The project „Künstlerische Tatsachen“ brings together scientists and artists in a format of residency: Scientists open their laboratories, while artists create artworks based on artistic engagement with scientific problems or topics, which can serve as a starting point for a social discourse around the topic of tensions. The works created during the transdisciplinary residency by the five participating artists will be exhibited at the end. An engagement with scientific themes and techniques is desirable.
For this Arts & Science Residency, the TRAFO with its 400 m² is both a working and exhibition space. The TRAFO is an innovation lab for contemporary art forms and media in the city of Light Jena. Through the residency, the lab becomes the studio and the studio becomes the lab so that the processual and experimental way of working can be experienced by the participating artists, scientists, and the public. Our social media team will accompany your project; the exhibition and the process leading up to it will be documented textually, photographically, and videographically.
Detailed information
Participating Scientists
Raghav Vij
Candida Metamorphosis: The Path from Foe to Ally
Candida albicans naturally resides within the human body. In healthy individuals, it coexists harmoniously with other microorganisms; but when our immune system is weakened or hormonal changes take place, it can overgrow and cause harmful infections.
Traditional medication is commonly used to eradicate the fungus, yet it also fosters the development of resistant strains that may survive future treatments.
Raghav Vij’s research focuses on a novel approach to addressing this issue. His concept is to not eliminate the organism but to transform it.
Instead of eradicating every last trace of the fungus, he aims to develop a drug that alters its morphology and shape, rendering it harmless to the human body, or in other words, neutralising it.
Through this method, he seeks to manage the inevitable mutation of the fungus. Rather than allowing it to evolve into a more harmful form, it would be transformed into a benign one that may no longer require treatment.
If successful, this could unlock new treatment possibilities for various strains of fungus that have become resistant to drug treatment. Could this be the initial stride in resolving our antibiotics vs. superbug crisis? Perhaps.
Kalina Peneva
The Transformative Powers of Fluorescent Dyes
If you stroll the streets at night, particularly in dimly lit areas, you'll notice cyclists sporting striped reflective jackets, construction workers in bright yellow vests, and even dogs with fluorescent collars around their necks.
What is the common thread? Fluorescent dyes.
These dyes are not just eye-catching colours for decoration; they serve a practical purpose by alerting passing cars and pedestrians: "Watch out, someone is there."
But the utility of fluorescent markers, or functional dyes, goes beyond this. They can mark nerve tissue during surgery for enhanced precision or illuminate subcellular structures, enabling scientists to observe and study microscopic biological functions.
They can even trigger photosynthesis and produce clean solar energy by generating light-driven reactions.
The development of fluorescent markers, versatile in various scientific and technological fields, is the focus of Kalina Peneva's work.
How much further can these bright colours that enrich our senses and lives take us? What new perspectives and life secrets will they unveil?
This is what this researcher aims to show us.
Julia Rothamel
Cultivating Communities: An Investigation of Community-Supported Agriculture
Community-supported agriculture is a socioeconomic model of agriculture and food distribution aimed at fostering connections between farmers and local consumers. By subscribing, the community supports a local farm, with both parties sharing the risks and benefits of farming.
Rather than competing for profit, each farm becomes part of a nurturing community, providing fresh, local produce. Economically disadvantaged families receive one-year subsidised memberships and support to engage in farming events like festivals and field days.
But how effective is this system, and what are its benefits? Julia Rothamel aims to find out.
Her research compares 100 member families with 100 non-member families at different time points:
- Before membership
- After 12 months
- After 18 months
She evaluates their mental and physical health, social integration, and ecological behaviour to gauge the impact of this community system on members' lives.
Orlando Guntinas-Lichius
Reclaiming Lost Smiles
Most people can often detect when someone is unwell. They might appear pale, with dark circles under their eyes, or simply not themselves. These telltale signs are usually most evident on a person's face.
For some, these symptoms may last only a few days or weeks, eventually fading as they recover. Their cheeks regain colour, smiles brighten and eyes regain focus. However, for others, illness can persist, leaving enduring marks on their faces.
