news 2021

The research neutron source Hein Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is playing an important role in the investigation of mRNA nanoparticles similar to the ones used in the Covid-19 vaccines from vendors BioNTech and Pfizer. Researchers at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) used the high neutron flux available in Garching to characterize various formulations for the mRNA vaccine and thus to lay the groundwork for improving the vaccine's efficacy.

Food supplements are available in a lot of places - in drugstores, health food shops, pharmacies and on the Internet - and the market is booming. Many of these products contain plant extracts whose ingredients are supposed to have healthy benefits - provided they do actually contain what they claim. Because nowhere near all of these so-called botanicals deliver what they promise.

MHH research team demonstrates how inflammatory cells improve the function of diseased heart muscle cells Heart failure or cardiac insufficiency is one of the most common causes of death in Germany and is caused by heart attacks, high blood pressure or heart valve defects. The heart is then no longer able to pump a sufficient amount of blood through the body and supply organs, muscles or other tissues with enough oxygen and nutrients.

Antibiotics help us to treat bacterial infections and save millions of lives each year. But they can also harm the helpful microbes residing in our gut, weakening one of our body's first lines of defence against pathogens and compromising the multiple beneficial effects our microbiota has for our health.

"You can't see the wood for the trees" is a phrase which we certainly don't associate immediately with the medical examination and analysis of testicles. But in a certain way it applies here, too: testicles consist of many different types of cells, and up to now this complex quality prevented these types from being isolated and then analysed.

Using nanoparticles, a Jena research team implemented the targeted transport of an active ingredient into liver tissue. The particles were functionalized with a dye that is specifically absorbed by liver cells, and they carried an inhibitor of the signal protein PI3Kinase ', which contributes to the development of liver failure in sepsis.

Heidelberg research group seeks and develops inhibitors against flaviand coronaviruses New drugs are intended to help stop viral zoonoses - infections that jump from animals to humans. To study suitable inhibitors, Christian Klein from the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (IPMB) of Heidelberg University is receiving funding in the amount of 450,000 euros from the Volkswagen Foundation.

Immune cell profile reveals appearance, number and activity level against SARS-CoV-2 T cells play a decisive role in fighting the coronavirus and preventing infected individuals from becoming seriously ill. They identify and fight the virus directly within the infected cells. A team of researchers working in Munich have produced a precise profile of the T cells that respond to SARS-CoV-2 and described them at various stages of the illness.

The findings come as the result of anti-doping research at Freie Universität Berlin funded by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) No 153/2021 from Aug 06, 2021 According to a study spearheaded by Freie Universität Berlin, the anabolic androgenic steroid dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) is detectable in the body for several weeks after administration.

Immune response stronger than after two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine People under the age of 60 who initially received a vaccine from AstraZeneca should be given an mRNA vaccine at their second appointment. This is recommended by the German Standing Committee on Vaccination. However, up until now, there were no data available to indicate to what extent the human organism would react to such a combined vaccination and start to form antibodies.

Immune response stronger than after two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine People under the age of 60 who initially received a vaccine from AstraZeneca should be given an mRNA vaccine at their second appointment. This is recommended by the German Standing Committee on Vaccination. However, up until now, there were no data available to indicate to what extent the human organism would react to such a mix-and-match vaccination and start to form antibodies.

Collaborative Research Center granted DFG funding for a further four years. Life The German Research Foundation (DFG) will fund the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio (CRC/TR) "FungiNet" for four more years with approximately ten million Euro. In the only CRC studying human pathogenic fungi, scientists in Jena and Würzburg will investigate infection processes and novel therapeutic options.

A research team including scientists from Freie Universität Berlin is investigating novel antiviral drugs that can also inhibit the spread of coronaviruses No 086/2021 from May 10, 2021 Researchers from the Institute of Pharmacy at Freie Universität Berlin, in collaboration with researchers at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, have discovered a new process for developing antiviral agents for drugs.

Iron-dependent cell death ferroptosis and cell death by oxidative stress can be activated in small cell lung cancer, and induced by two drugs / publication in 'Nature Communications' Using samples of small cell lung tumours, a research team led by biologist Dr Silvia von Karstedt has discovered two new ways to induce tumour cell death.

A major goal of organic and medicinal chemistry in recent decades has been the rapid synthesis of three-dimensional molecules for the development of new drugs. These drug candidates exhibit a variety of improved properties compared to predominantly flat molecular structures, which are reflected in clinical trials by higher efficacy and success rates.

Meta-analysis reveals: Hypnosis relieves pain, reduces mental distress and promotes recovery after surgery Hypnosis relieves pain, reduces mental distress and promotes recovery after surgical interventions - this has been shown in a meta-analysis recently published in Clinical Psychology Review. By evaluating 50 individual studies with over 4000 patients, scientists from Jena and Leipzig examined the efficacy of hypnosis in the context of surgical interventions.

An international research team has developed a model that predicts growth rates and resistance mechanisms of common bacterial mutants at different drug doses / Publication in 'Nature Ecology & Evolution' A team of scientists from the University of Cologne (Germany) and the University of Uppsala (Sweden) has created a model that can describe and predict the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

Findings on cancer medication reveal protein regulation mechanism Immunomodulatory drugs, including the Contergan derivatives lenalidomide and pomalidomide have significantly improved the therapy of hematologic malignancies such as multiple myeloma. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now further decoded the mode of action in this class of medications.

New synthetic peptides could attenuate atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis, a lipid-triggered chronic inflammatory disease of our arteries, is the main cause of strokes and heart attacks. An international team of researchers led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the LMU University Hospital has developed novel synthetic peptides that can help to prevent atherosclerosis in vitro, that is in the test tube, as well as in animal models.

Blocking the receptor "inceptor" could protect insulin-producing beta cells One hundred years after the discovery of insulin and fifty years after that of the insulin receptor, researchers have now discovered a novel - and druggable - insulin inhibitory receptor, named inceptor. This could open up new possibilities for the treatment of diabetes: The blocking of inceptor function leads to an increased sensitisation of the insulin signaling pathway in pancreatic beta cells.