Press Archive
02.06.08
Six Nobel Prize Winners at International Congress of Genetics
Congress Chairman Balling: Olympic Games of Science in Germany
For the first time in 81 years the International Congress of Genetics takes place in Germany again. From July 12th through 17th 2008, six Nobel Prize winners get together with more than 2000 scientists in Berlin to discuss the latest findings in genetics and genome analysis. The congress, which takes place for the 20th time, was last hosted by Germany in 1927, the venue also being Berlin....
20.05.08
Scientific accolade for HZI scientist
Kenneth Timmis awarded UK's highest scientific honor
The microbiologist Prof. Ken Timmis, Head of the Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research has just been awarded the highest scientific accolade in Britain. He has just been elected Fellow of the Royal Society, Britain's most venerable scientific and philosophical academy. Timmis is distinguished for his early contributions to understanding plasmid...
13.02.08
Metabolism, Maths, Medicine: If Bacteria Were Calculable
For the first time, researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have produced a comprehensive model of the metabolic processes of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. With this, the basis is created for the development of possible new therapy concepts to counteract this infectious germ. The work of the Braunschweig-based researchers also provides an indication of the...
28.01.08
Tracking Down the AIDS Pathogen
International Aids Researchers to meet at HZI
Noted international experts will be gathering at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) on January 31, 2008, to discuss the current state of AIDS research. In addition to scientists from Germany and Europe, experts from Israel and the United States will be explaining what makes the HI-virus (HIV) so special, what therapies for HIV infection exist and what progress is being made toward...
09.01.08
Molecular Attachments Determine Mortality of Cancer Cells
Researchers in the USA and Braunschweig show how these substances work
A highly promising molecular constellation, discovered in the field of pharmaceutical cancer research, is now better understood in terms of its efficacy, thanks to years of laboratory testing. Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have determined the biological activity of the tubulysin molecule. Tubulysin is one of the most powerful cell division...
19.11.07
HZI Molecule Transformed into a Cancer Medicine in the United States
Balling: Colossal Success for Biomedical Research in Germany
The pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) recently obtained approval in the American market for IXEMPRA, a semi-synthetic analog of epothilone B, for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer resistant or refractory to anthracyclines, taxanes, and capecitabine. The epothilones were originally discovered and researched by scientists at the Helmholtz Center for...
30.10.07
A new Knowledge Website for Infection Research
„infection-research.de“ covers the latest research developments
From antibiotic resistance to zoonotic diseases, from the developing to the developed world, infectious disease remains a profound health threat. Stay abreast of the latest research in infection at the new knowledge website „Infection Research-News and Perspectives“ (www.infection-research.de) Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), in Braunschweig, Germany, created the...
23.10.07
Infektion und Wirtschaft – ein Thema mit vielen Forschungsoptionen
Ergebnisse des Braunschweiger Kompetenztages
„Wir Wissenschaftler wollen über den Tellerrand schauen und unsere Zusammenarbeit mit der Wirtschaft verstärken. Nur so können wir die Probleme, die uns Infektionen in Zukunft noch bereiten werden, im Griff behalten.“ Dieses Fazit hat Prof. Rudi Balling, wissenschaftlicher Direktor am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), zum Abschluss des Braunschweiger Kompetenztags „Infektion und...
07.08.07
Dumping Useless Genes
Helmholtz researchers develop programmable mini-bacteria
Bacteria are genetically equipped with tremendous variability. As a result, these microorganisms are extremely flexible in their responses to the surrounding environment. From the standpoint of biotechnology, many bacterial genes are useful, while others are not. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig have now launched a project to reduce the bacterial genome...
01.06.07
Why Mice Succumb to Human Diseases
Evolution in the Lab: Researchers of the Helmholtz-Association reveal how Pathogens adapt to new Victims
The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is able to infect humans causing diarrhea, meningitis, still birth or miscarriage. Mice, by contrast, are largely immune. This difference may be traced to the bacterial protein Internalin (or InlA), a molecular key that provides the bacterium with a route of access to cells lining the small intestine. In mice this mechanism is disabled, so that bacteria are...
