Science on the Christmas tree

Beat in time, my steadfast heart… A zebrafish heart lights up here with the ventricle in purple and the atrium in green. Researchers visualised the layer surrounding the heart muscle cells: the extracellular matrix. Their investigations reveal that the volume of the matrix, and thus the size of the heart, is regulated by how fast or slow it beats. This is crucial for heart function. A healthy zebrafish heart, 3D surface rendering based on confocal microscopy.
© Alessandra Gentile, Marga Albu, Didier Stainier (MPI Bad Nauheim), Felix Gunawan (Uni Münster) / CiM

Every year, our glittery Christmas ball sheds light onto an example of recent research. In our network, scientists investigate how cells behave in organisms. To this end, they employ and develop innovative imaging methods.

We wish you lots of fun with our decorations. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for 2024!

All Christmas balls of the past years for printing and crafting (PDF)

Text: Felix Gunawan, Doris Niederhoff
Graphic design: Nina Knubel