Recent News
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Picture: Erik KubaczkaPicture: Erik Kubaczka
Dissertation Award of the Joint working group synthetic biology (GFGSB) goes to Dr. Christoph Diehl
2023/03/20
First Dissertation Award for Synthetic Biology
Dr. Christoph Diehl from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg is the first winner of the Dissertation Award for Synthetic Biology. The award was presented during the International Synthetic Biology Workshop on 20 – 22 March 2023 at the Centre for Synthetic Biology in Darmstadt.
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International Synthetic Biology Workshop in march 2023
2022/12/31
The Sense-Compute-Response Paradigm
The Centre for Synthetic Biology is hosting a workshop entitled “The Sense-Compute-Response Paradigm” in Darmstadt, Germany, March 20-22, 2023. We have assembled an excellent list of speakers who will present groundbreaking developments in synthetic biology.
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Picture: Melanie Mikosch-WerschingPicture: Melanie Mikosch-Wersching
Presentation of the Thesis Award of the Centre for Synthetic Biology
2022/08/30
On August 30, 2022, the Thesis Awards of the Centre for Synthetic Biology were presented for the first time in person. The botanical garden of the TU Darmstadt offered the ideal venue for this event in best weather. Professor Heinz Koeppl presented the thesis award endowed with 1500 € to Dr. Jan Bogen.
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Picture: Katrin BinnerPicture: Katrin Binner
Algorithms for designing genetic circuits
2022/05/24
EU Research Council funds project by TU Professor Heinz Koeppl with 150,000 euros
TU Professor Heinz Koeppl (Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology) receives a “Proof of Concept” grant of 150,000 euros from the European Research Council (ERC) for the second time. The new grant will fund his project “PLATE – Biophysical Genetic Design Automation Technology”, which deals with algorithms for the computer-aided design of genetic circuits in synthetic biology.
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First FLOW FOR LIFE Minisymposium
2022/05/20
FLOW FOR LIFE organizes the first public Minisymposium (Hybrid event) on June 15, 2022 from18:00-20:00 pm. Invited Speakers are Catherine Picart, CEA Grenoble „Bioactive Medical Devices for Bone Regeneration“ and Cláudio Franco, Universidade de Lisboa „How to build an efficient network of vessels“.
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Picture: Mathias DaumPicture: Mathias Daum
Join the CompuGene Student Lab
2022/04/30
The “CompuGene Student Lab” is a new student project that is part of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt. The students independently set up a research project related to synthetic biology. This includes the development of their own research idea, independent laboratory work and the acquisition of research funds. In the process, the students work together on the path from the initial idea to a publication. Results could be published or patented and presented in competitions or symposia.
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Picture: Gerhard ThielPicture: Gerhard Thiel
Weapon against Tumours, Boost for the Immune System
2022/04/27
Activating X-rays – Signalling Cascade in T-cells
Radiation therapy is a proven approach to destroying tumours. However, it is possible that it might be able to do even more in the future – namely stimulate the immune system at the same time and so fight cancer even more intensively. The foundations for this have been laid by researchers led by TU Darmstadt. They have found that x-rays trigger a calcium signalling cascade in cells of the immune system. The results have now been published in the “Journal of General Physiology”.
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Picture: Katrin BinnerPicture: Katrin Binner
2.7 million euros for the SYNSENSO Doctoral Network
2022/04/25
Programmable biosensors using synthetic biology: Funding as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action
The international “SYNSENSO” Doctoral Network that is coordinated by TU Darmstadt is developing a new generation of modular biosensors. The European Commission has now awarded the network a total of 2.7 million euros of funding as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action.
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TUcanSense gives first update on competition progress
2022/04/22
Update meeting no.1 a success
On 17 March, the first update meeting of the TUcanSense team took place to inform about the current status of the SensUs project. Besides the team and some interested lecturers, representatives of the sponsors were also present.
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BR as guest at the Centre for Synthetic Biology
2022/04/14
Synthetic Biology – New Life Forms from the Lab?
What is synthetic biology and what can it already achieve today? This discipline has only been around for about 20 years, and yet it is impossible to imagine medicine, cosmetics or industry without its products. And can it ultimately deliver new life forms from the laboratory? The programme “IQ – Wissenschaft und Forschung” (IQ – Science and Research) of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation presents this still young science in a report and was also a guest at the TU Darmstadt in the Centre for Synthetic Biology.
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Graduate School Life Science Engineering Retreat
2022/03/31
The Graduate School Life Science Engineering is holding its first retreat at Darmstädter Haus in Kleinwalsertal in March 2022. It's great to see the interdisciplinary team growing together, including PhD students, supervisors and guest speakers.
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FLOW FOR LIFE in the latest ProLOEWE News
2022/03/23
In the spring issue of ProLOEWE-NEWS, the LOEWE Research Centre FLOW FOR LIFE, newly funded since January 2022, is presented in detail.
