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A new addition to the CRISPR toolbox: Teaching the gene scissors to detect RNA
Bacteria have developed special defense mechanisms to protect themselves against viruses, which by no means infect only humans. As part of these so-called CRISPR-Cas systems, a CRISPR ribonucleic acid (crRNA), which serves as a “guide RNA,” recognizes regions of a…
Antibiotics of the future?
The collection of myxobacteria at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has proven time and again to be a real treasure trove. The soil bacteria, which were initially regarded as not cultivable, have been grown and researched on a large scale since the 1970s…
Dirk Heinz: "The great strengths of the HZI are its solidarity and team spirit"
Professor Heinz, how do you remember the beginning of the pandemic? I remember the last major face-to-face meeting in mid-March 2020 in Berlin very well: a kick-off meeting for the foundation of our new Helmholtz Institute in Greifswald. Even then, everything revolved…
Shining a spotlight on the cellular mechanism
Um die Auswirkungen einer Infektion auf den Zellstoffwechsel sichtbar zu machen, vergleicht er gesunde und infizierte Zellen in Hinblick auf die in ihnen vorhandene RNA (englisch: Ribonucleic Acid). RNA dient in der Zelle als Vorlage für die Herstellung von Proteinen…
New viruses, new challenges
Virus particles are tiny – 20 to 300 nanometres in diameter and thus about 1000 times smaller than a human cell. They consist of little more than their genetic material and a protective protein shell. They even save their own metabolism and use their host’s instead.…
A Biologist with Nano Vision
His post-doctoral work took Christian Sieben to Switzerland. With a scholarship and his own project in hand, he moved to the physics department of the EPFL in Lausanne. There, Sieben remained true to virus research, but also worked on projects with a technical focus:…
“The Corona vaccines were meant to protect against severe disease. And that is what they do”
The mRNA vaccines are currently considered the gold standard among Corona vaccines. Since the beginning of the year, a protein vaccine has been in use, which some people who were sceptical about mRNA technology have been waiting for. How does it work, and how should it…
Soil Bacteria - A Microbial Treasure Chest
In the summer of 2017, Dr Ronald Garcia and Dr Daniel Krug, microbiologist and chemist at the HIPS in Saarbrücken, respectively, discussed how the upcoming Open House Day could be enriched by a hands-on activity. The idea that finally emerged was actually quite simple:…
One Health - Triad of Environmental, Animal and Human Health
Infectious diseases have always posed a threat to human health. But perhaps never more than today? “That is a difficult question to answer. But there is a whole range of risk factors that favour infections with previously unknown pathogens and make them more likely to…
