Articles for category "In the Media"

A recent article that appeared in Botany One highlights that our Italian colleagues in the EU FP7-funded MOSSclone project have shown that the invented device containing peat moss Sphagnum palustre is also capable to monitor plastic pollution - besides air pollution for which we invented this tool in the first place. In the Italian study, polystyrene nanoparticles entrapped in the devices increased with increasing exposure time, which means that this is a suitable measuring method. The used devitalized S. palustre material was even better at retaining nanoparticles than living material. Moreover, the production of this measuring material is sustainable, since we produced the mosses from clones in bioreactors.

Source: Botany One

Der Kameramann zoomt ganz nah ran an die Pflanzen, die im Moosbioreaktor optimale Bedingungen zum Wachsen finden. Foto: Ralf Reski

Die ARD-Sendung "W wie Wissen" berichtet anschaulich, wie Moos-Biotechnologie, Paludikultur und Landwirtschaft zusammenwirken können, um Moore zu retten und das Klima zu schützen. Im Film wird u.a. das MOOSzucht-Projekt des ReskiLabs vorgestellt (ungefähr ab Minute 25). Wer den Film "Der Kampf um das Moor" vergangenen Samstag nicht live ansehen konnte, kann den Film nun in der Mediathek anschauen.

Quelle: ARD Mediathek

Under the title "MossCellTech n.1, un’innovazione che rivoluzionerà il mercato cosmetico dell’anti-aging" an article appeared in the personal care division of AVG's website, in which they introduce the first moss-derived active, natural ingredient for the cosmetic market, developed by our co-operation partner Mibelle Biochemistry. The award-winning MossCellTec No.1 is derived from bioreactor cultures of Physcomitrella patens.

Source: agv-personacare.it

A blog post summarizes our findings that the protein RecQ6 in Physcomitrella patens enhances homologous recombination and gene targeting. In her article "RecQ Proteins: Masters of Genome Surveillance" on the Plantae Blog author Nancy Eckardt introduces our paper Wiedemann et al. about the RecQ family that functions in development, DNA repair, and gene targeting. The comparison of the proteins in the model plants Physcomitrella patens and Arabidopsis thaliana by Ralf Reski’s team might explain why the moss is much more efficient in homologous recombination and thus gene targeting than the other plant. Since RecQ6 enhances gene targeting it may hold a key to enable modifications in crop plants in the future.

Source: Plantae Blog 

The report Atypical HUS Therapeutic Drug Pipeline 2018 mentions mossFH in its drug discovery trends as “innovative and promising”. The glyco-protein mossFH developed by ReskiLab & Greenovation is produced in the moss Physcomitrella patens on pure mineral media in bioreactors. It may serve as an enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT) in the future in patients suffering from Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS), an extremely rare, life-threatening, progressive disease.

Source: aHUSAllicanceAction

More than forty species of mosses are in use in traditional medicine and cultures of the moss Physcomitrella patens are now used to sustainably produce cosmetic ingredients as the website Premium Beauty News reports. The Swiss-based company Mibelle Biochemistry capitalizes on a technology developed by us to sustainably cultivate moss protonema cells under sterile conditions at large scale. The biotechnologically produced botanical ingredient named MossCellTec No.1 is fixed on a powder based on isomalt and received two Gold awards at the cosmetic fare in-cosmetics Global. According to Premium Beauty News, the sustainably produced ingredients for this anti-aging concept of Mibelle seem to match current demands for natural ingredients. Biotechnology may become one of the main sources of innovation for sustainable natural ingredients in the cosmetics industry, according to a market research study.

