Press Releases

The plant hormone jasmonic acid also performs a function that was previously unknown. It ensures that the leaf pores close when leaves are injured. For the plant, this could be an emergency signal.

Spider silk belongs to the toughest fibres in nature and has astounding properties. Scientists from the University of Würzburg discovered new molecular details of self-assembly of a spider silk fibre protein.

Wolfgang Kastenmüller studies the development of special immune cells that show promise in treating cancer. He has now been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant worth nearly two million euros for his research.

Dr. Simon Bungers studied biology at the University of Würzburg. After exporting cars to Finland and selling custom boxer shorts, he started his own business that develops science software.

Black holes and other extremely high-energy environments in the universe: Sara Buson teaches and conducts research in this field. As a junior professor, she has recently joined the Würzburg Chair of Astronomy.

Esther Gillert studied biology at the University of Würzburg. Today, she works as an editor for medical patient media. She is the interface between medical experts and legal counsellors.

Faster and secure data communication: This is the goal of a new joint project involving physicists from the University of Würzburg. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research funds the project with 14.8 million euro.

The new contemporary edition of Goethe's "Faust" is the fruit of almost ten years of labour. The team of Fotis Jannidis, a computer philologist and Professor of Literature at the University of Würzburg, contributed significantly to this achievement.

For the first time, physicists have built a unique topological insulator in which optical and electronic excitations hybridize and flow together. They report their discovery in "Nature".

Mental training can effectively cultivate care, compassion and even altruistically motivated behaviour psychologists from Würzburg and Leipzig have shown in a recent study.

Harald Reinhart trained and completed his residency as a medical doctor in Würzburg. Today, he alternately works as a hospital doctor and as the CEO of a consulting firm, travelling between Jordan and the USA.

He received a prestigious award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The renowned chemist, Kazunori Sugiyasu, will now join the University of Würzburg to do research with Professor Frank Würthner.

The University of Würzburg has been successful with a proposal for a research cluster in the Excellence Competition. This allows new projects to be launched in an important field of physics with great future promise.

Upward trend continues: The latest Times Higher Education World University Ranking puts the University of Würzburg in 159th place worldwide, which is another improvement over last year.

Pain-relieving interventions trigger a learning effect in the brain which reduces pain. A new study shows that pain relief is more effective when it is provided by a stranger.