Press Releases

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MDC researchers used significantly fewer laboratory animals during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 than in previous years. The MDC has now been awarded the “Exemplary Communications of Animal Research” seal for its transparency on the issue of animal experiments.

Baden-Württemberg and the Chinese Partner Province of Jiangsu Strengthen Collaboration for the Development of Viable Environmental Protection Solutions

KIT’s Transport Experts Simulate Smart Combinations of Public Transport Means and Sharing Services in Karlsruhe

Cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels form a crucial barrier between blood and the surrounding tissue. Scientists at the Berlin Center of Translational Vascular Biomedicine have now reported in „Nature Cell Biology“how these endothelial cells maintain their stable resting state.

There is strong demand for laboratories, and biotech entrepreneurs need space in state-of-the-art research facilities. Now, in the presence of Berlin’s Governing Mayor, the cornerstone for the new BerlinBioCube incubator has been laid on Campus Berlin-Buch.

Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) want to build the world’s first prototype that tracks moving tumors with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in real time during proton therapy. They are combining a rotating open MRI device, designed for the LINAC-MR system from Alberta Health Services, with an actively scanned clinical-akin proton beam at OncoRay, the Dresden-based National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology. The rotating MRI device is produced by ASG Superconductors, using their helium-free superconducting magnesium diboride (MgB2) magnet. Real-time MRI would make it possible to synchronize the proton beam to tumor motion during radiation dose delivery. So far, this has been impossible and therefore was a limiting factor for treating moving tumors with this promising cancer therapy.

Jülich, 16 April 2021 – There is no cheaper way to generate electricity today than with the sun. Power plants are currently being built in sunny locations that will supply solar electricity for less than two cents per kilowatt hour. Solar cells available on the market based on crystalline silicon make this possible with efficiencies of up to 23 percent. Therefore they hold a global market share of around 95 percent. With even higher efficiencies of more than 26 percent, costs could fall further. An international working group led by photovoltaics researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich now plan to reach this goal with a nanostructured, transparent material for the front of solar cells and a sophisticated design. The scientists report on their success of many years of research in the renowned scientific journal "Nature Energy".

Jülich, 13 April 2021 – One consequence of the coronavirus pandemic has been global restrictions on mobility. This, in turn, has had an effect on pollution levels in the atmosphere. Researchers from across the world are using this unique opportunity to take measurements, collect data, and publish studies. An international team led by Forschungszentrum Jülich's Institute of Climate and Energy Research – Troposphere has now published a comprehensive review providing an overview of results up to September 2020. The study also has its own dedicated website, where additional measurement data can be added to supplement and refine existing research results At the same time, this collection of data allows scientifically substantiated predictions to be made about the pollution levels of future mobility scenarios.

Genetically enhancing a patient's immune cells by adding therapeutic genes to them outside the body is regarded as a promising new treatment approach in oncology. However, the production of these therapeutic cells using viruses is not only expensive but time-consuming. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed an innovative non-viral vector that can efficiently introduce therapeutic genes into immune cells. At the National Center of Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, therapeutic T cells produced with the novel vector were able to target and fight cancer more efficiently than conventionally produced cellular therapies.