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Some of today’s most pressing health challenges include emerging pathogens, rising antibiotic resistance, and chronic infections. To address these issues, a new Helmholtz research building is being constructed in Würzburg to advance the development of novel RNA therapies and combat infectious diseases. The project is funded by the Free State of Bavaria with co-financing from the European Union. Today, in the presence of Bavaria's Deputy Minister-President Hubert Aiwanger and more than 200 guests, the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research celebrated the roofing ceremony.
24.09.2025
Symbolic picture genome editing
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A research team led by scientists from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) has introduced a new way to fine-tune genetic material. Their study, published in Nature Biotechnology, describes an innovative technique in which chemical tags are attached directly to DNA, opening the door to new approaches in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology.
18.09.2025
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Antimicrobial resistance is still an underestimated problem. Resistant bacteria are by no means only found in hospitals, they also occur in the natural environment. Prof. Katharina Schaufler and her team from the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald – a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) – have detected antibiotic-resistant bacteria in surface water at various locations in the Greifswalder Bodden. The sampling sites also included a bathing area, and in some cases, the detected bacteria were even multidrug-resistant. However, these findings do not indicate an acute danger to residents and tourists. Nevertheless, according to Schaufler, the situation should be taken seriously and action should not be delayed until the situation worsens.
17.09.2025
Samples in a scientific instrument
News
Itaconate is a small molecule produced in our bodies to fight bacteria and modulate immune responses. However, how itaconate travels through the body is not well understood. To close this gap, an international team of scientists led by Thekla Cordes, Professor of Cell Metabolism at Technische Universität Braunschweig at the Braunschweig Centre for Systems Biology (BRICS) and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), together with Prof Christian Metallo at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego (USA) and researchers from the University of California, San Diego (USA), uncovered how itaconate moves through space and time within the body to shape our immune responses. These findings open new avenues for potential treatments of inflammatory diseases. The study, published in Nature Metabolism, adds to the growing interest in itaconate and provides a novel perspective on its role in regulating metabolism.
16.09.2025
Group photo of eight persons behind a foundation stone
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On 11 September 2025, the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald laid the foundation stone for its new research building. The festive ceremony brought together numerous guests from science, politics and partner institutions. The new facility will, for the first time, unite all employees under one roof. Founded in 2021 as a new location of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, the HIOH works in close cooperation with the University of Greifswald, the University Medicine Greifswald and the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) Greifswald-Riems. The construction is jointly financed by the federal government and predominantly by the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
11.09.2025
Illustration of a bacterium with numerous bacteriophages on the surface
News
Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect bacteria. Using phages therapeutically could be very useful in fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, but the molecular interactions between phages and host bacteria are not yet sufficiently understood. Jörg Vogel's research group at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB) in Würzburg has now succeeded in specifically interfering with phage reproduction using a molecular tool called antisense oligomers (ASOs). According to the researchers, this innovative RNA technology offers new insights into the molecular world of phages and is expected to advance the development of future therapeutic applications. The study has been published in the journal Nature.
10.09.2025

HZI in the media

s drug tolcapone. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.

 

The

26.11.2025
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Medical Xpress

... erhielt das Projekt „Citrapeutics“ vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig eine Förderung in Höhe ...

25.11.2025
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Bionity.COM

led by Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) has now discovered clear molecular signatures for

24.11.2025
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Medical Xpress

Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover (MHH) und dem Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), hat nun eindeutige molekulare Signaturen ...

24.11.2025
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DeutschesGesundheitsPortal

Braunschweig. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) bringt anlässlich seines 60. Jubiläums seine Forschung vom 3. ...

22.11.2025
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Regional Heute

Universität Hannover (LUH), dem Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig, der Technischen Universität Braunschweig ...

21.11.2025
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Medizinische Hochschule Hannover

... 38100 Braunschweig Das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung: Wissenschaftler:innen am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung ( ...

20.11.2025
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Bochumer-Zeitung

Dr. Dunja Bruder ist Forschungsgruppenleiterin am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und zugleich Professorin für

20.11.2025
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Bilanz

... Wissenschaftler und Wissenschaftlerinnen des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) und der Medizinischen Hochschule ...

19.11.2025
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Rheinische Post

... Forschungsschwerpunkt „Neue Antiinfektiva“ des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) entwickeln fast 20 Forschungsgruppen neue ...

18.11.2025
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Regional Heute

... , Stellvertretende Teamleiterin der Klinischen Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), Braunschweig.

17.11.2025
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Biermann Medizin

... und individueller Darmflora ab.

 

Forscher am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung arbeiten bereits an der nächsten Generation ...

14.11.2025
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