Source: Premium Beauty News

Seit Wochen wird auf Twitter über Pflanzen-Gentechnik diskutiert. Wie Tobias Maier (Twitter: @WeiterGen), promovierter Biologe und wissenschaftlicher Leiter am Nationalen Institut für Wissenschaftskommunikation, in seinem Blog WeiterGen berichtet, stellen sich auch Pflanzenwissenschaftler der Diskussion mit verschiedenen Politikerinnen und Politikern der GRÜNEN, die teils unter dem Hashtag #Gentechnikwende geführt werden, teils ohne. Unter der Überschrift "Frontberichte vom Kampf gegen Ideologie" macht Maier auf die Diskussion aufmerksam und zitiert die beiden Pflanzenwissenschaftler Professor Detlef Weigel (@PlantEvolution) vom Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie in Tübingen und Professor Ralf Reski (@ReskiLab) von der Uni Freiburg. Leider finde der Austausch über Pflanzen-Gentechnik aber nicht auf Augenhöhe statt, beklagt Maier, dessen Blog Teil der ScienceBlogs Community des Konradin-Verlags ist. Denn die Fragen und Argumente der Wissenschaftler blieben unbeantwortet oder werden lediglich mit Scheinargumenten erwidert. Es sei aber längst klar, dass die GRÜNEN wider besseren Wissens bewusst Fakten ignorieren, um ihre Lobby- und Agendapolitik zu betreiben, schreibt Maier.

Quelle: WeiterGen bei ScienceBlogs

The Personal Care Magazine reported about Prof. Ralf Reski’s presentation on the unique abilities of mosses. As he pointed out, millions of years ago mosses first were able to acquire nutrients from rocks, protect themselves from UV radiation and withstand freezing temperatures. Reski was invited to talk about mosses’ abilities at the Nemo Science Museum in Amsterdam prior to the Fair in-cosmetics Global. He and the representatives of the Swiss company Mibelle BioChemistry, Dr Fred Zuelli and Dr Franziska Wandrey, introduced the new active ingredient MossCellTec No. 1 for skin cosmetics that is produced biotechnologically and sustainably from Physcomitrella patens protonemata. The new ingredient improves nuclear pore health and thus hydration, barrier and homogeneity of the human skin.

Source: Personal Care Magazine

Ceremony of the Innovation Award. Photo: in-cosmetics Global

The active ingredient MossCellTech No. 1 received the "Innovation Award" in gold at the fair in-cosmetics Global in Amsterdam on April 17. As the online portal Cosmetics Business reports, it is awarded because it is the first cosmetics active ingredient derived from a moss. ReskiLab has collaborated with the Swiss company Mibelle BioChemistry to produce the ingredients via biotechnology in a sustainable way from juvenile moss protonemata of Physcomitrella patens. MossCellTech No. 1 helps the skin to maintain cell nucleus health and enables it to adapt to environmental changes. In a short video in YouTube [0:54 min] the managing director of Mibelle BioChemistry, Fred Zuelli, tells more about receiving the award.

Source: Cosmetics Business

The patient organization aHUS Alliance interviewed Ralf Reski about research results and the production of human complement Factor H (FH) in moss. The atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS) is an extremely rare, life-threatening, progressive disease. So far, patients suffering from this illness cannot be cured but only be treated to alleviate symptoms. Since some patients are deficient in the complement system’s regulatory FH protein, FH produced in moss may serve as an enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT) in the future. Preclinical tests with bioassays and FH-deficient mice show promising results. They may even work better than the human protein because moss-FH is very homogenously decorated with specific sugar residues.

Source: aHUS Alliance

The first drug produced in the moss Physcomitrella patens has passed clinical trial phase I with excellent results. In this study the drug moss-aGAL to combat the rare and incurable Fabry disease was tolerated well by the patients and had a high efficacy. The glyco-protein aGalactosidase A (moss-aGal) was tested in six patients as enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). The drug made in moss bioreactors can be produced ten times cheaper compared to existing animal expression hosts. Moreover, moss-aGAL was taken up faster into the endothelian kidney cells thanks to a different glycosylation of the enzyme (revealed in animal models) and also delivered higher yields, making it a real bio-better. In an interview with the German biotech journal Transkript the CEO of Greenovation Biotech GmbH, Dr. Thomas Frischmuth, talks about these encouraging results and looks ahead into the plans for phases II and III. Under the headline “moss cells pass suitability tests” Frischmuth also names candidates, which could be the next moss-made drugs to come, like human Factor H, which once could be used to combat glomerulopathies of the kidney (C3G), atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), or age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the eye. Professor Ralf Reski and Professor Gunter Neuhaus founded the privately owned biotech company Greenovation in 1999.

