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» Published on 20. Dezember 2019

Developing drugs that activate defences against tumours

Bielefeld University to coordinate European research network

Doctors treat tumours mainly through surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Over the next four years, a new project of Bielefeld University and 14 European partners will be studying targeted cancer treatments. The idea is that special molecules will track tumour cells in the body and then deliver an active agent that ensures that the cancerous cells are removed. Fifteen doctoral students will be working together in the ‘Magicbullet::Reloaded’ research network. The project is a cooperation between universities, research institutes, and industry. It is being funded by the European Union with a budget of around four million euro.

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» Published on 20. Dezember 2019

How plant metabolites affect the ecosystem

German Research Foundation (DFG) funds new Research Unit

Plants are often very individual when it comes to their specific defence chemicals and other metabolites. Such chemical diversity (chemodiversity) can be found both in different plants of the same species and within an individual plant. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is providing a Research Unit led by Bielefeld University with around two million euros in funding to explore the chemodiversity of plants. The chemical composition of plants can impact the foodwebs of a plant as well as its environment and biological interactions. Spokesperson for the DFG Research Unit is Professor Dr Caroline Müller from the Faculty of Biology at Bielefeld University; her deputy is junior professor Dr Meike Wittmann, also from the Faculty of Biology.

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