Newsroom

Slime-like and near impenetrable are biofilms built by a number of bacterial cells during the course of an infection. Typically, they are composed of long molecular strands called polymers. Many different species of bacteria, among them dangerous pathogens like Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus, use biofilms to shield themselves against the host's immune system attacks and antibiotics' pharmacological mechanism of action. In Germany alone, 100,000 infections annually are related to bacterial biofilms. A joint research initiative by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany, and the TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, aims to target bacterial biofilms using Nature's own list of active ingredients.

Prof. Dr. Lars Zender has received one of the most distinguished German cancer research awards. The Johann-Georg-Zimmermann Award, endowed with 10 000 Euro, highlights Zender’s findings on chronic liver damage and liver cancer development. Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) developed in livers after chronic infection with Hepatitis-B and -C virus. Zender is heading a research group at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany, and holds a professorship for experimental gastrointestinal oncology at the Hannover Medical School (MHH). He has pioneered the development of systems to conduct RNA interference screens in vivo. The award ceremony took place on Monday, 16th January, at the MHH.