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The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can infect various body tissues. While the detection of the virus in the nasopharynx is established as a diagnostic method, the amount of virus found there does not allow a prognosis of the course of the disease. In a recent study, a research team from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the University of Rijeka, Croatia, investigated the correlation between the viral load in different tissues and the mortality of patients with a severe course of COVID-19. The researchers show for the first time that viral load can contribute to clinical prognosis, as a higher viral load in the lungs at the time of ventilation correlates with an increased risk of death. In this interview, first author Henrike Maaß and study leader Prof Luka Cicin-Sain, head of the department “Viral Immunology” at HZI, talk about the research results that were published in the journal Viruses MDPI.

The development of new active substances against pathogenic bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses is gaining importance, as established antiinfectives are becoming increasingly ineffective due to the development of resistance. At the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), a team led by Prof Rolf Müller has optimized an antimicrobial natural product that is active against infections with both, the hospital acquired MRSA pathogen and the malaria causing parasite, for preclinical research and future potential application in humans. The researchers have published their results in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

The State of Lower Saxony bundles top biomedical research in the new "Institute for Biomedical Translation" The COVID-19 pandemic has impressively underlined the enormous importance of a rapid transfer of biomedical innovations into application. The Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg metropolitan region is one of Germany's leading locations for biomedical research. Despite Lower Saxony's internationally recognised research strength in the three clinically highly relevant areas of infectious medicine, organ repair or replacement and neuroscience, the knowledge gained still finds its way into medical application too rarely or too slowly. For this reason, the state of Lower Saxony is now bundling top biomedical research in the "Institute for Biomedical Translation" (IBT).

On 11 June 2022, virologist Prof Melanie Brinkmann was awarded the ScienceHero Prize. With this award, the Konferenz Biologischer Fachbereiche (Conference of Biology Departments) recognises people and organisations that stand for good teaching and creative research. The prize was awarded at the plenary session of the Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultätentag (Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty Association), which took place in Braunschweig this time.

Friend or foe? Immune systems constantly face this question. They must recognize and clear foreign invaders without eliciting autoimmunity. Prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas systems recognize invaders based on genetic sequence. But what happens if the host genome shares the same sequences? A research team of the Helmholtz Institute in Würzburg in cooperation with the North Carolina State University (USA) has now discovered a control mechanism exhibited by CRISPR-Cas systems that use Cas13 nucleases: These systems only trigger an extensive immune response if the concentration of the target RNA exceeds a certain threshold. This discovery opens new opportunities for the use of CRISPR-Cas13 in the treatment of hereditary and infectious diseases. The scientists now published their findings in the journal “Cell Host & Microbe”.

Nature is an important source of active substances used in medicine. The goal of natural product chemistry is to isolate these active substances, elucidate their structure, synthesise them in the laboratory and produce new variants. The Friends of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have awarded the Inhoffen Medal to two scientists for their research achievements in this field: Prof Sarah Reisman, California Institute of Technology, and Prof Christian Hertweck, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) Jena, will receive the awards for the years 2022 and 2020, respectively. The award ceremony took place on 9 June 2022 in the auditorium of the Haus der Wissenschaft in Braunschweig.