Goethe-Universit盲t 鈥� Press releases

看片软件 PR & Communication Department聽

Sep 16 2024

14:38

Science network makes its debut at upcoming science festival held on Frankfurt鈥檚 central Ro脽markt square, promising amazement, questions, discussions and exchange

Setting the stage for the 鈥淔rankfurt Alliance鈥�

FRANKFURT. In January 2024, 16 Frankfurt-based research institutions joined forces to set up the 鈥淔rankfurt Alliance鈥�, made up of 看片软件 Frankfurt and several non-university research institutions. With the aim of visualizing at an event held in the heart of the Main metropolis both the strength and the diversity of research conducted in the science city of Frankfurt and the larger Rhine-Main region, including its importance for society, the alliance invites you to the first 鈥淪cience Festival鈥�, held

on Saturday, September 28, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
at Ro脽markt
in downtown Frankfurt.

The big and colorful family festival will bring science to life in multiple tents as well as on stage. Its diverse program ranges from science slams to debates on current socio-political topics and hands-on activities all the way to short lectures and musical performances. Researchers from different 看片软件 faculties as well as the research-intensive institutes of Max Planck Society, Leibniz Association, Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and the German Cancer Consortium will be providing insights into their research and will be on hand to answer questions and engage in discussion.

The program on stage will kick off with a panel discussion on the topic of (educational) justice, joined by DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education. The discussion will focus not only on the connection between educational opportunities and social background, but also on social mobility and the important roles played by politics and research in decision-making processes. A comprehensive AI quiz in the form of a prompt battle, a talk and comedy interludes by the two quirky 鈥減rofessors鈥� Dr. KNOW and Dr. HOW are also part of the program. Together with biologists and equipped with a magnifying glass, you can explore Ro脽markt鈥檚 nooks and crannies, and discover what exactly is growing between the pavement joints and wall cracks. Wrapping up the festival will be a rap by Coodiny, aka Nikita Kudakov and his live band. Kudakov has been making music since he was a teenager and is now a doctoral candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, where he is researching the interaction between rappers and their audience. The stage program will be moderated by Stephan H眉bner from hr Info, the festival's media partner.

Accompanying the program on stage, each of the alliance鈥檚 member institutions will have their own pagoda tent, offering insights into respective research activities. To name a few examples: In a joint tent, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research and 看片软件 Frankfurt will be presenting a walk-in model of the human heart, a central research object of the Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI) cluster of excellence, which is dedicated to diseases of the cardiovascular system. The adjacent 看片软件 tent will feature colorful flowers in bloom, as well as open studios for experimenting, painting and solving puzzles. In addition, scholars from the humanities, social and natural sciences will be presenting their own favorite topics as part of the series 鈥淩esearch close to my heart鈥�. Visitors to the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research鈥檚 tent will be able to travel around the world and evaluate camera traps from Bolivia and South Africa, while the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) will use the festival to collect visitors鈥� ideas for peace. As part of its 鈥淒ive into the cell鈥� activity, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics is providing VR glasses that enable visitors to experience the building blocks of life from the inside, while two hands-on experiments from GSI Helmholtzzentrum f眉r Schwerionenforschung show how particle accelerators work.

The festival invites passersby of all ages to not only be curious, but to join in the conversations, ask questions and learn more about science. Catering to visitors鈥� culinary tastes will be food trucks serving regional specialties, while numerous deckchairs and seats invite passersby to stay and linger. The festival starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The full program and further information is available at:

Further information:
frankfurtalliance@uni-frankfurt.de

Sep 4 2024

14:08

Alleviating the long-term effects of a SARS-CoV-2 infection

Post-COVID Syndrome: Government-funded drug study gets underway

An innovative study for the treatment of post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is starting under the direction of Frankfurt University Hospital鈥檚 Department of Infectious Diseases. The research project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), will investigate new ways of alleviating the long-term effects of COVID-19, including fatigue and cognitive impairment. The first patient has been enrolled in the study this week.

鈥淭here is still an urgent need for the treatment of post-COVID and associated symptoms,鈥� says Prof. Dr. Maria Vehreschild, who heads the study and oversees Frankfurt University Hospital鈥檚 Infectious Diseases Department. 鈥淭hat is why we are pleased to conduct RAPID_REVIVE, the first adaptive clinical study within the Network of University Medicine.鈥� The German Network of University Medicine (NUM) was set up in 2020 as part of the country鈥檚 COVID-19 pandemic crisis management to coordinate clinical COVID-19 research at German university hospitals.

