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Jun 7 2024

11:55

It's promising to be an all-nighter: Riedberg Campus opens its doors for the long night of science, featuring lectures, guided tours and hands-on experiments from dusk until dawn

Goethe University’s annual “Night of Science” on June 21

FRANKFURT. On Friday, June 21, everything at Goethe University's Riedberg Campus will once again focus on the NIGHT OF SCIENCE. As every year, university students have put together an entire night dedicated to the natural sciences, and anyone interested can embark on a voyage of discovery from 5 p.m. until the early morning hours of the next day, and experience what the individual faculties have on offer.

Researchers will be presenting the whole range of their respective subjects in more than 80 lectures lasting until dawn, covering everything from interesting insights in basic science to the latest scientific findings. Topics include scales that change the world, the hereditary molecule DNA, the link between physics and soccer, why disgust is important, poisons, Long Covid, climate change and much more. Some lectures will be in English.

Complementing the lectures is a colorful social program, including robot soccer and gliders. More than 30 initiatives and groups will be presenting themselves at dedicated booths, and guided tours will offer a look behind the scenes of scientific practice. For prospective students, these insights into Goethe University Frankfurt's natural science degree programs may be the deciding factor in choosing their field of study. Of course, there will also be plenty of refreshments and a steady supply of coffee.

The NIGHT OF SCIENCE will open on Friday evening with a lecture by Heidelberg nuclear and particle physicist Professor Johanna Stachel, who conducts research in the ALICE “Big Bang Project" at the CERN particle accelerator.

The organizing team this year chose as their figurehead physicist Lise Meitner, who was the first to correctly interpret the results of her colleague Otto Hahn, recognizing that he had split atomic nuclei. Alas, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry awarded 80 years ago went solely to him.

Friday, June 21, 2024
5 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Goethe University Frankfurt
Riedberg Campus

Otto-Stern-Zentrum, Ruth-Moufang-Str. 2
Geozentrum, Altenhöferallee 1
Physik/Biozentrum/Biologicum, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1-13
60438 Frankfurt

Program and further information: https://nightofscience.de/

Apr 15 2024

12:18

International comparison featuring Goethe University Frankfurt shows: German funding opportunities are exemplary, but weaknesses exist

How the live performing arts survived the pandemic

An international study involving Goethe University Frankfurt has investigated the impact state and non-state funding have had on the live performing arts during the pandemic. The investigation shows that while the situation of artists in Germany was overall more positive than elsewhere, certain areas merit some catching up.

FRANKFURT. The British Academy-funded research project "Pandemic Preparedness in the Live Performing Arts: Lessons to learn from Covid-19 across the G7" ran from April 2023 to January 2024. Its aim: To compare how government and non-government funding has affected the work of institutions, organizations, performing artists and freelancers in the G7 countries during the pandemic, focusing in particular on a comparison between the USA, Canada, the UK and Germany. The co-investigator of the project's German team was Prof. Heidi Liedke from Goethe University's Institute of English and American Studies (IEAS), with Ronja Koch acting as its research associate. One of Liedke's research areas is digital forms of contemporary theater and the pandemic's impact on theater in the UK and Germany.

As part of the project, the research teams conducted extensive literature syntheses of publications from 2020-2023, looking at both academic and journalistic publications as well as policy papers relating to theater, opera and dance. Liedke also spoke with representatives of several state theaters, the German federal government's department of theater, dance and performance, as well as Deutscher Bühnenverein [German Stage Association], among others.

The €2 billion "Neustart Kultur" funding program is the first of its kind providing an unprecedented amount of funding to culture in Germany – at a scale that is also unique by international standards. The program provided many people with financial security, albeit not to the same extent: while permanent employees of municipal and state theaters received short-time work benefits, independent and self-employed artists struggled with numerous applications for financial support. That being said, project funding was available at the federal and, above all, the state level, and could be obtained both quickly and unbureaucratically. It was particularly important that performances involving a physical gathering of people no longer constituted a prerequisite for funding – offering freedom and space to further develop one's own art. Many artists were appreciative of the fact that politicians spoke of the importance of culture and its promotion to Germany; they felt seen.

