Better Cancer Biomarker – picked up from Google and Facebook
Modified Algorithm of the Search Engine studies 20,000 Proteins
Google delivers good search results because it does not only consider websites but also the hyperlinks between them. A similar strategy is applied in the decision what kinds of proteins in a patient’s tumor are relevant for the course of disease. Researchers at the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden together with a research group of the Dresden Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus have employed a modified version of Google’s PageRank algorithm to study 20,000 proteins according to their influence on the progression of pancreatic cancer. In the study, published in the American journal "PLoS Computational Biology", the researchers have found seven proteins that may help to determine the aggressiveness of a diagnosed tumor with the help of the tumor tissue. This information can help the attending physician to decide whether or not the patient should receive chemotherapy. (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002511) German Press Release
Top-class increase for Dresdner biotechnology
Biophysicist of TU Dresden awarded with Humboldt Professorship
The biophysicist Jochen Guck (age 39) of the Biotechnology Center at the Technical University of Dresden (BIOTEC) is now officially an Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Cellular Machines. In Berlin, the Humboldt Foundation has awarded six professors with this most valuable international award for research in Germany. Since January 2012, Jochen Guck builds up his laboratory and his research group at the BIOTEC for developing new biophysical approaches in stem cell research, blood cell diagnostics and neuroregeneration. For this purpose, the Foundation’s prize money of five million Euro for five years is at his disposal.
Targeted control on the wanted gene
Natural materials easier to analyse: Researchers of germs develop upgraded DNA method
Target-oriented exchange of DNA sections instead of hard search: German and Chinese researchers have developed a method of direct isolation of genetic information from extensive mixtures of different germ species. Certain substances, which are produced by germ and are used medically for example as antibiotics or chemotherapeutic agents, are easier to produce in the laboratory with the help of the new method. Now, the researchers describe these new developed method in the trade journal Nature Biotechnology (DOI: 10.1038/nbt2183).
German Press Release of BIOTEC
German Press Release of the Helmholtz Centre of Infection Research
German Research Foundation supports two new Technology Platforms at biomedical Research Institutes of the TU Dresden
At the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden – Cluster of Excellence of the TU Dresden (CRTD) as well as at the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden (BIOTEC) the German Research Foundation (DFG) supports two new technology platforms which will each establish a cross-institutional service- and device pool of the highest scientific standards. Each of these research centers will be supported with 450,000 € for three years. A total of 57 applications have been filed nationwide, of which 11 projects will receive funding, two of them alone in Dresden, as announced by the DFG today.
Student of the molecular bioengineering masters program awarded DAAD-Prize 2011
Shradha Das who completed her master’s studies Molecular Bioengineering in 2011 was awarded the DAAD Prize 2011 for her excellent course achievements and her social engagement. The award is combined with a reward of 1.000 EUR and was handed over by the Rector of the TU Dresden Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen on 13 January 2012 during a celebratory event for the best graduates of the TU Dresden 2011.
Shradha Das comes from India and studied within the master program Molecular Bioengineering from 2009-2011. She made her master thesis in Michael Brand’s lab and completed her degree as best International graduate 2011. Her engagement as student representative and her motivation to improve the organization of the master programs of the BIOTEC also led to this award. She is now enrolled in one the International PhD programs offered by the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering.
Humboldt Professorship: Jochen Guck begins his research at the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden
The biophysicist Dr. Jochen Guck (38) currently has started his Humboldt Professorship for cellular machines at the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden (BIOTEC). Before, Guck researched at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University (UK) and will focus at BIOTEC on the development of new biophysical approaches for stem cell research, blood cell diagnostics and neuroregeneration. The award is endowed with five million Euro for five years.
