News

All current DZIF news can be found here.

The image shows a highly magnified electron micrograph of several oval, slightly rough Escherichia coli bacterial cells. The colour of the image is a reddish tone. The background is dark and highlights the bacteria.

Chemical trick activates antibiotic directly at the pathogen

Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic that is usually only used for severe infections with resistant bacteria. This is due to its severe kidney-damaging side effects, which occur in around 30 percent

Vaccine against the MERS coronavirus tested as safe and effective in phase Ib clinical trial

The MERS coronavirus—MERS stands for “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome”—causes severe respiratory diseases with a high mortality rate. To date, there is neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment. The

Scientists sound the alarm over lack of antibiotics

According to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the ten greatest threats to global health. In the EU alone, around 35,000 people die every year from antibiotic-resistant infections. The

Illustration of the intestinal epithelium with bacteria

Microbiome research: Small RNA molecules play crucial role in the microbial colonisation of the gut

The intestinal microbiome is currently the subject of intensive research, as it is of great importance for human health. Intestinal bacteria play an essential role in the defence against dangerous

Close up view of the injection of a vaccine through a syringe into the arm of a person wearing a mask.

New vector vaccine against COVID-19 provides long-term protection

The protective effect of established COVID-19 vaccines is initially very robust, but wanes relatively quickly. This limitation imposes a need for periodic booster shots, which drives vaccine

Blood-sucking mosquito whose proboscis has pierced the skin, with a red-coloured abdomen.

Very slow developing malaria pathogens could be suitable as a vaccine

Scientists from the Heidelberg Medical Faculty at Heidelberg University, the Centre for Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg University Hospital and the German Center for Infection Research have

Scanning electron micrograph of a human macrophage in black and white

Reckoned without the host: The transmission of tuberculosis depends on more than just the pathogen

Different groups of TB bacteria exist worldwide with different regional distribution: some are generalists and can be found on many continents, while others are very limited in their spread. An

Several mustard-coloured, spherical bacteria in the middle of much smaller blue-coloured blood cells.

Phage lysin compound HY-133: Start of clinical phase I “first-in-human” study to eliminate Staphylococcus aureus in the nasal microbiome

The novel active agent HY-133, which was developed by HYpharm and prepared for clinical trials in collaboration with the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and universities in Tübingen

Four schematically depicted people in purple, blue, yellow and pink outerwear against a green background with a grey-shaded group of people.

World Hepatitis Day: a call for increased international commitment in the fight against hepatitis

The motto of this year's World Hepatitis Day, proclaimed annually on 28 July by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is “It's time to act". Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by

Prof. Percy Knolle and first author Dr Miriam Bosch in front of a fluorescence microscope in the lab

Hepatitis B: Liver cells switch off the immune response

In chronic hepatitis B, the liver contains immune cells that could destroy hepatitis B virus-infected cells but are inactive. An international team led by Percy Knolle and Ulrike Protzer at the