The pandemic and the associated social distancing regulations led to a lot of experimentation with digital formats. However, many institutions lacked a comprehensive digital strategy – both in terms of artistic practice as well as with regard to their internal structures. This is particularly true of rural areas, where internet access remains a problem. There did, however exist a certain funding focus on rural areas, allowing new performative formats to emerge while at the same time promoting digitalization. Generally speaking, public spaces were increasingly included, with theaters such as Frankfurt's Mousonturm artists' house, for instance, building a special open-air stage.

"Artists and theaters in Germany and Canada received significantly more support than those in other countries," Prof. Liedke says. The state of Hesse's “Masterplan Kultur" [master plan for culture] and the resilience managers employed by some state theaters (e.g. in Hanover or Darmstadt) constituted best practice examples at a joint conference, attended by a politician from the House of Lords, amongst others. The debate on whether to include arts funding in the German constitution also met with great interest. "This is precisely what artists in the UK themselves are discussing and want to take to the political arena," she adds.

All of this notwithstanding, Liedke points out that the German system also has its weaknesses: compared to other countries, German theaters still need to become considerably more accessible – both for employees as well as for audiences. In addition, minorities need to be given greater consideration. Beyond that, there is also room for improvement in terms of funding strategy and co-determination. Bureaucratic hurdles and the lack of coordination between the various funding offers have made it particularly difficult for freelancers to access funds. It would make sense for various cultural and political actors to be involved in the development process, as was the case with Hesse's "Masterplan Kultur", for example. The five recommendations for action for political decision-makers in the UK are available on the project's homepage.

Project homepage: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/institutes/sci/research/affiliatedprojects/pandemicpreparedness/ https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/5253/tBA_Summary_report_v4.pdf

Images for download: https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/151525656

Caption: The British Academy-funded research project "Pandemic Preparedness in the Live Performing Arts: Lessons to learn from Covid-19 across the G7", of which Goethe University Frankfurt was a participant, has presented its results. (Copyright: University of Exeter)

Further information
Prof. Dr. Heidi Lucja Liedke
Professor of English Literature
Institute of English and American Studies
Goethe University Frankfurt
liedke@em.uni-frankfurt.de
https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/136371678/Heidi_Liedke
@heidilulie (X)

Nov 27 2023

16:31

Frankfurt physicians successfully test leukemia-specific therapy in preclinical study

Oncology: Fighting leukemia with therapeutic RNA

Each year, around 13,000 people in Germany are diagnosed with leukemia, of which up to half die from the disease despite intensive chemotherapy. Beyond that, therapies have severe side effects: In particular, they inhibit the formation of normal blood cells. In a preclinical study, a team from the Department of Pediatrics at Goethe University Frankfurt has tested a novel therapy based on a therapeutic RNA. Through the treatment, the laboratory animals survived significantly longer than their untreated counterparts. The hope now is that this leukemia-specific therapy will be able to support existing chemotherapies in the future.

Each year, about 13,000 people in Deutschland are diagnosed with leukemia, an umbrella term that encompasses various forms of blood cancer. Among those affected are also many children and adolescents under 15 years of age. A common and very aggressive form of leukemia in adults is acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In AML, blood cells in the early stages – the stem cells and the precursor cells that develop out of them – transform. AML is the second most common form of leukemia in children, accounting for around four percent of all malignant diseases in childhood and adolescence. Despite treatment with intensive chemotherapy, only between 20 and 50 percent survive the first five years after diagnosis and treatment; half or more relapse and die. Furthermore, these intensive therapies have severe side effects: In particular, they damage the stem cells that form new blood. There is therefore an urgent need to develop new therapies tailored specifically to AML.

Researchers led by Professor Jan-Henning Klusmann from the Department of Pediatrics and Professor Dirk Heckl from the Institute for Experimental Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Goethe University Frankfurt have now tested such a leukemia-specific therapy in animal experiments. They used a therapeutic RNA molecule packaged in lipid nanoparticles to treat animals with leukemia. “By packaging it in lipid nanoparticles, we have in principle applied the same technique that was used for COVID-19 immunization," explains Klusmann. “The lipid nanoparticles transport the therapeutic RNA into the blood cells."