Source: Transkript

How the new EU project MossTech with involvement of professor Ralf Reski will promote the environmentally friendly production of specialty chemicals from genetically modified moss, is described in the online portal Bioeconomy (“Bioökonomie”). Reski and his team will advance existing technologies like the genome editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 and apply it to mosses that have not been analysed so far. He and his team had found out earlier that the moss Physcomitrella patens contains roughly 10,000 more genes than the human genome; many of them encode the synthesis of highly complex chemical molecules. The project to sustainably produce specialty chemicals, which is coordinated by the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen, will receive €1.6 million from the EU (Horizon 2020 programme) and about €500,000 will go to the University of Freiburg.

Source: Bioökonomie.de

How plant biotechnologist professor Ralf Reski conducts basic research at the University of Freiburg is portrayed at the Health Industry BW website (BW = Baden-Württemberg, a state in Germany). Some of the research results and his ideas shall also become concrete products for treating rare diseases. This is why he established Greenovation Biotech GmbH some years ago, a company, which produces novel drugs in mosses. The company’s first moss-produced drug candidate – Moss-aGal – a recombinant form of human alpha-galactosidase, is now being tested in a phase I clinical trial. In the article, Reski also shares how he handles publications and patents.

see Health Industry BW

Many million years ago, mosses spread over the earth, increased the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, and provided a basis for animal and human life. Photo: Daniel Lang, Plant Biotechnology, Freiburg

How plant scientist Ralf Reski pursues molecular archeology using the moss Physcomitrella patens is described in the magazine Research & Discover of the University of Freiburg. Around 450 million years ago, plants rapidly spread on the very first continent, which increased the oxygen and reduced the carbon dioxide contents of the atmosphere, creating conditions that made human and animal life on land possible. The article introduces three scientific studies published in the renowned journals Nature Plants and Nature Communications. They explain the "inventions" of a protective outer layer and the simple stomata as well as the molecular mechanism responsible for the alternation of generations between sexual and asexual reproduction, which is typical for all land plants.

see: Research & Discover at University of Freiburg

Under the title "Plant Cuticles Of Moss Actually Protects The Plant From Water Loss" The Science Times describes the biological pathway that is responsible for the production the waxy substance that covers the surface of the moss Physcomitrella and protects it from water loss. This was a prerequisite in the evolutionary transition in plants from fresh water to land. The Science Times also introduces the methods used by the scientists from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institute of Plant Molecular Biology (IBMP) in Strasbourg, France, to reveal the new findings.

see The Science Times 

Scientists of Greenovation Biotech GmbH and the German Universities of Freiburg and Jena have published data in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology showing full bioactivity of the human complement factor H produced in the moss Physcomitrella patens (moss-FH). The results demonstrate its ability to control complement activation in serum derived from aHUS patients as well as in a C3G mouse model. The results were obtained in part by Dr. Juliana Parsons, Lennard Bohlender, Dr. Sebastian Hoernstein, PD Dr. Eva Decker, and Prof. Dr. Ralf Reski. The privately owned company Greenovation was founded by Prof. Dr. Gunter Neuhaus and Reski and develops next-generation therapeutics using its proprietary BryoTechnology platform. The company aims to optimize the production of highly-efficient glycoproteins for proprietary and customer use.

whole media release at Greenovation

The Natural History Magazine reports about our discovery of a gene that triggers reproduction without sex in the moss Physcomitrella patens. Ralf Reski and Nelly Horst at the University of Freiburg together with biologist Nir Ohad at Tel Aviv University and other scientists have published the results about the BELL family of genes in P. patens in a paper in the science journal Nature Plants.

read more in the Natural History Magazine

Hörfunk-Interview mit Ralf Reski zum EU-Projekt TREASURE-WATER, einem internationalen Konsortium mit 14 Partnern aus sechs Ländern, das neue Lehrpläne für die nachhaltige, grenzüberschreitende und friedliche Nutzung von Wasser entwickeln will.

