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Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major pathogen that can cause severe infections in various organs of the human body. The infection becomes particularly harmful when the bacteria agglomerate into biofilms: They do this not only to evade attacks of the immune system, but also to protect themselves from the effects of antibiotics. This results in chronic infections that are almost impossible to treat. Scientists from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), a joint branch of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Saarland University, developed a molecule, which binds specifically and irreversibly to a key bacterial protein in biofilms. By binding, this molecule blocks an important component of the biofilm and can also visualise the biofilm, when it is labelled with an appropriate dye. The scientists published their results in the international edition of Angewandte Chemie.

07.12.2017

HIPS

Interview

Silke Tannapfel has been the Administrative Director of the HZI since 01 October 2017. A lawyer with a focus on science management, she previously directed the division for extramural research support of the Bavarian State Ministry for Economy and Media, Energy and Technology in Munich. InFact spoke to her about her professional challenges and the first days at the HZI.

01.12.2017

HZI Campus

Thomas Ebensen administers a new vaccine in a mouse via the mucous membranes – in humans, this might be done with a nasal spray in the future

Story

Vaccination affords the best protection from many infectious diseases. Vaccines are usually administered with a syringe, but researchers are working on alternatives – like a nasal spray or a vaccination cream. These would not only avoid the unpleasant injection, but even increase the effectiveness. Vaccines usually contain killed or attenuated pathogens and are injected into the patient. This ensures that the entire vaccine truly ends up inside the body. Recognising the pathogens in the vaccine as dangerous foreign material, the immune system prepares itself for defence. The administration by injection with a syringe has its drawbacks as well: It is not the natural pathway of infection and the elicited immune response therefore does not always afford optimal protection from the pathogen. Vaccination also requires trained personnel that simply is not available everywhere and at all times, especially in less developed countries.

01.12.2017

HZI Campus

HIPS

News

Salmonellae are dangerous pathogens that enter the body via contaminated food and can cause severe infections. But these bacteria are also known to target tumours and to colonise them. Researchers are aiming to make use of this property for cancer therapy, but they are facing a dilemma: Salmonella infections are life-threatening. Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig now undertook a successful step towards the clinical application. They developed a Salmonella strain that induces only a harmless infection, but activates the immune system strongly enough to fight the tumours. Their results were published in the journal OncoImmunology.

23.10.2017

HZI Campus

News

On 6 October 2017 the "Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd" has been solemnly inaugurated by Lower-Saxony's Minister for Science and Culture, Gabriele Heinen-Kljajić, and Braunschweig's Mayor, Ulrich Markurth. The ceremony was attended by guests from science, industry and politics and has been a highlight in Braunschweig's anniversary year "10 years City of Science" and an important milestone in the development of "Research Region Braunschweig". The future campus partners include the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, the Technische Universität Braunschweig, the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM and the Biotechnologische Schülerlabor Braunschweig (BioS). The new joint umbrella brand "Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd" is to expand the regional and Germany-wide visibility of the modern Life Science campus, promote the networking of the partnering institutions and attract new cooperation partners and young talent. In addition, with the support of the city of Braunschweig, a new signposting concept has been implemented off-campus.

06.10.2017

HZI Campus

News

Microbes may be invisible to the eye, but they are ubiquitous. They are the influential forces behind the regulation of key processes in our environment, for example the carbon cycle. Many microorganisms are not yet known or cannot be maintained in culture. More information about the diversity of species is provided by modern molecular genetic methods, which nowadays allow the entirety of the genome of a habitat – the so-called metagenome – to be investigated. However, the complex analysis of this vast amount of data with a multitude of computer programmes still poses major problems for the researchers. For this reason, scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, the University of Vienna and the University of Bielefeld just started an initiative titled "CAMI – Critical Assessment of Metagenome Interpretation", that tests the tools of metagenome analysis and defines new standards and application options. The researchers published their results in the scientific journal Nature Methods.

04.10.2017

HZI Campus

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HZI in the media

could be reintroduced at any time. Epidemiologists at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) have now shown that many people do

23.10.2025

MSN.com

... eingeschleppt werden könnte. Epidemiolog:innen des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) haben nun gezeigt, dass ...

23.10.2025

innovations report

this development, a research team at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), in collaboration with the Swiss

22.10.2025

Phys.org

Malaria-Medikamentes ermöglichen könnte. Das HIPS ist ein Standort des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung in Zusammenarbeit mit ...

22.10.2025

Verband Deutscher Biologen e.V.

(Bild: DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c08354 / Hips / CC BY 4.0) Wissenschaftler am Hips entwickelten eine Plattform zur Produktion von Furanoliden, die effektiv gegen Bakterien und Krebszellen wirken können und vielversprechende Wirkstoffe darstellen.

21.10.2025

PROCESS

at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), in partnership with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI

20.10.2025

Bioengineer.org

their biological activity. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.

20.10.2025

Phys.org

... die Abteilung „Experimentelle Immunologie“ am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig, lehrt als Professor an ...

17.10.2025

Deutsches Ärzteblatt

Einrichtungen als nationale assoziierte Partner: das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung Braunschweig, die Universität Bayreuth, das

17.10.2025

AlphaGalileo

... diesem Ergebnis kommt ein Forschungsteam des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Zusammenarbeit mit der ...

14.10.2025

Deutsches Ärzteblatt

Individualisierte Infektionsmedizin, einer gemeinsamen Einrichtung des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung und der MHH. Bis zuletzt

13.10.2025

Springer

Ein Grippe-Test könnte in Zukunft womöglich sehr schnell gehen: einfach ein Kaugummi kauen. Ein deutsches ...

09.10.2025

Apotheken Umschau

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