is headed by the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences.

Efficient use of scarce resources: SMART project
Specialists at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research are developing a sustainable water management solution for the area that straddles Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories to secure an adequate supply of drinking water. 

WATER QUALITY MAINTENANCE / CONTAMINATION

“Hot spots” for the degradation of contaminants in groundwater
Groundwater ecologists at the German Research Center for Environmental Health have identified so-called groundwater “hot spots”, zones of high microbial activity where contaminants are degraded particularly efficiently.

The changing Elbe
Specialists at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research have shown that both flooding and low water levels could affect the Elbe drainage basin more frequently in future, which would then lead to a higher concentration of contaminants in the water.

Drinking water in Gaza Strip contaminated with high levels of nitrate
Researchers from the University of Heidelberg and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research have shown that 90 percent of water samples taken from the Gaza Strip contain nitrate concentrations between two and eight times higher than the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

New testing procedure for groundwater purification
In 2007 the UFZ and a partner launched a pilot plant at the edge of the old refinery in Leuna, eastern Germany to purify the contaminated groundwater. The joint venture aims to test ways of purifying water through natural attenuation using plants.

FLOODING

Flood loss database HOWAS 21 online
The flood loss database HOWAS 21 was developed by researchers at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences with the aim of compiling flood loss data to support research.

New information system for flood protection in Bitterfeld
An internet-based decision support system developed by the UFZ enables water levels following a dyke failure to be predicted with greater accuracy. The system also provides information about contamination caused by flooding.

Surface sealing & groundwater
UFZ studies have shown that the high land use in Germany has a drastic effect on the groundwater level. The larger the area of sealed surfaces, the greater the risk of flooding.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER

Regional effects of climate change
Six Helmholtz centres are involved in the most comprehensive research project ever on the long-term effects of climate change at regional level. As part of the large-scale project TERENO (TERrestrial ENvironmental Observatories), a total of four observatories will be set up in Germany to monitor the effects of climate change on local ecosystems and the corresponding effects on the economy.

The monsoons of West African and their consequences
As part of the international research project AMMA (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis), experts from the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe are measuring and simulating the monsoons of West African to allow them to develop strategies to secure the drinking water supply and protect farming and the healthcare system.

GKSS invests €12 million in new observation system for the North Sea
The principal goal of the large-scale project COSYNA (Coastal Observation System for Northern and Arctic Seas) is the construction of a long-term observatory for the German parts of the North Sea to monitor, forecast and support scientific research of the present state and development of the coastal waters. The GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht is coordinating the project.

Ocean acidification and its effects on the marine ecosystem (AWI project)
Emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide not only affect the atmosphere, they can also have drastic consequences for the world’s oceans and their ecosystems. Recent studies have revealed increased levels of acidity in our oceans.

Contact

Thomas Gazlig

Head Communications and Media Relations,
Press spokesperson

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-57
+49 30 206329-60
presse(at)helmholtz.de

Dr. Antonia Rötger

Press Officer Science Communication
Inquiries, Press Releases, Texts, Editor Newsletter „hermann“

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-38
+49 30 206329-60
antonia.roetger(at)helmholtz.de

22. March 2009 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Lohafex provides new insights on plankton ecology - Only small amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide fixed

The Indo-German team of scientists from the National Institute of Oceaonography and the Alfred Wegener Institute has returned from its expedition on research vessel Polarstern. The cooperative project Lohafex has yielded new insights on how ocean ecosystems function. But it has dampened hopes on the potential of the Southern Ocean to sequester significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and thus mitigate global warming.

Link

more Information

23. March 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

Professor Jens Reich Turns 70

Professor emeritus Jens Reich, physician, molecular biologist and civil rights activist, celebrates his 70th birthday on March 26, 2009. Since retiring five years ago from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, he has remained active in research. Through genome database searches and analysis he seeks to identify genes that are important for cholesterol metabolism.

Link

more Information

22. March 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Genetic Risk Factors Identified for Sudden Cardiac Death

Neuherberg, March 22, 2009. An international science consortium led by Dr. Arne Pfeufer of Helmholtz Zentrum München has identified common gene variants in the human genome which influence the electrical activity of the heart muscle in humans and thus can be linked to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Building on these findings, the Helmholtz scientists and their clinical partners want to obtain further insights into the pathogenesic mechanisms of the disease and gain...

Link

more Information

24. March 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

What Sets the Stone Rolling - New Insights into Cancer Pathogenesis

Dr. Stephan Mathas and Professor Bernd Dörken of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité – Medical University Berlin, in close cooperation with Professor Tom Misteli of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA, have identified three cancer genes involved in the pathogenesis of a cancer of the lymphatic system. At the same time they were able to shed light on the translocation process, which also plays a crucial role in cancer pathogenesis.

Link

more Information

04. February 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

The detail and the sum – new methods for aerosol analytics

The adverse health effects of ambient aerosols are usually associated with the size or mass of the aerosol particles. However, this correlation lacks toxicological relevance because it does not allow mechanistic interpretation of the effects.In a new two-step approach, research groups of the Institute of Ecological Chemistry in cooperation with the Institute of Inhalation Biology and the BIfA Augsburg were able (1) to analyze the chemical composition of particles qualitatively and...