Interview von SWR4 Radio Südbaden (mp3-Datei)

The Spanish Website analaqua reported about our research project.

read Spanish article

Joint research project: BASF committed to the BioValley!
In the BioValley, BASF will be working with Senior Lecturer Dr. Ralf Reski at Freiburg University.

read whole Newsletter (pdf)

The journal The Conversation reports about our latest finding on the origin of photosynthesis.  

read more in The Conversation 

The third Newsletter reports about the Center for Applied Biosciences (ZAB) at Freiburg University and the prject "Functional genomics in plants through highly efficient homologous recombination" by Prof. Reski.

read whole Newsletter (pdf)

Under the title "Scientists discover trigger for asexual plant reproduction" the Israelian nonprofit online news magazine Israel21c reported about our findings.

read whole English article

A team has discovered a gene trigger in the moss Physcomitrella patens which leads to offspring without fertilization. This probabely holds the key to answer fundamental questions in biology.

Read whole story in the online platform Science 2.0

A German-Israeli team led by the biologists Professor Ralf Reski from Freiburg and Professor Nir Ohad from Tel-Aviv has discovered a gene trigger in the moss Physcomitrella patens which leads to offspring without fertilization.

Read whole article in the Heritage Daily an online science, research and publishing news service

Moss-made pharmaceuticals are highlighted in the 2015 Plant Science Round Up, composed by The Global Plant Council: see highlight in May.

Read whole Round up by the Global Plant Council

Who Tried to Save the World in 2015? A list in GreenTech this year names Moss-made pharmaceuticals "One of the coolest developments in GreenTech 2015"

Read article in the European Biotech News Website Labiotech.eu

Continuous monitoring of environmental air quality has been mandatory in the EU since 1996. However, state-of-the-art technical measurement systems are expensive and lack mobility. A European consortium led by biologist Prof. Dr. Ralf Reski has developed a new system that uses peat moss in so-called ”MOSSpheres” for monitoring air pollution. The project MOSSclone started in April 2012 and funding ended in March 2015.

read all at Bioeconomy BW website

The world’s first moss-produced drug candidate has the go-ahead to enter clinical trials

read whole story in the Journal Nature Biotechnology

Greenovation is allowed to start clinical trial for moss-aGal

read whole story at Labiotech.eu

Greenovation to start Phase I clinical trial for moss-aGal, a recombinant form of human alpha galactosidase.

read whole story in European Pharmaceutical Review

Greenovation Receives BfArM Approval To Start Phase I Clinical Trial For Moss-aGal, The World´S First Moss-Produced Drug Candidate

read whole story in the Clinical Leader

Fabry Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT) Based On Mannose-Mediated Cellular Uptake Shows Encouraging Preclinical Results That Allow Start Of Early Clinical Trials

read whole report in the Clinical Leader

Factor H, a key component of the immune system that is missing in patients suffering from atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), was effectively produced in the moss Physcomitrella patens. In collaboration with the University of Freiburg, Greenovation now aims to humanize the protein to suit it for clinical use.

read whole article on the LABIOTECH.eu website

The magazine Lab Times online reports about the formal investigations by the ETH Zürich and the French CNRS which identified numerous incorrect figures in about twenty publications by plant biologist Olivier Voinnet. Nevertheless, he is to keep his laboratory and professorship at the ETH. Hard to understand, as many colleagues express their astonishment. One of them being cited is Ralf Reski.

read whole story and Reski's quote on Lab Times online

Human disease can be treated with substances from traditional medicinal plants or with molecular pharming products. Molecular pharming uses genetic engineering techniques to insert genes into plants or animals that would otherwise not express these genes. These transgenics can then be used to produce therapeutic proteins such as antibodies. Dr. Eva Decker from the University of Freiburg and her team have now successfully produced a key protein of the human immune system in the moss Physcomitrella patens. Recombinant factor H might be used at some stage in the future for the therapy of atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare, life-threatening disease that affects kidney function.

