Press Releases, News - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

The radioactive heavy metal uranium is usually found in the soil in a mineral-bound form but can be converted into soluble forms by environmental influences or mining activities. If it enters the environment, this poses a problem due to its toxic properties. Now, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with Wismut GmbH and Spanish scientists from the University of Granada, have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound when they have access to glycerol as a food source.

For more than a decade, Manja Kubeil has been working closely with scientists at Monash University in Melbourne. Now, the Australian university has appointed the HZDR researcher as an Adjunct Associate Professor – a position equivalent to an associate professorship in Germany that encompasses both research and teaching responsibilities. In this interview, Prof. Kubeil discusses the significance of this appointment, new areas of research, and how this transcontinental collaboration is succeeding.

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).

Three researchers of the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have been appointed to prestigious positions at leading international universities, further strengthening long-term scientific collaboration and advancing joint research in artificial intelligence (AI), remote sensing, computer vision, and critical raw materials (CRM) exploration.

It is another success for the long-standing collaboration between the University of Delaware (USA) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR): In a competitive bid to gain access to the planned US supercomputer Discovery, the joint project PIConGPU is among the nine that got green-lighted in mid-June.

Since June 9, 2026, the COSMO Science Forum has been focusing on the theme of “Lichtlinien”. During the Long Night of Science on June 26 and through August 18, 2026, visitors can discover how visible light and invisible electromagnetic waves shape our everyday lives - and how research and technology harness them. Curated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the exhibition showcases current projects from the Dresden area and invites visitors to experience light from scientific, technological, and artistic perspectives.

A region in transformation – starting this week, a community-organized exhibition is highlighting an often-overlooked aspect of the region’s structural change: With the establishment, expansion, and strengthening of new and existing scientific institutions, Lusatia is evolving into a knowledge-based region. The exhibition “Hi!Lusatia – research provides new opportunities” showcases what has been achieved, what is planned, and the people driving this transformation.

The European Research Council (ERC) has today announced the winners of its latest Advanced Grant competition. The funding, worth €838 million, will go to 319 leading researchers across Europe. The Advanced Grants give senior researchers the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs. Among the awardees in the Physical Sciences and Engineering domain is Prof. Anton Wallner from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).

Am Freitag, 26. Juni 2026, findet die 23. Dresdner Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften statt. Von 17 Uhr bis Mitternacht öffnen in der ganzen Stadt Hochschulen, Forschungseinrichtungen und Unternehmen ihre Türen. Der Eintritt ist frei. Die diesjährige Wissenschaftsnacht steht unter dem Motto „Wo Neugier Wissen schafft“ und richtet sich an alle, die Wissenschaft interaktiv erleben möchten – unabhängig von Alter oder Vorwissen.

Researchers at European XFEL, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Rostock University and other collaborating institutions have used high-precision experiments to demonstrate that the most widely used models for the behaviour of electrons in warm dense matter are inaccurate.

Fusion research is widely regarded as one of the most promising prospects for a secure, climate-neutral, and sustainable energy supply. The German Federal Government has likewise identified fusion as a strategic priority within its High-Tech Agenda Germany. To significantly advance the scientific foundations of this future technology, the University of Rostock and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are combining their expertise in High Energy Density Physics (HEDP). On June 18, 2026, they officially launched the High Energy Density Initiative (HEDI) in the presence of the Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig; the Minister-President of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer; Michael Zimmermann from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR); and additional representatives from academia and industry.

Quantum computing is widely regarded as one of the most promising emerging technologies, with the potential to enable breakthrough innovations across science and industry. To accelerate the development of practical applications, the Helmholtz Association launched the “Quantum Use Challenge”, an initiative designed to bring together technology developers and domain scientists and to foster quantum-enabled solutions for real-world problems.

An international team of researchers from Dresden as well as from Sydney and Canberra, Australia, has detected rare radioactive isotopes in a deep-sea manganese crust, providing new insights into the formation of the heaviest elements in the universe. Their results show that the last major astrophysical event in the vicinity of our solar system that could have generated such elements happened at least 100 million years ago. Published in the journal Nature Astronomy (DOI:10.1038/s41550-026-02841-6), this international study was led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).