Link

more Information

03. February 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

New optical immunosensors for point-of-care diagnostics and innovative environmental analytics

Immunochemical analyses utilizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are effective and cost-saving methods, both in medical diagnostics as well as for the rapid identification of pollutants in the environment. In the development of selective mAbs for certain target structures and their use in immunosensors, scientists of the Institute of Ecological Chemistry have been working together with scientists of the Institute of Molecular Immunology already for a long time. Diagram: Sandwich ELISA with newly...

Link

more Information

05. February 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Maximum chemical diversity of nature confirmed in the laboratory for the first time

Organic material in nature is present in tens of thousands of different combinations of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. The maximum conceivable number of combinations can be calculated mathematically. Until now, however, it was unclear whether this purely hypothetical number actually occurs in nature, since analytics was not able to cope with such dimensions. Now scientists of the Institute of Ecological Chemistry in collaboration with the Alfred Wegener Institute Bremerhaven and the Georgia...

Link

more Information

03. February 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Influence of different strains of Sinorhizobium meliloti on the nitrogen content in alfalfa and the dynamics of functional microbial genes in the rhizosphere of plants

“Green fertilizers” are often used in agriculture to promote plant growth. In particular, legumes are selected for this purpose because through symbiosis with rhizobia they are able to transform nitrogen from the air into ammonia, which can be used by the host plant. In many cases the amount of nitrogen introduced into the soil by green fertilizers is enough to substitute chemical fertilizers in the cropping sequence. Because the number of rhizobia in most agricultural soils is small, the plant...

Link

more Information

17. February 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Prognostic marker for radiotherapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common tumor type worldwide. Radiotherapy represents an important strategic option for treatment, however, in some cases it does not improve the survival of patients. Predicting the success of the treatment would help to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure to patients whose tumors do not respond to radiotherapy.In cooperation with colleagues of the Institute of Pathology and external partners, scientists of the Institute of...

Link

more Information

26. March 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

German Federal President Visits Forschungszentrum Jülich

Horst Köhler convinces himself on location of the performance of German world-class research

Link

more Information

17. April 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Open Access: Joint Statement by German Science Organisations, 25 March 2009

Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Jean-Paul-Straße 12, 53173 Bonn

Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, Emil-Abderhalden-Straße 37, 06108 Halle/Saale

DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn

DAAD – Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Kennedyallee 50, 53175 Bonn

FhG – Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Hansastraße 27 C, 80686 München

Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2, 10178 Berlin

HRK – Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, Ahrstraße 39, 53175 Bonn

MPG – Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Hofgartenstraße 8, 80539 München

WGL – Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, Eduard-Pflüger-Straße 55, 53113 Bonn

Wissenschaftsrat, Brohler Straße 11, 50968 Köln

Open access and copyrights: no attack on freedom of publication

The Alliance of German science organisations (Allianz der Wissenschaftsorganisationen) considers the statement published by numerous publishers and authors, “In Favour of Freedom of Publication and Copyright Protection” (Für Publikationsfreiheit und die Wahrung der Urheberrechte), to be an unacceptable allegation that the Alliance intends to limit authors’ freedom of publication in a way that violates the German constitution. On the contrary, the Alliance’s Digital Information initiative – the target of the statement referred to above – strives to provide scientists with the best-possible information infrastructure so they can excel in their research. In response to the accusations, the Alliance maintains the following:

1. The Alliance insists on free publication (open access) for readers, but only for research findings that come as a result of publicly funded projects that are pursued for the good of the research community and society as a whole. In no way does the Alliance support open access to fiction that is intended to be a source of income for the author and publisher. Such an insinuation is misleading.
   
2. The Alliance is not calling for illegal activity. The Alliance’s open-access policy does not infringe on an author’s copyright or disregard the interests of publishers. On the contrary, the call for changes to scientific publishing practices is accompanied by a call for a redirection of funds that allow for new business models compatible with open access. Publishers can benefit from these new products. In fact, many of them have adopted open access as an effective business model. All the guidelines urging scientists in Germany and elsewhere to make their work available via open access are compatible with copyright law. There are no grounds for the accusation that copyrights are being expropriated; scientists are and have always been the sole owners of the copyright to their work.
3. Freedom of the scientific community is a valuable commodity; it is enshrined in the constitution and is an essential principle of the organisations in the Alliance. The scientists employed and funded by the Alliance have the freedom to choose any primary forms of publication they like. However, given that tax money makes their work possible, the researchers in the Alliance are expected to choose a form that provides easy access to their publications and puts minimal financial strain on the taxpayer. In cases where an open-access medium is not available as a primary option, authors should publish in open access repositories whenever legally possible. Most major publishers already allow this.
4. As far as publicly funded research is concerned, the partners of the Alliance use the funds at their disposal to cover the entire scientific value chain, from procuring information to surveying the literature and performing the first experiments to selling the publications produced with public funds. Whenever publishing services are utilised to make open access the primary form of publication, they are always reimbursed. The organisations in the Alliance set aside a portion of their budget for this very purpose.

More information is available at:

Press release on Alliance "Digital information" (PDF, in German)

http://oa.helmholtz.de

Contact

26. March 2009 German Cancer Research Centre

Fluorescent Cancer Cells to Guide Brain Surgeons

Malignant brain tumors grow with fine extensions which make them hard to distinguish from healthy brain tissue during surgery. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) and the University of Heidelberg have developed a staining method that makes tumor cells glow in yellow-green. Thus, borders between tumor tissue and normal tissue become visible during the entire operation, which makes resection easier for brain surgeons.

