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Federal Minister of Education and Research Karliczek and Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture Thümler were guests at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig today. The scientists at the HZI provided them with an overview of the current state of research on COVID-19, in particular a new nationwide epidemiological antibody study.

Interferons are important messenger molecules in the immune system, assisting in the fight against pathogens such as influenza viruses and probably also SARS-CoV-2. However, interferon might also be involved in immune-brain interactions unrelated to an infection and may have an influence on learning ability. This is indicated by a study with mice from the Technische Universität Braunschweig, which is published today in the scientific journal Cell Reports. The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and TWINCORE in Hannover are also involved in the study.

A distinguished visitor to the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research: The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Stephan Weil and Lower Saxony’s Minister of Science and Culture Björn Thümler visited the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig today. The focus of the visit was on current challenges and innovative solutions, especially in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 and the future development of infection research in Lower Saxony.

CRISPR technologies are revolutionary genome-editing tools that rely on molecular scissors called Cas nucleases to cut DNA. While these scissors can be programmed to cut virtually any sequence, that target must be flanked by a special sequence called a PAM (Protospacer Adjacent Motif). The PAM sequence is up to six nucleotides in length and can vary widely between Cas nucleases. To allow all sites of the genome to be targeted with CRISPR technologies, there is an ongoing push to collect nucleases that cover all possible PAMs. In a current study published in Nucleic Acids Research, researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg characterized technologically important Cas nucleases to determine how to expand the spectrum of target sequences. The HIRI is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg.

Neutralizing antibodies are the interceptors of our immune system. They bind precisely to pathogens and prevent them from entering our cells. After an infection, the immune system needs about two weeks to produce mature antibodies. In severe cases of Covid-19, the body's immune reaction often comes too late for the patient. One option for acute treatment would therefore be to administer antibodies to the patients that are immediately effective. Recent results of the CORAT Consortia, especially from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the Technische Universität Braunschweig and the company YUMAB, have led to a breakthrough in the development of fully human antibodies for immune therapies.