prandd's blog
In spite of globalisation, working conditions in call centres around the world are still governed by national regulations. That was the result of a major study supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, which looked at 2,400 call centres in 17 countries. As a follow-up to this study, the FWF is now funding further international analyses and case studies that will compare conditions in Austrian call centres with those in other countries.
A team based in Vienna has established a time-saving and efficient strategy for identifying important protein structures in cancer cells. A key feature of this new strategy is the combined use of systems biology and clinical findings. This involved using a programme, developed in-house, to compare and analyse publicly available data on important ovarian cancer proteins. As a result, it was possible to review the large number of altered proteins that appear in cancer cells and identify those that are potentially suitable for diagnostics and therapy based on immunological approaches.
What we classify as science is determined by the times we live in. That has been shown by a project of the Austrian Science Fund FWF on the phenomenon of Welteislehre (the Cosmic Ice Theory). At the start of the 20th century, a broad swathe of the general public believed in this now discredited theory of what the universe is made of and how it was created. The findings of this project are now being published as part of a comprehensive anthology of pseudoscience.
Vienna, 19. December 2007. The Alzheimer's vaccine AD01 from AFFIRIS GmbH has been listed in first place in an analysis conducted by the international ranking agency Thomson Scientific into the prospects for success of current clinical trials. The ranking assesses the prospects of clinical trials around the world, regardless of the disease in question. The Austrian company's Alzheimer's vaccine was described as one of the "most promising drugs entering Phase I trials". The world-leading information provider for science and research published its findings in its latest quarterly report on the worldwide development of medicines. Special mention was given to AFFIRIS GmbH's innovative platform technology AFFITOME, which also provides the company with a basis for developing other products.
Zurich, 19. December 2007: An exclusive license for the development and commercialisation of a drug delivery system for lung infections in Cystic Fibrosis patients was signed today. As part of the agreement, aRigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Japan transferred relevant rights to Axentis Pharma AG of Switzerland. The EMEA has already granted orphan drug status to the licensed technology and a phase II clinical trial will be initiated by Axentis Pharma AG in early 2008.
Current understanding of the spin structure of protons has been summarised in a single book for the first time. The book examines attempts to solve one of the greatest puzzles of physics. Models and experiments to date have been unable to properly explain a fundamental property of protons spin. Published by Dr. Steven Bass as part of an Austrian Science Fund FWF project, the book summarises over 1,000 publications and the results of a global research programme on this phenomenon.
On Friday, 23. November 2007, Michel Zink (France), Collège de France,
Paris, received one of the four International Balzan Prizes 2007 for research in the area of European Literature (1000-1500). The prize has an
endowment of CHF 1 million (EUR 610 thousand).
Vienna, 20. November 2007. Affiris GmbH has been granted a Europe-wide patent for key elements of its Alzheimer's vaccine. As a result, the company has exclusive rights of use to the peptide sequences for an innovative approach to vaccine development. The tolerability of the first Affiris vaccine, AFFITOPE AD01, is currently being tested as part of a phase I clinical trial. The lead investor in the company, MIG-Fonds, is extremely satisfied with the expanding patent portfolio of Affiris GmbH.
The van der Waals force, a weak attractive force, is solely responsible for binding certain organic molecules to metallic surfaces. In a model for organic devices, it is this force alone that binds an organic film to a metallic substrate. This data, recently published in Physical Review Letters, represents the latest findings from a National Research Network (NRN) supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. These findings mean that numerous calculation models for the physical interactions between thin films and their carrier materials will need to be revised.
Bacteria that cause tumours in plants modify plant genomes by skilfully exploiting the plants' first line of defence. Utilising the plant's own proteins, bacterial genes infiltrate first the nucleus then the plant genome, where they reprogramme the plant's metabolism to suit their own needs. This process was recently discovered as part of an Austrian Science Fund FWF project and was published today in SCIENCE.
A new internationally standardised research tool now makes it possible for the first time to assess the situation of the second generation – the children born of immigrant parentage in the country of migration – in Europe. The tool is currently being used in 8 countries, 15 cities and with more than 10,000 respondents throughout Europe. Thanks to financing from the Austrian Science Fund FWF, Austria is also playing a part in helping to create a systematic European databank for research into the second generation. The results of this research are to be presented at an international conference in Brussels in 2008.
Recent research results have challenged conventional understanding of the oxidation of the "radical scavenger", vitamin E. Cutting-edge analysis methods have revealed that the intermediates commonly believed to be involved in the process do not occur. This surprising finding has been systematically documented and published as part of a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. The new findings are also extremely important for a follow-up project that is focusing on the synthesis of "super antioxidants" based on a polymeric vitamin E.
Milan, 3 September 2007. One of the four International Balzan Prizes 2007, which have a prize fund of CHF 1 million (EUR 610 thousand), is to be awarded for studies in the area of European literature (1000-1500) to Michel Zink, Collège de France, Paris.
National movements campaigning against genetic engineering are helping to democratise the EU. That was the result of a recently completed Austrian Science Fund FWF project led by an independent researcher. According to the study's results, the almost simultaneous mobilisation of national populations reinforces public protest at a European level. The project therefore provides an optimistic outlook for the growing influence of the general population on EU decision-making processes.
The linking of two signalling pathways in the cells of liver tumours has a clear influence on their malignancy. Activation of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) messenger molecule is decisive for this linking. This results related to the development of liver cancer was generated during a current project by the Austrian Science Fund FWF and has been published in the Journal Oncogene. When the signalling pathways in liver tumour cells have been linked together, these cells develop the characteristics of cancer stem cells, which are in principal resistant to chemotherapy. This new understanding of the signalling pathways involved unlocks potential for the future development of modified therapies.
