Press Releases

With diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cells of the immune system attack nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Scientists from the University of Würzburg have now managed to observe and describe this attack in detail.

Strokes are less damaging if certain immune cells are absent in the blood. This previously unknown mechanism will be presented by researchers from the University of Würzburg in the science journal “Blood”.

When a patient has lost his ability to communicate with his environment, is it possible that he might have retained some level of consciousness? And which technique could assist him in expressing his requests or thoughts? These questions are to be tackled by a new research network coordinated by psychologist Andrea Kübler.

If it were not for proton pumps in plants, there would be no acid in wine. These pumps are important generally for plant vitality, as researchers from Würzburg and Heidelberg report in the renowned journal “Proceedings” of the Academy of Sciences in the USA.

Award for biophysicist Rainer Hedrich from the University of Würzburg: the European Research Council has given him a grant of 2.5 million euros for his work. Hedrich intends to use this money to acquire new knowledge about carnivorous plants.

Researchers have found a possible approach for a new therapy of a malignant tumor of the immune system. They present their research in the scientific journal Nature.

Independent whether we consider grapevines in the vineyard or tomatoes in the greenhouse: how well plants are being supplied with water can be viewed by an innovative magnetic probe that is simply clamped to the leaves. This novel technology promises water savings and reduced soil salination.

Less rainfall, higher temperatures: plants are also suffering the effects of climate change. How, despite this, they survive longer periods of drought is the subject of research by Rainer Hedrich, a biologist at the University of Würzburg.

Würzburg physicists are global leaders in the creation of sophisticated nanostructures. The fruits of their research could make tap-proof data transmission a possibility in the future.

In life and natural sciences, the University of Würzburg is one of the top 100 institutes of higher education in the world. In chemistry, it even sits proudly in 37th place. This is the result of a current ranking of the world’s leading universities.

Ants subjected to cool temperatures during their pupal stage differ in tending the brood when compared with fellow workers more generously provided with warmth. It is not only the genes, but also the conditions experienced during individual development that account for flexible behavior.

Würzburg researchers have identified a protein that is partly responsible for the death of nerve cells in the brain during a stroke. This will open up new possibilities in therapy.

Comparisons between babies a few days old in France and Germany reveal that even newborns cry in their native language. This means that the ability to actively produce language is present so much earlier than previously assumed.

When compared to their European colleagues, they distinguish themselves through their outstanding research and international focus. This is why the psychologists of the University of Würzburg have been placed in the “Excellence Group” alongside nine other German universities in a current “CHE Ranking”.

Imitating photosynthesis in plants? If we were to accomplish this, mankind would have a little less to worry about. Chemists from the University of Würzburg have now made progress on the road to achieving artificial photosynthesis.