Faculty of Life Sciences

Person in lab coat working at an aquarium with technical equipment in the background.

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The Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Vienna conducts cutting-edge research in biology, pharmacy and nutritional sciences, advancing our understanding of biological systems, evolution, health and disease. Our curiosity-driven fundamental research provides the basis for solutions to global challenges, including climate change, sustainable nutrition, biodiversity loss, novel therapeutics and healthy ageing.

Our outstanding and internationally recognised work has been honoured with top awards and grants. Beyond research and teaching, we drive innovation and societal impact through active knowledge transfer to make science accessible and tangible through hands-on experience and public engagement.

Our areas of responsibility

News

Cracking the cell wall of archaea

24.09.2026 Research

Two people with medical masks and lab coats in the lab, one person giving a thumbs up.

New study overturns a 50-year-old paradigm regarding the structure of the cell wall of methane-producing microbes

Rising plant extinction rates on European mountain summits

04.09.2026 Research

Picture of Rhododendron ferrugineum (rusty-leaved alpenrose) on the western slopes of Mount Schrankogel in Tyrol (Austria) in front of Bockkogel.

Rising species numbers mask increasing loss of high-elevation specialists from European summit vegetation

Open Science Center der Universität Wien im Cumberland Wildpark eröffnet

02.09.2026 Events

Ten people holding a rope and cutting it with scissors.

Grünau im Almtal, 1. September 2026 – Mit einer feierlichen Eröffnung wurde heute das neue Open Science Center der Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle der…

How plants use scoop-shaped pores to distribute their pollen efficiently

01.09.2026 Research

Picture of a flower of Pleroma (Melastomataceae) with the scoop-bearing poricidal stamens in the center, visible as elongated white-purple structures.

New findings are particularly important in light of climate change, declines in bee abundance, and diversity

Roadmap of animal biodiversity: largest-ever comparison of chromosome-scale genomes

01.09.2026 Research

Figure of 5,821 chromosome-scale animal genomes

Comparison of 4,454 animal species reveals how chromosomes travelled on "evolutionary Highways" over past 600 million years

Europe's mountain summits are warming – vegetation is responding in surprisingly different ways

14.08.2026 Research

Sempervivum montanum, the Mountain Houseleek, a pink flower amongst stones and greenery.

Long-term study across 53 European mountain summits shows that the response of alpine vegetation to climate change depends heavily on local conditions