Press releases 鈥� May 2025
May
30
2025
11:08
DFG Approves Transregional Collaborative Research Center TRR 417 to Study the Tumor Microenvironment Led by 看片软件 Frankfurt in Collaboration with the Universities of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Freiburg
New Research Alliance to Explore the Sinister Network of Colorectal Tumors
Colorectal cancer is curable 鈥� if detected early and completely removed surgically. In more complex cases, immunotherapies offer hope by mobilizing the body's own immune system to fight the tumor. However, such treatments are promising in fewer than one in five cases. The newly established Transregional Collaborative Research Center TRR 417, led by 看片软件 Frankfurt together with Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and the University of Freiburg, aims to change this by targeting the tumor microenvironment that influences cancer development.
FRANKFURT. In the realm of colorectal cancer treatments beyond surgery and radiation, one key question gained prominence in recent years: Is the tumor's DNA repair system defective, making it 鈥渕icrosatellite unstable"? Around 15 to 20 percent of all tumors have this trait, making them likely candidates for successful immunotherapy. So-called immuno-checkpoint inhibitors are often used in these cases to neutralize the tumor's 鈥減rotective shield", which tricks the immune system into perceiving it as harmless tissue. Once this deception is lifted, the body's T-cells can eliminate the tumor.
However, many colorectal cancers remain resistant to immunotherapy and even to chemotherapy and radiation. The cause lies in the tumor's surrounding environment, explains Prof. Florian Greten, cancer researcher at Georg-Speyer-Haus and 看片软件 Frankfurt, and TRR 417 spokesperson: 鈥淭umors do not grow as foreign bodies within intestinal tissue. Instead, they incorporate 'normal' cells such as fibroblasts, immune cells, and vascular cells. The tumor reprograms these cells and integrates them into a tumor microenvironment, which also closely interacts with gut bacteria and other microorganisms 鈥� the microbiome."
The new Collaborative Research Center TRR 417 鈥淐ellular Communication in the Stroma of Colorectal Cancer: From Pathophysiology to Clinical Translation" brings together researchers from medicine, biology, and data sciences at 看片软件 Frankfurt, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, and the University of Freiburg with the aim of continuing the investigation of this tumor microenvironment. Greten explains: 鈥淲e are building on the experience we've gained since 2016 through our collaboration in DFG Research Unit 2438 on this topic. In that project, we not only gathered numerous scientific insights but also developed shared standards, models, and technologies." It is based on this foundation that the researchers will now develop novel therapeutic strategies. 鈥淲e want to determine how to deliberately modify the tumor microenvironment and leverage it therapeutically to enhance treatments and make them accessible to immunotherapies 鈥� especially for those colorectal cancers that currently respond poorly to existing therapies."
看片软件 President Prof. Enrico Schleiff: 鈥淭he success of TRR 417 is particularly gratifying because it shows how Prof. Greten and his colleagues have strategically brought together top-tier oncology experts from leading institutions 鈥� German Cancer Aid, the German Cancer Consortium for Translational Cancer Research, the Bavarian Cancer Research Center, and the National Center for Tumor Diseases 鈥� over many years. Their approach of rapidly transferring basic research into clinical practice is a model for 看片软件's 'Science for Health' profile area. I look forward to the rich scientific output and the next generation of clinician scientists that will emerge out of this collaborative research center."
The DFG will fund TRR 417 for an initial period of four years with around 鈧� 17.7 million. The funding may be renewed twice for additional four-year periods.