This is especially true for those grappling with facial nerve paralysis, recovering from facial surgery or coping with conditions that alter facial appearance.
The struggle extends beyond the illness to encompass the emotional toll of losing the ability to find joy in one's reflection.
Orlando Guntinas-Lichius, an otorhinolaryngologist and head of the department at Jena University Hospital, focuses on facial diseases. His goal is to delve deeper into these conditions and understand how altered function impacts emotional expression in patients.
Through his efforts, he seeks to provide new treatment options that can restore patients to their former vitality, allowing them to rediscover happiness each time they gaze into the mirror.
Olga (Gildeeva) Schmitz
Deploying Nature’s Compass in Battling South Africa’s Water Crisis
South Africa is anticipated to confront a water shortage by the following year. This imminent challenge has been exacerbated by insufficient rainfall and unchecked economic development and urbanisation.
To address and mitigate this issue, monitoring systems for water quality and ecological changes are imperative. Additionally, these indicators must be cost-effective to ensure their applicability in developing countries.
Bioindicators, including foraminifera, diatoms and pollen, offer insights into environmental conditions. They have been extensively studied and proven not only to depict current environmental trends but also to serve as traces of past climatic changes.
Foraminifera are widespread in marine and outer estuarine settings, with their assemblage composition and diversity revealing information about water quality and pollution levels.
Similarly, ostracoda, although underutilized in water quality assessments, show promise as bioindicators. Reflecting human impacts on ecosystems, they inhabit various water conditions and complement foraminifera and diatoms as bioindicators in estuarine systems with variable salinity.
Olga Gildeeva's research concentrates on studying the distribution of these bioindicators in the uMlalazi estuarine ecosystem in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her aim is to provide essential information to support environmental conservation efforts in the country, thereby contributing to solutions for its water resource challenges.
Candida albicans is a yeast species that colonizes the human body and is normally harmless. However, in certain cases it can cause serious disease.
Almost every one of us hosts C.albicans; commonly found in the intestinal tract. When the microbial balance is disrupted and the intestinal barrier is damaged, it shifts to a pathogenic state by transitioning from a round yeast to filamentous hyphae and crosses from the intestine into the bloodstream.
Jacob Sprague researches the process of how C.albicans is able to cross into the blood and spread to other organs, as well as how our own cells try to withstand and protect us from the infection.
His work involves modeling and visualizing the translocation of the fungus by developing in vitro representations of processes found in our bodies. These models enable him and his colleagues to simulate physiological attributes that affect the behavior of C.albicans.
Understanding these interactions is crucial to develop more therapeutic options to prevent a pathogenic shift.
Every organism, despite its origin or whatever its function, shall eventually die either due to an external stressor or because it has served its purpose. The death of a cell can be triggered by multiple reasons.
Some are more controlled, such as apoptosis - a form of programmed cell death. Some are more chaotic, such as pyroptosis or necroptosis - forms of non-programmed cell death.
Myrto Katsipoulaki explores the use of color as a tool to understand how cells survive. By pairing different cell types with different fluorescent colors, the resulting 'rainbow cells' can be distinguished using fluorescent microscopy while they are fighting an enemy, such as a pathogen, toxin or physical trauma.
The observation of life with a gaze that normally remains hidden from the human eye reveals survival strategies; strategies to which we may also have to adapt.
In certain situations, involving host impaired immunity, Candida albicans can become an opportunistic pathogen, causing invasive life-threatening infections.
Co-evolution with the host has favored the development of adaptive strategies that allow the fungus to hide from the host's immune system.
Candela Fernández-Fernández investigates one of these strategies - the ability to sense different immune mediators released by the immune cells after recognition of a pathogen. Understanding how Candida albicans recognizes these molecules and how it reacts will be helpful while searching for new therapeutic options.
A weakened immune system is associated with an increased risk of infections for which antibiotics are prescribed. Antibiotics are very effective in preventing and treating infections caused by bacteria. However, antibiotic treatment also kills benign bacteria living with us in the gut.
Microscopic fungi can take advantage of this imbalance.
