Archive Press Releases

The Institute of Polymer Research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht organises a workshop for scientists in industry and at universities on November 13th and 14th. An introduction into the mechanical and rheological properties of polymer materials and an extensive insight into the application methods of the rheology and mechanics of polymers in practice will be presented by experts from industry and research.

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Some 160 million men and women are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), the most common cause of cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. The present standard therapy is thraught with serious side-effects leading to a cure in only half of the patients. New therapies utilise small molecules that inhibit specific steps in the viral reproduction. However, the pathogen rapidly develops resistance, becoming insensitive to these agents. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, in collaboration with colleagues from the TWINCORE in Hannover have discovered new drug leads that are also efficient against resistant virus. They present their work in the "Journal of Biological Chemistry".

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The feel-good hormone dopamine improves long-term memory. This is the finding of a team lead by Emrah Düzel, neuroscientist at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Magdeburg. The researchers investigated test subjects ranging in age from 65 to 75 years, who were given a precursor of dopamine. Treated subjects performed better in a memory test than a comparison group, who had taken a placebo. The study provides new insights into the formation of long lasting memories and also has implications for understanding why memories fade more rapidly following the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The results appear in the “Journal of Neuroscience”.

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Innovative ideas "made in Schleswig-Holstein" were awarded on Thursday, 1st of November in the German National Library of Economics (ZBW) in Kiel. The 1000 Euro special award "nanotechnology" was received to the Geesthacht polymer researcher Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mady Elbahri.

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“The founding of the Berlin Institute of Health, (BIH) is a unique opportunity for the German science landscape to restructure the collaboration between a non-university research institution and a university medical center in the field of basic and clinical research,” said Prof. Walter Rosenthal, chairman of the board and scientific director of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch. Speaking at a press conference with Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan and Berlin’s Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit in the Charité on November 6, 2012, he went on to say: “For politicians, German reunification was something unique, just as it was for me as a citizen. Something like that only happens once in a lifetime. And here in the field of science another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has presented itself – to participate in the creation of an entirely new research structure. I am therefore delighted that we can be part of the founding of the BIH.

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“The founding of the Berlin Institute of Health, (BIH) is a unique opportunity for the German science landscape to restructure the collaboration between a non-university research institution and a university medical center in the field of basic and clinical research,” said Prof. Walter Rosenthal, chairman of the board and scientific director of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch. Speaking at a press conference with Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan and Berlin’s Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit in the Charité on November 6, 2012, he went on to say: “For politicians, German reunification was something unique, just as it was for me as a citizen. Something like that only happens once in a lifetime. And here in the field of science another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has presented itself – to participate in the creation of an entirely new research structure. I am therefore delighted that we can be part of the founding of the BIH.

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The Federal Minister of Education and Research, Prof. Annette Schavan, announced today in the presence of the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, that researchers at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, a member of the Helmholtz Association, and the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin will be working together under one roof in the future. The Helmholtz Association regards this fusion of two top-level research institutes as a major step forward in the future development of the German research system.

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Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) and Heidelberg University Hospital have identified the HDAC11 enzyme as a promising target for new cancer therapies. If this molecule is turned off, cancer cells stop growing and die. Normal cells, however, are not affected by blocking HDAC11. The researchers are now looking for compounds that block selectively HDAC11.

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The Chinese Nanjing University of Science and Technology is establishing a nanoscience institute using the Institute of Na-notechnology (INT) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as a model. The new institute is named after and will be headed by Professor Herbert Gleiter. The co-founder and former director of INT, where he is still conducting research, is a pioneer of nanosciences worldwide. At the Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience, five research groups will be established, of which four will be headed by leading INT nanoscientists.

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Dr Juliane Müller will be awarded a second place in the German Study Prize on 6 November in Berlin. The Körber Foundation honours the geoscientist from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association for her pioneering PhD thesis on sea ice distribution.

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