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They are small, adaptable and dangerous: trypanosomes - seen here in the intestine of the tsetse fly.

Using a new approach, scientists are applying the techniques of physics to investigate the relationships between parasites and their hosts. The programme is led by the Würzburg cell biologist Markus Engstler.

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When two species of a natural Xiphophorus population in Mexico mate, their offspring frequently exhibit large black skin lesions that turned out to be melanoma.

Environmental pollution is responsible for matings between two fish species that usually don't mix. In their offspring, scientists have now identified genes relevant for the development of skin cancer.

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The distribution of the glutamate receptor mGluR4 and other proteins in the presynaptic membrane Left a high-resolution dSTORM image. On the right, the result obtained with conventional fluorescence microscopy – molecular details are not visible here.

"Distance keeping" is not exactly the motto of the glutamate receptors: Using high-resolution microscopy, it now was discovered that the receptors usually appear in small groups at the synapses and are in contact with other proteins.

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In expansion microscopy, the preparation is magnified more than four times. Here, a germ tube of Aspergillus fumigatus is shown before and after expansion; the scale corresponds to ten micrometers. The plasma membrane (turquoise) and the mitochondria (pink) were stained. (Picture: Ulrich Terpitz / University of Würzburg)

For the first time, the cells of fungi can also be analysed using a relatively simple microscopic method. Researchers from Würzburg and Cordoba present the innovation in the journal "Frontiers in Microbiology".

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The sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) (Photo: Andreas Hartl)

Sturgeons lived on earth already 300 million years ago and yet their external appearance seems to have undergone very little change. A team of researchers from Würzburg and Berlin has now succeeded in sequencing their genome.

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A lung tumor that expresses USP28 (left). On the right, however, tumors are shown in which USP28 has been "cut out" using the gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 – they are significantly smaller. The size bar is located on the left edge of the picture.

In squamous cell carcinoma, a protein ensures that unneeded proteins are no longer disposed of. A research team at the University of Würzburg has switched off this protein for the first time.

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Dr. Anna Stöckl at the JMU Biocentre. (Photo: Robert Emmerich)

How do insects see the world? This is what Dr. Anna Stöckl wants to know. Her research program has now been awarded a distinction: she has been accepted into the Young Academy of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

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Dwarf honeybee, giant honeybee and eastern honeybee (from left): researchers have studied the dance dialects of these three bee species.

Honeybees use their waggle dance to tell their conspecifics where to find food. Depending on the honeybee species, there are different dance dialects, as a German-Indian research team has shown.

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This fluorescence microscopy image shows Campylobacter jejuni bacteria (green) that have infected human cells (HeLa). The nuclei of host cells are stained in blue and the cytoskeleton (actin) in magenta, respectively.

Many bacterial pathogens develop resistance to antibiotics. In their search for new therapeutic strategies, Würzburg research groups employ modern digital technologies. The Free State of Bavaria provides millions for this purpose.

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Life in Dead Wood

02/10/2020
Sebastian Vogel, PhD student at the JMU’s Ecological Station, is taking dead wood samples for the genetic determination of fungi and bacteria.

Dead wood plays an important role for biodiversity in forests. The Ecological Station of the University of Würzburg and the Forest Enterprise Ebrach conduct a joint research project on this topic that has been recently granted with 500,000 euros.

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LARP7-Expression in der Keimbahn von Mäusen. Gezeigt ist eine Immunfärbung des Proteins (grün), die Zellkerne sind mit einem Farbstoff (DAPI) blau markiert.

Dwarfism and other developmental disorders are the consequences of a specific genetic defect. Researchers at the universities of Würzburg and Regensburg have now examined this gene in more detail.

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If metabolic networks of plants are modulated, they can bind significantly more carbon dioxide - and thus possibly slow down climate change.

New technologies are needed to combat climate change. Now bioinformatics specialists from Würzburg might have found a way of enabling plants to store more carbon dioxide.

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