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Decorative image to represent the new databases

News

Modern pharmaceutical research generates large amounts of data faster than ever before. To analyze and evaluate this data, it is collected and structured in extensive databases and thus provides the basis for the development of new active ingredients. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have now published two such databases. While the "ABC-HuMi" database focuses on genetic data from microorganisms that colonize humans, "ZEBRA" provides a high-resolution cell atlas of the human and mouse brain. Both databases were published in the annual database issue of the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

09.01.2024

HIPS

News

Despite the end of the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to pose a serious health threat. Most individuals have established robust immune protection and do not develop severe disease but the infection can still lead to marked and sometimes long-lasting disease symptoms. In the late summer of 2023 a new SARS-CoV-2 variant emerged, BA.2.86 (Pirola), which, based on genetics, differs markedly from all previously circulating variants.

09.01.2024

HZI Campus

Group Picture of Participants of the ENLIGHT-TEN+ Winter School

News

From 13 to 17 November 2023, 28 young scientists gathered at BAYER in Berlin to take part in the Winter School for Translational Medical Research and Drug Development organized by ENLIGHT-TEN+ and EATRIS. Experts from science and industry provided in-depth insights into the basics of drug production and introduced the young scientists to the processes through interactive exercises and case studies. BAYER is a member of the ENLIGHT-TEN+ consortium and was primarily responsible for organizing the Winter School.

21.12.2023

HZI Campus

[Translate to English:] Endogener ASC-Speck, abgebildet in 3D mit dSTORM. © iScience, CC-BY-4.0

News

A central component of the human immune system, the NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in fighting off infections. However, its chronic activation is also implicated in a variety of common diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, gout, and type II diabetes. The NLRP3 inflammasome occurs primarily in specialized immune cells in the blood and elsewhere. It is a dense complex in which several proteins interact with each other. A key protein in this complex is known by the abbreviation ASC. In non-activated immune cells, it is distributed homogeneously throughout the cell. If the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated, all of the ASC protein present in the cell aggregates in the inflammasome complex. Under an ordinary fluorescence microscope, the ASC protein, once labeled, appears as a single, bright, nearly round spot. Due to the small size and high density of this ASC speck, scientists have been unable to elucidate details of its structure inside cells. Different models were proposed in the scientific literature but a comprehensive understanding was missing.

11.12.2023

HZI Campus

News

In July of this year, the new Scientific Director, Prof Josef Penninger, took office at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). He succeeds Prof Dirk Heinz, who stepped down from his position after 13 years and began establishing the new "Molecular Structural Biology" research department at the HZI. On 4 December 2023, Dirk Heinz was thanked for his many years of successful work and the handover of office to Josef Penninger was celebrated in the presence of renowned guests from science and politics.

05.12.2023

HZI Campus

News

To ensure that vaccines provide strong and lasting immunization, it is often necessary to supplement the actual vaccine (antigen) with additives that stimulate the immune system: adjuvants. Today, only a few substances have been approved for use as adjuvants. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a research team has now introduced a spectrum of potential adjuvants. They started with the immune stimulant α-glactosyl ceramide (α-GalCer) and synthesized many different variants from a set of four building blocks.

04.12.2023

HZI Campus

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HZI in the media

at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB) in Würzburg has

10.09.2025

Phys.org

Leiter der Abteilung Chemische Biologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig www.helmholtz-hzi.de ...

10.09.2025

BR Bayerischer Rundfunk

... at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg. The institute is a ...

09.09.2025

Analytik NEWS

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) und assoziiertes Mitglied des Helmholtz-Instituts für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI).

08.09.2025

Verband Deutscher Biologen e.V.

and manufactured the investigational product. The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) contributed through the

07.09.2025

ScienceDaily

and an associate member of the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI).

Additional collaborators included Professors

04.09.2025

Phys.org

JMU) Würzburg und ein Forscher vom Helmholtz-Institut für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI) mit ihren Bewerbungen ...

04.09.2025

Open PR.de

Studie und Hersteller des Prüfpräparats. Das Helmholtz-Institut für Pharmazeutische Forschung Saarland (HIPS) war bei ...

03.09.2025

Biermann Medizin

Das undatierte Foto vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) zeigt die elektronenmikroskopische Aufnahme von EHEC-Bakterien. © ...

02.09.2025

MSN Deutschland

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