Archive Press Releases

Many disciplines are involved in the design and development of an aircraft. To obtain the best combination of wings, fuselage and engines, researchers must work closely together and share their expertise effectively.

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Natural killer cells (or NK cells), as part of the body´s immune system, can effectively fight cancer. Unfortunately, they quickly lose their aggressiveness and hence are unable to reject solid tumors. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now discovered a cocktail consisting of three different immune mediators that leaves NK killer cells active over a long period of time. In mice, cocktail-boosted NK cells let tumors shrink. The cocktail was able to persistently activate human NK cells, too.

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A new electron cooler for the Jülich particle accelerator COSY has arrived at Forschungszentrum Jülich after a 12-day journey by heavy truck from Novosibirsk nearly 6000 kilometres away. The two-megavolt cooling system developed in cooperation with the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics will enable COSY to detect extremely rare high-energy decay processes of significance in the search for exotic forms of matter and effects outside the realms of the standard model of particle physics.

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Smoking is “out”, non-smoking is “in” – particularly among youth: The number of young people trying cigarettes or becoming regular smokers is declining. In the past decade, the smoker´s rate among youth has dropped from 28 percent to less than 12 percent. The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) has brought forward this success in health protection. The WHO Collaborating Centre for Tobacco Control, based at DKFZ, has contributed effective measures for reducing tobacco use to the public debate. In collaboration with other national and international partners it supports decision-makers in implementing such measures.

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The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) awards its prestigious “Prix International” to Ingrid Grummt this year. The scientist from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is honored for her life’s work. Grummt studies the role of RNA molecules regulating gene expression.

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How well are the most important climate models able to predict the weather conditions for the coming year or even the next decade? The Potsdam scientists Dr. Dörthe Handorf and Prof. Dr. Klaus Dethloff from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association (AWI) have evaluated 23 climate models and published their results in the current issue of the international scientific journal Tellus A.

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Forschungszentrum Jülich and Solliance announce a new partnership in the field of thin film photovoltaics. Solliance is a cross-border initiative by ECN, imec, Holst Centre, TNO and TU Eindhoven. With Jülich as an additional partner, Solliance grows further as R&D cluster bringing thin film solar energy technology to excellence and is ramping up its activities to gain market share internationally. Some partner companies are successful global players in their segment already. The science and technology in this field are world class in selected areas, with a track record of 15 to 30 years.

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Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have discovered a molecular switch that plays a role in the development of lymphoma: If a protein called PP4R1 is missing, T cells can divide in an uncontrolled manner, migrate through the body and eventually form skin tumors. The researchers have published their results in the specialist journal “Immunity”.

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Scientists from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) are participating in an international research project on the causes of rare degenerative brain and muscle disorders. Over the next five years, the DNZE Bonn site will receive 470,000 euros for the effort. The project, entitled "NEUROMICS: Integrated European Project on Omics Research of Rare Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Diseases," is being funded under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research. The partners in the effort hail from Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. "Such a concerted effort on this scale is unprecedented," explains Prof. Thomas Klockgether, Director of Clinical Research at the DZNE. Relevant work in Bonn will focus on patients and healthy people with increased risks of disease. "We expect the work to yield new findings on the causes of such diseases and to provide impetus for diagnosis and therapy," notes Klockgether.

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With the X-ray vision of DESY's light source DORIS, a research team from Hamburg and Iceland has uncovered the molecular structure of a master regulator central to the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma. The results, published in the scientific journal "Genes & Development", throw new light on the workings of the so-called Microphthalmia-associated Transcription Factor MITF, that is not only connected to skin cancer, but also to a variety of hereditary diseases where the production of the skin pigment melanin is disturbed, and to certain aspects of ageing. "Our data could provide a rational basis for the development of tailor-made drugs targeting MITF", explains first author Vivian Pogenberg from the Hamburg branch of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

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