Bettina

Prof. Galardini finds causes for bloodstream infections in the genes of bacteria. This will enable better diagnostics and vaccinations in the future. Escherichia coli bacteria live in the intestines of humans and play an important role there for normal intestinal function as well as for a functioning immune system. These intestinal inhabitants do not form a uniform population, but consist of a large number of strains that differ greatly in their genome and also in their metabolism. Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but some can cause diarrhea or urinary tract infections and – if they enter the [...]

Bioinformatics is fascinating: It enables us to use computer-based methods to gain insights into biology and medicine – for example, to decode the human genome. In order to learn more about bioinformatics methods and working methods, 17 (post-) doctoral students and group leaders participated in the first "RESIST Bioinformatics Summer School" which aim to teach the analysis of bulk and single-cell Transcriptomics using the programming language R and the MHH High Performance Computing Cluster “Leine”. It took place for the first time, from July 17 to 21 at the MHH, and was funded by RESIST. The course leader was [...]

For his exceptional contributions to the scientific community, Prof. Dr. Rolf Müller received the prestigious Charles Thom Award from the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB). The award recognizes the remarkable scientific achievements of Prof. Müller, founding and scientific director of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and professor of pharmaceutical biotechnology at Saarland University. In addition, the award emphasizes the importance of original research in advancing industrial microbiology and biotechnology. The award is named after Charles Thom, a pioneer in industrial microbiology and mycology. With it, SIMB honors researchers for outstanding achievements in industrial microbiology [...]

Artificial intelligence in scientific research: developments, challenges, future Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming scientific research: AI systems like AlphaFold, RoseTTAFold, and ESMfold have revolutionized protein structure prediction. Now large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are democratizing scientific writing and coding. However, AI use might raise ethical concerns, including potential misuse and authorship issues. The use of AI in the life sciences recently got into public focus with neuronal networks such as AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold which are able to predict a protein's three-dimensional structure from its amino acid sequence, a longstanding challenge in molecular biology. They are now accelerating many [...]

Here it is - the summer RESIST newsletter! You are welcome to read an article about Artificial Intelligence in scientific research written by Prof. Bosse starting on page 1. On the next two pages you can see photos and articles about the RESIST Retreat and the meeting of three clusters of excellence, and on pages 4 and 5 we have prepared topics that are especially interesting for young scientists. We are particularly pleased to introduce you to dedicated female scientists from the MHH Institute of Virology who are committed to sustainable research and have come up with something special [...]

Commitment to sustainable scientific research Lights off, refrigerator closed, fume hood sash down - these are simple but very effective measures that can save a lot of energy in a laboratory. Many people are aware of this. And yet the issue of sustainability in research needs momentum so that laboratory work does not consume ten times as much energy and four times as much water as office work - as is currently the case. A nudge in the direction of sustainable research was given by Kristine Oevel of the Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMB), who gave a [...]

The "cell-sitting" list is something like a ticket for a vacation. Because when Dr. Daniela Paasch wants to take a vacation, she uses it to record exactly how her colleagues can preserve the life of the cells with which the postdoc is conducting research at the MHH Clinic for Pediatric Pneumology, Allergology and Neonatology. With these immune cells, or more precisely macrophages, Dr. Paasch is developing cell therapies against bacteria - as an alternative to antibiotics. She works in Prof. Lachmann's team. "We are testing how effectively different macrophages can fight bacteria, for example tuberculosis bacteria," she says. In doing [...]

Hepatitis D virus infection causes the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis disease. About ten to 20 million people worldwide are affected. There is currently no cure for the disease, and in the end the only treatment option is often a liver transplant. However, an international team led by Prof. Wedemeyer and Prof. Cornberg has now been able to prove in a multicentre phase 3 study with 150 participants that the active substance Bulevirtide prevents hepatitis D viruses (HDV) from entering the liver. "This means that the prerequisites for full approval of the drug have been fulfilled and [...]