Berlin, June 10, 2025 – The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) has been repeatedly the focus of corruption investigations and suspected cases for years. For Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU), this is an opportunity to finally clean house. Will she do it? Especially during the Corona pandemic, the ministry came under criticism for its procurement practices of protective masks and rapid tests. Recent developments show that the processing of these incidents is far from over. Mask affair: billions in losses and investigations The so-called mask affair, which began back in 2020, is at the center of the investigations. At that time, the BMG, under the leadership of Jens Spahn (CDU), concluded contracts with several suppliers to procure urgently needed FFP2 masks. As research by NDR, WDR, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, as well as a recent report, shows, contracts worth more than five billion euros were concluded. Numerous dealers are now suing the federal government in court because they delivered far beyond... 

A new study shows that the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 can spread from infected to uninfected cells and trigger an immune response that mistakenly targets healthy cells. The research identifies how this viral protein binds to cell surfaces and shows that enoxaparin, a common anticoagulant, can block this harmful interaction, suggesting a potential treatment approach. These findings shed light on the mechanisms behind severe COVID-19 complications and immune-mediated tissue damage. The study, published in Cell Reports, shows that the virus's nucleocapsid protein (NP), primarily known for its role in packaging viral RNA in infected cells, is transferred to adjacent, uninfected epithelial cells and binds to their surface. Once NP is present on these otherwise healthy cells, it is recognized by the immune system and attacked by anti-NP antibodies, which mistakenly mark the cells for destruction. This process activates the... 

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is establishing 13 new Collaborative Research Centres (SFBs) to further strengthen top-level research at German universities. This was decided by the responsible funding committee in Bonn. The new SFBs will be funded for an initial period of three years and nine months starting in October 2025 with a total of around 177 million euros. This includes a 22 percent program allowance for indirect project costs. Three of the new centres are SFB/Transregios (TRRs), in which several applicant universities are involved. The review of 24 continuation proposals has been postponed due to the Cluster of Excellence strategy; they will initially receive bridging funding and will be discussed at the committee's next meeting in November 2025. Collaborative Research Centres enable scientists to jointly pursue innovative, demanding, and long-term research projects, thereby supporting the further development of focal points and structures at the applicant universities. Starting in October 2025, a total of 262 SFBs will be funded by the...

Increased activity in a specific biological pathway may explain why many patients with a deadly form of skin cancer do not respond to the latest cancer treatments, a new study shows. Publishing in the journal Cancer Research online June 10, the study featured data generated from experiments with human tissues and cells from patients with advanced melanoma that were implanted into mice. Results uncovered therapeutic targets that could limit melanoma growth in patients whose cancer failed to respond to initial treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center, the study focused on a subgroup of melanoma patients with mutations in the neurofibromin 1 (NF1) gene. NF1 mutations — random changes in the molecular „letters“ that make up this gene’s DNA code — are just one type among several mutations, including those…