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Biofilms use chemical weapons
Bacteria rarely come as loners; more often they grow in crowds and squat on surfaces where they form a community together. These so-called biofilms develop on any surface that bacteria can attach themselves to. The dilemma we face is that neither disinfectants and…
Argyrin: natural substance raises hope for new cancer therapies
The effective treatment of many forms of cancer continues to pose a major problem for medicine. Many tumours fail to respond to standard forms of chemotherapy or become resistant to the medication. Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in…
Purple extremist thrives under inhospitable conditions
Mild environmental conditions are a prerequisite for life. Strong acids or dissolved metallic salts in high concentrations are detrimental to both humans and to simpler life forms, such as bacteria. Such conditions destroy proteins, ensuring that all biological…
10 years of pharmaceutical research at the HIPS
At this year's symposium of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) on 27 and 28 June, the focus was on the fight against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the HIPS, the specialist audience had two…
“Every day I feel that I am doing something meaningful"
She had never been afraid of numbers. Mathematics and science were her favourite subjects even back in her school days. But Alice McHardy never thought that she would end up working as a researcher in a field of information technology when she enrolled in biochemistry…
“Big data is one of the big topics of the future, also for infection research”
Prof Kalinke, there are major changes being made at TWINCORE at the moment. Why is that? In recent months, several research group leaders have taken up new positions at other research institutes. We are proud that our people have been so successful in the selection…
The Super Striker: How herpesviruses dribble out the immune system
If we imagine viruses and human immune cells as opposing soccer teams, we would observe a spectacular game: The viruses have barely gained possession of the ball and they are already storming down the field towards their goal. If the defence players and goalie of the…
Joining forces against resistant pathogens
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat with the currently available therapeutics becoming more and more obsolete due to AMR. In 2019, an estimated 1.27 million deaths were directly attributable to bacterial AMR, with an estimated 4.95 million…
Better safe than sorry – especially regarding infectious diseases
Mr. Pietschmann, what makes hepatitis C so dangerous? That the infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) often goes unnoticed. The virus is transmitted over blood, nowadays especially in the drug milieu, when people share needles. It causes a chronic infection that can…