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On the current situation in Israel
The Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany expresses its deepest condolences for the victims of the terrorist attacks on Israel. In particular, our sympathy is with our friends and colleagues in the Israeli scientific community. Israel has been and will always be a prime partner for the German research and innovation community.
12.10.2023
HZI Campus
New findings on SARS-CoV-2: Jun Prof Mathias Munschauer with PhD student Sabina Ganskih in the lab.
News
A human factor
How SARS-CoV-2 initiates its replication process during infection is not yet fully understood. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg have now shown for the first time in the journal Cell that it is the human protein SND1 which works together with the viral protein NSP9 to stimulate the virus’s genetic replication program in infected cells. The scientists were surprised to find that NSP9 acts as the first building block in the production of new viral genetic material. The findings are significant for further basic research, but they could also lead to new avenues for the treatment of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases caused by coronaviruses.
04.10.2023
HIRI
The Microbelix team at the award ceremony at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin ©WID/Gesine Born
News
MICROBELIX conquers the Saarland
The cooperation project MICROBELIX was jointly launched in spring 2023 by researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and the Naturlandstiftung Saar (NLS). Together, both institutions set out to compete in the citizen science contest Auf die Plätze! Citizen Science in deiner Stadt. After a public voting phase and the evaluation by a jury of experts, the MICROBELIX team could claim one of the three winning places and a 50,000 € prize. The award ceremony took place on September 28, 2023 at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.
28.09.2023
HIPS
Mosquito bites into human skin
News
Project "ChloroMalaria": New class of active ingredients against tropical disease
Saarbrücken, 21. September, 2023 - Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have again succeeded in acquiring funding under the BMBF-funded "GO-Bio Iinitial" program. The funding measure aims to identify promising research approaches in the life sciences, to exploit their innovation potential and to enable a seamless transfer into application. In the now funded project "ChloroMalaria-2", a novel class of natural products for the treatment and control of malaria will be further optimized.
21.09.2023
HIPS
Stephanie Pfänder, winner of this year's Jürgen Wehland Award.
News
Virologist Stephanie Pfänder receives Jürgen Wehland Award
Virologist and Jun Prof Stephanie Pfänder has been awarded the Jürgen Wehland Award 2023. A scientist in the Department of Molecular and Medical Virology at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, her research focuses on so-called emerging viruses, in particular coronaviruses. She received the award during a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Braunschweig, Anke Kaphammel, and guests from science and the alumni network of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). This is already the ninth time that the HZI has awarded the Jürgen Wehland Award, which is endowed with 5,000 euros, to honour young scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field of infection research. The award ceremony took place at the HZI Forum event centre in Braunschweig.
15.09.2023
HZI Campus
Swabbing a leaf to collect vertebrate eDNA in the Greifswald Botanical Garden.
News
Detecting a vast diversity of rainforest animals by swabbing their DNA from leaves
In a new study, an international research team shows that the very cotton buds, which we all got to know so intimately during the COVID-19 pandemic, are a valuable tool to map biodiversity. This was the result of an international research team led by scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald, a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany. In essence, the researchers demonstrate that a vast multitude of birds and mammals can be detected by simply swabbing the DNA left behind by animals from leaves. They showcased the power of this approach in an ecosystem that hosts a ton of wildlife and where detecting animals has historically proven extremely challenging - the tropical rainforest. The study was published in Current Biology.
22.08.2023
HIOH

HZI in the media

Eier und Geflügel gefahrlos verzehren? So können sich Menschen vor der Vogelgrippe schützen

... Vakzinologie und angewandte Mikrobiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung. Die M2-Membranproteinhemmer verhindern ...

02.11.2025
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Augsburger Allgemeine
Pilze für die Gesundheit – was können „Vitalpilze“?

... etwas dran ist“, erklärt Biologe Marc Stadler vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung gegenüber der Barmer-Krankenkasse. „Es ...

30.10.2025
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bild der wissenschaft
Vaccinated against polio—or not? Study finds differences between documented and self-reported vaccination rates

could be reintroduced at any time. Epidemiologists at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) have now shown that many people do

23.10.2025
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MSN.com
Gegen Polio Geimpft: Fakten Und Mythen Im Überblick

... eingeschleppt werden könnte. Epidemiolog:innen des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) haben nun gezeigt, dass ...

23.10.2025
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innovations report
New malaria drug candidate blocks protein production in resistant parasites

this development, a research team at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), in collaboration with the Swiss

22.10.2025
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Phys.org
Neuer Wirkstoff schneidet Parasiten die Proteinzufuhr ab

Malaria-Medikamentes ermöglichen könnte. Das HIPS ist ein Standort des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung in Zusammenarbeit mit ...

22.10.2025
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Verband Deutscher Biologen e.V.
Innovative chemo-enzymatische Methode zur Herstellung von Furanoliden gegen Krebs und Bakterien

(Bild: DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c08354 / Hips / CC BY 4.0) Wissenschaftler am Hips entwickelten eine Plattform zur Produktion von Furanoliden, die effektiv gegen Bakterien und Krebszellen wirken können und vielversprechende Wirkstoffe darstellen.

21.10.2025
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PROCESS
Innovative Platform Developed for Producing Versatile Active Ingredients

at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), in partnership with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI

20.10.2025
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Bioengineer.org
Enzyme-based system produces versatile active ingredients for drug discovery and testing

their biological activity. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.

20.10.2025
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Phys.org
Nobelpreis für Physiologie und Medizin: Wer die Killer kontrolliert

... die Abteilung „Experimentelle Immunologie“ am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig, lehrt als Professor an ...

17.10.2025
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Deutsches Ärzteblatt
Forschung zur Strukturbiologie wird gestärkt // Eröffnung des deutschen Instruct-Zentrums an der Goethe-Universität

Einrichtungen als nationale assoziierte Partner: das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung Braunschweig, die Universität Bayreuth, das

17.10.2025
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AlphaGalileo
Influenza hinterlässt Spuren – erhöhte Pneumokokkengefahr nach Virusinfektion

... diesem Ergebnis kommt ein Forschungsteam des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Zusammenarbeit mit der ...

14.10.2025
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Deutsches Ärzteblatt

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