Our researchers are fighting the coronavirus pandemic with innovative approaches. With your donation you can support them in developing drugs and vaccines against the virus or in deciphering the mechanisms of disease development and progression. Here you can find out all about donation opportunities.
Here you can find out more about the scientific results of the HZI in the research topics ”Bacterial and Viral Pathogens”, “Immune Response and Interventions” and “Anti-Infectives”.
Around 900 employees in research, administration and infrastructure, and about 220 visiting scientists from 40 different countries are employed at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research. To ensure top quality research we need top quality employees. Your creativity and innovative capabilities are the basis for the long-term success of our work. That's why we undertake a great deal to attract the best people to us. Learn more about this.
The coronaviruses are a family of viruses that includes a series of very different pathogens. These viruses usually infect mammals, rodents, and birds, but only few coronaviruses adapted to humans. They did this with great success: About one third of all typical "common colds" and some cases of diarrhoea as well are caused by these RNA Viruses, which are the largest of their kind. We have compiled more information about the coronaviruses for you.
With the pathogen SARS-CoV-2, a novel virus that can cause respiratory diseases and pneumonia has been spreading worldwide since the end of 2019. Here we will keep you informed about current developments in research and provide answers to the most important questions.
HomePressVideos & PodcastsVideos
Results 1 to 9 of total 51
2021-04-27
Most conventional molecular diagnostics usually detect only a single disease-related biomarker. Great examples are the PCR tests currently used to diagnose COVID-19 by detecting a specific sequence from SARS-CoV-2. Such so-called singleplex methods provide reliable results because they are "calibrated" to a single biomarker. However, determining whether a patient is infected with a…
2021-04-08
How long and how well does the human immune system remember an encounter with SARS-CoV-2 or an encounter with at least fragments of the virus, as is the case with vaccination? One year? Two years? And during that time, how well is one still protected from infection with the coronavirus? These questions cannot yet be answered conclusively because SARS-CoV-2 has only been known for a…
While the first vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have now been approved in Europe and other countries, drugs for specific and efficient treatment of COVID-19 have as yet only limited availability – but are urgently needed. Because of the typical long drug development timelines, the approach of iCAIR® researchers is based on drug repurposing – the use of drugs that have already been…
2021-04-06
Viruses are small particles - about 1000x smaller than human cells - that exploit their host's metabolism to replicate. There are many thousands of viruses circulating in the animal world that could spread to humans. SARS-CoV-2 has shown how quickly new viruses can spread worldwide. However, viruses also have to meet some requirements to be able to replicate in a new host. In the…
2021-03-24
The department Microbial Natural Products at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), a joint site of Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) with Saarland University, is exploring soil bacteria for new active substances to solve these problems. The annual World Tuberculosis Day on March 24 commemorates the discovery of the pathogen Mycobacterium…
