How can a laser be used to capture the smallest particles and measure tiny forces? What is fluorescence and how does it help to better understand biological processes in cells? Why can the actually dangerous radiation of radioactive substances help in the treatment of cancer? We got to the bottom of these and other questions in the 3rd week of the ISC. The participants learned which physical methods can be used to answer questions in the life sciences.
During a visit of the faculty for forest botany at the University of Göttingen (Laboratory for Radioisotopes), radioactive phosphorus was used to demonstrate very clearly how plants absorb nutrients from the soil. In the biology department, we used fluorescence microscopy to understand the benefits of this technology in diagnostics and research. Finally, computed tomography carried out to identify hidden objects in plastic containers gave a deeper understanding of why interdisciplinary cooperation in the life sciences is so important.