Eine Kamera ist auf eine reflektierende Glasscheibe gerichtet.
© DZIF

News

All current DZIF news can be found here.

Electron microscopic image of several cells of the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. The spheric bacterial cells are coloured in yellow and shown in front of a dark background.
© HZI/Manfred Rohde

A bright spot for microbiological diagnostics

The detection of bacterial pathogens in clinical samples is an important prerequisite for successful antimicrobial treatment. A team from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the Helmholtz

Newborn baby wearing only a diaper lying face-down on the skin of a person
© Photo by drz on Unsplash

Exposure to antibiotics during birth by caesarean section may increase infants’ long-term health risks

Animal studies indicate that prenatal contact with antibiotics can affect the early development of intestinal flora and lead to serious long-term health problems in offspring. In a pilot study

Visualisation of luminous strands of DNA as well as of a ring that depicts the combined analysis of many different bacterial genomes.
© Leon Kokkoliadis, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Only three percent of potential bacterial drug sources known

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and the increasing difficulty in developing new drugs has contributed to global challenges in combating infectious diseases. An extensive bioinformatics

Samira Marx and Prof Gunther Hartmann
© Foto: David Fußhöller, Universität Bonn

New strategy to protect from severe COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 viruses can hide from recognition by the immune system when infecting cells, thereby delaying the onset of the immune response. Scientists around Prof Gunther Hartmann from the University

Helicobacter flagellum
© Christine Josenhans and Shin-Ichi Aizawa, LMU

Bacterial shackle: Motility-inhibiting active substances against the gastric germ Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori, one of the most widespread bacterial pathogens, is responsible for hundreds of thousands of cases of stomach ulcers and stomach cancer worldwide every year. Due to increasing

Tuberculosis patients
© Christoph Lange

Tuberculosis: Different types of immunity determine the course of the disease

An international research team has succeeded in characterising different immune responses of tuberculosis patients and identifying groups of patients who either showed a very low or a very strong

Louisa Ruhl und Christine Falk
© MHH/K.Kaiser

How a SARS-CoV-2 infection can become severe COVID-19

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 leaves some people almost unaffected, while others develop life-threatening COVID-19 symptoms. So far, we do not understand exactly why symptoms and disease severity

Blood culture bottles in incubator
© DZIF/scienceRELATION

Novel prediction model for mortality in blood stream infections developed

Bloodstream infections (BSI) are serious bacterial infections associated with high mortality. A research team developed the clinical BLOOMY* scores in order to identify risk factors and thus be able

Hepatitis C with antibody
© Timm Weber

Characterisation of broadly neutralising antibodies against the hepatitis C virus

Despite improved methods of treatment, an infection with the hepatitis C virus still leads to approximately 400,000 deaths worldwide each year. The development of a vaccine is urgently required, but

EBV-Viren in Zellen
© CDC/Dr. P. Feorino

Epstein-Barr virus: DZIF and Helmholtz Munich working on a vaccine

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been known for some time to play a part in a range of diseases. A current US study has now shown a close link between EBV and multiple sclerosis. DZIF scientists at