Deutsch Intern

Press Releases

Targeting Platelets

05/25/2018
Emerging platelets (white arrows) are buded off by their progenitor cells, the megakaryocytes. Here the cytoskeletal components tubulin (green) and actin (red) and the nucleus (blue) are colored. (Picture: Rudolf Virchow Center)

New Collaborative Research Centre for Würzburg and Tübingen: The aim is to decode the insufficiently understood functions of platelets. These blood cells are likely to be involved in many more diseases than previously thought.

more
Microscopic colour image showing cells with normal (green dots) and abnormal (yellow dots) stress granules. (Photo: Buchberger team)

When cells become stressed, they activate specific response patterns. Würzburg researchers have identified new details of these responses, which can help to get a better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.

more
The ground beetle Copper Greenclock (Poecilus cupreus). (photo: Fabian Bötzl)

A high abundance of flowering grasslands in agricultural landscapes is beneficial: These grasslands provide shelter for predatory beetles and spiders and help farmers control pests.

more

Ants do not always take the shortest route when they are in a hurry. Their navigational system occasionally makes them take detours to speed up their journey.

more

The effects of climate change are felt especially in the Alps. How capable are insects, which are important pollinators, of adjusting to this development? A new junior research group is looking into this question.

more
Teresa Deckert

Teresa Deckert studied Political and Social Studies at the University of Würzburg. Today she is promoting sustainable behaviour in Essen.

more
Artistic representation of several microtubules, gliding through the optical near field of a nanostructured gold surface.

Physicists from Dresden and Würzburg have developed a novel method for optical microscopy. Using biological motors and single quantum dots, they acquire ultra-high-resolution images.

more
Desert ants (Cataglyphis) at the nest entrance.

Desert ants use the Earth's magnetic field for orientation, a new study has found which was conducted by scientists of the University of Würzburg. This provides ants the cue to find their way back to the nest.

more
Processes in a leaf pore (stoma) of grasses. When the leaves open and close, a shuttle service takes ions to and fro between guard cells and subsidiary cells. (Picture: Dietmar Geiger)

Cereal is much more drought-tolerant than other plants. Researchers from Würzburg have now found out why that is so. Their insight could help breed crops that are more resistant to drought.

more
Frank Würthner

Würzburg chemist, Frank Würthner, has been awarded an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council worth EUR 2.5 million. He wants to use the money to push the conversion of solar energy to fuel.

more
Krischan Lehmann

A non-stop party occasionally interrupted by study: This is how Krischan Lehmann remembers his time at the University of Würzburg. Today, he is in charge of the digital section of multimedia company Condé Nast in Munich.

more
A honeybee on a cornflower

Scientists from the University of Würzburg have investigated the impact of a new pesticide on the honeybee. In high doses, it has a negative impact on the insects' taste and cognition ability.

more
Salvage logging in the Bavarian Forest National Park

An increasing proportion of the world's protected forests are subject to extensive logging activities. The practice is called "salvage logging" and allegedly aims to protect e.g. areas of windthrow against bark beetle infestation. However, a Würzburg study has found that this instrument is used far too often.

more
Plants whose direction of growth is switched from vertical to horizontal

The hormone auxin is a key regulator of plant growth and development. But how it sets these processes in motion has been unclear. Scientists from the University of Würzburg have now uncovered central details.

more