Animal Physiology

Animal Physiology

Mammals and birds as endotherms display the highest energy turnover in the entire animal kingdom. They are able to precisely control food energy intake, energy expenditure, body fat storage and body weight. We investigate the physiological and molecular basis of the regulation of energy balance.
The main areas of research are:

The applied methods are calorimetric measurements of energy turnover, body temperature and ECG telemetry, primary culture of adipocytes, analysis of gene functions in transfected mammalian cells, microarray analysis of gene expression, in situ hybridisation, immunhistochemistry and biochemical assays.

Homepage

Neurobiology/Ethology

Uwe Homberg

Many sensory and motor performances in insects are comparable in complexity with those of vertebrates, yet are achieved with a considerably smaller number of neurons. Therefore, insects are organisms particularly suited for the analysis of many basic phenomena in neuroscience. Our research team investigates from the single neuron level to behavioural studies, the functional and neurochemical organization of the insect brain, sensory and motor performance, and mechanisms of brain development. Areas of current interest are the analysis of the olfactory system of the tobacco hawkmoth (physiology of olfactory receptor neurons, organization and development of olfactory brain areas), analysis of the internal circadian clock in the cockroach (localization of the circadian pacemaker, cellular and molecular mechanisms), the neural basis of sun-compass orientation in locusts (analysis of the polarization vision system, internal navigation compass), and the mapping, physiology, and regulation of neuropeptides in the central nervous system of the fruitfly and other insect species.

Homepage (http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb17/fachgebiete/tierphysio/neurobiologie)