RAPID_REVIVE (Randomized Adaptive Assessment of Post COVID Syndrome Treatments_Reducing Inflammatory Activity in Patients with Post COVID Syndrome) is a phase 2, adaptive, randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind clinical trial sponsored by 看片软件 Frankfurt and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of NUM. The structural conditions required to commence the study were created as part of the NUM project 鈥淣APKON Therapeutic Intervention Platform鈥� (NAPKON-TIP). A total of 376 patients at eleven different NAPKON locations will be included in the study.

Post-COVID Syndrome
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that most people who have had COVID-19 recover fully. However, after overcoming the infection, a subset of those affected suffer long-term effects, known as post-COVID syndrome (PCS). PCS is defined by symptoms that remain even three months after the onset of COVID-19, that continue for at least two months thereafter and that cannot be explained by another diagnosis. While the symptoms are diverse, those affected by PCS often suffer from pronounced fatigue, shortness of breath as well as cognitive impairments.

The RAPID_REVIVE study examines changes in the physical functions of participants, which are recorded at different points in time using questionnaires and tests. Beyond that, the study also looks at general mental and physical health, fatigue, cognitive functions, the severity of mental health impairments, shortness of breath and physical resilience. The study also seeks to identify prognostic biomarkers that provide information about the individual progression of PCS, which should pave the way for the selection of a treatment strategy tailored to the individual patient.

Vidofludimus calcium: Testing a promising drug candidate
Study participants will receive either the drug vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) or a placebo. The decision as to who receives which preparation is randomly made (blinded 1:1 randomization). Once 150 patients have been included in the study, the allocation will be adjusted in accordance with the study鈥檚 interim evaluations. Vidofludimus calcium is a novel drug candidate that activates the neuroprotective transcription factor Nurr1, a novel target for neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, the drug inhibits the enzyme DHODH, thereby blocking the production of pyrimidines, which cells rely on primarily for RNA synthesis. It is particularly effective in highly activated immune cells as well as virus-infected cells, which have a high demand for pyrimidines. Administering vidofludimus calcium could also help in treating chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, since the drug reduces excessive inflammation and prevents viral infection and reactivation.

Vidofludimus calcium showed promising results in an earlier clinical trial involving COVID-19 patients: Those who received the drug recovered faster and suffered less long-term fatigue compared to those who received a placebo. The treatment was well tolerated with few side effects. Vidofludimus calcium could thus not only help with the acute treatment of COVID-19, but also alleviate long-term symptoms.

鈥淲e hope the RAPID_REVIVE study will constitute a significant advance in the treatment of post-COVID syndrome. Thanks to the successful implementation within the NAPKON-TIP structures, the platform should provide an established structure available to NUM and external parties for future adaptive studies 鈥� which will enable us to react flexibly to new findings and ensure the best possible patient care,鈥� says Prof. Dr. Maria Vehreschild, adding: 鈥淲e look forward to receiving the results of this groundbreaking study and evaluating its potential impact on future therapeutic approaches.鈥�

Links:
Study at German Network of University Medicine (NUM) (in German)

German Network of University Medicine (NUM)

WHO information on post-COVID 19 condition (long COVID):

Further information
Prof. Dr. Maria Vehreschild
Medical Clinic 2
Head of the Infectious Diseases Department
Frankfurt University Hospital
Tel: +49 69 63 01 鈥� 66 08
E-Mail: maria.vehreschild@ukffm.de

Aug 30 2024

13:01

Worldwide survey by 看片软件 Frankfurt reveals possible explanations for the knowledge gaps of future environmental experts

Biodiversity loss: Many students of environment-related subjects are partly unaware of the causes

As far as the causes of global biodiversity loss are concerned, there are evidently perception gaps among students of environment-related subjects worldwide, as a survey conducted by 看片软件 Frankfurt with over 4,000 students from 37 countries has now shown. The gaps vary from country to country: In some countries, climate change tends to be underestimated as one of the causes of biodiversity loss, in others it is invasive species, and in yet others it is pollution. The survey also shows that country-specific indicators greatly influence the students鈥� perception.

FRANKFURT. Of the estimated 10 million, mostly still undiscovered species of flora and fauna on Earth, one million could become extinct in the next decades. This loss of biodiversity would have dramatic consequences, as animals and plants are providers of multiple services: They maintain ecosystems, ensure a more balanced climate on our planet, and supply us with food and active substances for medical drugs. Put bluntly: Without biodiversity, we humans will not survive.

