More effective vaccines against certain forms of pneumonia and meningitis could soon be available. A team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam has identified a synthetic carbohydrate that provides extremely effective protection for animal models – at least – against a particularly dangerous strain of pneumoccoci bacteria, which doctors refer to as serotype 1. Many people who are infected with this serotype, particularly in developing countries, develop meningitis. The synthetic vaccine is based on chemically produced carbohydrates. These are more effective and easier to process than the carbohydrates found in conventional vaccines, which are isolated from bacteria. Working in collaboration with Vaxxilon AG, a start-up whose founders include Max Planck scientists, the researchers are now developing the vaccine for marketing.