Research News HHU

The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt – BMFTR) is funding a promising new therapy approach to fighting cancer at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). In the “DNAmazing” project, the team headed by Dr Manuel Etzkorn is collaborating with Professor Dr Philipp Lang from University Hospital Düsseldorf (UKD) to develop a highly selective therapeutic agent and found a new company to get it into clinical trials. The…

It’s here to stay: Working from home has been an integral part of the modern world of work since the coronavirus pandemic. While many employees appreciate the flexibility, autonomy and reduction in stress, employers often express concerns about productivity, innovative capabilities and health. Such concerns are reflected in the current return-to-office rules of many major companies.

In order to understand metabolic processes, it is important to be able to detect critical individual elements and metabolites in living organisms. Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have now developed a new computational method for designing biosensors for such analysis. They now describe the novel iron sensor “IronSenseR”, which has been realised in this way, in the scientific journal ACS Sensors.

Is complex social behaviour genetically determined? Yes, as a team of biologists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) together with colleagues from Bochum and Paris discovered while studying bees. They identified a genetic factor that determines the begging behaviour of drones, which they use to obtain food socially. They are now publishing their findings in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Elements from the group of rare earth metals are of great importance today, also in technical applications. The Bioinorganic Chemistry group at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) is conducting diverse research into these elements. The group has now published two studies in the scientific journal Angewandte Chemie (“Applied Chemistry”). One examines peptides, which can bind these elements, while the other highlights the potential role of the elements in the origins of life.