News

Intestinal bacteria influence the growth of fungi

The number of infections with the fungus Candida auris is also increasing in Germany. This is shown in a new study by research teams from Würzburg, Jena and Berlin. Despite low numbers, scientists advise precautionary measures. Among the yeasts from the Candida genus that cause infections in humans,…

more…

Intestinal bacteria influence the growth of fungi

The bacteria present in the intestine provide information about the quantities of fungi of the potentially disease-causing Candida genus. Among them, and surprisingly, are lactic acid bacteria that are known for their protective effect against fungal infections. The findings of researchers at the Le…

more…

Fungal spores hijack lung cells

The pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus escapes elimination from surface cells of the human lung by binding to a human protein. In doing so, it is able to nest in so called phagosomes, confined areas in the lung cells, and thus prevents cell processes that would kill the fungus from being set in…

more…

“Too little money is invested in research on life-threatening fungal infections”

The WHO has published a list of the most important fungal pathogens for the first time at the end of 2022, thus highlighting the high importance of research on the topic of fungal infections. Leibniz-HKI director Axel Brakhage explains his assessment of the WHO list and classifies its importance for…

more…

Scientific image analysis for everyone

The software JIPipe was developed by scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) and significantly simplifies the analysis of images generated in research. Users can create flowcharts according to their application needs and thus perform autom…

more…

Tiny organisms, huge amounts of data

Gianni Panagiotou has been Professor of "Microbiome Dynamics" at Friedrich Schiller University Jena since the beginning of the year. With his research, he supports the consortium's project to understand microbiomes holistically and to identify patterns that determine the balance of micro…

more…

Holes in T cells

Certain T cells can secrete cytokines that are normally part of the innate immune system, as researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) and an international research team discovered. They have thus revealed several previously unknown prope…

more…

Understanding how bacterial colonisation antagonizes a pathogenic fungus: metabolites matter

Candida albicans is probably not the fastest or the strongest of our enemies. This fungus lives in all of us, in several parts of our bodies, mostly as a harmless commensal. However, when there are no defenders to be seen, C. albicans can seize the opportunity and become pathogenic, potentially posi…

more…

How do fungal infections spread in the human lung?

A chip-based infection model developed by Jena researchers enables live microscopic observation of damage to lung tissue caused by the invasive fungal infection aspergillosis. The team developed algorithms to track the spread of fungal hyphae as well as the response of immune cells. The development …

more…

Arts & Science: Genesis of an Artistic Fact

In summer 2021 scientists and artists come together for a unique exchange between the disciplines. The project “Entstehung einer künstlerischen Tatsache” (“Genesis of an Artistic Fact”) enables scientists to gain new perspectives on their work and artists to expand their artistic practice through sc…

more…