Multimorbidity—when several chronic diseases occur at the same time—has become a growing barrier to effective healthcare. 

In 2024, Germany recorded the highest number of whooping cough cases since reporting became mandatory in the year 2013. With almost 122 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, infants under one year of age were the most affected age bracket, while experts are expecting similarly high case numbers for 2025. Protection against this highly contagious disease in the first months of life is provided by vaccinating expectant mothers against the pertussis pathogen - the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. As researchers led by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Radboud University have now shown for the first time, maternal antibodies are not only found in the blood, but also in the nasal mucosa of newborns. The international study has been published in The Lancet Microbe.

Potentially more than 90% of Alzheimer’s disease cases would not occur without the contribution of a single gene (APOE), according to a new analysis led by University College London (UCL) researchers.

IOB researchers, in collaboration with a team from Radboud University Medical Center and partners from more than 100 institutions worldwide, identify new genetic cause of inherited blindness. The study team discovers RNA mutations that explain previously undiagnosed cases of retinitis pigmentosa, opening new diagnostic pathways for thousands of patients.

Drugs that act against bacteria are mainly assessed based on how well they inhibit bacterial growth under laboratory conditions. A critical factor, however, is whether the active substances actually kill the pathogens in the body. Researchers at the University of Basel have presented a new method for measuring how effectively antibiotics kill bacteria.