Microorganisms

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?

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".

21. March 2023

Presenting … Ecologist Constanze Englisch

Looking into the "invisible"

In cities like Vienna, various stress factors, such as rising temperatures affect the groundwater. Constanze Englisch is investigating the effects of these increased temperatures on microorganisms and animals. Together with her team, she develops ideas for using the heat of groundwater sustainably and economically, as she explains in the video.

13. March 2023

Microorganisms

Research for the next nitrogen revolution

Petra Pjevac, Holger Daims, Michael Wagner and their teams are targeting microbes: At the University of Vienna, they investigate how the tiny organisms function and interact. Microbes could be key to a 'nitrogen revolution': a new solution to counteract dangerous nitrogen losses in agriculture and feed the growing world population – without harming the planet.

17. February 2023

Climate science and permafrost soils

When thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gas

There is hardly any other region where climate change is as noticeable as in the Arctic. At the Arctic Science Summit Week 2023, which is currently taking place at the University of Vienna, 700 international Arctic researchers are putting their heads together. One of them is Andreas Richter from the University of Vienna: he and his team experienced the explosive nature of the topic at first hand a few months ago during field research in the Canadian Arctic. Read more in the guest article.

10. February 2023

Magnesite is storing greenhouse gases

Archaea as climate saviours?

Geologist Jennifer Zwicker from the University of Vienna is studying whether archaea are playing a role in forming magnesite or not, exemplified by the Kraubath magnesite deposit in Styria, Austria. If they are, these tiny microorganisms could help us combat the climate crisis.

6. October 2022

Climate science and permafrost soils

When thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gas

Three weeks in the Canadian Arctic: Ecosystem researchers from the University of Vienna collected soil samples in northwestern Canada. They are investigating how the nitrogen bound in permafrost is processed by microorganisms when these permafrost soils thaw. What happens in the process could exacerbate climate change.

14. April 2021

Presenting... Biologist Johannes Herpell

Rethinking Agriculture

Johannes Herpell is a member of the Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution. In his PhD thesis, he aims to strengthen plants with the help of bacteria instead of pesticides. The video gives an insight into his research.