Background Information:
Article: Bad neighbors: The tumor microenvironment offers new therapeutic targets (in: Forschung Frankfurt 1/2024)
DFG project website:
Further Information
Prof. Dr. Florian R. Greten
Spokesperson of TRR 417 鈥淐ellular Communication in the Stroma of Colorectal Cancer: From Pathophysiology to Clinical Translation"
Georg-Speyer-Haus
Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy / 看片软件 Frankfurt
Tel. +49 (0)69 63395-232
Greten@gsh.uni-frankfurt.de
Bluesky: @goetheuni.bsky.social @FAU.de @uni-freiburg.de
Linkedin: @Goethe-Universit盲t Frankfurt
Editor: Dr. Markus Bernards, Science Editor, PR & Communications Office, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt, Tel: +49 (0) 69 798-12498, bernards@em.uni-frankfurt.de
May
26
2025
14:05
The prehistoric predatory fish Otodus megalodon did not feed solely on other large predatory animals at the top of the food chain 鈥� zinc detected in fossils delivers clues about its other prey
Megalodon: The broad diet of the megatooth shark
Contrary to widespread assumptions, the largest shark that ever lived 鈥� Otodus megalodon 鈥� fed on marine creatures at various levels of the food pyramid and not just the top, as an international research team led by 看片软件 Frankfurt has now discovered. The scientists analyzed the zinc content of a large sample of fossilized megalodon teeth, which had been unearthed above all in Sigmaringen and Passau, and compared them with fossil teeth found elsewhere and the teeth of animals that inhabit our planet today.
FRANKFURT. Otodus megalodon was the largest predatory fish in Earth's history: Measuring up to 24 meters, it was longer than a truck with a trailer and weighed almost twice as much. Embedded in its jaws were triangular teeth the size of a hand, and its bite had the force of an industrial hydraulic press. It swam through the world's oceans between 20 and 3 million years ago, frequently on the hunt for prey to satisfy a calorie demand as vast as its size: According to estimates, it required around 100,000 kilocalories per day. Science widely assumed that megalodon's main calorie intake was in the form of whales.
At least that's what it did should a whale come long, says Dr. Jeremy McCormack from the Department of Geosciences at 看片软件 Frankfurt. It appears, after all, that megalodon partook of a much broader range of prey than previously assumed, as the geoscientist discovered together with scientists from Germany, France, Austria and the US. The researchers examined fossilized megalodon teeth, which are more or less all that has remained of the cartilaginous fish that gave the shark its name, megalodon, meaning 鈥渂ig tooth".
The researchers extracted zinc from the fossil teeth, an element that occurs in atomic variants (isotopes) of different weights. Zinc is ingested with food, whereby less of the heavier isotope zinc-66 than the lighter isotope zinc-64 is stored in muscles and organs. Accordingly, the tissue of fish that eat fish absorbs significantly less zinc-66, and those which, in turn, hunt them for food absorb even less. That is why Otodus megalodon and its close relative Otodus chubutensis had the lowest ratio of zinc-66 to zinc-64 at the top of the food chain.
鈥淪ince we don't know how the ratio of the two zinc isotopes at the bottom of the food pyramid was at that time, we compared the teeth of various prehistoric and extant shark species with each other and with other animal species. This enabled us to gain an impression of predator-prey relationships 18 million years ago," explains McCormack. The giant teeth they used for their study mostly came from fossil deposits in Sigmaringen and Passau 鈥� 18 million years ago, a relatively shallow estuary, less than 200 meters deep, flowed along the Alps, teeming with various other shark species alongside megalodon.
McCormack explains: 鈥淪ea bream, which fed on mussels, snails and crustaceans, formed the lowest level of the food chain we studied. Smaller shark species such as requiem sharks and ancestors of today's cetaceans, dolphins and whales, were next. Larger sharks such as sand tiger sharks were further up the food pyramid, and at the top were giant sharks like Araloselachus cuspidatus and the Otodus sharks, which include megalodon." McCormack stresses, however, that the Otodus sharks cannot be sharply differentiated from the lower levels of the pyramid: 鈥淢egalodon was by all means flexible enough to feed on marine mammals and large fish, from the top of the food pyramid as well as lower levels 鈥� depending on availability."
According to McCormack, this means that the idea of Otodus sharks homing in on marine mammals when it comes to food needs to be revised: 鈥淥ur study tends rather to draw a picture of megalodon as an ecologically versatile generalist." Comparisons between the fossils from Sigmaringen and Passau, for example, showed that the creatures from Passau fed more on prey from lower levels of the food pyramid, which also points to regional differences in the range of prey or changes in its availability at different times.
