Press Releases

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), together with doctors from the Urological Clinic of the Mannheim University Hospital, have developed and successfully tested a chatbot based on artificial intelligence. "UroBot" was able to answer questions from the urology specialist examination with a high degree of accuracy, surpassing both other language models and the accuracy of experienced urologists. The model justifies its answers in detail based on the guidelines.

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Choroid plexus tumors mainly affect toddlers under one year of age. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now been able to show that a permanently activated important signaling pathway of intracellular communication is responsible for the development of these rare brain tumors.

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Miniature robots on the millimeter scale often lack the strength to transport instruments for endoscopic microsurgery through the body. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) are now combining several millimeter-sized TrainBots into one unit and equipping them with improved "feet". For the first time, the DKFZ team was able to perform an electric surgical procedure on a bile duct obstruction experimentally with a robotic convoy.

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Whether we are predisposed to particular diseases depends to a large extent on the countless variants in our genome. However, particularly in the case of genetic variants that only rarely occur in the population, the influence on the presentation of certain pathological traits has so far been difficult to determine. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Technical University of Munich have introduced an algorithm based on deep learning that can predict the effects of rare genetic variants. The method allows persons with high risk of disease to be distinguished more precisely and facilitates the identification of genes that are involved in the development of diseases.

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The Helmholtz Association and the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft have awarded the biochemist Oliver Bruns (NCT/UCC Dresden and DKFZ) and the chemist Ellen Sletten (UCLA) with the Helmholtz High Impact Award 2024. Both are honored for their research on a new medical imaging technology in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) range, which has the potential to significantly improve the surgical removal of tumors. The scientific prize, endowed with €50,000, recognizes interdisciplinary research that addresses major challenges in science, industry, or society.

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Funding from the European Research Council (ERC) is regarded as an accolade for scientists at all career stages. With its "Starting Grants", the ERC aims to pave the way to an independent career for excellent young researchers. This year, Jens Puschhof from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) has been awarded the prestigious grant. The funding will enable Puschhof to investigate the role played by bacteria that colonize cancer metastases in the spread of the tumour in the body. The results could reveal new ways of containing or preventing dangerous cancer metastases.

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Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the methylation of their genetic material, which gives these special astrocytes stem cell properties. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University have published their findings in the journal Nature. In mice, the researchers showed that experimentally induced lack of blood flow in the brain epigenetically reprograms astrocytes into brain stem cells, which in turn can give rise to nerve progenitor cells. This discovery shows that astrocytes could potentially be used in regenerative medicine to replace damaged nerve cells.

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What are the characteristics of a cancer cell that are recognized by the immune system? Knowledge of the potential target structures for the immune cells is a basic prerequisite for the development of personalized cancer immunotherapies. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the NCT Heidelberg are publishing a highly sensitive method based on mass spectroscopy to identify such tumor-specific "neoepitopes". The analytical method is designed to detect these low abundance protein fragments and requires minimal amounts of sample material.

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This year's Baden-Württemberg State Research Prize (Landesforschungspreis) for excellence in applied research has been awarded to Lena Maier-Hein from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The jury honored her pioneering work on the development and validation of new methods of AI-based imaging. The award, which is endowed with 100,000 euros, will be presented at a ceremony on October 22.

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A new vaccine against cancer-causing human papillomaviruses (HPV) is intended to help increase the rate of HPV vaccinations, particularly in developing countries. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed a completely new vaccination concept for this purpose. The vaccine is inexpensive and protects mice against almost all cancer-causing HPV types. In addition to preventing new infections, the vaccine also triggers cellular immune responses against HPV-infected cells and may therefore also have a therapeutic effect against existing infections.

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