Biology

29. April 2025

Environmental Chemistry

The invisible health concern of indoor climbing

Indoor climbing is a popular and healthy workout. However, a new study found concerning levels of potentially harmful chemicals in the air of bouldering gyms. The source: climbing shoes. In the video, environmental scientists Anya Sherman and Thilo Hofmann explain their results.

18. March 2025

Guest article by

Sonia Kleindorfer

Rudolphina Experts: Fieldwork at the Galápagos

The comeback of rare species: Floreana's ecological restoration

The Floreana Island Restoration Project currently is the largest and most ambitious restoration initiative in the Galápagos archipelago. Follow the exciting fieldwork of behavioural biologist Sonia Kleindorfer and her team as they monitor and protect the diverse wildlife of Floreana Island.

12. December 2024

Guest article by

Jörg Menche

Rudolphina Experts: Health equity and artificial intelligence

Is health a matter of negotiation?

In this expert article, Jörg Menche from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Network Medicine at the University of Vienna sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in dealing with rare diseases. He explains how his research also provides new insights into more common diseases, and shows the role of technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality in making health fairer.

28. November 2024

Chronic pain

Pain is individual: Towards personalised therapy

Chronic pain is a complex disease that still lacks effective treatment. We visited the lab of Manuela Schmidt and David Gómez Varela from the University of Vienna who aim to change this using cutting-edge technologies and approaches in proteome research.

4. June 2024

How AI is changing science

Artificial intelligence: The researcher ex machina

Will artificial intelligence revolutionise science? From the universe in the supercomputer to old travelogues from the Orient: Four researchers from the University of Vienna tell us how they use AI and where its limits currently lie.

28. February 2024

Extreme habitats on earth

Thriving at the limits of life

There is hustle and bustle on our planet – even in quite uncomfortable places. We accompany biologists of the University of Vienna to some of the most extreme environments: from the deep sea and the open ocean to hot springs and alkaline salt lakes. What can we learn from their inhabitants?

24. January 2024

Environmental sciences

PFAS: Chemicals for eternity?

Made to last forever, used on a daily basis and often highly toxic: PFAS, a group of extremely stable industrial chemicals, are seen as the next big environmental problem of our time. We asked environmental scientist Thilo Hofmann: Is there still hope?

19. December 2023

Microbial Biochemistry

New drugs against infectious diseases

From the flu to the coronavirus – recent years have shown that infectious diseases are a tremendous problem. In the video, biochemist Thomas Böttcher explains the role that new biologically active molecules will play in medicine and what drives him as a researcher.

13. December 2023

Solar energy revolution

Excited by light

Mimicking 'plant power' through artificial photosynthesis: an approach that could drive the solar energy revolution. Researchers at the University of Vienna are in a bid to chase this dream by trying to capture the sun's energy and storing it in chemical compounds. A report on how this works and why computer simulations are indispensable in the process.

29. November 2023

Guest article by

Anne Sophie Meincke

Rudolphina Experts: The problem of free will

Free by Nature: The Biological Roots of Free Will

Whether our will is free is a question over which generations of philosophers have racked their brains. In this article, philosopher Anne Sophie Meincke explains the puzzling dilemma of free will and argues how biology can contribute to a solution.

7. November 2023

Guest article by

Jia Min Chin

Rudolphina Experts: Materials inspired by nature

Where nature shows science new ways

When looking for inspiration for the development of new materials, it is worth taking a look at nature. In her guest article, materials chemist Jia Min Chin reveals the tricks that flora and fauna have in store for the materials of the future.

31. October 2023

Presenting… Zoologist Sophie Greistorfer

Glowing snail mucus: The sticky future of biomaterials

A sticky thing: A small freshwater snail in New Zealand has a very special way of defending itself. It confuses its attackers with glowing green slime. "This mucus is one of the most promising biomaterials," says Sophie Greistorfer. In her PhD project, she is looking for the key to grasping the fundamental principles of this luminescent biopolymer.

25. October 2023

Physics of DNA material

Glue and stacks: The secrets of DNA ring polymers

A research team at the University of Vienna tries to unravel the physical principles behind ring-shaped polymers. These fascinating natural structures have promising properties that could be exploited in future soft and stretchy materials for use in flexible electronics or soft robotics.

14. September 2023

Guest article by

Bernd Lenzner

Rudolphina Experts: Insights from the World Biodiversity Report

Battling biological invasion

Invasive alien species are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. In this article, ecologist Bernd Lenzner explains the whys and hows, and shares his insights into the making of a milestone global report on invasive alien species.

12. May 2023

Citizen Science

Nature watchers bring Viennese graveyards to life

Come for Beethoven's grave, stay for the colourful hamsters. Iconic tombstones are not the only sights to see at the Central Cemetery of Vienna. University of Vienna researchers, citizen scientists and wildlife watchers are unearthing a wealth of biodiversity in the capital's network of graveyards.

11. May 2023

Microbiome and health

Environmental protection within our body

The microbial community we carry inside us is as individual as it is important for our health. Microbiologist David Berry studies what puts it at risk, what heals it and how it interacts with the outside world.

4. May 2023

Presenting … Microbiologist Dania Randi

Microbes for sustainable agriculture

What do plants need for their well-being and how can they withstand increasing environmental stress? To ensure that we can still eat crops in the future, we need to know all the factors that help plants survive. This is why Dania Randi is investigating the relationship between salt-tolerant plants and their microbiome.

23. March 2023

Nitrogen cycle

Comammox: promising new player in the nitrogen cycle

Comammox bacteria astonished microbiologists worldwide due to their ability to perform the complete nitrification process within a single cell. They occur in numerous natural and engineered ecosystems, but thus far have not been found in marine environments. Microbiologist Dimitra Sakoula is looking for them in the ocean: If she finds them there, it would be "a big deal".