Press releases and news 2005

Heidelberg-Neurott, a settlement with 60 inhabitants and not connected to the public sewerage system, now has its own decentralized membrane sewage plant. Connection to the central sewage treatment plant for the area was a more expensive option than construction. Developed and designed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, it is the first sewage plant in Germany to use ultra-modern membrane technology in pre- and post-purification. The purified effluent is second to none in terms of quality: through the use of membrane filters the water is almost free of microorganisms, thus fulfilling the requirements of the EU Bathing Water Quality Directive. The quality of the effluent is better than that prescribed for large-scale sewage plants. The Neurott membrane sewage plant was inaugurated on December 17, 2005.

If the immune system is weakened, harmless yeast fungi can become a deadly threat: With the aid of various proteins they can penetrate human tissue. In his university thesis Xin Xiong examined how one of these proteins behaves in fungus cells.

The generation of new blood vessels, angiogenesis, plays an important role in medicine. Inhibiting angiogenesis for example helps to slow down tumor growth, whilst in wound healing processes angiogenesis should be stimulated. In her university thesis carried out at the Fraunhofer IGB, Silke Kersen has investigated, how blood vessels can be created in an artificial skin equivalent. She built the first human 3D skin model with capillary-like structures. It can be applied in tumor research and as well be developed further to a well-supplied skin transplant.

Two Fraunhofer IGB students were awarded the Hugo Geiger Prize 2005. Xin Xiong examined a protein which is important for infection with yeast fungi. Silke Kersen built a three-dimensional skin model with capillary-like structures.

Employing water management to save resources (April 2005) Clean water is far too valuable to be poured down the drain. At the IFAT trade fair in Munich - April 25 to 29 - Fraunhofer researchers will be presenting practical solutions that can dramatically reduce the consumption of drinking water. The small amount of wastewater that is nevertheless produced can be reclaimed for household use or converted into energy and fertilizer in a decentralized treatment plant.

If the human trachea is damaged, doctors can usually do nothing to help. Researchers are cultivating new types of tissue to patch the holes, and which may one day be able to replace entire organs. The tissues are also suitable for use as testing systems for new drugs.