Was passiert in einer Zelle, wenn sie sich teilt? Warum verhält sich Licht manchmal wie eine Welle und manchmal wie ein Teilchen? Und wie sieht eigentlich der Arbeitstag im Forschungszentrum aus? Antworten auf diese und viele weitere Fragen gibt das Schülerlabor DeltaX am HZDR in diesem Sommer: Vom 6. Juli bis 18. August 2026 lädt der „Summer of Science“ Kinder und Jugendliche aller Schularten zu einem kostenfreien Ferienprogramm rund um Physik, Biologie, Technik und Forschung ein.

With the projects AIRE, INFUSE-X, and MLGREEN, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has successfully secured funding for three projects in the Helmholtz AI Project Call 2025. Each project will receive up to €250,000 from the Helmholtz Association’s Impulse and Networking Fund (INF).

Nach intensiven Planungs- und Bauphasen erreicht das Photovoltaik-Projekt am HZDR einen weiteren wichtigen Meilenstein: Die Anlagen auf dem Forschungscampus Dresden-Rossendorf werden schrittweise bis Frühsommer 2026 in Betrieb genommen.

Die Sicherstellung einer nachhaltigen Rohstoffversorgung stellt Deutschland vor wachsende Herausforderungen. Dies trifft insbesondere auf metallische Technologierohstoffe zu, deren Bedarf nur durch primäre, im Bergbau gewonnene Rohstoffe zu decken ist. Zur Förderung des heimischen Rohstoffabbaus mit ökologischer Ausrichtung hat die Bundesregierung die Fördermaßnahmen EGARoh und EGARoh_Junior aufgesetzt. Klares Ziel, die Versorgung mit kritischen Rohstoffen zu erhöhen. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) wird in fünf Projekten und drei Nachwuchsgruppen seinen Beitrag zur Erhöhung der Rohstoffsouveränität Deutschlands leisten. Die Bundesregierung fördert die Forschungsteams in den nächsten drei bis fünf Jahren mit knapp 20 Millionen Euro.

Magnetic field sensors are found in automobiles, smartphones and security systems. But many of these components are made of materials that are neither health- nor environment-friendly and are complex to produce. In Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-71077-9), an international team led by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has now presented a sustainable alternative: printed sensors composed of iron, iron oxide and bio-based materials like cellulose and starch.

Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have developed a new procedure, enabling them to speed up elaborate computer simulations that analyze matter under extreme conditions. In particular, this work improves the evaluation of experiments at large-scale research facilities like the European XFEL – and should facilitate substantial progress, among others, in fusion research and laboratory astrophysics.

How do gas bubbles behave in turbulent liquids? To answer this question – which is important, for example, for the design of industrial plants – scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have significantly refined and applied an experimental method. For this work, they were awarded the HZDR Research Prize on May 21, 2026. At the award ceremony, the research center also honored its employees in the categories of Technology, Transfer, Communication and PhD.

An international team of researchers, including scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, for the first time directly observed how angular momentum is transferred and conserved within a crystal lattice. Using intense terahertz laser pulses, the researchers were able to selectively control these processes, which unveiled a surprising effect: during the angular momentum transfer, the direction of rotation reverses – caused by the rotational symmetry of the material.

Our Solar System is currently passing through the Local Interstellar Cloud, a region of highly diluted gas and dust between the stars. On its path, Earth continuously accumulates iron-60, a rare radioactive isotope of iron produced in stellar explosions. This has now been confirmed by an international research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) through the analysis of Antarctic ice tens of thousands of years old.

Palladium ist ein un­verzichtbares Edelmetall für die Medizin. Doch seine Rückgewinnung aus Industrieabfällen ist bisher aufwendig und umweltbelastend. Die BMFTR-Forschungsgruppe Pep2Rec unter Leitung von Dr. Nora Schönberger vom HIF setzt daher auf winzige Eiweißketten, die das Metall wie eine biologische Angel aus Lösungen fischen. Im Wissenschaftspodcast detektor.fm erläutert sie das Verfahren.

Artem Govorukhin vom HZDR hat den Dresdner Regionalentscheid des Wettbewerbs für Wissenschaftskommunikation FameLab gewonnen. In seinem Beitrag erklärte der Doktorand den sogenannten FLASH-Effekt – eine vielversprechende Methode der Strahlentherapie zur Behandlung von Krebs. Neben dem ersten Platz sicherte er sich außerdem den Publikumspreis.

An international research team, including scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), has achieved a methodological breakthrough in the study of superhydrides, a promising class of superconductors.

