The German science ministry is providing €40 million (US$ 62 million) to set up a research centre in Bonn to study neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. A further €20 million will be distributed to six partner organizations in locations such as Munich and Tübingen.

Some 300 staff are expected to work at the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases. A detailed research programme will be agreed in the next few months.

The new centre will come under the umbrella of the Helmholtz Association, which runs 15 national research institutes. It will be the first new Helmholtz centre to be founded since the country's reunification in 1990.