Beatriz Cristovão searches for strategies to treat such infections. She is investigating how treatment with a signaling molecule from the immune system, called cytokine, affects fungal infections, with the aim of strengthening the immune system to fight the infection more efficiently.
The possibilities of gene therapy have made enormous progress in recent years and have found a multitude of new applications. Each of these steps had to be chosen with great care in order to avoid both material and ethical damage.
A prerequisite for the sustainable and justifiable application of gene methods is the safe and efficient transportation of genetic material into cells.
The research and testing of new materials for non-viral gene transfer is the task of Anja Träger.
With polymers explicitly developed for this purpose, methods can be found to carry out gene transfer efficiently and in a targeted manner. Anja Träger is investigating the interaction between these materials and cell membranes to ensure that the transport process runs flawless and predictable without causing undesirable side effects.
The consideration of potential risks of nanomaterials for health is essential to advance effective and safe materials.
Anja Träger is aware of the social and ethical issues raised by the rapid progress of gene therapy. Through interdisciplinary approaches, she strives to advance innovative and sustainable options for the treatment of diseases.
While time can be defined objectively in units such as seconds and minutes, our subjective perception of time is highly variable.
For example, viewers think that an action takes longer, even though they know that they are watching it in slow motion.
This also seems to have an effect on perceived intentionality - in slow motion, actions are often perceived as more intentional than when we watch the same action in real time.
Laura Sperl also finds such biases in terms of duration and intentionality in jurisprudence and sport, both contexts in which (slowed-down) video footage is increasingly being used.
For her, it becomes clear that slow-motion recordings in particular, which are generally used for better understanding, do not necessarily represent a clearer source of information.
In experiments, she investigates the general ability of people to perceive changes in video speed, as well as the consequences of the slow-motion bias in video evidence for decision-making.
The project „Künstlerische Tatsachen“ brings together scientists and artists in a format of residency: Scientists open their laboratories, while artists create artworks based on artistic engagement with scientific problems or topics, which can serve as a starting point for a social discourse around the topic of tensions. The works created during the transdisciplinary residency by the five participating artists will be exhibited at the end. An engagement with scientific themes and techniques is desirable.
For this Arts & Science Residency, the TRAFO with its 400 m² is both a working and exhibition space. The TRAFO is an innovation lab for contemporary art forms and media in the city of Light Jena. Through the residency, the lab becomes the studio and the studio becomes the lab so that the processual and experimental way of working can be experienced by the participating artists, scientists, and the public. Our social media team will accompany your project; the exhibition and the process leading up to it will be documented textually, photographically, and videographically.
Detailed information
Participating Scientists
Orlando Guntinas-Lichius
Reclaiming Lost Smiles
Most people can often detect when someone is unwell. They might appear pale, with dark circles under their eyes, or simply not themselves. These telltale signs are usually most evident on a person's face.
For some, these symptoms may last only a few days or weeks, eventually fading as they recover. Their cheeks regain colour, smiles brighten and eyes regain focus. However, for others, illness can persist, leaving enduring marks on their faces.
This is especially true for those grappling with facial nerve paralysis, recovering from facial surgery or coping with conditions that alter facial appearance.
The struggle extends beyond the illness to encompass the emotional toll of losing the ability to find joy in one's reflection.
Orlando Guntinas-Lichius, an otorhinolaryngologist and head of the department at Jena University Hospital, focuses on facial diseases. His goal is to delve deeper into these conditions and understand how altered function impacts emotional expression in patients.
Through his efforts, he seeks to provide new treatment options that can restore patients to their former vitality, allowing them to rediscover happiness each time they gaze into the mirror.
Olga (Gildeeva) Schmitz
Deploying Nature’s Compass in Battling South Africa’s Water Crisis
South Africa is anticipated to confront a water shortage by the following year. This imminent challenge has been exacerbated by insufficient rainfall and unchecked economic development and urbanisation.
To address and mitigate this issue, monitoring systems for water quality and ecological changes are imperative. Additionally, these indicators must be cost-effective to ensure their applicability in developing countries.
