News/Archive

At present, an early diagnosis of the tumour-like crown gall disease affecting grapevines seems out of reach. Two researchers have taken a closer look at the tumours and found a very special environment.

Why do healthy cells become malignant and proliferate uncontrollably? Scientists of the University of Würzburg have investigated the role of a special protein in this process and settled and old controversy.

The increasing salinisation of soils is a major problem for farmers worldwide. Scientists of the University of Würzburg have now examined how plants regulated their salt intake. Their results could be significant to breed more salt-tolerant species.

An international group of researchers has pinpointed the sensor plants use to sense electric fields. A beneficial side effect: Their work could contribute to the understanding of how the Ebola virus enters human cells.

Do plants have some kind of nervous system? This is difficult to establish as there are no suitable measurement methods around. Plant researchers from Würzburg used aphids for this purpose – and discovered that plants respond differently to different kinds of damage.

Advance in biomedical imaging: The University of Würzburg's Biocenter has enhanced fluorescence microscopy to label and visualise up to nine different cell structures simultaneously.

An international team of scientists has managed to sequence the genome of the bedbug. Among them are neurogeneticists from the University of Würzburg's Biocenter. They studied genes that control the circadian clock, secretion and moulting processes.

The carnivorous Venus flytrap carefully plans its meals: It can count how often it is touched by an insect to calculate the digestive effort. This discovery has been made by plant scientists of the University of Würzburg.