Newsroom

Cultures of different Streptomyces strains
News
Activating the hidden pharmaceutical potential of bacteria
Microorganisms produce a wide variety of natural products that can be used as active ingredients to treat diseases such as infections or cancer. The blueprints for these molecules can be found in the microbes' genes, but often remain inactive under laboratory conditions. A team of researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has now developed a groundbreaking genetic method that leverages a natural bacterial mechanism for the transfer of genetic material and uses it for the production of new active ingredients. The team published its results in the journal Science.
13.12.2024
HIPS
HZI website on various end devices and Typo3 award
News
Award for the HZI Internet presence
In April 2024, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) completely revamped its website together with the digital agency +Pluswerk. The aim of this relaunch was to present the HZI and its scientific work to the public in an appealing, contemporary design. The new HZI website has now won the TYPO3 Award in the “Health” category. The award was presented at the TYPO3 Conference 2024 in Düsseldorf.
09.12.2024
Study leaders Masahiro Onji (left) and Josef Penninger (right)
News
Mothers massively change their intestines during pregnancy and nursing
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
HZI Campus
Researchers from the HZI and CSSB discuss the latest technologies in infection research.
News
Matchmaking Workshop between CSSB and HZI
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
HZI Campus
CSSB
AI in research
Interview
Seven-league boots for precision medicine
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
HIPS
CiiM
Flies help to determine biodiversity.
Interview
"Carrion flies are very good DNA collectors"
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
HIOH

HZI in the media

Seuchen aus dem KI-Labor: Kann Künstliche Intelligenz bereits Biowaffen bauen?

... beeindruckendes Ergebnis“, sagt Jakob Wirbel vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI). „Trotzdem schlafe ich momentan noch ...

15.10.2026
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Der Tagesspiegel
Impfung sinnvoll? Erst Erkältungen, dann Corona und Grippe – So schützen Sie sich

... Lange, Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und Mitglied der Ständigen ...

14.10.2026
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DIE WELT
HMN 2026: How crawling motility may be far older than previously thought

also included Japanese microbiologists and collaborators from IST Austria and HZI Braunschweig (Germany), demonstrated that actin inhibitors

14.10.2026
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Health Medicine Network
Neue Empfehlungen der WHO zur COVID-19-Impfung

... in der Abteilung „Virale Immunologie“ am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), hat die WHO als externer ...

13.10.2026
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DeutschesGesundheitsPortal
Metax brings genome-wide coverage into focus for sharper microbial profiling

tool called Metax, developed by researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and described in the

12.10.2026
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Bioengineer.org
New Hope for Fighting C. difficile Infections

parts of the microbiome. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University. “We

12.10.2026
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Technology Networks
HZI erhält 724.000 Euro: Makrophagen sollen Lungenfibrose bekämpfen

... auch gezielte Forschungsmittel an das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI): Die Forschungsgruppe von Prof ...

12.10.2026
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Ad Hoc News
Fieser Magen-Darm-Erreger breitet sich immer stärker aus: Infektionen in England steigen drastisch

... nur in England vor. Laut Angaben des Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung ist es dem Erreger ...

12.10.2026
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Frankfurter Rundschau online
EU fördert Entwicklung von Immunzelltherapie bei Lungenfibrose

... und Belgien. Aus Deutschland sind das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), das Fraunhofer-Institut für Toxikologie und ...

12.10.2026
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MTA Dialog
Forscher entwickeln Wirkstoff gegen Pockenviren

... weitere Versuche herstellen.

 

Auch das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig ist beteiligt. Die ...

11.10.2026
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t-online.de
Warum Ballaststoffe nicht bei jedem gleich wirken

... unterschiedlichen Regionen unterscheidet. Der Forscher vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung konnte in seiner Studie zeigen, ...

10.10.2026
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rbb radioeins
Gut bacteria team up with diet to decide who rules the microbiome

Tawk, Youssef El Mouali and colleagues at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, together with collaborators at the University of

09.10.2026
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Bioengineer.org

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