Deutsch
THE BIOCENTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WÜRZBURG

Archive

A specimen of Pabulatrix pabulatricula, which until recently was considered extinct.

An oak forest in Lower Franconia has caused a small sensation in zoology: A moth was discovered there that was considered extinct.

more
Resting Chlamydia (left; bright circles), which are held without glutamine. After the addition of glutamine (right) the bacteria enter the division stages (darker circles).

If chlamydiae want to multiply in a human cell, the first thing they need is a lot of glutamine. Würzburg researchers have clarified how the pathogenic bacteria obtain this substance.

more
Left two sperm-forming cells expanded with ExM-SIM and imaged with a diffraction limited microscope. On the right, a detailed 3D image of a single synaptonemal complex. The 3D information is colour-coded, the measuring bar on the left corresponds to 25 micrometres, the bar on the right to three micrometres.

New details are known about an important cell structure: For the first time, two Würzburg research groups have been able to map the synaptonemal complex three-dimensionally with a resolution of 20 to 30 nanometres.

more
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.

more
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.

more
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.

more
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".

more
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.

more
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.

more
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.

more
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.

more
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.

more