Newsroom

News

Itaconate is a small molecule produced in our bodies to fight bacteria and modulate immune responses. However, how itaconate travels through the body is not well understood. To close this gap, an international team of scientists led by Thekla Cordes, Professor of Cell Metabolism at Technische Universität Braunschweig at the Braunschweig Centre for Systems Biology (BRICS) and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), together with Prof Christian Metallo at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego (USA) and researchers from the University of California, San Diego (USA), uncovered how itaconate moves through space and time within the body to shape our immune responses. These findings open new avenues for potential treatments of inflammatory diseases. The study, published in Nature Metabolism, adds to the growing interest in itaconate and provides a novel perspective on its role in regulating metabolism.

16.09.2025

BRICS

Group photo of eight persons behind a foundation stone

News

On 11 September 2025, the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald laid the foundation stone for its new research building. The festive ceremony brought together numerous guests from science, politics and partner institutions. The new facility will, for the first time, unite all employees under one roof. Founded in 2021 as a new location of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, the HIOH works in close cooperation with the University of Greifswald, the University Medicine Greifswald and the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) Greifswald-Riems. The construction is jointly financed by the federal government and predominantly by the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

11.09.2025

HIOH

Illustration of a bacterium with numerous bacteriophages on the surface

News

Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect bacteria. Using phages therapeutically could be very useful in fighting antibiotic-resistant pathogens, but the molecular interactions between phages and host bacteria are not yet sufficiently understood. Jörg Vogel's research group at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB) in Würzburg has now succeeded in specifically interfering with phage reproduction using a molecular tool called antisense oligomers (ASOs). According to the researchers, this innovative RNA technology offers new insights into the molecular world of phages and is expected to advance the development of future therapeutic applications. The study has been published in the journal Nature.

10.09.2025

HZI Campus

HIRI

News

Mpox continues to pose a growing health threat in various African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where frequent zoonotic spillovers occur across the country and occasionally lead to major outbreaks associated with the emergence of viral lineages whose spread is supported by human-to-human transmission. From August 2024 to September 2025, the World Health Organization had declared mpox a public health emergency, highlighting the urgent need to understand its spread across the region. The drivers behind recent mpox outbreaks in the Central African Republic, where the disease is endemic, had previously been unclear—until now.

10.09.2025

HIOH

News

In the fight against multi-resistant bacteria, bacteriophages—the natural enemies of bacteria—are attracting increasing research interest. However, the targeted therapeutic application of these “bacterial killers” requires a precise understanding of their molecular basis. This is at the heart of the research in the team of Jens Hör from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg. Starting in February 2026, the European Research Council (ERC) will fund his research project “RIBO-PHAGE” with a 1.5 million euro ERC Starting Grant for a period of five years.

04.09.2025

HIRI

News

Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically attack bacteria but are harmless to humans. They attach themselves to bacteria, inject their genetic material, and reprogram the cells so that they only produce phage genetic material – until they eventually burst and release new phages. In theory, phages are a promising alternative to antibiotics, but in practice, major challenges must be overcome. In this episode of the HZI podcast “InFact”, Jun. Prof. Jens Hör, head of the junior research group “Molecular Principles of RNA Phages” at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), talks about his research on this fascinating tool in the fight against resistant germs.

04.09.2025

HIRI

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

Register now for the HZI-Newsletter

and stay up to date!

Email address

We use rapidmail to send our newsletter. I agree that my data entered here will be transmitted to rapidmail. I have taken note of the HZI's privacy policy and have been informed of my rights.