AOK expenditure on therapeutic products doubled within ten years
Expenditure on therapeutic products for AOK policyholders amounted to just under 4.8 billion euros in 2024, more than twice as much as in 2015 with 2.1 billion euros. This is shown by the Therapeutic Products Report 2025 of the Scientific Institute of the AOK. Factors...
DFG funds new Research Training Group on Tumor Organoids in Ulm
From spring 2026, 20 doctoral students in the life sciences and ten physicians will conduct research on realistic models of solid tumors in the new Org-BOOST Research Training Group at Ulm University. The aim is to better predict disease progression and therapeutic...
mRNA revitalizes aging immune system in mice
Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center, the Stem Cell Institute HI-STEM and the Broad Institute have developed an mRNA-based method to rejuvenate the weakened immune system of older mice. The highlight: The liver temporarily becomes a source of missing...
Groundbreaking: Dresden team develops modular 3D model of the human liver
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics have created a three-dimensional organoid model from the patient's own liver tissue for the first time. The model consists of three cell types – adult hepatocytes, cholangiocytes and...
Genetic variants render antibody therapies ineffective in some patients
Individual differences in genetic material can impair the effectiveness of antibody-based therapies against cancer, rheumatism or multiple sclerosis. This is reported by researchers at the University of Basel in Science Translational Medicine and shows how natural...
New blood test diagnoses ALS with high accuracy
Researchers at the Brain Chemistry Lab in Wyoming have developed a blood test that detects amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with 97 percent accuracy. The test is based on the analysis of microRNA from a single blood sample and is suitable for early diagnosis. ALS is a...
Gender medicine: Quitterer calls for funding for new licensing regulations
The President of the Bavarian State Medical Association is calling for sufficient financial resources for the implementation of the new licensing regulations for doctors. The reform must not fail because of money, he stresses. He agrees with the Federal Minister of...
New microscope accelerates diagnosis of infections
Researchers at the University Medical Center Greifswald are using a state-of-the-art, EU-funded microscope to develop methods for the faster detection of microorganisms. The device with automated software and image analysis is intended to optimize microbiological...
Laboratory medicine: Chrysanthi Skevaki becomes new director in Mainz
As of January 1, 2026, Chrysanthi Skevaki will take over as head of the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine at the Mainz University Medical Center as well as the W3 professorship for laboratory medicine. Previously, she headed the Giessen site of...
New procedure accelerates diagnosis of urinary tract infections
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have developed a method that accelerates the diagnosis of urinary tract infections and tests antibiotic resistance directly in the urine. Compared to conventional laboratory methods, which take two to three days, it...
