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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

News

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

Group photo with three men in front of a wall with colorful dots

Story

Tonsillitis, bacterial pneumonia or a middle ear infection? For decades, we could easily treat infections like these with antibiotics. However, as bacteria increasingly display resistance to antimicrobial drugs, this status is being threatened. To safeguard us against a future without antibiotics, researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) are exploring new treatment strategies. In the department “Chemical Biology” led by Prof. Mark Brönstrup, they are developing a pathoblocker that neutralizes a disease-causing toxin of Staphylococcus aureus without affecting bacterial growth. By disarming the pathogen instead of killing it, this approach could reduce the evolutionary pressure that drives the emergence of antibiotic resistance.

22.09.2026

HZI Campus

News

The ability of cells to move and change their positions is essential for various processes in our bodies. Immune cells move to sites of action, epithelial cells migrate during wound closure and neurons wire up their axons for signal transmission over long distances, while in metastasis, cancer cells employ their motile machineries to spread throughout our bodies. A team around Prof. Klemens Rottner heading the Research Group “Molecular Cell Biology” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has now shed new light on the central molecular interactions that accompany the formation of cytoskeletal networks at the forefront of migrating cells. Obtained insights pave the way for defining how such processes are changing in diseases and how they can potentially be modulated in the future. The results have just been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

21.09.2026

HZI Campus

HZI in the media

Mikrobiologen auch Kolleg*innen vom IST Austria und dem HZI in Braunschweig gehören: Inhibitoren von Aktin unterbinden diese dynamischen

01.10.2026

Science.apa.at

... der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover sowie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung tätig ist. Als Co-Autor ist zudem ...

30.09.2026

Ad Hoc News

also included Japanese microbiologists and collaborators from IST Austria and HZI Braunschweig (Germany), demonstrated that actin inhibitors

30.09.2026

Phys.org

for cell movement. Scientists from the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have provided evidence that Profilin

29.09.2026

TakeToNews

Biology (BRICS), a joint research center of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Technische Universität Braunschweig.

29.09.2026

Phys.org

... treffsicher .

Das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung:

Wissenschaftler:innen am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) ...

28.09.2026

DeutschesGesundheitsPortal

... Fluorchinolon-Resistenz aktiv

Forscher des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) um Dr. Jennifer Herrmann haben ...

27.09.2026

scinexx - Das Wissensmagazin

Die WHO nennt Antibiotikaresistenzen (AMR) eine der größten globalen Gesundheitsbedrohungen. Bereits heute töten resistente Keime jährlich mehr als eine Million Menschen direkt und tragen zu fast fünf Millionen Todesfällen bei. Tendenz: steigend. Für ein wirkungsvolles Dagegenha

25.09.2026

Sysmex

... die Resistenzen": HZI-Podcast InFact mit Mark Brönstrup

Quelle: Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI)

Biodiversität ...

25.09.2026

Analytik NEWS

Quelle: Pressemitteilung

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung

24.09.2026

LaborPraxis

Lange galt Dopamin als simples Glückshormon. Alena Buyx zeigt in ihrer Sendung, dass der Botenstoff ...

24.09.2026

3sat

Leibniz-Lungenzentrum. Das HIPS ist ein Standort des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung in Zusammenarbeit mit der Universität ...

23.09.2026

DeutschesGesundheitsPortal

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