Research - News

Researchers at Goethe University and Philipps University Marburg, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, have developed a new artificial intelligence to reduce animal experiments. The AI, called genESOM, was trained to “learn” the structure of small datasets. It uses this learned information to generate new data points. These data points reproduce the properties of experimentally collected data as accurately as if they had been obtained in laboratory experiments. In the future, genESOM could reduce the number of laboratory animals needed for testing new active substances by between 30 and 50 percent.

For decades, the collection of the Psychiatric Clinic at Frankfurt University Hospital contained medical specimens with human tissue. Little attention was paid to these “human remains,” which remained hidden and largely forgotten – or perhaps deliberately repressed. Over the course of a three-year research project, Dr. Moritz Verdenhalven investigated the origins of the collection. Supported by Goethe University’s management and Frankfurt University Hospital, he set out to reconstruct the history behind the specimens and the people from whom they came. In a recent lecture, Verdenhalven offered insights into both his research process and his findings.

Each year, Goethe University’s Faculty of Law recognizes exceptional academic achievement through a number of prestigious awards. The 2026 Baker McKenzie Award, presented by the renowned law firm of the same name, will go to Dr. Alexander Heger and Dr. Felix-Julius Konow for their outstanding doctoral dissertations in business law.

Three new fellows join the interdisciplinary research network “Democratic Vistas” at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften Institute for Advanced Studies.

Around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest could shift into degraded forest or savannah-like ecosystems at 1.5-1.9°C of global warming if deforestation increases to roughly 22-28 percent of the Amazon, according to a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) published in Nature. Without additional deforestation, by contrast, such large-scale changes would likely occur only at much higher warming levels of around 3.7-4°C.

Many properties of molecules cannot be predicted from the properties of the atoms they consist of these properties only emerge when they are combined – a phenomenon known in science as “emergence.” A publication by Goethe University Frankfurt examines, from chemical, biological, and philosophical perspectives, how emergence and complexity are connected.

Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society, delivered a lecture on gene transcription and regulation as part of his Rolf Sammet Visiting Professorship.

The protein p53 is mutated in many cancer cells, meaning it can no longer fulfill its protective function against tumor development. A team of scientists from Goethe University Frankfurt, along with the universities of Marburg, Cologne, and Zurich, has now succeeded in developing a type of mini-antibody (known as DARPins) that restores p53 functionality in the laboratory. These mini-antibodies can stabilize many p53 mutants and could therefore be suitable as therapeutic agents for a wide range of cancers in the future.

Prof. Torsten Frosch, coordinator of the LOEWE focus area “MultiDrug-TDM”, explains how a novel intelligent sensor system can significantly improve the treatment of children with cancer.

This year’s Frankfurt Cancer Conference takes place from September 2 to 4, 2026, at Goethe University’s Westend Campus. This fourth edition of the conference celebrates the 120th anniversary of modern cancer research in Frankfurt, which dates back to the opening of the Georg-Speyer-Haus and the first international cancer conferences held in Frankfurt and Heidelberg. To honor these historic milestones, the international specialist conference will bring together oncology experts to deepen and advance Paul Ehrlich’s vision for the future of precision medicine.

The Cooperative Brain Imaging Center Frankfurt (CoBIC) is celebrating its opening with a scientific symposium, after the building officially began operations one year ago. CoBIC is a collaboration between Goethe University Frankfurt, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, and Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) of the Max Planck Society. The close cooperation between basic research institutes and Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt provides researchers with a dynamic environment for innovative research projects.

From virtual patients to simulated embryos and intelligent chicks: the applications of digital twins are expanding rapidly. These possibilities were at the center of the 7th International Giersch Conference 2026, which also served as the kickoff event for the new Cluster of Excellence SCALE. Its central theme: “Towards Digital Twins for Structural Cell Biology – Criteria, Chances, and Challenges.”