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Friend or foe? Immune systems constantly face this question. They must recognize and clear foreign invaders without eliciting autoimmunity. Prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas systems recognize invaders based on genetic sequence. But what happens if the host genome shares the same sequences? A research team of the Helmholtz Institute in Würzburg in cooperation with the North Carolina State University (USA) has now discovered a control mechanism exhibited by CRISPR-Cas systems that use Cas13 nucleases: These systems only trigger an extensive immune response if the concentration of the target RNA exceeds a certain threshold. This discovery opens new opportunities for the use of CRISPR-Cas13 in the treatment of hereditary and infectious diseases. The scientists now published their findings in the journal “Cell Host & Microbe”.

Nature is an important source of active substances used in medicine. The goal of natural product chemistry is to isolate these active substances, elucidate their structure, synthesise them in the laboratory and produce new variants. The Friends of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have awarded the Inhoffen Medal to two scientists for their research achievements in this field: Prof Sarah Reisman, California Institute of Technology, and Prof Christian Hertweck, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI) Jena, will receive the awards for the years 2022 and 2020, respectively. The award ceremony took place on 9 June 2022 in the auditorium of the Haus der Wissenschaft in Braunschweig.

Pupils in Braunschweig can explore biotechnological phenomena door to door with real researchers. This is possible in the Biotechnologische Schülerlabor BioS (biotechnological student laboratory), which is operated on the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) together with Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH. On 9 June 2022, the extracurricular place of learning celebrated its twentieth anniversary.

The nuclease Cas13b associated with CRISPR defense systems—also known as genetic scissors—has the potential to be used in the future in hereditary diseases to silence adverse genes. In the fight against infections, it is also being researched as an antiviral agent, as Cas13b can target the genome of viruses and render them harmless. Despite these promising features, researchers are looking for nuclease inhibitors that can control or stop such activities. The aim is to increase the safety and efficacy of future therapies and to help prevent off-target effects. An international team led by the Helmholtz Institute in Würzburg in cooperation with the University of Freiburg has now applied deep learning for the first time to find natural nuclease inhibitors. The study, published today in the scientific journal "Molecular Cell", identified the first such inhibitor that blocks the activity of Cas13b.

The detection of bacterial pathogens in clinical samples is an important prerequisite for successful antimicrobial treatment. A team from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and Tel Aviv University, Israel, has now developed molecular probes that can detect different bacterial species with high sensitivity. Bacterial cells activate the probes and make them glow. This signal enables pathogen detection directly in clinical samples. The results were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

With numerous supporters and cooperation partners, the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) Würzburg celebrated its fifth anniversary today, May 10. The location of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig in cooperation with the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg had invited about 200 guests from science, politics, ministries and authorities to the Würzburg Residence. Together, they celebrated achievements to date and looked ahead to the institute's upcoming projects. Among the guests congratulating the institute was Ilse Aigner, President of the Bavarian State Parliament.