Not hot actually, but into the desert... Along with Ann-Marie Waldvogel and Oleksandr Holovachov we will travel to one of the driest places on earth, the Atacama desert, to hunt for worms. Follow us on Twitter, our lablife page and below to learn more.
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The worm~lab in September 2021
The Worm Lab
Here at the worm-lab at the University of Cologne we study all kinds of vermiform animals, with a strong focus on the roundworms (phylum Nematoda).
Under the umbrella of research in ecology, evolution and/of development our goal is to: — understand why roundworms are locked into a vermiform Bauplan; — study their biodiversity in the face of climate change and learn how some of them can thrive without sex; and last but not least — to fight the parasitic worms causing neglected tropical diseases.
We are always open for collaborations and we love to talk to everyone about our science, so please don't hesitate to get in touch through any of the channels listed below. Also if you want to work with us, maybe have a crazy cool idea for a research project, please get in touch as well.
The worm~lab is part of the German branch of the Earth BioGenome Project Initiative (DeRGA). We are currently working on the pilot project to sequence iconic German species along with partners at the West German Genome Center and the Rechenzentrum Köln.
The CRC1211
Together with Ann-Marie Waldvogel here in Cologne we are now part of the CRC1211 a research cluster working in the Atacama desert. Along with the nematode taxonomist Oleksandr Holovachov from the Natural History museum in Sweden we will investigate the biodiversity of roundworms in one of the driest places on earth. We will also analyse if asexual species are more successful than sexual ones in extreme environments. Looking at how stressful abiotic conditions influence the speed of evolution we will predict how climate change will affect organisms.
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Updates and Stories
See how we work in the lab and in the field. Take a look at our lablife page to learn more about what we are doing in our projects in photos and videos. There is also a blog about science, the world, and everything.
Pictures in the "Our Science" section are: by courtesy of Einhard Schierenberg / from Blaxter 2012 / from wikipedia.org (under CC BY 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 licences).
