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Researchers from the Würzburg Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) deployed CRISPR interference for the first time for the functional characterization of the gut mutualist Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. They identified a small ribonucleic acid (sRNA) that modulates the microorganisms' growth in the presence of bile. The findings should contribute to a better understanding of the bacterium’s lifestyle in its native environment, the human intestine, and to the development of clinical applications. The study was published in the journal PNAS.

As Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, we emphatically condemn all and any anti-democratic and inhumane endeavours. We vehemently reject the racist statements that have circulated in recent weeks. They are in no way compatible with the values of our organisations. United, we oppose them in the clearest possible terms.

On Friday, February 2, 2024, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Council of Science and Humanities (WR) announced which proposals for new Clusters of Excellence will be invited to submit full proposals. Saarland University (UdS) has successfully cleared this first hurdle with its proposal "nextAID³ - Next Generation of Al-driven Drug Discovery and Development".

The interplay between ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins is not only important for maintaining cellular homeostasis but is also at the center of the tug-of-war between virus and host. Until now, there has been no method to globally map direct interactions of individual RNA regions in an unbiased fashion without the need for genetic modification of the target RNA or cell. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in the US have now developed a breakthrough tool that overcomes this limitation. Their findings were recently published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

An important question in modern life science and medical research is how the microorganisms living in and on a body influence the life processes and thus health and disease of the host organism. Scientists at Kiel University and the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), assume that there are connections between the entirety of the body's microbial colonization, the so-called microbiome, and the development of diseases. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in particular is apparently closely linked to the composition and disturbance of the microbiome. At the same time, it is difficult to define a healthy normal state of the human microbial colonization, as it is influenced by many factors and the individual composition varies from person to person.

On 23 January 2024, State Secretary Judith Pirscher from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) visited the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig. She gained an insight into the current research program and the recently launched large-scale project "Microbial Stargazing - Research into Resilience Mechanisms of Microbes and Humans" (MICROSTAR for short), which is headed by the new Scientific Director of the HZI, Prof Josef Penninger.