Link

more Information

26. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

The host makes all the difference

For some people it is a certainty: as soon as the annual flu season gets underway, they are sure to go down with it. It is little comfort to know that there are other people who are apparently resistant to flu or who overcome the illness after just a couple of days. It is precisely this phenomenon that is now being investigated by researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), using various strains of mice. "Where there are many scientific works dealing solely with the flu virus, we have investigated how the host reacts to an infection," says Klaus Schughart, head of the Experimental Mouse Genetics research group.

Link

more Information

02. April 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Gene Variants Impede Lung Development

An international research team jointly led by Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University of Pittsburg was able to track genetically determined processes in the lung development of mice and show how variants of the candidate gene superoxide dismutase 3 influence lung function. A comparative analysis of corresponding gene markers revealed a reduced lung function also in children. This could lead to a heightened vulnerability to lung diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive bronchitis. The...

Link

more Information

26. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Climate change aims need to be better integrated into land use planning, economic and transport policies

Specific measures to tackle climate change, such as emissions trading, will only be successful if they are coherently supported by other government policies addressing economic and social issues, says a report published today by the Partnership for European Environmental Research (PEER). PEER membership is formed from seven of the biggest European environmental research institutes. The report explains that, in order to create an effective, Europe wide climate policy, climate change issues must be better integrated into both general and sector-specific policies such as taxation, transportation, and land use planning. By doing this the necessary changes in production processes and consumption patterns to tackle climate change will be achieved.

Link

more Information

30. March 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

New theory on largest known mass extinction in the history of the earth

The largest mass extinction in the history of the earth could have been triggered off by giant salt lakes, whose emissions of halogenated gases changed the atmospheric composition so dramatically that vegetation was irretrievably damaged. At least that is what an international team of scientists have reported in the most recent edition of the "Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences". At the Permian/Triassic boundary, 250 million years ago about 90 percent of the animal and plant species ashore became extinct.

Link

more Information

01. April 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Last Step Leading to Blood Cell Formation Elucidated

Neuherberg, (April, 1st, 2009). A team of scientists led by Dr. Timm Schroeder of Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen has proved the existence of hemogenic endothelial cells. The findings answer the question – unsolved until now – of how blood cells are generated during embryonic development and will enable scientists in the future to produce blood cells in the laboratory in a more target-specific manner. These new insights represent an important contribution to future clinical therapeutic approaches....

Link

more Information

07. April 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Fitting pieces for biosensors

Research and industry are increasingly exploiting the potential of aptamers. As well as their application in research, medical diagnosis and treatment, aptamers are also interesting as a basis for biosensors for use in environmental analysis because their characteristics enable them to identify and bind target molecules as surely as a key fits a lock. In a new book, researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) describe the methods used to obtain aptamers. A newly-approved project aims to develop new nanostructured biosensors to measure harmful substances in water.

Link

more Information

01. April 2009 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

KIT Scientists Work on Antibacterial Surfaces

Annually, 50 to 100 million people worldwide receive surgical implants. Some 1 to 7% of the patients suffer serious complications due to bacterial infection; therefore, prevention of such implant-associated infections is a high priority. Scientists from the KIT Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG) have now succeeded in identifying highly active mini protein chains that are good candidates as an anti-bacterial coating of implants (Chemistry & Science, vol. 16, issue 1).

Link

more Information

06. April 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

New Risk Variant for Atopic Dermatitis Identified

Scientists of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité – University Medical School, Berlin, Germany, in collaboration with researchers from the Klinikum rechts der Isar of Technical University Munich and Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, have identified a gene variant on chromosome 11 that is associated with an increased risk of atopic dermatitis. In a large genome-wide association study the researchers scanned the genomes of more than 9600 participants from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Link

more Information

16. April 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Joint Statement by German Science Organisations on Green Genetic Engineering

Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina
DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
FhG - Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren
HRK - Hochschulrektorenkonferenz
WGL - Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
MPG - Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Wissenschaftsrat

Germany’s Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ilse Aigner, has banned the cultivation of genetically modified maize. The ban took effect immediately on 14 April. The minister noted that the ban is an isolated decision on a particular case, not a fundamental rejection of green genetic engineering. Europe’s highest licensing authority, the EFSA, had previously expressed no reservations about the cultivation of genetically modified maize. Germany’s science and research community is very concerned that this decision will reinforce the tendency to approach this technology in an irrational manner and cause irreparable damage to Germany’s potential as a location for the further development of what is likely to be an important technology in the future.

The German Science Organisations fully support an exploration of the opportunities and possible uses of green genetic engineering in Germany. Such exploration includes the impartial investigation of safety issues and potential risks. A broad range of in-depth scientific research of this kind has been taking place in Germany for years. This research is largely funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the state governments – either directly, or indirectly via organisations they fund – or is carried out in a special research department at the Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. This research has never produced reliable findings that would even remotely suggest the need to abandon the technology.

A complete rejection of green genetic engineering would do lasting damage to Germany as a location for research. Genetic engineering techniques derived from molecular biology offer a unique opportunity to develop more valuable, more environmentally friendly, more productive cash crops in this era of climate change. This view is consistent with findings from research funded by the federal government and with research findings from abroad concerning the risks of green genetic engineering versus classical plant breeding methods.

