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Study leaders Masahiro Onji (left) and Josef Penninger (right)
News
When women are pregnant and nurse their babies, their bodies change and various organs, such as the breasts or the immune system, are adapted to ensure the health of both mother and child. This happens throughout evolution in all mammals. An international research team led by Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), and Masahiro Onji from the Medical University of Vienna now reports the surprising finding that the intestine also changes completely in pregnant and nursing females, resulting in a doubling of the intestinal surface area and a striking structural reorganisation. The researchers also provide the first genetic and mechanistic evidence of how this intestinal epithelial expansion occurs in mothers, with direct implications for the transgenerational health of the babies. The study has now been published in the journal Nature.
04.12.2024
Researchers from the HZI and CSSB discuss the latest technologies in infection research.
News
On 29 November 2024, a matchmaking workshop between scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) in Hamburg was held at the HZI campus in Braunschweig, bringing together about 50 researchers from Braunschweig, Hannover, Würzburg and Hamburg. CSSB was established in Hamburg as a joint initiative of ten northern German research partners, including the HZI, and is an interdisciplinary center where biologists, chemists, physicians, physicists and engineers explore the interaction of pathogens with their hosts. The event featured flash talks by early-career researchers and PIs, as well as poster pitches and in-depth presentations of the core facilities at HZI in Braunschweig and CSSB in Hamburg.
04.12.2024
AI in research
Interview
A conversation with Prof. Andreas Keller from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Prof. Yang Li from the Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM) about artificial intelligence (AI) in individualized infection medicine.
28.11.2024
Flies help to determine biodiversity.
Interview
Veterinarian Dr. Fee Zimmermann collects long-term data on human, animal and environmental health in the African tropics and on her doorstep - in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. She heads a research group at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald. In this interview, she talks about the importance of the tropics for future disease outbreaks and about animal helpers in data collection.
28.11.2024
Generated image of the microbiome
Story
Strengthening our microbiome with a pill so that it can effectively fight diseases? HZI researchers are striving to make this vision of the future a reality.
22.11.2024
Highly cited researchers from the HZI: Andreas Keller (©HIPS/Oliver Dietze), Josef Penninger (©HZI/Verena Meier) and Marc Stadler (©HZI/Verena Meier).
News
Every year, the company Clarivate Analytics publishes a list of "Highly Cited Researchers" and honors scientists who have made a particularly significant impact on their fields. In 2024, researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) are once again among them: This time, bioinformatician Prof. Andreas Keller, Scientific Director of the HZI and geneticist Prof. Josef Penninger and biotechnologist Prof. Marc Stadler were honored for their scientific publications.
21.11.2024

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
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Phys.org

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

10.09.2025
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BR Bayerischer Rundfunk

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

09.09.2025
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Analytik NEWS

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

08.09.2025
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Verband Deutscher Biologen e.V.

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

07.09.2025
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ScienceDaily

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

 

Additional collaborators included Professors

04.09.2025
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Phys.org

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

04.09.2025
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Open PR.de

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

03.09.2025
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Biermann Medizin

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

02.09.2025
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MSN Deutschland

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