The DeltaX Student Laboratory at the HZDR and the Israeli Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Foundation intend to work more closely together in the field of STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). During a visit by Israeli students, the Scientific Director at HZDR, Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt, and Foundation CEO Ronen Mir signed a corresponding Memorandum of Understanding on April 28, 2026.

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.

Am 9. Mai 2026 lädt das Helmholtz-Institut Freiberg für Ressourcentechnologie (HIF) gemeinsam mit dem Bergbaumuseum Altenberg zum Zukunftstag Rohstoffe ein. Die Veranstaltung findet von 10 bis 16 Uhr im und vor dem Bergbaumuseum statt. Unter dem Motto „Forschung entdecken – Zukunft gestalten“ sind Familien sowie interessierte Bürger*innen eingeladen, einen Blick in aktuelle Forschungsaktivitäten rund um das Thema Rohstoffe in unserer Region zu werfen und mit Expert*innen ins Gespräch zu kommen.

Three minutes, one stage, one topic: On May 6, 2026, the FameLab regional heat returns to Dresden, with participation from the HZDR. Early-career scientists present their research topics in an engaging and accessible way – without the use of slides or technical presentations.

The National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology – OncoRay is receiving around 1.1 million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space under the program “Nuclear Safety and Radiation Research” for the joint project MEDABIS-PRO.

This systemic perspective is especially important as cities transition to renewable energy sources, which can introduce variability into infrastructure systems. Water networks, for example, must remain reliable even as energy supply fluctuates. URBAN-LE seeks to ensure that drinking water remains safe, infrastructure adapts to climate stress, and environmental impacts are minimized.

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.

When laser flashes hit matter, electrons are knocked off their orbits around the atomic nuclei. This can generate extremely hot plasmas composed of charged particles – ions and electrons. As they report in the journal Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-71429-5), researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have now observed this ionization process in more detail than ever before.

Ein besonderer Anlass im Großen Hörsaal des HZDR: Mit einem Symposium wurde Prof. Manfred Helm, bisher Direktor am Institut für Ionenstrahlphysik und Materialforschung, am 20. März 2026 in den Ruhestand verabschiedet. Kolleg*innen aus dem In- und Ausland blickten auf gemeinsame wissenschaftliche Wegmarken in der Terahertz-Physik und der Forschung zu 2D-Materialien zurück. Im Anschluss an die Veranstaltung haben wir mit Manfred Helm über prägende Momente am HZDR und seine Pläne für die kommende Zeit gesprochen.

On September 9 and 10, 2026, HZDR will host the international scientific conference “Building Bridges”. This year’s conference will be held under the theme “Shaping the Future of Energy.” It will bring together stakeholders from science, industry, and politics to discuss key issues related to the energy transition. Experts have until April 15 to submit contributions for two program items: “Lightning Talks” and “Poster Session.”

Das HZDR und die Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden (HTWD) gehen einen neuen Weg der Zusammenarbeit. Beide Einrichtungen haben am 2. April 2026 ihre erste gemeinsame Berufungsvereinbarung unterzeichnet. Im Zentrum steht eine Professur für Großgeräteforschungstechnik an der Fakultät Elektrotechnik der HTWD. Die Professur ist zugleich mit der Leitung der Zentralabteilung Forschungstechnik am HZDR verbunden. Forschung und Anwendung rücken damit enger zusammen.

Der Vorstand des Helmholtz-Zentrums Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) und der Sächsische Kultusminister Conrad Clemens haben am Mittwoch, 1. April 2026, den HZDR-Lehrkräftepreis 2026 überreicht. Mit der Auszeichnung würdigt das Forschungszentrum Lehrkräfte aus ganz Sachsen für herausragende MINT-Bildungsarbeit. Den ersten Preis nahm Karsten Beuche vom Martin-Rinckart-Gymnasium Eilenburg entgegen. Er entwickelte mehrere digitale Lernplattformen und engagiert sich in außergewöhnlicher Weise für moderne naturwissenschaftliche Bildung innerhalb und außerhalb der Schule.

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.

Auf der diesjährigen Frühjahrstagung der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft (DPG) in Dresden wurde Dr. Martin Rehwald mit dem Nachwuchspreis des Arbeitskreises Beschleunigerphysik 2026 ausgezeichnet.