read whole article at Healthcare Indurstry BW

Ein offener Brief bemängelt die als Studie bezeichnete Untersuchung zu Glyphosat in Muttermilch, die wissenschaftlichen Standards nicht standhält.

ganzer Beitrag auf dem Blog Stallbesuch von Thomas Wengenroth

Credit resilience to environmental change for its longevity. The American Scholar reports about the Publication in the Journal New Phytologist in which members of the ReskiLab show that orphan genes in Physcomitrella patens may be related to cold acclimation.

read more in the The American Scholar

The website Heritage Daily describes why mosses survived climate changes that destroyed more complex organisms such like dinosaurs.

read whole article at Heritage Daily

The web-based science, research and technology website Phys.Org reports about our research.

read more at Phys.Org

... after having been frozen in Antarctic ice for 1,500 years. The Magazine Science Daily introduces the reasarch results on orphan genes in mosses.

read whole article at Science Daily

Glyphosate toxicity study published a team, led by Gilles-Eric Séralini, in 'pay for play journal' is based on flawed experimental design

read report in Genetic Literacy Project

Séralini's Latest: Will History Repeat Itself? Asks the Blog GMO Pundit a.k.a. David Tribe

The journal Science reports on Ralf Reskis reaction to the latest paper of G.E. Seralini in its rubric Science Insider.

read whole story at Science Insider

The blog Raving Scientist reports on G.E. Seralini's latest paper, including Ralf Reski's reasons to resign as editor of BioMed International.

read more at ravingscientist

The Physcomitrella Genome is expected to provide help with global climate change, reports the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) about our international team of scientists that has annotated all 32,275 genes of the moss Physcomitrella patens.

read more at DOE JGI blog rubric "Science Highlights"

The blog The Sensuous Curmudgeon reports about the German, Belgian and Japanese scientists, coordinated by Professor Ralf Reski from the University of Freiburg, Germany, that described the 32,275 protein-encoding genes from the moss Physcomitrella patens.

read more at The Sensuous Curmudgeon

The greenovation Biotech GmbH, which has its headquarters in Heilbronn and a branch in Freiburg, uses its proprietary bryotechnology to produce and commercialise antibodies, enzymes and coagulation factors “made from moss”, reports the website Healthcare industry BW.

read more at Healthcare industry BW

The magazine Science 2.0 introduces our study about the moss genome.

read more on Science 2.0

A simple moss plant outperforms us by gene number reports the magazine Science Daily.

read more at Science Daily

Forschungskollegs fördern gemeinsame Forschergruppen. Das berichtet das Portal Kooperation International des BMBF.

weiterlesen bei Kooperation International des BMBF

Über Zucker auf Rezept berichtet das P.M. Magazin in seiner Ausgabe 05/2013.

Das Magazin Apotheken Umschau berichtet über Moose: seit Jahrtausenden vom Menschen als Naturmittel geschätzt aber heutzutage wird sein Potential kaum noch ausgeschöpft. Dabei kann die Arbeitsgruppe um Ralf Reski mit Moosen medizinische Substanzen herstellen.

weiterlesen Apotheken Umschau

Biotechnology to fight air pollution: A video at euronews reports about the European research collaboration MOSSclone, introduces the project and the people involved. Members of the ReskiLab, Dr. Eva Decker and Professor Ralf Reski, explain, why mosses are suitable to collect pollutants.

watch video at euronews

Members of the "Qualifications Framework for Ecology and Environmental Management" (QualFEEM) project met in Tyumen, Russia.