The ban poses the danger that unfounded fear could take the place of rational scientific information. The minister’s comment that the ban is an isolated decision on a particular case cannot compensate for the negative impact it will have on Germany’s status as a research-friendly country and the fact that it is diametrically opposed to future-minded advancement.

For all these reasons, we are fully opposed to any general ban on genetically engineered products. We urge politicians to lead a more logical discussion of the topic and to create reliable framework conditions for research into and scientific consultation on the future uses of green genetic engineering. We therefore enthusiastically endorse Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan’s proposal for a roundtable discussion that would include scientists and politicians and send a clear signal regarding future research into genetically modified crops.

Contact:

Max Planck Society - Administrative Headquarters

Martin Steins

Head of Department research law

Hofgartenstraße 8

80539 Munich

Tel: +49 (0) 89 2108 1263

steins@gv.mpg.de

Contact

27. April 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Diminuendo – New Mouse Model for Understanding Cause of Progressive Hearing Loss

Neuherberg, April 18, 2009. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have developed a new mouse model that can be associated with deafness. With this model they succeeded for the first time in showing that microRNA, a new class of genes, influences hearing loss. The respective microRNA seed region influences the production of sensory hair cells in the inner ear, both in the mouse and in humans. The findings have been published ahead of print in the current online issue of Nature Genetics. This...

Link

more Information

22. April 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Ecologists Put Price Tag on Invasive Species

Invasive species can disrupt natural and man-made ecosystems, throwing food webs out of balance and damaging the services they provide to humans. Now ecologists have begun to put a price tag on this damage. In a study published this week in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment e-view, ecologists have listed the invasive species that cause the most harm to environment and cost the most money to combat.

Link

more Information

22. April 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

MPI and MDC Researchers Make Significant Strides in Identifying Cause of Bacterial Infections

Several bacterial pathogens use toxins to manipulate human host cells, ultimately disturbing cellular signal transduction. Until now, however, scientists have been able to track down only a few of the proteins that interact with bacterial toxins in infected human cells. Now, researchers of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch in Germany have identified 39 interaction partners of these toxins, using novel technology which allowed them to screen for large numbers of proteins simultaneously (Cell Host & Microbe, Vol. 5, Issue 4, 397-403)*.

Link

more Information

27. April 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Hepatitis B vaccine at low prices

Braunschweig-based Helmholtz researchers publish economical method for acquiring vaccines – help for poorer countries.. Infection with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to represent a significant problem worldwide: over two billion people are infected and 350 million suffer from chronic Hepatitis B.

Link

more Information

29. April 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

Top-Class Instrument for Brain Research Begins Operation

Today, a magnetic resonance tomograph (MRT) for imaging techniques in brain research with an outstandingly high field strength of 9.4 tesla was officially inaugurated by Thomas Rachel (Member of the German Bundestag), Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, Innovation Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Link

more Information

29. April 2009 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Research aircraft Polar 5 finishes Arctic expedition - Unique measurement flights in the central Arctic completed

The Arctic campaign PAM-ARCMIP (Pan-Arctic Measurements and Arctic Climate Model Intercomparison Project) ended yesterday in Ottawa with the participation of the research aircraft Polar 5. The campaign which lasted four weeks yielded unique measurement data on sea ice thickness, trace gases, aerosols and meteorological parameters thanks to the great range of the aircraft and modern measurement equipment.

Link

more Information

29. April 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

Gene Test Determines Risk of Heart Surgery Complications

Genetic differences can explain why some patients undergoing heart surgery later experience shock and kidney complications, according to a study by researchers at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch in Germany and the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The results indicate that performing a genetic test on patients before they have surgery can help guide treatment after they leave the operating room (Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, JASN, doi 10.1681/ASN.2008080915)*.

Link

more Information

03. May 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

Hyperactive “Sleeping Beauty” - MDC Scientists: “Optimized Tool for Gene Delivery”

Scientists from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany have succeeded in generating a hyperactive “jumping gene” (a transposon) and hope to have an improved tool for basic research and gene therapy. “The new transposon system is able to introduce genes into cells and to stably insert them into the cell’s genome at an unprecedented efficiency,” Dr. Lajos Mátés, Dr. Zoltán Ivics and Dr. Zsuzsanna Izsvák point out. They worked together with scientists from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium (Nature Genetics, doi: 10.1038/ng.343).*

Link

more Information

05. May 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

New Light Shed on the Enigma of Salt Intake and Hypertension

A high salt intake has been implicated in cardiovascular disease risk for 5000 years. But salt-sensitive hypertension still remains an enigma. Now, investigators from Germany at the University of Erlangen, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Regensburg, collaborating with researchers from Finland and Austria have shed new light on the relationship between salt intake, bodily processes, and blood pressure regulation. Within the skin, they have detected a new storage area for salt in the body. They also found out that if the process behind this storage is defect, animals become hypertensive (Nature Medicine, doi 10.1038/nm.1960)*.

Link

more Information

11. May 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

EU awards three million Euro for pneumonia research

HZI coordinates international consortium of scientists for development of new drugs and vaccines against pneumococcal diseases.

