In the last two decades, new field research techniques and new molecular biology methods have contributed to exciting new discoveries. New knowledge enables the counting of olms even though they are hidden underground. It has been found that some populations are so decimated and threatened that their very survival is at stake.
On the Researchers’ Night, the light of science will illuminate the eternal night of the olm’s life. Students will see what these animals look like from up close, whether they are really blind, whether they have teeth, whether they really live for a hundred years, how they orient themselves in total darkness and other interesting facts about their lives.
The researchers of the Biotechnical Faculty will present the latest findings on the human fish, as well as discoveries about when and how the olms became cave animals, the secret of their huge genome and what we can learn from them for human health.
The workshop is suitable for upper primary and secondary school classes.
Project coordinators: Peter Trontelj, PhD, and Hans Recknagel, PhD, Biotechnical Faculty