A Russian video is available on YouTube

Die Zeitschrift Laborjournal hat in der aktuellen Ausgabe die Veröffentlichungen der Pflanzenwissenschaftler der Jahre 2007-2010 ausgewertet und nennt die meistzitierten Köpfe und Artikel. Im Forscher-Ranking liegt der Freiburger Biotechnologe Ralf Reski auf Platz 25 des gesamten deutschen Sprachraums.

weiterlesen beim Laborjournal

Im Einleitungstext zum Publikations-Ranking nennt die Zeitschrift Laborjournal das "Haustier" der Freiburger Biotechnologen um Ralf Reski. Das Team erforscht das Moos Physcomitrella patens, die Eroberung des Landes durch Pflanzen und untersucht Gene für Trockenstresstoleranz.

weiterlesen beim Laborjournal

Prof. Ralf Reski legt im uniradio Freiburg dar, warum die Ratten-Experimente von Prof. Seralini und die dazu veröffentlichte Studie keinen wissenschaftlichen Ansprüchen genügt. Das betrifft die Auswahl der Versuchstiere, das Studiendesign und die statistische Auswertung.

Radiointerview hören (mp3, 10:22 Min)

Die Badische Zeitung berichtet über das aus der Uni ausgegründete Unternehmen, das aus Moosen Proteine gewinnt, die auch im Kampf gegen Krebs eingesetzt werden können.

weiterlesen bei der Badischen Zeitung

Bayer CropScience Deutschland über die Freiburger Tagung, die Prof. Ralf Reski und Prof. Heinz Rennenberg organiseren.

Über den Besuch des Astronauten Hans Wilhelm Schlegel beim derzeitigen Plant Biology Congress berichtet die Badische Zeitung. Dazu kamen zwischen dem 29. Juli und 3. August rund 900 Pflanzenforscher aus aller Welt auf Einladung ihrer Freiburger Kollegen Heinz Rennenberg und Ralf Reski diese Woche in Freiburg zusammen.

weiterlesen bei der Badischen Zeitung

The website Healthcare industry reports about our production of Erythropoietin (EPO) in the moss Physcomitrella patens and the paper from the team around  Dr. Eva Decker and Ralf Reski in the Plant Biotechnology Journal.

read whole article at Healthcare industry BW

Forscher erzeugen einen Bioreaktor für das menschliche Hormon aus einer Pflanze, berichtet das Wissenschaftsmagazin Scinexx.

weiterlesen bei Scinexx

Freiburger Forschern ist es gelungen, das Eiweißhormon EPO im Moosbioreaktor zu produzieren berichtet das Portal Biotechnologie.

weiterlesen bei Biotechnologie.de

The online platform Compute Scottland reported about the MOSSclone project and the five countries involved.

read whole article in Compute Scottland

read more at ScienceDaily

In an interview with the portal Bioeconomy BW, Ralf Reski explained what agricultural crops can learn from their ancestral relatives.

read more in Science

The magazine Science Daily reports that the PAH gene found to be present in plants as well as animals.

read more at Science Daily

The website BioPro reports about our findings.

read more at BioPro

read more in pharmanews.eu

Bioreactor technique may offer hope to people with age-related blindness reports the magazine ScienceDaily.

read more at ScienceDaily

The website myScience reports about our findings.

read more at myScience

The website inventorspot reports about our findings.

read more at inventorspot

The website Healthcare industry BW reports about the “International Moss Stock Centre” (IMSC) and how moss research will profit from its establishment.

read more at Healthcare industry BW

 TS-Si reports

In her Blog Jessica M. Budke reports about our paper in the journal Evolution "The Speciation history of the Physcomitrium-Physcomitrella species complex" and the model organism Physcomitrella patens.

read more in the Blog

The website United Press International, USA, (UPI) reports about our findings.

read more at UPI

read more at the blog magazine scienceblog

The website Healthcare industry BW reports about our discovery and what makes the difference between cells in a moss.

read more at Healthcare industry BW

read Blog by Jennifer Frazer

Jessica M. Budke reports in her Blog "Moss Plants and More" about moss research.

read more

more at Genedata

The sequenced moss genome of the model organism Physcomitrella patens shows how aquatic plants adapted to dry land - key to development of drought-tolerant energy crops, cellulosic biofuels. Biopact reports

read more at Biopact

the website BioPro reports

website BioPro reports

read more at BioValley Journal

Naturejobs reports about the two fastest growing biotechnology regions, one of them is in the Southwest of Germany, near us. 

read whole article at naturejobs.com