Pneumonia infections are not only a problem of developing countries. In Germany more than 60.000 people die annually due to this disease, which is mostly caused by the bacterial species "Streptococcus pneumoniae". Combating pneumococcal infections is getting more and more difficult and current vaccines mediate only partial protection. 13 international research institutions representing 10 countries in Asia, Europe and South America have joined forces with the aim to develop new antibiotics and vaccines to fight pneumococcal infection. The department of Microbial Pathogenicity of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig is coordinator of the project named "CAREPNEUMO", which is running for three years and funded with 3 Million Euro by EU.

Link

more Information

11. May 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

Thus the bile does not overflow

HZI-Scientists have elucidated which bacteria block artificial bile ducts. A consequence of the different cancers of the hepatobiliary system is blocked bile ducts.

Link

more Information

13. May 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

MDC Researchers Unravel Key Mechanism in Pathogenesis of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis, or bone loss, is a disease that is most common in the elderly population, affecting women more often than men. Until now, it was not clear exactly how the disease develops. Researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now elucidated a molecular mechanism which regulates the equilibrium between bone formation and bone resorption. Dr. Jeske J. Smink, Dr. Valérie Bégay, and Professor Achim Leutz were able to show that two different forms of a gene switch – a short isoform and a long isoform – determine this process. The MDC researchers hope these findings will lead to new therapies for this bone disease (EMBO Journal)*.

Link

more Information

14. May 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

3D Kidney Atlas Created for Researchers and Physicians

Renal diseases shall be diagnosed earlier and treated more successfully in the future. Towards this aim, researchers from nine European countries*, coordinated by the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have been working for the past four-and-a half years to create a three-dimensional virtual “Kidney Atlas”. It incorporates the latest research findings on the development and diseases of the kidney.

Link

more Information

06. May 2009 Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics

IPP participating in "The Energy Efficient City" competition

How can a city's energy consumption be reduced? What are the best strategies for saving energy? The answers to these questions are to be provided by "The Energy Efficient City” competition being held by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. When the opening event marking the start of the second round of the competition was held on 7 and 8 May, Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP) at Garching was one of the contenders.

Link

more Information

02. April 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Are tungsten carbide cobalt nanoparticles harmful to health?

Dresden/Leipzig. Nanoparticles of tungsten carbide and tungsten carbide cobalt can enter cultured mammalian cells. These are the findings of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Dresden, the Leipzig-based Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems in Dresden. The results further show that pure tungsten carbide nanoparticles do not have cytotoxic effects. Only when the nanoparticles are mixed with a toxic substance, metallic cobalt in this case, are cytotoxic effects observed. The in vitro study, which was published in the renowned journal Environmental Health Perspectives, examined the effect of tungsten carbide and tungsten carbide cobalt nanoparticles with an aggregate size of 150 nanometres on cell lines of human lung, skin and intestinal cells and of primary cultures of rat brain cells.

Link

more Information

21. November 2008 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

11,000 alien species invade Europe

Halle/Saale. For the first time it is now possible to get a comprehensive overview of which alien species are present in Europe, their impacts and consequences for the environment and society. More than 11,000 alien species have been documented by DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe), a unique three year research project with more than 100 European scientists, funded by the European Union that provides new knowledge on biological invasions in Europe. Biological invasions by alien species often result in a significant loss in the economic value, biological diversity and function of invaded ecosystems.

Link

more Information

18. May 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

New Länder and Helmholtz Centres join forces in cutting-edge research

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) today selected eleven research projects from the 24 applications submitted to its “Cutting-edge Research and Innovation in the New Länder” programme. The chosen projects will receive funding totalling €135 million. Helmholtz Centres are involved in nine winning projects. One of them is lead by the Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy.

The winning projects will each receive €10-14 million over a period of five years. As part of the federal government’s High-Tech Strategy, the programme strengthens links between science and industry in eastern Germany and promotes research in important areas for the future, such as energy technology, medical engineering, geosciences and nanomaterials. Prof. Jürgen Mlynek, president of the Helmholtz Association, was very pleased with the outcome: “Universities and Helmholtz Centres work extremely well together on developing new research projects. The list of winning applications also underscores the research potential in the former East German states and demonstrates the strong links between cutting-edge research in eastern Germany and established Helmholtz Centres.” He went on to explain that the Centres were fully exploiting the potential for such collaborations. 

The programme funding will allow the Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy to expand the Competence Centre Thin-Film and Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics and to raise its international profile. Other research projects exploring energy technology focus on hydrogen generation (Light2hydrogen), boosting efficiency using nanotechnology, and technologies for a post-oil society.

Medical research will be strengthened by a “Taschentuchlabor” (handkerchief laboratory) for integrated bioanalytics and by new approaches to personalised medicine (Gani-Med). Helmholtz Centres are also collaborating with other institutions on geotechnical projects. “This programme boosts important research fields and reinforces links between science and industry, something that will pave the way for new job opportunities and future prosperity”, said Prof. Mlynek.

Further information

Further information on the “Cutting-edge Research in the New Länder” programme is available online at:
www.unternehmen-region.de/de/3899.php (only in German)

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Aeronautics, Space and Transport. With 28,000 employees in 16 research centres and an annual budget of approximately €2.8 billion, 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).

