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Electron micrograph of coccal bacteria growing in chains
News
Long-term effects of influenza A virus infections on lung cells and their response to pneumococci
Influenza viruses can trigger epigenetic changes in the alveolar epithelium, the cell layer that lines the alveoli, permanent changes in gene activity without changing the DNA itself. These changes have a lasting effect on subsequent immune responses and result in the body no longer being able to react appropriately to the bacterial pathogens in the event of a subsequent infection with pneumococci. A research team at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the University Hospital Magdeburg (UMMD) has published new findings on the long-term consequences of an influenza A infection in a mouse model in the journal Cell Communication and Signaling.
04.07.2025
HZI Campus
Preparing for historical specimen sampling
Story
Tracing ancient pathogens in Vienna
From 4 to 6 June 2025, the Department “Pathogen Evolution” led by Prof. Dr. Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) conducted a combined retreat and sampling mission at the Institute of Pathology of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna — a key collaboration partner for accessing and studying historical pathological specimens in veterinary medicine. HIOH is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). The visit focused on collecting around 60 historical tissue samples for molecular genetic analyses related to animal disease research, while also offering time for internal discussions on lab optimization, project development, and team building.
03.07.2025
HIOH
Electron microscope image
News
Multiresistant intestinal bacteria: Displacement through food competition
If an intestinal inhabitant such as the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) becomes resistant to many antibiotics, it can cause serious health problems if it enters the bloodstream. How can such potentially dangerous multi-resistant bacteria be effectively removed from the gut? Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), in collaboration with researchers from Hannover Medical School (MHH), explored this question in their latest study.
03.07.2025
HZI Campus
Pseudocolored cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
News
When bacteria remember
An international research team led by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has discovered a new strategy used by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to adapt to its host. In the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers demonstrate that epigenetic processes can lead to the emergence of distinct sub-populations within genetically identical bacterial populations. This heterogeneity may be a key for bacteria to establish successful infections.
02.07.2025
HZI Campus
TWINCORE
BRICS
Podcast Thumbnail
News
HZI Podcast: One Health: Healthy environment – healthy animals – healthy people
Habitat loss, climate change, and globalization create new transmission routes for pathogens. Therefore, the One Health approach considers humans, animals and nature together. Prof. Fabian Leendertz is founding director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald, which links health research, ecology, and prevention to better prepare for future pandemics. In this episode of the HZI podcast “InFact”, Leendertz explains how zoonoses, or diseases that jump from animals to humans, develop, and why protecting the environment is central to this process.
02.07.2025
HIOH
Portrait Prof. Katharina Schaufler
News
Project of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health receives Undine Award 2025
A research project at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), has been awarded the Undine Award 2025 in the “Habitat” category. The prize was presented in Stuttgart. In the award-winning project, a research team led by Prof. Katharina Schaufler is investigating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the surface water of the Greifswald Bodden. Targeted science communication is also an important part of the project in order to raise public awareness of the issue. Schaufler heads the department “Epidemiology and Ecology of Antimicrobial Resistance” at the HIOH and receives prize money of 20,000 euros and an image film with the Undine Award.
19.06.2025
HIOH

HZI in the media

Impfung sinnvoll? Erst Erkältungen, dann Corona und Grippe – So schützen Sie sich

... Lange, Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und Mitglied der Ständigen ...

14.10.2026
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DIE WELT
HMN 2026: How crawling motility may be far older than previously thought

also included Japanese microbiologists and collaborators from IST Austria and HZI Braunschweig (Germany), demonstrated that actin inhibitors

14.10.2026
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Health Medicine Network
Neue Empfehlungen der WHO zur COVID-19-Impfung

... in der Abteilung „Virale Immunologie“ am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), hat die WHO als externer ...

13.10.2026
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DeutschesGesundheitsPortal
Metax brings genome-wide coverage into focus for sharper microbial profiling

tool called Metax, developed by researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and described in the

12.10.2026
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Bioengineer.org
New Hope for Fighting C. difficile Infections

parts of the microbiome. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University. “We

12.10.2026
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Technology Networks
HZI erhält 724.000 Euro: Makrophagen sollen Lungenfibrose bekämpfen

... auch gezielte Forschungsmittel an das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI): Die Forschungsgruppe von Prof ...

12.10.2026
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Ad Hoc News
Fieser Magen-Darm-Erreger breitet sich immer stärker aus: Infektionen in England steigen drastisch

... nur in England vor. Laut Angaben des Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung ist es dem Erreger ...

12.10.2026
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Frankfurter Rundschau online
EU fördert Entwicklung von Immunzelltherapie bei Lungenfibrose

... und Belgien. Aus Deutschland sind das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), das Fraunhofer-Institut für Toxikologie und ...

12.10.2026
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MTA Dialog
Forscher entwickeln Wirkstoff gegen Pockenviren

... weitere Versuche herstellen.

 

Auch das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig ist beteiligt. Die ...

11.10.2026
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t-online.de
Warum Ballaststoffe nicht bei jedem gleich wirken

... unterschiedlichen Regionen unterscheidet. Der Forscher vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung konnte in seiner Studie zeigen, ...

10.10.2026
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rbb radioeins
Gut bacteria team up with diet to decide who rules the microbiome

Tawk, Youssef El Mouali and colleagues at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, together with collaborators at the University of

09.10.2026
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Bioengineer.org
Aktivität von SARS-CoV-2 und Influenza steigt laut RKI allmählich

... Leiterin der Abteilung für Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig, Berit Lange, dem Deutschen ...

08.10.2026
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Deutsches Ärzteblatt

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