Newsroom

Alexander Becker in lab coat looking at petri dish
Interview
From the mine to the petri dish
One would expect a high school graduate to have little time for extracurricular activities shortly before the final written exams. Nevertheless, Alexander Becker can regularly be found in the laboratories of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), even at this time of year. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University. There, the 18-year-old student from the Gymnasium am Stefansberg in Merzig is trying to isolate myxobacteria from unusual soil samples. His work is part of a project with which he successfully took part in the Jugend forscht competition for young scientists. Together with ten other students from Saarland, he qualified for the 59th national Jugend forscht competition, which will take place in Heilbronn from May 30 to June 2, 2024.
04.04.2024
HIPS
Three dimensional structure of the transport protein ECF-T.
News
Starving pathogens to death
Due to the progressive spread of antimicrobial resistance, clinically important antibiotics are increasingly losing their effectiveness. New active substances are urgently needed to counteract this development. In order to circumvent existing resistance, new drugs must address previously unused target structures within the pathogens. HIPS scientist Prof. Anna Hirsch has been able to identify one such target and successfully acquired a “Proof of Concept” grant of the European Research Council (ERC) to support the development of novel active substances.
02.04.2024
HIPS
Zecke auf Hautoberfläche
News
Crimean-Congo Fever: molecular mechanism of infection discovered
The Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV), first described in 1944, is also spreading rapidly in Europe due to global warming and is included in the WHO list of infectious agents with epidemic or pandemic potential as a top priority. There are currently no therapeutic or preventative measures available against the disease, which is mainly transmitted by ticks and is fatal in 40 per cent of cases.
29.03.2024
HZI Campus
Salmonella on a cell
News
Bacterial RNAs have shorter lifetimes than expected
The decay of ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a crucial mechanism for controlling gene expression in response to environmental stresses. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have developed a statistical approach that allows a more accurate prediction of RNA half-lives in bacteria.
28.03.2024
HIRI
Bacteria of the genus Bacteroides
News
Gut microbiota and antibiotics: Missing puzzle piece discovered
The intricacies of how intestinal bacteria adapt to their environment have yet to be fully explored. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg and the University of California, Berkeley, USA, have now successfully closed a gap in this knowledge: They have identified a small ribonucleic acid (sRNA) that affects the susceptibility of the gut pathogen Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron to specific antibiotics.
25.03.2024
HIRI
Portrait Berit Lange
News
Berit Lange becomes a member of the Federal Chancellor's new Expert Council
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz today welcomed the members of the new Expert Council on Health and Resilience to the inaugural meeting at the Federal Chancellery. Among the members is Dr. Berit Lange, Acting Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Head of Clinical Epidemiology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig.
18.03.2024
HZI Campus

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
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
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
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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