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What opportunities lie ahead for the future of medical research and healthcare systems? Researchers from the Helmholtz Association exchange ideas with decision-makers from science, politics, patient organizations, biotech, and the pharmaceutical industry at the Helmholtz Health Summit. The conference focuses on scientific developments that will have a long-term impact on medicine and healthcare. Topics include digital health, artificial intelligence, personalized therapy, prevention, pandemic resilience, and research transfer.

Bacteria are a valuable source for the discovery of natural products that can be used for the development of new drugs. A HIPS research team has now identified two new classes of active substances with antimicrobial properties from bacteria that live in symbiosis with a toxic bird. This strategy and the substances discovered offer promising avenues towards the development of new anti-infectives, particularly against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Communications. The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.

The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Friends of the HZI are presenting the first event in the Vienna “Sounds and Science” series in cooperation with the Staatstheater Braunschweig. A string quartet consisting of members of the Vienna Philharmonic, including concertmaster Rainer Honeck, will perform works by Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss and Beethoven, alternating with lectures by renowned scientists from the HZI. The concert will take place on 25 October 2024 at 7:30 pm in the Kleines Haus of the Staatstheater Braunschweig and will be moderated by the well-known actor Andreas Pietschmann.

So-called high-dose flu vaccines are available for older people. The reason: their immune system does not always respond sufficiently well to the standard flu vaccines. Why this is the case and the molecular processes behind it are not yet understood. However, in their current research work, scientists from the Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint initiative of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), using a cohort study with around 230 participants over the age of 65, have now been able to identify key molecules. The researchers hope that their findings will help to further increase the immune response to the flu vaccine in older people in the future. The study has been published in the journal “Science Advances”.

On Saturday, September 21, 2024, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig is holding an Open Day. All interested people will have the opportunity to visit HZI laboratories and meet scientists on the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd in the Stöckheim district from 11 am to 4 pm. There will also be many activities especially for children. For example, they can compete in pipetting, make microbes or listen to a scientific lecture for children.

Annual flu vaccines protect against severe infection, but they vary in efficacy and may not match the most virulent strains of the season. The reality of a universal flu vaccine, which would protect people from all strains, and ideally longer than a single season, remains elusive. This major roadblock is addressed by the INCENTIVE consortium, which is funded by the European Commission and coordinated at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) by Prof. Carlos A. Guzman. Findings published in the Journal of Virology suggest that universal flu vaccines are coming closer.