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SensUs Kickoff
2022/02/21
The TU Darmstadt team starts the competition year 2022
Joint kickoff with our colleagues from biology, chemistry and electrical engineering and the TU Darmstadt TUcanSense team.
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Picture: privatPicture: privat
ERC Funding for “DaVinci Switches”
2022/01/10
Prof. Dominik Niopek receives ERC Starting Grant
Professor Dominik Niopek, Centre for Synthetic Biology at the TU, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant by the European Research Council. The project is being funded with around 1.6 million euros.
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Beatrix Sueß is speaker at the 2nd International BioDesign Research Conference
2021/12/03
The virtual conference takes place from December 6st – 17th and features a selection of world specialists working in the field of Biosystems Design and Synthetic Biology. The conference is organized BioDesign Research (BDR).
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Vote for APTASENSE
2021/09/22
You can vote now for APTASENSE in the Hessian Ideas Competition until 23 October.
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The research cluster FLOW FOR LIFE invites applications for several positions
2021/09/09
Several PhD and Postdoc positions (f/m/d) are available at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, within the framework of the research cluster FLOW FOR LIFE. The employment is initially limited to a period of three years with the possibility of a one-year extension.
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ProLOEWE Science Rallye
2021/08/08
For children and young people aged 10 and over, the ProLOEWE science rallye is taking place during the summer holidays. Starting on 2 August, 21 riddle videos have to be solved. There will be experiments, painting, handicrafts and discovering nature. And best of all: there is a whole range of prizes to be won. The Centre for Synthetic Biology emerged from the two LOEWE research clusters iNAPO & CompuGene will of course also be participating.
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Targeted drug combination for cells infected by viruses
2021/07/13
The current corona pandemic shows the importance of antiviral drugs. A project funded by the LOEWE Exploration now explores a concept to develop antiviral agents with lower side effects. ‘A critical aspect in drug discovery is the relationship between the desired effect and possible side effects, explains Professor Felix Hausch from the TU Darmstadt. Together with his colleague professor Eberhard Hildt from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, he explores, whether the combination of two prominent types of antiviral drugs can be used to derive so-called prodrugs that preferentially act in virally infected cells. This could reduce undesirable effects in unaffected cells of patients. This concept of so-called protease-activatable antiviral prodrugs will be demonstrated using hepatitis C viruses (HCV) and corona viruses (SARS-CoV2) as well-understood model systems.
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Impulses from biology and mechanical engineering for medicine
2021/07/02
State of Hesse funds new LOEWE research cluster at TU Darmstadt
Success for TU Darmstadt in the 14th funding round of the State Offensive for the Development of Scientific and Economic Excellence (LOEWE): From January 2022, the new LOEWE research cluster “FLOW FOR LIFE” will be funded for four years with a total of around 4.7 million euros.
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Linker Engineering in the Context of Synthetic Protein Switches and Sensors
2021/06/14
A growing number of applications in biotechnology and synthetic biology rely on artificially engineered protein switches and sensors. Here, peptide linkers constitute critical elements that mediate conformational transitions and switching. In a recent review featured as a cover story in Trends in Biotechnology, Alexander Gräwe and Viktor Stein, head of the Protein Engineering group at the Centre for Synthetic Biology at the TU Darmstadt, survey the state-of-the-art in linker engineering and perform an in-depth analysis of the toolboxes, molecular model and screening strategies that are available for linker engineering. The review is anticipated to provide a powerful resource for the development of novel protein switches and complex fusion proteins.
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Global Bioeconomy Summit
2021/03/24
How to shape education for a sustainable bioeconomy?
Interdisciplinary & game changing: The future of education for a sustainable circular bioeconomy!
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Webinars of the Global Biofoundries Alliance working groups
2021/03/24
Together with Nicola Patron, Johannes Kabisch organizes webinars in which the European working groups of the Global Biofoundries Alliance present themselves. The Centre is part of the GBA with the centrally accessible CompuGene Robotics Platform. The next seminar will take place on 20/04/2021 from 13-14:00 CET via Zoom. Please register in advance for this webinar https://lbnl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x6S_QgwHTFeSnBCSmsfxMg Presenters will be: Rosalind Le Feuvre from Manchester Mark Dörr from Greifswald
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From the lab to the consumer
2020/12/16
The “Pioneer Fund” programme funds projects that transfer research into commercial application
A test to detect antibiotics in food with the aid of a smartphone – this is the subjects of the project APTASENSE being funded in the sixth round of the Pioneer Fund. This joint programme for the funding of innovations from TU Darmstadt and the ENTEGA NATURpur Institute has been supporting the transfer of research into commercial application since 2017 with total funding of 600,000 Euro per year.
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Picture: Mathias DaumPicture: Mathias Daum
Combinatorial assembly of complex fusion proteins
2020/09/18
The junior research group of Prof. Dr. Viktor Stein recently published a study in the prestigious journal of Nucleic Acids Research. The paper describes a general method for the combinatorial assembly of complex fusion proteins by means of an iterative DNA assembly process.