news 2017

Research news A safety switch that automatically stops the device for example before it overheats are built into many electrical appliances. The body's cells are also equipped with this kind of "emergency stop" functions. They make sure that a defective cell doesn't grow uncontrollably, becoming a tumor cell.

Research news Medications which block enzymes belonging to the kinase family, are among the most effective pharmaceuticals for targeted cancer therapies. Scientists at the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have examined 243 kinase inhibitors which are either approved drugs or have been tested in clinical trials.

Research news Cardiac fibrosis involves an increase of connective tissue in the cardiac muscle, causing a loss of function. A team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now discovered that microRNA 29 (miR-29) plays an important role in the formation of tissue fibrosis. They occur less frequently when miR-29 is suppressed in cardiac muscle cells.

Research news Childhood obesity is often attributed to a lack of exercise. So what about sports among elementary school students' A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) pursued this question and collected the results of fitness tests for first-year students over a period of one decade. Their study shows that students did not lose their strength.

Worldwide survey of antibiotics researchers indicates uncertainty about number of deaths - New survey tool helps gather global expert opinions on existential issues No 316/2017 from Nov 15, 2017 Researchers say that it is difficult to quantify the true extent of the threat of antibiotic resistance for humanity.

Research news A healthy heart beats about two billion times during a lifetime - thanks to the interplay of more than 10,000 proteins. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) and the German Heart Centre at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now determined which and how many individual proteins are present in each type of cell that occurs in the heart.

Research news Professor Michael Schemann from the Department of Human Biology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is part of a consortium that intends to investigate the role of nerves in normal and diseased colon functions over the next three years. S. Department of Health through the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Two such different organisms as plants and humans developed from a common precursor cell. Traces of this over one-billion-year kinship remain anchored in the genetic material of both organisms. An international team of plant researchers led by Dr Markus Wirtz and Rüdiger Hell of Heidelberg University has looked more closely into one such trace - the TOR protein.

Research news Heart attacks pose a greater threat to women than to men. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has determined that in the first year after a heart attack women are subject to a significantly higher mortality risk than men with similar case histories. The scientists are urging doctors to provide intensive support to female heart attack patients, above all in the first 365 days after the event.

Compared to their counterparts twenty years ago, today's 65-year-olds not only feel younger but are generally healthier overall - and enjoy greater life satisfaction. That is just one of the latest results of the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on Adult Development and Aging (ILSE) that was launched in 1993 at the Institute of Gerontology at Heidelberg University.

Research news Obesity leads to the release of cytokines into the bloodstream which impact the metabolism of breast cancer cells, making them more aggressive as a result. Scientists from Technical University of Munich (TUM), Helmholtz Zentrum München, and Heidelberg University Hospital report on this in Cell Metabolism .

Research news Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is characterized by restless, painful legs that do not settle down at night. The causes are largely unknown. An international team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Center has now carried out the world's largest genome-wide association study on the genetic causes of the disorder.

Research news The Technical University of Munich (TUM) was successful in all subsidy lines in the first two rounds of the German Excellence Initiative, held in 2006 and 2012. Now TUM has set its sights for the third time on the highly endowed support program for leading German universities: TUM is participating in five initiatives for research clusters which were judged successful by an international expert panel in the pre-selection round and which are now being called on to submit complete applications.

Research news A new method allows surgeons to reconstruct entire heart valves from the patient's own tissue. This surgical procedure is currently only used at a handful of centres in the world. Recently, PD Dr. Markus Krane, Deputy Director of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department of the German Heart Centre Munich, has also used the new method on patients in Munich.

A team under the direction of chemist Peter Comba is investigating radioactive metal complexes for use in the diagnosis and treatment of tumours. In their recent studies at Heidelberg University's Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, the researchers demonstrated that developing radiopharmaceutical tracers based on indium and actinium shows great promise for new radiopharmaceuticals.

Researchers from the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have investigated the mode of action of a molecular chaperone vital to protein synthesis. Together with colleagues from the University of Cologne and the Penn State University (USA), they were able to demonstrate that the speed of protein synthesis is associated with the function of the Ssb chaperone.

Research news After a stroke, many people are unable to successfully perform basic hand movements in everyday life. The reason are symptoms of hemiparesis resulting from damage to the brain. These very frequently affect fine motor skills. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is now paving the way to better diagnosis and more targeted therapy.

Research news How do cells work together and use their genome to develop into human liver tissue? An international research team from the Max Planck Institute, headed by Prof. Barbara Treutlein from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has applied this question by using novel technologies of genomics and stem cell research.

When researchers and physicians analyse tissue, for example in order to investigate any pathological changes, they often look at the tissue samples under the light microscope. However, producing meaningful images is not always easy. Researchers at the Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence at the University of Münster and at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster have now developed a new method which, in the case of lymphoedema, can create digital 3D images of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels of entire tissue biopsies.

Research news When bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, treatment with these medications becomes ineffective. Similarly, tumor cells can also change in such a way that renders them resistant to particular medications. This makes it vitally important for cancer patients and their doctors to determine as early as possible whether a specific therapy is working or not.