Press Releases

Würzburg zoologists describe a remarkable partnership in the scientific journal "Biology Letters": Tropical bats interact with carnivorous pitcher plants – for mutual benefit.

The news caused great excitement in the laboratories of chemist Holger Braunschweig and physicist Laurens Molenkamp: The two professors of the University of Würzburg have each been awarded 2.5 million euros in funds for their respective research by the European Research Council.

Plastics-based electronics are becoming more and more prevalent in everyday life. Yet, the fundamental processes behind them have only partly been understood to date. Now, physicists from the University of Würzburg have succeeded in taking an important step towards understanding the complex properties of these components.

In the future, tiny antennas made of metal with the ability to capture the sunlight might lead to a more efficient photovoltaic power generation. Physicists of the University of Würzburg have now produced such antennas from gold – with a previously unheard of precision.

Three-dimensional scaffolds on which cells can reside and grow into tissue or organs are in great demand in regenerative medicine. For the purpose of building such structures, materials scientists of the University of Würzburg have successfully developed new fibers with special characteristics.

About 40 years ago, scientists recognized the importance of its existence. Now, for the first time, physicists have managed to provide experimental evidence of a so-called "vortex-antivortex pair". The required material was supplied by the nano experts of the University of Würzburg.

Plans to set up a Graduate School of Law, Economics and Society (GSLES) were first conceived three years ago. These came to fruition last week with the official opening of the Graduate School. Doctoral students from three of the University of Würzburg’s faculties will receive mentoring there while they work toward their doctorates.

Good news for kidney patients: Blood lipid lowering drug treatment reduces the risk of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases in these patients as well. This is the result of a clinical trial, involving almost 10,000 patients.

Even pathogenic bacteria can suffer from stress – when they are attacked by the immune system of their host, for instance. How salmonella bacteria react to such stress conditions is described by Würzburg infection biologists in the scientific journal PNAS.

Bacteria that are resistant to antibodies pose a threat, particularly to people who are sick or feeble. In the search for new drugs, scientists from the University of Würzburg have made a breakthrough.

Stiff person syndrome: this is the name given to a rare disorder of the central nervous system whose causes still puzzle scientists. A research team from the Department of Neurology at the University of Würzburg (Germany) has now made a new discovery about this disease.

Plants play an important role as producers of sugar and carbohydrates. Scientists from the University of Würzburg are conducting research in this area – with the long-term goal of influencing sugar levels in agricultural crop plants.

Scientists at the Biocenter and from the Institute of Pharmacology at the University of Würzburg have discovered a gene in a species of fish that triggers puberty. People also carry this gene in their genetic make-up. In humans, it has been associated to date with regulating appetite and body weight.

What happens at the molecular level when a normal body cell is transformed into a tumor cell? Scientists at the Biocenter of the University of Würzburg have now managed to clarify this complex process in some new detail.

He is Spanish and has made the decision to conduct his research at the University of Würzburg over the next five years. Gustavo Fernández Huertas is going to develop intelligent materials at the Institute for Organic Chemistry. His project is funded by the Humboldt Foundation with a sizable amount of money.