Science Walk on Campus

Mental states influence the body, sometimes with long-lasting effects. The brain talks to the gut and can impact the body’s defense mechanisms against pathogens. But the communication goes both ways: The gut tells the brain, for example, what we should eat – without our knowledge! [more]

The eyes are the window to the brain. Vision is undoubtedly our dominant sense: Much of how we perceive our environment, learn, and interact with the world is shaped by seeing. In this sense, it is not surprising that nearly one-third of the neocortex, the most recently developed part of the brain, is dedicated to vision. So if we want to unravel the mysteries of the brain, we need to understand seeing. [more]

We need light for more than just seeing! Light also affects wakefulness and sleep, mood and concentration – and much more. Reason enough to take a closer look: What does light do to us? When do we need light and when is it harmful? And how does all this work in the body? [more]

MRI scanners in hospitals and radiology practices require powerful magnets, with field strengths of up to 3 Tesla. This is about 100,000 times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field! The MPI for Biological Cybernetics also has two MRI scanners with 9.4 and even 14.1 Tesla. Generating such strong magnetic fields requires a lot of effort, which is why MRI machines are usually large, heavy, and expensive. Why is this necessary? [more]

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) can make thought processes visible! Researchers use this method to see which areas of the brain are active – for example, while someone is sleeping, solving a task, or looking at pictures. How does this work, and what do researchers want to observe in the brain with this method? [more]

Zebrafish larvae can be so transparent that you can see their brains. Researchers make individual active neurons light up. This allows them to study the brain function of the fish while they freely swim around and display natural behavior: exploring their environment, interacting with each other, and foraging for food.  [more]

The brain is always active. Whether we are awake or asleep, our neurons communicate and synchronize with each other. This is how brain waves arise: rhythmic patterns of neural activity. The rhythms of the brain are important for all sorts of tasks: estimating time spans, our sense of rhythm, but also directing attention – to name just a few. What’s particularly fascinating: Brain waves can be deliberately influenced! [more]

Chess and Go computers can learn on their own to play well using a process called reinforcement learning. The mechanism is similar to how animals seem to learn, for example, when an animal tries to find a strategy that maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain or hunger. This behavior has been studied in humans and other animals for more than a century. [more]

There are roughly 57 billion nematodes (microscopic roundworms) for every human. They are the most abundant animal group on earth and around 80% of all animals are nematodes. These tiny worms are critical in carbon and nutrient cycling and influence CO2 emissions. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen study these organisms’ ability to adapt and change their body and physical form depending on their environment.
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Humans migrated out of Africa  – and many of our gut microbes came with us. Over the millennia, humans and their microbes have evolved in parallel, and have developed traits to support this co-existence. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen study how gut microbes co-evolved with humans and their impact on our immunity, metabolism, and overall health.
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While plants cannot run away when attacked by a disease or predator, they have evolved efficient ways to react and survive. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen are studying how plants grow, protect themselves and interact with pathogens, both microscopic organisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi and larger predators such as insects and worms. [more]

Like land plants, seaweeds capture and store energy from the sun and are a vital food source in marine ecosystems. Although they share the same name, seaweeds can be very different and are grouped into either brown, red or green seaweeds. Each seaweed group evolved into complex life forms that are made up of different specialized cells, ranging in size from just a few centimeters to over 50 meters. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biology in Tübingen are exploring how these remarkable organisms evolved to be so complex.
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