Newsroom

Marco Galardini (left) and Maureen Obara in the lab.
News
Certain changes in the genetic material of pathogens can alter their ability to infect human cells or protect them better from defense by the immune system. Researchers were able to observe this effect particularly impressive in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. During the coronavirus pandemic, an interdisciplinary team at TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hanover, investigated the interaction between pairs of mutations that might have triggered several of these changes in infectivity and immune escape. They have now published their findings in the journal Genome Biology. The TWINCORE is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Hannover Medical School (MHH).
23.08.2024
Interview
The current outbreak of the Mpox virus originated in Central Africa. A first case has now been discovered in Europe. The WHO has declared the highest alert level. In an interview with Helmholtz, Fabian Leendertz, Director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), puts the events in context.
23.08.2024
3D illustration of the cytomegalovirus
News
The protective effect of established COVID-19 vaccines is initially very robust, but wanes relatively quickly. This limitation imposes a need for periodic booster shots, which drives vaccine hesitation. In contrast, an innovative vector vaccine developed at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) presents a compelling alternative. It elicits prolonged immune response in animal models, and maintains its efficacy over extended time. The concept employs an animal cytomegalovirus (MCMV; murine cytomegalovirus) as the vector that expresses and delivers the coronavirus spike protein information. Crucially, this vector poses no threat to humans, enhancing the vaccine's safety profile.
20.08.2024
Preview of sCIRCLE
News
Modern cutting-edge research generates enormous amounts of data, presenting scientists with the challenge of visualizing and analyzing it. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg and the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) have developed a tool for visualizing large data sets. The sCIRCLE tool allows users to explore single-cell analysis data in an interactive and user-friendly way. Their results have been published in the journal NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics.
30.07.2024
3D culture of hair follicles with three hairs.
News
Hair follicle infections are often difficult to treat because bacteria settle in the gap between hair and skin, where it is difficult for active substances to reach them. In order to investigate this scenario more closely in the laboratory, researchers from the Department of Drug Delivery Across Biological Barriers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have now developed a model with human hair follicles embedded in a matrix produced using 3D printing. In the future, this model can be used to test the effectiveness of new drug candidates against corresponding pathogens directly on human follicles. The team has published their results in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.
29.07.2024
Graphical representation of the world
News
In the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effectiveness of government-ordered measures to contain the pandemic, such as regular testing and the wearing of medical masks, was repeatedly called into question. Through a large-scale analysis of viral genome data, a working group led by DZIF researcher Prof Alice McHardy at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has now discovered that significantly fewer new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus entered Germany in connection with the introduction of certain measures such as the wearing of medical masks and free access to rapid antigen tests.
18.07.2024

HZI in the media

... (UMG), TU Braunschweig (TU BS) und Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) koordinieren Prof. Dr. Thomas Illig ...

16.07.2025
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MTA Dialog

new antiviral medicines, says virologist Christian Sieben of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Germany.

 

Earlier in 2025, for

16.07.2025
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Knowable Magazine

they self-arranged into structures resembling alveoli. Josef Penninger, an expert at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (Germany),

12.07.2025
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Vietnam.vn

... Brinkmann (Archivbild): Die Virologin forscht am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig. (Quelle: teutopress/ ...

11.07.2025
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t-online.de

... des HZI, der Technischen Universität Braunschweig und des Fördervereins des HZI.

 

Promotionspreise des HZI

 

Der ...

11.07.2025
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Regional Heute

... lassen. Ein weiterer Partner ist das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig. Finanziert wird das ...

07.07.2025
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MDR

... Pneumologie an der UMMD sowie dem Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig. Gefährliche Folgeinfektion mit ...

06.07.2025
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Magdeburger News

... von der Abteilung Mikrobielle Immunregulation am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in einer Pressemitteilung des ...

04.07.2025
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Pharmazeutische Zeitung

In a groundbreaking new study, researchers from the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH) have

04.07.2025
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Maldankon

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