Analyzing teeth on the basis of zinc content is a very new method, and McCormack is delighted with the comprehensive and coherent results it produced not only for prehistoric shark and whale species but also for herbivorous prehistoric rhinoceroses and even shark species that exist today. McCormack: 鈥淒etermining tooth zinc isotope ratios has once again proven to be a valuable instrument for paleoecological reconstructions." 鈥淚t gives us important insights into how the marine communities have changed over geologic time, but more importantly the fact that even 'supercarnivores' are not immune to extinction," adds Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiologist at DePaul University in Chicago, USA, and a coauthor of the new study. Previous studies, including one led by McCormack, indicated that, at least in part, the rise of the modern great white shark is to blame for the demise of Otodus megalodon.
Publication: Jeremy McCormack, Iris Feichtinger, Benjamin T. Fuller, Klervia Jaouen, Michael L. Griffiths, Nicolas Bourgon, Harry Maisch IV, Martin A. Becker, J眉rgen Pollersp枚ck, Oliver Hampe, Gertrud E. R枚ssner, Alexandre Assemat, Wolfgang M眉ller, Kenshu Shimada: Miocene marine vertebrate trophic ecology reveals megatooth sharks as opportunistic supercarnivores. Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2025)
Picture download:
Captions:
1) Jeremy McCormack with a fossilized megalodon tooth (Otodus megalodon). Photo: Uwe Dettmar for 看片软件
2) Jeremy McCormack at the mass spectrometer, which is used to determine the zinc isotope ratio. This ratio provides information about the diet of Otodus megalodon. Photo: Uwe Dettmar for 看片软件
3) A model of a megalodon can be seen in the Linz Castle Museum in Austria, for example. Photo: O脰 Landes-Kultur GmbH
Further Information:
Jeremy McCormack, Ph.D.
看片软件 Frankfurt
Department of Geosciences
Tel. +49 (0)69 798-40191
mccormack@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Bluesky: @goetheuni.bsky.social
LinkedIn: @Goethe-Universit盲t Frankfurt
Editor: Dr. Markus Bernards, Science Editor, PR & Communications Office, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt, Tel: +49 (0) 69 798-12498, bernards@em.uni-frankfurt.de
May
20
2025
12:38
International center for Research in Cultural Anthropology celebrates centenary
100 Years of the Frobenius Institute in Frankfurt
With its impressive archives and collections, the Frobenius Institute for Research in Cultural Anthropology at 看片软件 Frankfurt is an established entity in the research landscape and a center of excellence that enjoys international repute. In May, the institute will organize exhibitions and guided tours to commemorate its founder's move from Munich to Frankfurt 100 years ago.
FRANKFURT. The history of the Frobenius Institute for Research in Cultural Anthropology in Frankfurt begins with a contract signed on May 16, 1925, in which representatives of the City of Frankfurt and the self-taught scholar, explorer, Africa expert and adventurer Leo Frobenius (1873鈥�1938) set down that he and his collections should find a new home in Hessen. In commemoration of the signing of this contract, on May 16, 2025, the Frobenius Institute will celebrate its 100 years of existence in Frankfurt.
As confirmed by the German Science and Humanities Council in July 2024, the Frobenius Institute continues to play a special role in German social and cultural anthropology. With its archives and collections, unique worldwide, and its current research projects, it is an active player at the interface between research institute and museum and constitutes an internationally acknowledged center of excellence in the field of cultural anthropology that attracts researchers from throughout the world to Frankfurt.
The institute can look back on an interesting past. Leo Frobenius had founded the 鈥淎frica Archive" in Berlin in 1898. After World War I, he transferred it to Munich, and it was there that he established the 鈥淩esearch Institute for Cultural Morphology" in 1920. Ludwig Landmann, then mayor, invited Frobenius to move to Frankfurt, and with the help of foundation funds the city acquired the extensive collections of the Africa Archive and made rooms available in the Palais Thurn und Taxis. Although he did not hold an academic degree, Frobenius was given a teaching position in cultural and ethnological studies at the University of Frankfurt and appointed as honorary professor in 1932. In 1934, Frobenius additionally became director of the Municipal Museum of Ethnology. It was only after his death in 1938 that the institute was named after him.