The therapeutic RNA miR-193b was already described in 2018 as having a protective effect against cancer. In healthy cells, miR-193b slows down signaling pathways that are only activated for cell proliferation and which the stem cell otherwise hardly uses. That is why miR-193b is referred to as a tumor suppressor. In AML cells, however, miR-193b is not present in sufficient amounts and therefore unable to fulfil its task as a tumor suppressor. “Scientists have been testing active substances for many years that act as inhibitors and intervene in these signaling pathways used by AML cells," says Heckl. “The problem is that such substances only ever attack one component, whereas miR-193b acts on all levels of the signaling pathway. This stops the division of the abnormal cells very efficiently and causes the leukemia cells to die off quickly." Another advantage of therapeutic RNAs is that they do not damage the stem cells of the hematopoietic system, unlike conventional chemotherapies, because they are not dependent on the suppressed signaling pathways.

All the laboratory animals tolerated the treatment with the nanoparticles containing the active substance well, and the leukemia cells were successfully fought off, as Klusmann summarizes: “We were able to significantly extend survival time in all the animals we treated, and some were even cured." What is particularly encouraging is that miR-193b worked in all the AML subtypes tested: The scientists examined four different types of cancer cells in their trials, including one common in people with Down syndrome. “In the past, noncoding RNAs and their genes were regarded as junk DNA," explains Klusmann. “Now we have developed a therapy based on this 'junk' that promises a new and very specific treatment option for myeloid leukemia." The hope is that this therapy can support chemotherapies in the future so that they do not have to be so intensive.

Publication: Hasan Issa, Raj Bhayadia, Robert Winkler, Laura Elise Swart, Dirk Heckl, Jan-Henning Klusmann: Preclinical testing of miRNA-193b-3p mimic in acute myeloid leukemias. Leukemia 37, 1583 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-023-01937-6

Further information
Professor Jan-Henning Klusmann
Director Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
University Hospital Frankfurt
Tel: +49 (0)69 6301-5094
E-Mail: kkjm.direktor@gmail.com
www.leukemia-research.de

Professor Dirk Heckl
Institute for Experimental Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
Goethe University Frankfurt
E-Mail: d.heckl@kinderkrebsstiftung-frankfurt.de

Sep 6 2022

21:01

Heart and COVID-19 study at University Hospital Frankfurt/Goethe University Frankfurt reveals long-term effects after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Long COVID after mild SARS-CoV-2 infection: persistent heart inflammation might explain heart symptoms

The research team led by Dr Valentina Puntmann and Professor Eike Nagel from University Hospital Frankfurt and Goethe University Frankfurt followed up around 350 study participants without previously known heart problems who had recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection. They found that over half of them still reported heart symptoms almost a year later, such as exercise intolerance, tachycardia and chest pain. According to the study, these symptoms can be attributed to mild but persistent cardiac inflammation. Pronounced structural heart disease is not a characteristic of the syndrome. (Nature Medicine, DOI 10.1038/s41591-022-02000-0).

FRANKFURT. After recovering from a SARS-CoV-2 infection, many people complain of persistent heart complaints, such as poor exercise tolerance, palpitations or chest pain, even if the infection was mild and there were no known heart problems in the past. Earlier studies, predominantly among young, physically fit individuals, were already able to show that mild cardiac inflammation can occur after COVID-19. However, the underlying cause of persistent symptoms, and whether this changes over time, was unknown.

A team of medical scientists led by Dr Valentina Puntmann and Professor Eike Nagel from the Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging at University Hospital Frankfurt followed up 346 people – half of them women – between the age of 18 and 77 years, in each case around four and eleven months after the documented SARS-CoV-2 infection. For this purpose, the team analysed the study participants' blood, conducted heart MRIs, and recorded and graded their symptoms using standardised questionnaires.

The result: 73 percent reported heart problems at the beginning of the study and in 57 percent these symptoms persisted 11 months after the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The research team measured mild but persistent heart inflammation that was not accompanied by structural changes in the heart. Blood levels of troponin – a protein that enters the blood when the heart muscle is damaged – were also unremarkable.

Dr Puntmann, who led the Impression COVID&Heart Study, explains: “The patients' symptoms match our medical findings. It is important to note that although triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the post-COVID cardiac inflammatory involvement differs considerably from classic viral myocarditis. Extensive damage of the heart muscle leading to structural heart changes or impaired function are not characteristic at this stage of disease evolution." The clinical picture is more reminiscent, she says, of the findings in chronic diffuse inflammatory syndromes such as autoimmune conditions. “Although most likely driven by a virus-triggered autoimmune process, a lot more research is needed in order to understand the underlying pathophysiology. Similarly, the long-term effects of cardiac inflammation following a mild COVID infection need to be clarified in future studies."

