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Currently, little is known about children and their susceptibility to the new coronavirus. It has been observed that young children have rarely presented with COVID-19 up to now. No specific investigations have been conducted as to how many children have already contracted the virus and overcome the infection without any remarkable symptoms. In a DZIF project, scientists now intend to investigate this with the help of “LoewenKIDS”.

Innovations based on proven active ingredients, new indications for established drugs – the principle of repurposing has often led to success in medicine. This is why it is also used against SARS-CoV-2: In order to quickly find a drug to treat COVID-19, this international research network is searching for substances that act against SARS-CoV-2 in the world's largest substance repurposing bank "ReFrame". The collection comprises around 14,000 approved drugs as well as active ingredients for which extensive safety data are already available with regard to their use in humans. Several laboratories in the USA, four in the UK and one each in China and Germany are involved in the search. "ReFrame" was established by Scripps Research, California, in 2018 with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Several whip-like appendages, called the flagella, protrude from the body of bacteria such as Salmonella Typhimurium. It has long been understood that the flagella are responsible for bacterial motility, which enables the directed movement of bacteria towards nutrients or an infection target site. In a recent publication in Nature Communications, researchers from the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) in Hamburg and collaborators have demonstrated that flagella also promote bacterial adhesion and host cell invasion. The CSSB is a common initiative by nine northern German research institutions, including the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig.

Außergewöhnliche Situationen bringen die Menschen näher zusammen. Das gilt aktuell in unserer Region. Während sich das Klinikum Braunschweig auf große Herausforderungen einstellt, ist die Hilfsbereitschaft von umliegenden Unternehmen, aber auch Forschungseinrichtungen groß. Eine enorme Unterstützung für den Maximalversorger kommt jetzt vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) und der Technischen Universität (TU) Braunschweig.

Scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have developed a strategy to administer antibacterial agents in a way that makes them many times more effective. Their results give rise to hope in the fight against hospital infections and antibiotic resistance. The study has been published in the international edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie/Applied Chemistry. The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig in cooperation with Saarland University.

The GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung and the FAIR GmbH (GSI/FAIR) uses its research potential and unique infrastructure to contribute to the management of the current corona pandemic. In several areas at GSI/FAIR, scientists are working to provide new insights and technologies that may help to fight the corona virus SARS-CoV-2. In cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, methods for virus inactivation are being tested. These inactivated viruses are used for vaccine development. To this aim, the accelerators and laboratories on the Darmstadt campus are also being used. The laboratory is operational, while strictly abiding to safety regulations.