Downloads

Contact

Thomas Gazlig

Head Communications and Media Relations,
Press spokesperson

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-57
+49 30 206329-60
presse(at)helmholtz.de

Dr. Antonia Rötger

Press Officer Science Communication
Inquiries, Press Releases, Texts, Editor Newsletter „hermann“

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-38
+49 30 206329-60
antonia.roetger(at)helmholtz.de

18. May 2009 Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics

Expert group for fusion computation established

An expert group for high-level computations in fusion research will start work at Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching, Germany with the opening ceremony on 20 May 2009. Partly funded by the European Union, this High-Level Support Team is being established at IPP to support scientists in the European Fusion Programme in order to make their computation codes suitable for processing on supercomputers.

Link

more Information

22. May 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

Investigating the Development of Mechanosensitivity

Researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have gained crucial insight into how mechanosensitivity arises. By measuring electrical impulses in the sensory neurons of mice, the neurobiologists and pain researchers Dr. Stefan G. Lechner and Professor Gary Lewin were able to directly elucidate, for the first time, the emergence of mechanosensitivity. At the same time they were able to show that neurons develop their sensitivity to touch and pain during different developmental phases but always coincidentally with the growth of the neuronal pathways.

Link

more Information

26. May 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

Europe´s Fastest Computer Unveiled in Jülich

No less than three supercomputers for European research were unveiled today in Jülich in a ceremony attended by the Federal Minister for Education and Research, Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan, and the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers. The three computers include the supercomputer JUGENE, which with a computing power of one petaflop/s, that is to say a trillion arithmetic operations per second, is currently the fastest computer in Europe.

Link

more Information

02. June 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

The whole world of infection research

The web site www.infection-research.de is being relaunched with a new look: it is the first internet portal worldwide on the subject of infection research. The Braunschweig Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) operates the web site which, in addition to an extensive job market for infection researchers, also offers eight further information areas.

Link

more Information

02. June 2009 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Sensational climate research in the Arctic: longest climate archive of the terrestrial Arctic retrieved

An international team of researchers from Russia, Germany, the USA and Austria has conducted a deep drilling program in the far northeast of Russia during the last six months to retrieve several hundred meters of lake sediments, impact breccias and permanently frozen soil. These make new insights into the climate history of the Arctic, crater formation of Lake El’gygytgyn and permafrost dynamics possible. A milestone has been reached at the beginning of May with the first results of the drilling campaign. The cores gained will help to answer crucial open questions of Arctic geology.

Link

more Information

04. June 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Alliance of German Science Organisations welcomes promise of long-term investment in the future

Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften
DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
DAAD – Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
FhG – Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren
HRK – Hochschulrektorenkonferenz
WGL – Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
MPG – Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Wissenschaftsrat

 
The Alliance of German Science Organisations reacted with relief and delight when the Federal Chancellor and federal state premiers announced the extension of the Higher Education Pact, the Initiative for Excellence and the Pact for Research and Innovation. “Long-term investment in education and research is the best way to ensure Germany’s competitiveness and a strong economic future. We do not want to be left behind while other countries are spending record sums to further science and academic research. This comprehensive package of initiatives puts Germany in an excellent position to compete on the world stage,” said Prof. Jürgen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association and current spokesman for the Alliance of German Science Organisations. This decision will not only advance education and research, it will also give a lasting boost to the labour market: “It will create tens of thousands of future-oriented jobs and open up new prospects for young scientists.”

Mlynek gave special thanks to the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Prof. Annette Schavan: “Her personal dedication has played a crucial role in encouraging the government to unambiguously reassert its commitment to science and innovation in this country.” The three pacts have been highly successful so far and offer a generation of students and young scientists a wealth of future prospects. It has also given an enormous boost to the German research landscape, where new research areas are being explored and new forms of collaboration developed. The extension and expansion of the pacts will allow scientific organisations to reinforce this momentum even further.

The three pacts mean that a total of €18 billion will be invested in teaching and research over the coming years. These funds will benefit universities and other research institutions.

Contact

04. June 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

Superwash in the Atmosphere

"Science": Research team find accelerated pollutant degradation in the air over Southern China

A previously unknown amplification mechanism increases the self-purifying capacity of the atmosphere three- to fivefold. An international research team, including scientists from Jülich headed by Prof. Andreas Wahner, have discovered that hydroxyl radicals - the detergent of the atmosphere - can be recycled without the participation of nitrogen oxide. The results were presented today in an online advance publication in "Science Express".

Link

more Information

05. June 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Jürgen Mlynek re-elected as president of the Helmholtz Association

The Senate of the Helmholtz Association has elected Prof. Jürgen Mlynek to serve a second term as president of the association. Mlynek was unanimously nominated to retain the position until 2015 by the Helmholtz Association Assembly of Members.

“I am delighted that the result was so unequivocal. It shows that the Senate and the Assembly of Members are committed to staying the course we have followed in recent years. I will do my part by continuing to do my best to promote the Helmholtz Association’s standing in Germany and abroad,” said Mlynek. “The association has an excellent strategic position and our achievements in research are recognised around the world.”

“Those initiatives that have been successful will continue to receive our support. This includes recruiting and promoting talent at all levels, for example with our structured PhD programmes, the Helmholtz Young Investigators Groups and the Helmholtz Management Academy,” continued Mlynek. “We want to continue to set the pace for building scientific networks and we plan to take on an even more responsibility in managing large international research projects and consortia. We will achieve these goals in cooperation with our selected university partners.” Mlynek also promised that the association would take its responsibility to the economy and society very seriously, saying, “This includes more than expanding our involvement in technology transfer. A highly qualified workforce is equally important, and we provide training for professionals for both research and industry.”

