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”.
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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.
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Results 19 to 27 of total 52
2021-07-02
“In our vision of the future, microbiology researchers will easily be able to translate existing research data into a deep understanding of microbial species and their molecular-level interactions,” says the consortium’s spokesman, Professor Konrad Förstner from ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences. The consortium’s spokeswoman, Professor Alice McHardy from the…
2021-06-16
Fabian Leendertz was previously head of the research group “Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms” at the Robert Koch Institute. As director of the HIOH, Leendertz will first dedicate himself to developing a research concept for the HIOH, which will be reviewed by an international panel in late autumn. At the same time, he will set up his research department in Greifswald…
2021-05-20
To deal with the Corona pandemic and its effects, we need scientific knowledge and solutions that go far beyond health research. The pandemic has revealed the stress limits of our critical infrastructures and dependencies on global supply chains. Helmholtz scientists have been researching the spread of the coronavirus and developing active substances and drugs against COVID-19…
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…
