Press Releases

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.

Barely heard of a couple of years ago, quinoa today is common on European supermarket shelves. The hardy plant thrives even in saline soils. Researchers from the University of Würzburg have now determined how the plant gets rid of the excess salt.

Human herpesviruses such as HHV-6 can remain dormant in cells for many years without being noticed. When reactivated, they can cause serious clinical conditions. Researchers from Würzburg have now found a way of differentiating between active and inactive viruses.

Solar-powered water splitting is a promising means of generating clean and storable energy. A novel catalyst based on semiconductor nanoparticles has now been shown to facilitate all the reactions needed for “artificial photosynthesis”.

Scientists of University of Würzburg have for the first time succeeded in generating beating cardiac muscle cells from special stem cells. They may provide a new approach for the treatment of heart attacks.

Valérie Guérin-Sendelbach studied political science, economics and history in Würzburg. At the age of 52, the teacher has taken a break from her job to go to Kenya with a volunteer service.

The evolution biologist Dr. Kenji Fukushima is awarded a prize money of about 1.6 million euros by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He will use the money to build up a new working group at the University of Würzburg.

The prestigious Shanghai Ranking has placed the University of Würzburg among the world’s top 200 universities – as one of three Bavarian and 14 German universities.