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Illustration of a bacterium with numerous bacteriophages on the surface

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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

News

The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig succeeded with three project proposals in the zukunft.niedersachsen funding program of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) and the Volkswagen Foundation. In the “MacroAB-Delivery” project, a research team coordinated by Prof. Dagmar Wirth from the HZI aims to advance a new method for the local treatment of implant-associated infections. The “MoreHealth” project, coordinated at Hannover Medical School (MHH) with the participation of Prof. Jochen Hühn (HZI), is establishing an infrastructure with comprehensive health data that can be analyzed for various diseases with a focus on individual risk and severity. Prof. Alice McHardy and her team at the HZI are involved in the INDIVO research network, which is coordinated at the MHH and seeks new methods for more accurate diagnosis and targeted treatment of bacterial infections in liver cirrhosis patients. Five joint projects to expand personalized medicine are being funded as part of zukunft.niedersachsen with a total budget of nine million euros.

01.09.2025

HZI Campus

News

Why do people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often suffer from cardiovascular, liver, and other comorbidities? Researchers at the Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM) investigated this question as part of the 2000HIV study, a multi-omics cohort coordinated by several research centers in the Netherlands. They identified various molecules and mechanisms that could be linked to the development of these comorbidities. The scientists are making the extensive results of their study freely available. They hope that they will be used for new research approaches and lead to a better understanding of the underlying causes and to helpful therapies. The researchers have now published their study results in the journal Nature Medicine. The CiiM is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH).

21.08.2025

CiiM

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Clinical Lab Products

Die Zellen kontrollieren die Reaktion des Immunsystems und verhindern Schäden durch Selbstangriffe. Forschende arbeiten daran, sie zur Therapie einzusetzen.

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NDR Norddeutscher Rundfunk

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