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. The team has already been able to halt this mechanism with an antibody treatment.

Power on the go is in demand: The greater the battery capacity, the larger the reach of electric cars and the longer the operating time of cell phones and laptops. Dr. Jennifer Ludwig of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a process that allows the promising lithium cobalt phosphate cathode material to be produced quickly, easily, cost-effectively and in high quality. The chemist was awarded the Evonik Research Prize for her wo...

The „Leonardo da Vinci Center for Bionics” was established over a decade ago at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Since then, the cross-faculty research platform has been promoting the technical development and design of operating principles that nature itself concocted in the evolutionary process: The creative potential in the „Test Laboratory of Nature” is translated into technical solutions.

A team of scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has successfully developed a new type of microscope. The so-called NeuBtracker is an open source microscope that allows to observe neuronal activities of zebrafish without perturbing their behaviour. This is opening up completely new perspectives for science, because now it will be possible to track natural behaviour while simultane...

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 programme 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 ...

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. The method is particularly advantageous for children and young patients.

They have different scientific backgrounds and specialist research fields but are pursuing a common goal: Leading researchers from the worlds of medicine, engineering and the natural sciences will be working under the umbrella of the new Central Institute for Translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM) of the Technical University of Munich on cutting-edge methods in diagnostics and treatment for cancer patients. The interdisciplinary research buil...

An electric car for Africa, custom-designed for the needs of the population there, that strengthens rural structures and helps drive the economy: Scientists at the TUM and partners have been working intensively towards this goal for four years. They present their new prototype to the public at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt from September 12 to 15, 2017. The aCar is designed for passenger and cargo transportation and is also inte...

  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.

Starting in 2018 the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Society (MPG) will join several partners to break new ground: at the Max Planck School “Physics, Chemistry and Construction of Life” , selected university students and Doctoral candidates will be taught by Germany's best researchers in order to research the basic principles of living systems.

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. This new research greatly advances efforts to bioengineer healthy and usable human liver tissue from human pluripotent stem cells.

Each atomic layer thin, tear-resistant, and stable. Graphene is seen as the material of the future. It is ideal for e.g. producing ultra-light electronics or highly stable mechanical components. But the wafer-thin carbon layers are difficult to produce. At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Jürgen Kraus has manufactured self-supporting graphene membranes, and at the same time systematically investigated and optimised the growth of the...

Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed multifunctional and translucent facade elements that can be produced with a 3D printer. The technology permits complete freedom in architectural design and the easy realisation of innovative design concepts. The new facade also integrates functions such as ventilation, insulation and shading. The sample element, 60 centimeters wide and one meter high, is made of transpa...

When bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, treatment with these medications becomes ineffective. Similarly, tumour 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. A new blood test developed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) can pr...

The unmanned aircraft Sagitta has successfully completed its first two test flights at the Overberg test range in South Africa. The project is part of the "Open Innovation" initiative launched by aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The objective is the development of new technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles. Sagitta serves as a platform for testing these technologies and is not focused on any specific end-product.

Golfers wanting to shoot below par or tennis players looking to smash their way past opponents should focus on their backswing in order to perfect new techniques quickly, research suggests. Academics at the University of Plymouth and the Technical University of Munich assessed the speed at which people learned the basic skills which allowed them to achieve consistent results.

After a long day of working at the computer, scratchy contact lenses are not only painful, over longer periods of time they can also damage ocular tissue. Relief may be in sight from a natural mucus component referred to as a mucin. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now succeeded in demonstrating that contact lenses coated with purified porcine gastric mucin do not cause damage to the eye anymore.

The protein amyloid beta is believed to be the major cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Substances that reduce the production of amyloid beta, such as BACE inhibitors, are therefore promising candidates for new drug treatments. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has recently demonstrated that one such BACE inhibitor reduces the amount of amyloid beta in the brain. By doing so, it can restore the normal function of nerve cells and...

Materials that assemble themselves and then simply disappear at the end of their lifetime are quite common in nature. Researchers at the TUM have now successfully developed supramolecular materials that disintegrate at a predetermined time – a feature that could be used in numerous applications. Plastic bottles, empty cans, old toys, torn T-shirts and worn-out mobile phones – day for day, mankind produces millions of tons of wast...

  The aim of the DIFUTURE (Data Integration for Future Medicine) project is to collate and analyse digital patient data with a view to improving our understanding of diseases and allowing doctors to reach the individual right decisions faster.