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Press Releases

Molecular Lego

07/20/2017
Usually, metal ions such as iron, cobalt, nickel or zinc and ligands spontaneously form colourful MEPE in solution. The team of Dirk Kurth has measured how quickly they assemble. (Photo & Graphic: team Kurth)

They can change colour, vary their spin or go from solid to liquid state: Certain polymers have fascinating properties. Researchers from the University of Würzburg have studied just how they do this.

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Distribution of endothelial cells (red) and neuronal cells (green) in the brain of adult mice. (Photo: team Gessler)

The blood-brain barrier is a unique mechanism to shield the brain. Scientists from the University of Würzburg have now uncovered details of how it evolves. This finding offers new chances for modification and regulation.

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The Wuerzburg Scientists: Giorgio Sangiovanni, Michael Karolak und Andreas Hausoel. (Photo: private)

Physicists from the University of Würzburg have discovered surprising properties of nickel. They could help unravel some mysteries about Earth's magnetic field.

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Kathrin Krause-Harder visiting a temple in China. (Photo: private)

Kathrin Krause-Harder studied political science at the University of Würzburg. She worked as an office manager in the Southeast Asia studio of public-service television broadcaster ZDF. Today she lives in Singapore and works as a freelance business coach.

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View of the bismuthene film through the scanning tunnelling microscope. The honeycomb structure of the material (blue) is visible, analogous to graphene. A conducting edge channel (white) forms at the edge of the insulating film (on the right).

It's ultra-thin, electrically conducting at the edge and highly insulating within – and all that at room temperature: Physicists from the University of Würzburg have developed a promising new material.

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The researchers studied three mason bee species (from left): the European orchard bee (Osmia cornuta), the red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) and Osmia brevicornis. (Photos: Mariela Schenk)

Global warming changes the flowering times of plants and the moment when bees hatch – sometimes with severe consequences for the bees. This was shown by a new study conducted by ecologists from the University of Würzburg.

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Scolding does not necessarily cause a change of behaviour as researchers at the Institute of Psychology of the University of Würzburg have found.

To goal of punishment usually is to stop undesirable behaviour. But in fact punishment may also have a facilitative to motivating effect as researchers at the Institute of Psychology of the University of Würzburg have found.

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Nurse bees are - contrary to forager bees - active 24/7. Their circadian clock simply continues at the protein level. (Photo: Gunnar Bartsch)

Circadian clocks control the day-night cycle of many living beings. But what do the pacemakers do in animals whose activities do not follow this pattern? Scientists from the University of Würzburg have now looked into this question.

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Snapshots of the bond of a giant vesicle on a plane model membrane. Dark pixels mark the points of contact between the membranes. They grow larger and more numerous over time. (Picture: Susanne Fenz)

Studies conducted by the Biocentre shed new light on cell-cell contacts: Physical effects play an important role in their generation and stability.

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PTTH neurons (green) connect the circadian clock (magenta) of the brain with the peripheral clock in the prothoracic gland. (Foto: AG Wegener)

Multiple biological clocks control the daily rhythms of physiology and behavior in animals and humans. Whether and how these clocks are connected with each other is still a largely open question. A new study now shows that a central clock governs the circadian rhythms in certain cases.

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An electron microscope image of a so-called micropillar with an integrated quantum dot that is capable of emitting single photons. The pillars, which are a hundred times thinner than a hair, are made at the University of Würzburg.

Physicists from the University of Würzburg are capable of generating identical looking single light particles at the push of a button. Two new studies now demonstrate the potential this method holds.

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