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Pupils in Braunschweig can explore biotechnological phenomena door to door with real researchers. This is possible in the Biotechnologische Schülerlabor BioS (biotechnological student laboratory), which is operated on the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) together with Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH. On 9 June 2022, the extracurricular place of learning celebrated its twentieth anniversary.

The nuclease Cas13b associated with CRISPR defense systems—also known as genetic scissors—has the potential to be used in the future in hereditary diseases to silence adverse genes. In the fight against infections, it is also being researched as an antiviral agent, as Cas13b can target the genome of viruses and render them harmless. Despite these promising features, researchers are looking for nuclease inhibitors that can control or stop such activities. The aim is to increase the safety and efficacy of future therapies and to help prevent off-target effects. An international team led by the Helmholtz Institute in Würzburg in cooperation with the University of Freiburg has now applied deep learning for the first time to find natural nuclease inhibitors. The study, published today in the scientific journal "Molecular Cell", identified the first such inhibitor that blocks the activity of Cas13b.

The detection of bacterial pathogens in clinical samples is an important prerequisite for successful antimicrobial treatment. A team from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and Tel Aviv University, Israel, has now developed molecular probes that can detect different bacterial species with high sensitivity. Bacterial cells activate the probes and make them glow. This signal enables pathogen detection directly in clinical samples. The results were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

With numerous supporters and cooperation partners, the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) Würzburg celebrated its fifth anniversary today, May 10. The location of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig in cooperation with the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg had invited about 200 guests from science, politics, ministries and authorities to the Würzburg Residence. Together, they celebrated achievements to date and looked ahead to the institute's upcoming projects. Among the guests congratulating the institute was Ilse Aigner, President of the Bavarian State Parliament.

The Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) was ceremoniously founded on 26 April 2022 in Greifswald. The HIOH is a new institute of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, which is being established together with the University of Greifswald, the Greifswald University Medicine and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health (FLI) as local founding partners. The founding director is the veterinarian and microbiologist Prof Fabian Leendertz. Research at the new institute will focus on the threats posed by the emergence of pathogens, as well as the epidemiology and ecology of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to common medicines and vaccines.

The human gut is colonized by countless microorganisms. Could some of them protect humans from infections? Principal Investigator Alexander Westermann aims to better understand the interaction between host cells, gut bacteria and pathogens. He now receives funding of 1.5 million euros for his research project “GUT-CHECK” from the European Research Council (ERC). Westermann is the fourth group leader at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg to be awarded an ERC grant.