Jürgen Mlynek studied physics at the University of Hanover and the École Polytechnique in Paris. He earned his doctorate in 1979 and his habilitation in 1984. After a period at the IBM Research Laboratory in the United States, Mlynek moved to Switzerland to work as an assistant professor at the ETH Zurich. In 1990 he was appointed to a full professorship in experimental physics at the University of Konstanz. After ten years of research and teaching in the fields of experimental quantum optics, nuclear physics and surface physics, Mlynek was drawn to research management. He served as vice president of the German Research Foundation from 1996 to 2001 and became president of Humboldt University in Berlin in September 2000. Mlynek has received numerous science and research prizes, including the Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation in 1992. He became president of the Helmholtz Association in September 2005.

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Aeronautics, Space and Transport. 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).  www.helmholtz.de

Contact

08. June 2009 Helmholtz Head Office

Helmholtz launches Climate Initiative

The Helmholtz Association is expanding its work in the field of climate research and will be spending €16 million over the next four years on the Helmholtz Climate Initiative. Research will focus on the regional effects of global climate change. The centres involved will match that amount, meaning that a total of €32 million will be available for the initiative.

President of the Helmholtz Association, Prof. Jürgen Mlynek, was enthusiastic about the project: “The new Climate Initiative will pool the competences of a variety of Helmholtz working groups, allowing us to investigate climate change with a focus on how it affects specific regions.” The initiative will also take socioeconomic aspects into consideration, since a world facing a radically different climate needs concrete proposals for securing the efficient management of water supplies and the sustainable management of woodland areas and agricultural land.

The Climate Initiative, “Regional Climate Change: From Observations and Modelling to Decision Support for Mitigation and Adaptation”, has a total budget of €32.3 million for the period 2009–2013. The initiative will be headed by Prof. Peter Lemke of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Prof. Karin Lochte, Director of the AWI and Vice President of the Helmholtz Association, explained that “fusing the various climate research activities at a number of different Helmholtz centres should allow us to create a world-renowned research pool here at the Helmholtz Association. We are planning to collaborate closely with universities and non-academic working groups, the Climate Service Center, the regional climate offices of the Helmholtz Association and the German Climate Consortium.”

The Helmholtz Association is already heavily involved in climate research. The AWI is conducting investigations in the Arctic and Antarctic, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and Forschungszentrum Jülich are active in atmospheric research, and the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht carries out coastal research. The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (GFZ), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU) are also involved in climate research, as is the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with its earth observation activities.

The Helmholtz Association Senate actively recommended pooling these research activities to concentrate efforts and has now approved the Climate Initiative in its proposed form.

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Aeronautics, Space and Transport. With 28,000 employees in 16 research centres and an annual budget of approximately €2.8 billion, 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). 

Contact

Thomas Gazlig

Head Communications and Media Relations,
Press spokesperson

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-57
+49 30 206329-60
presse(at)helmholtz.de

Dr. Antonia Rötger

Press Officer Science Communication
Inquiries, Press Releases, Texts, Editor Newsletter „hermann“

Helmholtz Association

Berlin Office
Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Straße 2
10178 Berlin

+49 30 206329-38
+49 30 206329-60
antonia.roetger(at)helmholtz.de

09. June 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

GARP makes the difference

Researchers develop key brake for immune cells in petri dish – hope for easier organ transplantation?. Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany and the Medical School Hannover, Germany (MHH) have succeeded in treating immune cells in a way that enables them to inhibit unwanted immune reactions such as organ rejection.

Link

more Information

09. June 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

Immune cells Ameliorate Hypertension-Induced Cardiac Damage in Mice

Researchers in Berlin, Germany have found that a specific type of immune cell, the regulatory T lymphocyte (Treg) plays an important role in hypertension-induced cardiac damage. The injected Treg that they harvested from donor mice into recipient mice were infused with angiotensin II, a blood pressure-raising peptide. The Tregs had no influence on the blood pressure response to angiotensin II. Nonetheless, cardiac enlargement, fibrosis, and inflammation was sharply reduced by Treg treatment.

Link

more Information

10. June 2009 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

New record Arctic sea ice cover minimum? Climate researchers from Bremerhaven and Hamburg present new prognoses.

Climate researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and KlimaCampus of the University of Hamburg participate for the second time in an international scientific competition. Some of the most renowned climate research institutes worldwide fathom possibilities for seasonal prognoses of Arctic sea ice cover by means of different methods and climate models. The declared aim of all participants is to find the best method for reliable prognoses. The German researchers agree upon a continuing negative trend. Another critical minimum of Arctic sea ice is to be expected in the late summer of 2009.

Link

more Information

10. June 2009 GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research

A New Chemical Element in the Periodic Table

The element 112, discovered at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (Centre for Heavy Ion Research) in Darmstadt, has been officially recognized as a new element by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). IUPAC confirmed the recognition of element 112 in an official letter to the head of the discovering team, Professor Sigurd Hofmann. The letter furthermore asks the discoverers to propose a name for the new element. Their suggestion will be submitted within the next weeks. In about 6 months, after the proposed name has been thoroughly assessed by IUPAC, the element will receive its official name. The new element is approximately 277 times heavier than hydrogen, making it the heaviest element in the periodic table.

