Press Releases

In the process of developing language, the melody patterns that emerge in infants' vocalisations are a very important first step. A new study has shown that the complexity of these patterns rapidly increases in the first months.

Optogenetics can be used to activate and study cells in a targeted manner using light. Scientists at the University of Würzburg have now succeeded in transferring this technique to plants.

With two commercially available inhibitors, the cell cycle of the cancer cells in the childhood tumour neuroblastoma can be disrupted at a key point causing tumour cell death.

Two-dimensional materials hold out hope for many technical applications. An international research team now has determined for the first time how strongly 2D materials vibrate when electronically excited with light.

Does the moon affect women's menstrual cycles? This question has been controversial for a long time. A new study by chronobiologists from Würzburg now suggest that such an influence does exist. It's complicated, though.

Climate change may challenge organismal responses through not only extreme cues. An uncommon combination of benign cues – warm and short days – can also trigger reactions such as misregulations of leaves.

The carnivorous Venus flytrap can generate magnetic fields that are almost as strong as those in humans. Researchers from Mainz and Würzburg have demonstrated this with a new, non-invasive measuring technique.

The Australian lungfish replaces the Mexican axolotl as holding the record for the "largest genome in the animal kingdom". Its genome shows the evolutionary innovations that made living on land possible.

How do tumours develop in the cervix? Many new details are now known about this question. This is also thanks to Dr. Cindrilla Chumduri from the Biocentre at the University of Würzburg.

What are citizens' attitudes towards the state? How does this influence their willingness to pay taxes? An interdisciplinary research team, funded with 1.5 million euros, is investigating these questions.

The drug Remdesivir only weakly inhibits the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Research groups from Göttingen and Würzburg have discovered why this is so.

Scientists from Würzburg and the US have charted the first global atlas of direct interactions between SARS-CoV-2 RNA and human host cells. This may provide a starting point for novel treatments.

Only one small protein needs to be missing and salmonellae are no longer infectious. This was discovered in a study in which the pathogens were re-analysed using bioinformatics.

The display of a smartphone reacts to finger pressure. The carnivorous Venus flytrap, on the other hand, even notices when a lightweight like a fly lands on it. Special genes make this possible.

In many species all over the animal kingdom, males have eye-catching characteristics. Although often impractical, they are beneficial in finding a mate. Scientists have now mapped the genetic bases of such a male ornament in a fish.