Die geplante Forschungsinfrastruktur Dresden Advanced Light Infrastructure (DALI) am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) hat eine zentrale Hürde genommen: In einer aktuellen Stellungnahme würdigt der Wissenschaftsrat das Vorhaben als strategisches Leuchtturmprojekt mit herausragender wissenschaftlicher und struktureller Bedeutung für Deutschland und Europa. Grundlage der Bewertung ist eine umfassende Evaluierung, die ein vom Wissenschaftsrat eingesetztes Expertengremium im November 2025 im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR) am HZDR durchgeführt hat. Auf dieser Basis spricht sich der Wissenschaftsrat nun dafür aus, DALI zeitnah umzusetzen.

Since March 24, 2026, the COSMO Science Forum has been focusing on the topic of “bacteria.” Until April 30, 2026, visitors can discover the invisible inhabitants that populate our world—tiny, fascinating, and full of surprises.

Extreme Magnetfelder, Robotik für die Rohstofferkundung und Radiopharmaka gegen Krebs: Am Donnerstag, dem 19. März 2026, besuchte der Präsident der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, Prof. Martin Keller, das Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Gemeinsam mit der Geschäftsführerin der Helmholtz-Geschäftsstelle, Dr. Sabine Helling-Moegen, machte er sich ein Bild von den Forschungsschwerpunkten, an denen HZDR-Forscher*innen in den Bereichen Materie, Energie und Gesundheit arbeiten.

HIF Scientist Dr. Richard Gloaguen Appointed Honorary Professor at TU Bergakademie Freiberg

Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) hat im Programm „InfraProNet“ des Freistaates Sachsen Fördermittel der Europäischen Union in Höhe von knapp fünf Mio. Euro eingeworben, um einen Ganzkörper-Positronen-Emissions-Tomographen (GK-PET) zu beschaffen. Dieses neue System gilt als Schlüsselinfrastruktur zur Weiterentwicklung der radiopharmazeutischen Krebsforschung am HZDR und stärkt zugleich die Translation neuer Entwicklungen in die klinische Anwendung am Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (UKDD). Neuartige Radiopharmaka sowie innovative, teils KI-gestützte Bildgebungskonzepte lassen sich dadurch schneller und präziser klinisch validieren und in die Versorgung von Patient*innen überführen.

At the Waste Management Symposium 2026 in Phoenix (Arizona, USA), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) guest scientist Jason Ross has been honored for his outstanding contributions to the German-French research project ActiDecorp. The project has an ambitious goal: to develop novel active substances that can efficiently remove radioactive actinides from the human body.

Metastatic prostate cancer is currently associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. In addition, patients respond very differently to standard treatments such as hormone therapy or radiation therapy. Reliable markers that can be used to predict aggressive tumor progression and treatment success at an early stage are still largely lacking. A research team led by Prof. Anna Dubrovska and Dr. Ielizaveta Gorodetska from OncoRay – National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology has now identified a biomarker that can be measured in the blood.

Photocatalysis promises an efficient conversion of abundant solar energy into usable chemical energy. Polyheptazine imides have some key structural and functional twists that make them especially interesting for photocatalysis. Now, the first systematic computational investigation of this material class confirms the high hopes placed in it.

In the cores of massive stars, the balance between carbon and oxygen is largely determined, providing the chemical foundation for life. Yet this crucial stage of stellar evolution, known as helium burning, remains insufficiently understood. To measure key nuclear reaction rates more precisely, the new junior research group HEARTS begins its work at HZDR on March 1, 2026. The Helmholtz Association is funding the project with 1,75 million euros over five years.

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) supports applied basic research that is helpful for the site selection of a deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste. Approximately 1.7 million euros have been allocated to the MALEK project. MALEK aims to develop a portfolio of methods to support the safety assessment of a nuclear waste repository. This includes developing methods that make it possible to model transport and reaction processes in crystalline host rock over a period of one million years.

Up to now, it has only been possible to deduce indirectly why high-temperature batteries lose efficiency and durability while in use. For the first time, a team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has now used so-called operando X-ray radiography to look directly into a sodium-zinc molten salt battery at approximately 600 degrees Celsius.

February 11 is celebrated worldwide as a day dedicated to women and girls in science. Since 2015, the United Nations has used this day to highlight their achievements – and to draw attention to the fact that women are still underrepresented in many scientific disciplines. In 2026, the HZDR will once again participate in this day of action and focus on women from within its own organization.

