Press Releases 2026 | DZD - Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung

A little girl with a teddy bear is hugged by her mother and sits on a treatment couch in a doctor's office. A woman in white takes blood from her arm.

Neuherberg

For ten years, the Fr1da study, coordinated by Helmholtz Munich, has been investigating whether early stages of type 1 diabetes in children can be detected in routine pediatric care. The latest evaluation shows that the screening program…

Five schematically colored mouse bodies in upright position against black background

Neuherberg

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich, the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich (LMU) and collaborating institutions have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) framework that maps disease-related changes throughout the entire mouse body at…

Man with gray hair and beard wearing a black sweater stands in front of a blurred background with large red letters 'DZD'.

Berlin / Dresden

Prof. Dr. Dr. Michele Solimena received the Paul Langerhans Medal, the highest award of the German Diabetes Society (DDG), on May 15, 2026. The prize recognizes his outstanding lifetime scientific achievements in the field of…

Diagram with a scale in the center and six speech bubbles describing myths and realities about weight cycling

Copenhagen / Tübingen

Weight loss followed by weight regain, commonly known as “yo‑yo dieting” or weight cycling, is often portrayed as harmful, even more damaging than remaining overweight. But a new comprehensive analysis published in ‘The Lancet…

Person wearing green gloves holding a test tube with pink liquid in a laboratory with microscope and multiple test tubes

Düsseldorf

Until now, research into type 2 diabetes has focused primarily on insulin: if the body’s cells become less responsive to the hormone produced in the pancreas, blood glucose levels rise over the long term. A recent study by the German…

Person wearing a white lab coat sitting in a laboratory next to a microscope.

Neuherberg

A team led by metabolism researcher Prof Timo D. Müller at Helmholtz Munich has developed a new approach for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes: a hybrid molecule uses the well-known GLP-1/GIP signalling pathway as a “door opener” and…

Two diagrams with pie charts, arrows, and symbols about a study on weight loss, beta-cell dysfunction, MASLD, and insulin resistance.

Tübingen

A healthy diet, weight loss, and increased physical activity can effectively prevent type 2 diabetes. However, not all individuals at elevated diabetes risk benefit equally from lifestyle interventions. People classified in Tübingen’s type…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and other partner institutions of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) have now identified a previously unknown function of the PICALM…

Neuherberg

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has announced the recipients of this year's National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Awards. Among this year’s awardees is DZD scientist Prof. Timo Müller, Director of the Institute for…

Child in striped top having blood sugar test on finger by healthcare professional wearing blue gloves

Neuherberg

EDENT1FI (“European action for the Diagnosis of Early Non-clinical Type 1 diabetes For disease Interception”), a research project led by Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler from Helmholtz Munich and Prof. Chantal Mathieu from the KU Leuven, has…

Grafic of a human with enlargement of the pancreatic cells.e

Düsseldorf

Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed based on blood values – but the actual changes take place in many organs, including the tissue of the pancreas, where insulin is produced. However, these changes are not visible to the human eye under a…

Infographic showing a plate depicted as a puzzle with the questions 'What?', 'When?', and 'How much?', alongside four graphs illustrating changes in amplitude, phase, period, and mesor, with explanatory text about nutrition's influence on gene expression.

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Whether we tend to eat carbohydrates or fats in the morning may help determine how our metabolism works. Prof. Olga Ramich from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin…

Infographic showing the relationship between BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², confirmed obesity, clinical and preclinical obesity, and increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease according to NHANES, EPIC-Potsdam, and TULIP study with percentages and stylized figures.

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

An international research group has examined how many people are affected by preclinical and clinical obesity and what health risks are associated with this. The team led by Prof. Matthias Schulze from the German Institute of Human…

Woman in a red tank top sits on a weight training machine and stretches one leg forward. She wears a cuff around her thigh to which a thin tube is attached.

Düsseldorf

Physical training is an important part of type 2 diabetes therapy and supports both blood glucose control and muscle energy metabolism. A new study by the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) shows that blood flow restriction training (BFRT)…

Four blood sample tubes with colored caps in a white rack on a white background

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Prediabetes is an extremely heterogeneous metabolic disorder. Scientists from several partner institutes of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD)* have now used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify epigenetic markers…

Word cloud with the terms: muscle mass, signaling molecules, cancer, cachexia, body wasting, liver, and therapy resistance

Neuherberg

Cachexia is a metabolic disorder that causes uncontrolled weight loss and muscle wasting in chronic diseases and cancer. A new study by Helmholtz Munich, in collaboration with the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences…

Drawing of an alarm clock on a red folded blanket in front of a window with yellow light, a table with a lamp, and a blood glucose meter.

Düsseldorf

Metabolic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in our society. This is not only due to a lack of exercise, but is also caused by staying up late, shift work, and artificial indoor light. The inner biological clock, the body’s…

Current Press Releases

Early Detection of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Is Broadly Feasible

AI Atlas Reveals Hidden Whole-Body-Damage Caused by Obesity

Michele Solimena Honored With the 2026 Paul Langerhans Medal of the DDG

Is “Yo‑Yo Dieting” Really Harmful? New Analysis Challenges Long‑Standing Assumptions About Weight Cycling

Not Just Insulin: Early Increases in Glucagon in Type 2 Diabetes are Linked to Fatty Liver Disease

One Molecule, Two Effects: A New Drug Concept to Treat Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

Not Everyone Benefits: Diabetes Risk Persists Despite Long-Term Weight Loss

New Protein Discovered as Key to Muscle Formation: PICALM Responds to Training and Fasting

Timo Müller Receives the ADA 2026 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award

100,000 Participants Screened for Early-Stage Type 1 Diabetes in the EDENT1FI Project

Explainable Artificial Intelligence Detects Type 2 Diabetes in Pancreatic Tissue

Nutrient Timing Influences Gene Activity in Adipose Tissue

New Study on Obesity Criteria Shows: Vast Majority of Affected Individuals are Classified as Clinically Obese

Special Strength Training with Lighter Weights Effectively Strengthens Muscle Health and Metabolism in Type 2 Diabetes

Prediabetes: Blood-Based Epigenetic Markers Enable More Precise Risk Assessment

Weight Loss in Cancer: Organs Respond to the Disease in a Coordinated Way

Natural Daylight Improves Metabolism