Link

more Information

15. June 2009 Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics

New Administrative Directrice at IPP

Christina Wenninger-Mrozek to succeed Dr. Karl Tichmann

On 1 July 2009 Christina Wenninger-Mrozek will take up her appointment as Administrative Directrice of Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) at Garching and Greifswald. She is succeeding Dr.-Ing. Karl Tichmann, who has managed IPP since 1996 and is retiring this July.

Link

more Information

16. June 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

New Piece Found in the Puzzle of Epigenetics

Researchers of Helmholtz Zentrum München elucidate mechanism of the fine regulation of RNA synthesis Neuherberg, June 16, 2009. A team of scientists led by Professor Dirk Eick of Helmholtz Zentrum München has identified the enzyme TFIIH kinase as an important factor in the epigenetic regulation of the cell nucleus enzyme RNA polymerase II. The findings, recently published in the renowned journal Molecular Cell, constitute a further building block for understanding the pathomechanisms of cancer...

Link

more Information

18. June 2009 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Research vessel Polarstern starts 24th Arctic season

The German research vessel Polarstern, operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association, will begin its 24th Arctic expedition on Saturday, June 20th. 119 scientists from seven different nations will research the whole spectrum of current Arctic topics in three journey stages: climate history and current climate development, effects on the ecosystem ranging from bacteria to marine mammals, and also geoscientific questions regarding sediment structure and tectonics of the Arctic. Polarstern is expected back in Bremerhaven September 25th.

Link

more Information

23. June 2009 Forschungszentrum Jülich

Two supercomputers from Jülich among the ten fastest in the world

In the decisive global ranking of the world’s fastest supercomputers that was published the 23rd june 2009, Forschungszentrum Jülich has not one but two supercomputers among the top ten. JUGENE, Europe’s fastest computer takes place 3, and JUROPA / HPC-FF, the computer tandem developed in Jülich, is ranked 10th in the world and 2nd in Europe. This is the first time in the history of the global ranking that one single European institution has two computers among the first ten.

Link

more Information

23. June 2009 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Why are diatoms so successful?

Diatoms play a key role in the photosynthesis of the oceans and are therefore intensively studied. Together with international colleagues researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute have made a new discovery regarding the evolution of diatoms’ photosynthesis. Results are presented in the current issue of the periodical “SCIENCE”.

Link

more Information

24. June 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

Mouse Model Provides Clues to Human Language Development

Scientists of the German Mouse Clinic at Helmholtz Zentrum München have made a major contribution to understanding human language development. Using a comprehensive screening method, they studied a mouse model carrying a “humanized version” of a key gene associated with human language. In the brains of the mice the researchers found alterations which may be closely linked to speech and language development.

Link

more Information

28. June 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

New Control System of the Body Discovered – Important Modulator of Immune Cell Entry into the Brain – Perhaps New Target for the Therapy

Researchers in Berlin, Germany have ameliorated inflammation of the brain in mice caused by immune cells. A receptor they discovered on the surface of T cells in the central nervous system (CNS) plays the key role. The researchers showed that this bradykinin receptor 1 (B1) controls the infiltration of immune cells into the CNS. When they activated B1 in mice with encephalitis, they were able to slow down the crossing of the immune cells through the blood-brain-barrier into the CNS. As a result, the inflammation markedly decreased.

Link

more Information

30. June 2009 Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

The tiny difference in the genes of bacteria

Every year, diarrhea causes around five million fatalities worldwide. Most people die due to pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses, which were ingested into the gastro-intestinal tract through contaminated drinking water or food. Determining which bacterium is causing the illness in those cases is sometimes very complex. In cooperation with Chilean researchers, scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany, have now developed a fine-tuned diagnostic method.

Link

more Information

30. June 2009 Helmholtz Zentrum München- German Research Center for Environmental Health

The sound of light: Innovative technology shatters the barriers of modern light microscopy

Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München are using a combination of light and ultrasound to visualize fluorescent proteins that are seated several centimeters deep into living tissue. In the past, even modern technologies have failed to produce high-resolution fluorescence images from this depth because of the strong scattering of light. In the Nature Photonics journal, the Munich researchers describe how they can reveal genetic expression within live fly larvae and fish by “listening to light”. In the future this technology may facilitate the examination of tumors or coronary vessels in humans.

Link

more Information

01. July 2009 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

Colorectal Cancer – MDC Researchers Identify Genetic Markers for Metastasis Formation

Previously, only a few genes had been associated with the formation of metastases in colorectal cancer. Now, researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Germany, have identified 115 genes that are disregulated both in the primary tumor and in its metastases. In the future, their findings may help identify patients with aggressive tumors at an earlier stage (Gastroenterology 2009, doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2009.03.041).*

Link

more Information

02. July 2009 German Cancer Research Centre

First German Tobacco Atlas - A new handbook, released by the German Cancer Research Center, puts the spotlight on the societal and health effects of tobacco use in Germany

Northern Germany has more smokers than the South - and more people die there as a consequence of smoking. The differing number of males who died due to lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases, clearly demonstrate this regional difference. This is shown for the first time in the Tobacco Atlas 2009, a handbook edited by the German Cancer Research Center in close collaboration with the German Ministry of Health and the Robert Koch Institute.

Link

more Information