An international team of researchers from TU Dresden, Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics Halle, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and partner institutions across Europe has developed a breakthrough method for producing MXenes – an important family of two-dimensional materials – with unprecedented purity and control. The new “gas-liquid-solid” process enables the synthesis of pure MXenes with uniformly distributed halogen atoms on the surface and a precisely tunable surface composition.

For planning animal conservation measures, it is vital to know where endangered species live and how they interact. Ecologists are successfully using tracking technology to learn about the movements of individual animals. Yet, leveraging this knowledge to understand how entire populations change in space and time, including long-term persistence and survival chances in a given area, remains a long-standing open question in ecology.

With innovative approaches to cancer radiation therapy, metal recycling, and particularly energy-efficient AI computer chips, the winners of the HZDR Innovation Contest 2025 seek to contribute to a livable future. At the HZDR Transfer Day on January 27, 2026, they were honored for their imaginative works in the field of energy, health and matter.

For decades, families in communities around Johannesburg have been living close to huge gold mining waste dumps. For many residents the dust that is released there is just part of everyday life – but it can contain natural uranium compounds that come to the surface with the mined rock. A new study in the journal Environmental Geochemistry and Health (DOI: 10.1007/s10653-025-02874-2) reveals how this exposure is reflected in children’s hair.

Bereits zum dritten Mal schreibt das HZDR den Lehrkräftepreis aus. Er richtet sich an alle Lehrkräfte der MINT-Fächer (Mathe, Informatik, Naturwissenschaften, Technik) der weiterführenden Schularten in Sachsen. Ausgezeichnet werden Kolleg*innen, die durch ihren überdurchschnittlichen Einsatz jungen Menschen Zugänge zu Wissenschaft und Forschung ermöglichen und Begeisterung für diese Themen vermitteln. Nominierungen sind noch bis 20. Februar 2026 möglich.

IDEAS, a new graduate school of the Helmholtz Association, was launched in January 2026. It offers doctoral students an excellent, interdisciplinary education at the interface of data science and environmental, life, and health sciences. The aim is to prepare early-career researchers to analyze large and complex datasets and to develop data-based solutions to key societal challenges. The initiative is jointly led by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), in close collaboration with Leipzig University and TU Dresden.

Um sich über die Forschung am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) zu informieren, hat der Staatssekretär im Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR), Dr. Rolf-Dieter Jungk, am 22. Januar 2026 das Zentrum im Dresdner Osten besucht.

The CP2K open-source package is among the top three most widely used research software suites worldwide for simulating the behavior of atoms and molecules. Together with colleagues from Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Canada, HZDR's CASUS team has now summarized the current status in an overview article. It focuses on the practical application of CP2K and is directed at new users from theoretical chemistry, materials science and neighboring fields.

A research team at the HZDR has developed a radiopharmaceutical molecule marker that can visualize tumors that carry the cell surface protein Nectin-4. This primarily occurs in the body in cases of urothelial carcinoma, a common form of bladder cancer. In pre-clinical trials, the drug candidate, NECT-224, proved stable and was successfully used in humans for the first time. As the team has now reported in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, in the future, it could be used to better identify patients who would benefit from Nectin-4 -targeted therapies.

An international research team led by scientists from the University of Rostock, École Polytechnique in France, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf has discovered a previously unknown form of superionic water for the first time: The researchers have succeeded in experimentally discovering an exotic, highly electrically conductive phase at the European XFEL X-ray laser near Hamburg and the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC in the USA. It may occur inside ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune.

Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have uncovered previously unobserved oscillation states – so-called Floquet states – in tiny magnetic vortices. Unlike earlier experiments, which required energy-intensive laser pulses to create such states, the team in Dresden discovered that a subtle excitation with magnetic waves is sufficient.

A team of six researchers from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) has reached the first round of the current SPRIND Tech Metal Transformation Challenge. This secures the HIF team, which is part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), more than one million euros in funding from the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND) for the coming year. The young team will then test and further develop the proposed process for recovering technology metals from electronic waste in order to reach the next stage of the three-stage innovation competition if the evaluation is positive.

Am 1. Januar 2026 hat Dr. Heidrun Groß die Leitung der Personalabteilung am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) übernommen. Damit ist sie gemeinsam mit ihrem Team für alle Personalangelegenheiten der rund 1.500 Beschäftigten am HZDR einschließlich Personalentwicklungsplanung und Personalmanagement zuständig.