Welcome to the Faculty of Biological Sciences

Botanical Garden

Image: Anne Günther/FSU
Botanical Garden

The Faculty of Biological Sciences represents a broad variety of biological disciplines as well as the nutritional sciences and pharmacy. Famous scholars such as the botanist Matthias Jacob Schleiden (1804-1881) and the zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) worked here with their sunny and dark sides.

The Faculty of Biological Sciences cooperates with other faculties of the Friedrich Schiller University and non-university research institutes of the Max Planck Society and the Leibniz Association in several coordinated research projects. These projects are part the Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse" funded by the German Research Foundation.  

  • Research Cluster Balance of the Microverse

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    The Research Cluster investigates the complex interactions of microorganisms with other organisms and with their environment, which are of great significance for the functioning of ecosystems, our climate and the well-being of plants, animals and humans.

    Exzellence cluster Balance of the Microverse
    Image: Anna Schroll
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Latest News

  1. On the trail of new drug candidates

    Research team from the Cluster of Excellence »Balance of the Microverse« analyzed the hidden potential in the genomes of peatland bacteria

    • Light
    • Life
    To study the bacterial community, the researchers took peat samples from the Schlöppnerbrunnen fen in the Bavarian Fichtelgebirge.
    Image: Kirsten Küsel

  4. Molecular switch-up

    Researchers show how bacteria remodel a peptide to take on a new role.

    • Life
    Wild-type Pandoraea norimbergensis strain on chrome azurol S (CAS) agar plate. The yellow glow illustrates the siderophores taking iron from the CAS.
    Image: Elena Herzog und Keishi Ishida, Leibniz-HKI, lizenziert unter CC BY 4.0

  6. On a safari through your own garden

    The »MikroSafari« citizen science project, run by the University of Jena, the UFZ and iDiv, is conducting scientific research into allotment gardens as a habitat

    • Life
    A flowering meadow with red clover (Trifolium pratense).
    Image: Nicole Nerger (University of Jena)
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