Highlights - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Prof. Ágnes Tóth-Petróczy has joined the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at HZDR as a research group leader in June 2026. With that, she has been appointed as Professor of Systems Biology of Protein Evolution at TUD Dresden University of Technology. The professorship is based at the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), which is part of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB) at TUD. Tóth-Petróczy is jointly appointed by TUD and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).

Many software developers use large language models (LLMs) in their daily work to get the code they need. While LLMs are useful, the ability to run the generated code, edit files and use additional software can enhance productivity even more. These tools, called agentic coding assistants or artificial intelligence (AI) agents, do exist. However, they have limitations, particularly in terms of safety and security, which hinder their widespread adoption in academia or among small and medium-sized enterprises. Now, CASUS presents the open-source framework Terok.

Since April, Franziska Lederer has been a professor at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU), where she is strengthening a forward-looking field of research with her newly established professorship in “Biomolecular Resource Security”. The biologist, who holds a Ph.D., has been conducting research for more than 15 years at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) on innovative processes for the circular economy aimed at recovering critical raw materials with the help of biomolecules. She now not only passes on her knowledge to students but also aims to expand it together with them.

In dryland ecosystems, increased environmental stress often triggers a change from a uniform vegetation cover to patchy vegetation patterns. Some theoretical studies suggest that this spatial self-organization of vegetation helps ecosystems delay desertification or even avoid it altogether. Using a new theoretical framework that takes account of previously neglected but for capturing reality highly relevant parameters, Dr. David Pinto-Ramos and Dr. Ricardo Martinez-Garcia from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) demonstrate that this is not the case in general.