Because the study is restricted to a selected group of individuals who took part because they had symptoms, the prevalence of findings cannot be extrapolated to the population as a whole. Bayer AG, the German Heart Foundation and the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research supported the study.

Publication: Valentina O. Puntmann, Simon Martin, Anastasia Shchendrygina, Jedrzej Hoffmann, Mame Madjiguène Ka, Eleni Giokoglu, Byambasuren Vanchin, Niels Holm, Argyro Karyou, Gerald S. Laux, Christophe Arendt, Philipp De Leuw, Kai Zacharowski, Yascha Khodamoradi, Maria J. G. T. Vehreschild, Gernot Rohde, Andreas M. Zeiher, Thomas J. Vogl, Carsten Schwenke, Eike Nagel Long-term cardiac pathology in individuals with mild initial COVID-19 illness. Nature Medicine (2022) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02000-0

Background: The heart after COVID-19 – Long-term damage from COVID-19 does not always heal without treatment (Forschung Frankfurt 1.2021) https://www.forschung-frankfurt.uni-frankfurt.de/108536066.pdf

Picture download: https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/124064044

Caption: Visualisation of heart inflammation by means of MRI: cardiologist Dr Valentina Puntmann monitors a study participant at the Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging at University Hospital Frankfurt.

Further information:

Dr Valentina Puntmann
University Hospital Frankfurt / Goethe University Frankfurt
Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging
Email: cvi-info@kgu.de
https://www.cardiac-imaging.org/covid19-faq.html

Apr 11 2022

12:11

Cell culture studies in Frankfurt and Canterbury previously showed effects of Aprotinin against SARS-CoV-2

Aprotinin is effective in COVID-19 patients – researchers of Goethe University and University of Kent paved the way

A clinical study from Spain recently confirmed laboratory experiments made by researchers of Goethe University Frankfurt and University of Kent who showed that the protease inhibitor aprotinin prevented cells to be infected by SARS-CoV2. The authors of the clinical study report that patients receiving an aprotinin aerosol could be discharged from hospital significantly earlier.

FRANKFURT. SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, needs its spike proteins to dock onto proteins (ACE receptors) on the surface of the host cells. Before this docking is possible, parts of the spike protein have to be cleaved by host cell's enzymes called proteases. In 2020, a scientific team led by Professor Jindrich Cinatl (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany), Professor Martin Michaelis and Professor Mark Wass (both University of Kent, UK), conducted cell culture experiments and found that aprotinin, a protease inhibitor, could inhibit virus replications by preventing SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells.

In a more recent study, the research consortium further showed that aprotinin is also effective against the Delta and Omicron variants.

Now, a Spanish research consortium has published the findings of a phase III clinical study investigating the use of an aprotinin aerosol in COVID-19 patients. Among other improvements, aprotinin treatment reduced the length of hospital stays by five days.

Professor Jindrich Cinatl, Goethe University Frankfurt, said: “This shows how scientific collaborations work even without a direct relationship between researchers. I am very glad that our cell culture study inspired this successful clinical trial".

Professor Martin Michaelis, University of Kent, said: “Our cell culture data looked very convincing. It is exciting that aprotinin has now also been shown to be effective against COVID-19 in patients."

Spanish study: Francisco Javier Redondo-Calvo et. al.: Aprotinin treatment against SARS-CoV-2: A randomized phase III study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a pan-protease inhibitor for moderate COVID-19. Eur. J. Clin. Invest. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.13776

More about the studies of Goethe University and University of Kent:
1) The drug aprotinin inhibits entry of SARS-CoV2 in host cells https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/englisch/the-drug-aprotinin-inhibits-entry-of-sars-cov2-in-host-cells/

2) Researchers of the University of Kent and Goethe-University find explanation why the Omicron variant causes less severe disease https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/englisch/researchers-of-the-university-of-kent-and-goethe-university-find-explanation-why-the-omicron-variant-causes-less-severe-disease/

Further Information:
Professor Jindrich Cinatl
Institute of Medical Virology
University Hospital Frankfurt and Goethe University Frankfurt
Phone.: +49 (0) 69 6301-6409
cinatl@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Professor Martin Michaelis
School of Biosciences
University of Kent
Phone: +44 (0)1227 82-7804
Mobile: +44 (0)7561 333 094
m.michaelis@kent.ac.uk

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