Chronic low back pain is a significant public health problem in industrialized society. The intact spine carries the upper body and external loads, allows motion in a physiological range and protects the spinal cord. These different demands necessitate a high degree of complexity with various sources for disorders and pain. The BIH - Julius Wolff…
During the Corona pandemic, half a million researchers from more than 170 different fields published articles about the virus or the COVID-19 disease. Many of them were not really virus-experts, even automobile researchers published about Corona. In the new episode of the BIH-podcast, John Ioannidis, famous meta-researcher from Stanford and Berlin,…
Defects in musculoskeletal tissues, e.g. in consequence of a trauma, do not always heal spontaneously but require surgical intervention. Biomaterials implanted into the defect region have to potential to support the healing process. We investigate the interaction between cells, their surrounding extracellular matrix and biomaterials for the…
Both mechanical and biological processes work together to determine the outcome of musculoskeletal regeneration. Whilst many of the biological factors have been identified and some even brought into clinical practice (BMP's, PDGF, IGF, etc.), the impact of the mechanical environment and the role of the immune system are only recently taken into…
Not only the DNA sequence – our genome – but also the 3D structure of our genome – the 'epi-genome' – is essential in determining the type and function of a cell. That's why the analysis of the epigenome facilitates deep insights into the developmental history of a cell and its current gene expression profile, but also allows deductions on its…
Research of Molecular Epidemiology Unit at the Berlin Institute of Health and the Charité is focused on epigenetic modifications that occur in close interaction between the individual genetic background and environmental exposure and potentially contribute to increased disease risks. Thereby, we are in particular interested to identify key events…
We performed a systematic review of concepts and solutions for use cases such as digital contact tracing to inform the current discussions on an optimal balance between privacy protection and pandemic control.
COVID-19: models, risks, evidence, debates and decisions