That is why there is an urgent need for resolute political measures to counter the 鈥渟ixth mass extinction鈥� in Earth鈥檚 history. One group of people who are particularly important are today鈥檚 students of environment-related subjects. Many of them will foreseeably occupy influential positions in environmental policy and business in the future 鈥� and play a key role in deciding whether the global decline in biodiversity is combated effectively.

But just how knowledgeable are the decision-makers of tomorrow? Are they capable of identifying the main causes of biodiversity for what they are 鈥� and distinguish them from factors that have no influence whatsoever on biodiversity? 鈥淥ur study is the first to have examined these questions scientifically at the global level,鈥� says Dr. Matthias Kleespies from the Department of Didactics in the Biological Sciences at 看片软件 Frankfurt.

Together with other researchers in Frankfurt, Kleespies conducted an online survey among around 4,400 students on environment-related degree programs in 37 countries, who were given a questionnaire listing eight drivers of global biodiversity loss. These included the five actual causes: climate change (more and more droughts as well as other consequences of global warming), overexploitation (such as overfishing), habitat loss (for example through deforestation), displacement by invasive species, and pollution (air pollution, plastic waste, oil spills). The questionnaire additionally listed three factors that have little or no impact on biodiversity: electrosmog, factory and traffic noise, and the internet. The interviewees were asked to indicate the extent to which they thought the eight factors were responsible for the decline in biodiversity. The scale ranged from 1 (minor influence) to 5 (major influence).

To analyze the completed questionnaires, the researchers used a special method that recognizes patterns in data. The outcome was eight different groups with clusters of specific, easily distinguishable response types. Kleespies explains: 鈥淚n response type 1, for example, all the main causes are recognized except for climate change. The students underestimate its influence on the decline in biodiversity.鈥� In type 2, on the other hand, pollution plays a subordinate role, and in type 7 invasive species. Type 3 is a special form in which all the main causes are underestimated and not even distinguished from irrelevant factors such as noise. 鈥淔ortunately, the number of such responses was comparatively low,鈥� says Kleespies. Overall, the eight response types occur with varying frequency in the countries under study.

In the next step of the evaluation, the research team examined the background to the responses: What induces the different response types? Here, the researchers incorporated country-specific indicators: the country鈥檚 CO2 emissions as well as prosperity, environment and biodiversity indicators. Kleespies: 鈥淲e found that these indicators substantially influence student perception in the respective country.鈥�

In response type 1, for example, climate change is underestimated as a driver. In countries with very high CO2 emissions 鈥� such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia 鈥� type 1 occurs far more frequently. 鈥淎lthough our data cannot explain why this is the case, we suspect that the students in question in these countries are less aware. They do not learn at university that climate change, too, exacerbates biodiversity loss.鈥� Furthermore, it has to do with their own country鈥檚 contribution to climate change. Perhaps people are not so ready to admit how extensive it is.

In response type 2 鈥� pollution as an underestimated factor 鈥� a correlation between the students鈥� perception and country-specific indicators is also recognizable, but in a different form. In affluent countries with healthier ecosystems 鈥� such as Australia, Sweden and Germany 鈥� the students underestimate the pollution factor more frequently. Pollution is presumably not generally perceived as a problem in these countries, assumes Kleespies, and therefore also not seen to be one of the main causes of global biodiversity loss. Response type 7, on the other hand, which greatly underestimates the influence of invasive species, is more widespread in countries such as Nigeria and Kenya, where such species are less common. In Australia and Spain, by contrast, type 7 is rare 鈥� although it is precisely there that invasive species present a major problem.

What conclusions does Kleespies draw from the study? 鈥淚t shows for the first time the vast gaps in perception among the next generation of decision-makers in the environmental sector as far as biodiversity loss and its causes are concerned. We need to close these gaps.鈥� This is where today鈥檚 decision-makers at universities and in politics come into play. They must create the overall framework so that all the causes of this complex problem are treated in environmental studies at universities in the respective country. 鈥淏iodiversity loss affects us all; it is a global problem. That is why students on environment-related degree programs need to think globally, regardless of their country of origin.鈥� The study is an appeal in this direction.

