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Treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics often leads to side effects, as it affects not only the pathogens but also the “good” bacteria in the gut. A research team from Hannover Medical School (MHH), Saarland University Hospital (UKS), and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has now demonstrated that the natural compound argyrin B is highly effective against the pathogen Clostridioides difficile while largely sparing the beneficial gut microbiome. The researchers published their findings in the journal npj Antimicrobials and Resistance.

08.10.2026

HIPS

News

Why do the gut microbiomes of people from industrialized and non-industrialized regions differ? A study by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the University of Trento (Italy), and the University of Tübingen shows that diet alone does not explain these differences. In artificially assembled gut communities, the team examined numerous dietary components and demonstrated that plant-based dietary fiber shifted the balance in favor of the bacterium Segatella copri, which is particularly common in non-industrialized regions. However, the effect also depended on which other bacteria were present. The results were published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

06.10.2026

HZI Campus

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Asgard archaea, our closest known microbial relatives, play a key role in current models of the origin of more complex organisms, known as eukaryotes (all animals, plants, protists and fungi). However, their biology has so far been poorly understood. Microbiologists led by the University of Vienna in cooperation with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria demonstrate in a new study published in the journal Nature that these cells move through their environment in a surprisingly dynamic manner. These new findings enable the empirical testing of models for the origin of complex life for the first time.

02.10.2026

HZI Campus

AI generated visualization of a DNA double helix

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In acute, life-threatening infections, rapidly characterizing the microorganisms in a patient sample can help guide diagnosis and treatment. This is possible by using computational methods known as taxonomic profilers, which can analyze metagenome sequencing data generated from the genomic information of these microorganisms, and compare it with reference genomes of individual microorganisms. However, taxonomic profilers are a technology still under development and not yet in common use. Current methods can produce false-positive results or inaccurate abundance estimates. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have now developed a new taxonomic profiler called Metax. By using information about how sequencing reads are distributed across microbial reference genomes, Metax can distinguish true microbial signals from artifacts more reliably and improve both taxonomic identification and abundance estimation. The study has been published in the journal Cell.

28.09.2026

BRICS

Visual representation of corramycin binding to DNA gyrase

News

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 10 million people contract tuberculosis (TB) each year—one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Treatment is lengthy and typically involves a combination of several antibiotics over many months. Particularly problematic are drug-resistant strains, against which the antibiotics used are only partially effective. New active compounds capable of overcoming existing resistance are therefore urgently needed. An international team led by the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), the Institut Pasteur and Université Paris Cité has now demonstrated that the natural compound corramycin has a previously unknown effect against the tuberculosis pathogen and attacks it in a novel way. The researchers published their findings in the journal Advanced Science.

23.09.2026

HIPS

News

A single vaccination that provides protection for many years – so far, this has rarely been possible with vaccines against respiratory pathogens. Regular booster shots are often necessary. Dr. Henning Jacobsen and Casper Silvis from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) want to change that. As part of the ENDURIVAC project, they are developing a vaccine technology designed to provide long-lasting protection after just one dose. In this episode of the HZI podcast InFact, they explain how the technology works, why it is initially being used to develop a vaccine against RSV and whether booster shots could largely become unnecessary in the future.

23.09.2026

HZI Campus

CiiM

HZI in the media

Medical School (MHH), Saarland University Hospital (UKS) and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has now

08.10.2026

Medical Xpress

... Leiterin der Abteilung für Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig, Berit Lange, dem Deutschen ...

08.10.2026

Deutsches Ärzteblatt

... auch die Technische Universität und das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung ( HZI ) in Braunschweig beteiligen. „Dieses ...

08.10.2026

Deutsches Ärzteblatt

Berlin, Una Europa), Prof. Dr. Fabian Leendertz (Helmholtz – Institut One Health, Greifswald) und P. Cornelius ...

08.10.2026

Freie Universität Berlin

die Bundibugyo-Virusvariante entsteht. Forschende des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung hatten unlängst Hinweise gefunden , dass

07.10.2026

Medscape

... Lange, Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und Mitglied der Ständigen ...

07.10.2026

ZDFheute

... Lange, Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und Mitglied der Ständigen ...

07.10.2026

Der Tagesspiegel

in predictable ways. A new study from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig now shows that this picture is far

07.10.2026

Scienmag Science Magazine

... nicht isoliert wirken. Wie Forschende des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) gemeinsam mit Teams der Universität ...

06.10.2026

Ad Hoc News

Recent research conducted by the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with the European Molecular Biology

06.10.2026

Life Technology™

Technische Universität Braunschweig, das HZI – Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig sowie die Medizinische Hochschule ...

04.10.2026

schleswig-holstein.de

the Institute of Science and Technology Austria and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany. Their combined

04.10.2026

Scienmag Science Magazine

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