In its early days, work at the Frobenius Institute focused on the study of African cultures and history. Between 1904 and 1935, Frobenius undertook twelve expeditions to the continental interior, during which he collected ethnographic and historical data, oral records, cultural artefacts and copies of rock art. His theoretical approach to cultural morphology led him to consider cultures as organic beings shaped by Paideuma, a kind of 鈥渋ndependent essence" 鈥� an approach regarded today as controversial. Members of the institute also conducted research in Europe (Spain, Italy, France and Scandinavia), on the Arabian Peninsula, in India, Southeast Asia, Melanesia and Australia. Although his research during the time of the German Empire was anchored in the Reich's colonial policy and Frobenius even tried his hand (rather unsuccessfully) as a secret agent in Italian Eritrea on behalf of the Prussian king, his belief that Africa's cultures were equal to others was not always consistent with the world view of his contemporaries. During the Nazi period too, Frobenius continued to take an ambivalent stance: He allowed industrialists from Wilhelm Kepler's circle to finance his travels, who also helped propel the rise of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP, 鈥淣azi Party"). Frobenius also thanked Hindenburg, Goebbels and Hitler for their support of two expeditions between 1933 and 1935; among his most important backers in Frankfurt were Friedrich Krebs, mayor and NSDAP official, and August Wisser, the university curator appointed by the Nazi regime. However, Frobenius was adamant about his theory of cultural morphology, which contradicted the Nazi ideology of race, and he consequently incurred the wrath of Alfred Rosenberg, an NSDAP Reichsleiter, and of Walter Gro脽 from the Office of Racial Policy.
In 1946, Adolf Ellegard Jensen succeeded Frobenius as the institute's director and remained in charge until 1965. During his term of office, researchers undertook expeditions to Africa, South and Central America, India and Oceania. Numerous field studies were also conducted under the institute directors who followed 鈥� Carl August Schmitz (1965鈥�1966), Eike Haberland (1968鈥�1992) and Karl-Heinz Kohl (1996鈥�2016). All successors of Leo Frobenius were also professors at 看片软件 Frankfurt.
Roland Hardenberg has been the director of the Frobenius Institute since 2017. As a professor at 看片软件 Frankfurt, he teaches social and cultural anthropology. At his initiative, the institute's regional focus has extended and now also encompasses South Asia (especially India) and Central Asia. Today, researchers at the institute apply anthropological, historical and archaeological methods to study different conceptions of the human condition and the relationships between human beings and their environment. For the Frobenius Institute, its task lies in enhancing knowledge in the field of cultural anthropology and fostering a reflective handling of cultural difference through scientific dialogue. Working with the existing archives, continuously expanding them and reflecting on the history of the subject and its methods are established elements of the institute's scientific approach. Worldwide collaborations, especially with people and institutions in the countries of provenance, have been intensified and become an important feature of research at the institute.
On the occasion of its centenary, the institute is opening its archives and inviting its audience to take part in special guided tours or become members of the Frobenius Society. The aim is to continue and intensify the productive collaboration between research and urban society, which has endured since Leo Frobenius sowed the seed so many years ago.
Anniversary program:
Thursday, May 22
2.00 p.m.: Guided tour of the Frobenius Institute's collections and archives
Frobenius Institute, I.G. Farben Building, Westend Campus
4.00 p.m.: Escape room in the library
Frobenius Institute, Westend Campus
Friday, June 6
12.00 noon: Opening of the poster exhibition 鈥淥ur Research Projects in Pictures" as part of the Summer Symposium
Frobenius Institute, Campus Westend
Binding registration is requested for all events under:
Picture download:
Caption:
1) 鈥淩eclining Man with Horn Mask": The artist Agnes Schulz made this copy of a rock painting from Rusape, Zimbabwe (found at Diana's Vow cave) in 1929. (Watercolor on paper, 105.5 脳 147 cm, Frobenius Institute FBA-D3 01622-b)
2) Roland Hardenberg, the present director of the Frobenius Institute for Research in Cultural Anthropology, with a bust of Leo Frobenius, the institute's namesake. (Photo: Jennifer Markwirth)
Further Information
Adjunct Professor Susanne Fehlings
Frobenius Institute for Research in Cultural Anthropology
看片软件 Frankfurt
Tel.: ++49(0)69-798-32012
Email: fehlings@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Redaktion: Dr. Anke Sauter, Referentin f眉r Wissenschaftskommunikation, B眉ro f眉r PR & Kommunikation, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Telefon 069 798-13066, Fax 069 798-763-12531, sauter@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de