Publication: Matthias Winfried Kleespies, Max Hahn-Klimroth, Paul Wilhelm Dierkes: Perceptions of biodiversity loss among future decision-makers in 37 countries. npj Biodiversity (2024)

Picture download:

Caption: If invasive species 鈥� such as the lionfish in the Atlantic 鈥� are not a major problem in the respondents' countries, the respondents tended to underestimate their significance for biodiversity loss. Graphics: Matthias Kleespeis, Goethe University Frankfurt

Further Information:
Department of Didactics in the Biological Sciences and Zoo Biology
看片软件 Frankfurt
Dr. Matthias Kleespies
Tel.: +49 (0)69 798-42276
kleespies@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Professor Paul W. Dierkes
Tel.: +49 (0)69 798-42273
dierkes@bio.uni-frankfurt.de

Homepage:
Twitter/X: @goetheuni

Aug 26 2024

10:43

How does the mobility of care workers influence politics and society in their home countries?聽聽

The senior care market as a European system

Five million people in Germany are in need of care, and their number is expected to rise to more than 7 million by 2050. Without labor migration, the system would have collapsed long ago. But how is transnational care organized? What impact does it have on the care workers' countries of origin? In what ways do national policies address it? These questions are at the center of an international research project coordinated by 看片软件 Frankfurt鈥檚 Faculty of Social Sciences.

FRANKFURT. An increasingly older population also means the number of people in need of care is increasing. Germany鈥檚 huge demand for nursing staff can long since only be met by migrant workers. Given the economic disparity, this system has been working well for years: care workers, especially women, from Eastern Europe come to Germany, where they earn more than in their home country. But how does the mobility of female Polish care workers, for example, affect the situation in Poland? This is what researchers are investigating as part of 鈥淩esearching the Transnational Organization of Senior Care, Labour and Mobility in Central and Eastern Europe鈥� 鈥� a project endowed with 鈧�1.5 million by the Volkswagen Foundation as part of its 鈥淐hallenges and Potentials in Europe鈥� program.

The research project titled 鈥淐areOrg鈥�, which also involves teams in Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and the Netherlands, investigates transnational senior care work both from and within Central and Eastern Europe. The focus is on understanding and theorizing emerging transnational care markets and finding solutions for sustainable and decent care and care work in Europe. Engaged and empirical research will map and analyze the current and future patterns of commercialization, marketization, transnationalization, professionalization and digitalization of senior care.

Care workers are in the job for an average of eight years. Many are unable to endure the high psychological and physical stress with moderate recognition and low salaries for longer. Created as an illegal emergency solution to care for relatives, so-called live-ins have long since become established, legalized and formalized in Germany: There are agencies that place care workers with those requiring care. These care workers not only commute, they also rotate with colleagues from home country. The COVID-19 pandemic was a shock for this system: from one day to the next, this cross border mobility was no longer possible and the system threatened to collapse. This is no sustainable practice, says Ewa Palenga-M枚llenbeck, who heads the project, adding that precarious internal European migration cannot be the solution. After all, the populations in the care workers鈥� home countries are also getting older and need care.

鈥淚n the care workers' countries of origin, family members remain the primary providers of care 鈥� work that is usually done by women, who retire earlier as a result, and pay correspondingly little into the pension scheme,鈥� Palenga-M枚llenbeck explains, adding that the fact that governments and politicians in these countries are not facing up to the problem comes on the backs of these women. There is a kind of cascade, she says, pointing out that while many Polish women go to Germany to work as live-in carers, Ukrainian women come to Poland to provide care 鈥� and usually do so without having any proper contractual basis. 鈥淢any of them are really exploited and only earn as much as to be able to cover their living expenses,鈥� Palenga-M枚llenbeck explains.

In addition to shining a light on the situation, her research also emphasizes the need for action. In Switzerland, for example, care workers arriving from abroad often receive training on their rights and obligations organized by trade unions. There is an urgent need for proper employment contracts throughout Europe, Palenga-M枚llenbeck says, adding that this also applies to Germany, where many care workers are employed on the basis of less advantageous contracts under private law.

CareOrg is an international and interdisciplinary research team composed of scientists specialized in work, mobility and ageing studies. Dr. Palenga-M枚llenbeck (看片软件 Frankfurt) serves in a dual role as both project head and project coordinator. The other participating institutions are Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), the Center for Social Sciences in Budapest (Hungary), Babe葯-Bolyai-University in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), the Institute for Systemic Alternatives in Kyiv (Ukraine) and the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). Based on a cross-thematic and cross-country comparative research design, CareOrg uses a mix of methods, including comparative policy analysis and five country-specific and topic-oriented in-depth case studies on care drain, care situation as a result of war and flight in and from Ukraine, care mediated via agencies and digital platforms, qualifications and requirements for international caregivers and much more.

The project is part of Volkswagen Foundation's 鈥淐hallenges and Potentials for Europe鈥� program, in which 看片软件 is involved with a total of five projects, making it the program's most involved university in Germany. Starting Wednesday, September 4, a three-day symposium will take place at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, in which 21 international research projects will participate and present their findings on many highly relevant social issues such as intergenerational relationships, ageing, migration, populism and COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Ewa Palenga-M枚llenbeck from 看片软件's Institute of Sociology is responsible for organizing the symposium.

Further information
Dr. Ewa Palenga-M枚llenbeck
Head and Coordinator of the 鈥淩esearching the Transnational Organization of Senior Care, Labour and Mobility in Central and Eastern Europe鈥� project (https://careorg.eu)
Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences
Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6
E-Mail e.pm@em.uni-frankfurt.de

About the program:

About the symposium:

Aug 26 2024

09:58

Second implementation phase to start in 2025 鈥� Consortium grows from nine to 21 academic and industry partners 鈥� Focus on degradation of disease-relevant proteins

Drug research at 看片软件: PROXIDRUGS Cluster4Future receives funding for another three years

The PROXIDRUGS Cluster4Future will receive up to 鈧�15 million from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the second phase of research into one of the most promising drug classes in biomedicine. Coordinated by 看片软件 Frankfurt, 21 partners from academia, biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry have joined forces within the cluster. They are researching and developing active substances that degrade disease-relevant proteins in the body in a highly specific manner. PROXIDRUGS is one of 14 projects within the German government's Clusters4Future Initiative, which promotes the transfer of research into application.

FRANKFURT. Malfunctioning proteins cause or promote many diseases, including cancer, various neurodegenerative disorders, inflammatory diseases and infections. However, it is estimated that only 20 percent of these proteins can be blocked by conventional small molecule drugs. The remaining 80 percent of disease-relevant proteins are not yet therapeutically accessible.

Since 2021, scientists from the PROXIDRUGS Cluster4Future have been driving forward the development of a new class of drugs that uses the cell's own protein recycling system to specifically degrade disease-relevant proteins. Having been successfully evaluated by an independent jury, PROXIDRUGS will receive up to 鈧�15 million in federal government funding for a further three years.

PROXIDRUGS spokesperson Prof. Ivan 膼iki膰 from 看片软件 Frankfurt's Institute of Biochemistry II explains: 鈥淭he PROXIDRUGS team has made great technological progress over the past three years and established new platforms for the identification of building blocks for active substances, which will now be systematically developed further. In line with that, we have strategically expanded the PROXIDRUGS network to include partners active in application-oriented research, including from the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, who contribute their specific expertise to transfer research findings to medical application."

看片软件 President Prof. Enrico Schleiff says: 鈥淭he PROXIDRUGS Cluster4Future is an excellent example of how 看片软件's networking in the Rhine-Main region is developing into an innovation network that radiates far beyond the region. In 2015, 看片软件, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Technical University of Darmstadt joined together to found a unique university network in Germany, the Rhine-Main Universities, RMU. PROXIDRUGS is now demonstrating its potential to establish itself sustainably as a 'transfer accelerator' in the Rhine-Main region."

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research's Clusters4Future competition was launched in summer 2019 as part of the High-Tech Strategy 2025. The aim is to foster knowledge and technology transfer in top-class regional networks. Sixteen finalists were initially selected from 137 submitted draft projects to develop their drafts into more detailed concepts from May 2020 onwards. PROXIDRUGS was funded for an initial three-year implementation phase starting in 2021 and will now enter the second of a possible three implementation phases.

Background:
Proxidrugs website:

Start of the first PROXIDRUGS implementation phase (2021)

Images for download:

Caption:
Symbolic representation of the function of proxidrugs: The active substance brings 2 proteins together like the two hands shown here. (Illustration adapted after Irina Bezsonova)

PROXIDRUGS Coordinator
Prof. Dr. Ivan 脨iki膰
Institute of Biochemistry II
and Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences
看片软件 Frankfurt
Tel: +49 (0) 69 6301-5964
dikic@biochem2.uni-frankfurt.de

LinkedIn:
Twitter/X: @goetheuni @IBC2_GU @proxidrugs