Bioindicators, including foraminifera, diatoms and pollen, offer insights into environmental conditions. They have been extensively studied and proven not only to depict current environmental trends but also to serve as traces of past climatic changes.
Foraminifera are widespread in marine and outer estuarine settings, with their assemblage composition and diversity revealing information about water quality and pollution levels.
Similarly, ostracoda, although underutilized in water quality assessments, show promise as bioindicators. Reflecting human impacts on ecosystems, they inhabit various water conditions and complement foraminifera and diatoms as bioindicators in estuarine systems with variable salinity.
Olga Gildeeva's research concentrates on studying the distribution of these bioindicators in the uMlalazi estuarine ecosystem in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her aim is to provide essential information to support environmental conservation efforts in the country, thereby contributing to solutions for its water resource challenges.
Julia Rothamel
Cultivating Communities: An Investigation of Community-Supported Agriculture
Community-supported agriculture is a socioeconomic model of agriculture and food distribution aimed at fostering connections between farmers and local consumers. By subscribing, the community supports a local farm, with both parties sharing the risks and benefits of farming.
Rather than competing for profit, each farm becomes part of a nurturing community, providing fresh, local produce. Economically disadvantaged families receive one-year subsidised memberships and support to engage in farming events like festivals and field days.
But how effective is this system, and what are its benefits? Julia Rothamel aims to find out.
Her research compares 100 member families with 100 non-member families at different time points:
- Before membership
- After 12 months
- After 18 months
She evaluates their mental and physical health, social integration, and ecological behaviour to gauge the impact of this community system on members' lives.
Raghav Vij
Candida Metamorphosis: The Path from Foe to Ally
Candida albicans naturally resides within the human body. In healthy individuals, it coexists harmoniously with other microorganisms; but when our immune system is weakened or hormonal changes take place, it can overgrow and cause harmful infections.
Traditional medication is commonly used to eradicate the fungus, yet it also fosters the development of resistant strains that may survive future treatments.
Raghav Vij’s research focuses on a novel approach to addressing this issue. His concept is to not eliminate the organism but to transform it.
Instead of eradicating every last trace of the fungus, he aims to develop a drug that alters its morphology and shape, rendering it harmless to the human body, or in other words, neutralising it.
Through this method, he seeks to manage the inevitable mutation of the fungus. Rather than allowing it to evolve into a more harmful form, it would be transformed into a benign one that may no longer require treatment.
If successful, this could unlock new treatment possibilities for various strains of fungus that have become resistant to drug treatment. Could this be the initial stride in resolving our antibiotics vs. superbug crisis? Perhaps.
Candida albicans is a yeast species that colonizes the human body and is normally harmless. However, in certain cases it can cause serious disease.
Almost every one of us hosts C.albicans; commonly found in the intestinal tract. When the microbial balance is disrupted and the intestinal barrier is damaged, it shifts to a pathogenic state by transitioning from a round yeast to filamentous hyphae and crosses from the intestine into the bloodstream.
Jacob Sprague researches the process of how C.albicans is able to cross into the blood and spread to other organs, as well as how our own cells try to withstand and protect us from the infection.
His work involves modeling and visualizing the translocation of the fungus by developing in vitro representations of processes found in our bodies. These models enable him and his colleagues to simulate physiological attributes that affect the behavior of C.albicans.
Understanding these interactions is crucial to develop more therapeutic options to prevent a pathogenic shift.
Every organism, despite its origin or whatever its function, shall eventually die either due to an external stressor or because it has served its purpose. The death of a cell can be triggered by multiple reasons.
Some are more controlled, such as apoptosis - a form of programmed cell death. Some are more chaotic, such as pyroptosis or necroptosis - forms of non-programmed cell death.
Myrto Katsipoulaki explores the use of color as a tool to understand how cells survive. By pairing different cell types with different fluorescent colors, the resulting 'rainbow cells' can be distinguished using fluorescent microscopy while they are fighting an enemy, such as a pathogen, toxin or physical trauma.
The observation of life with a gaze that normally remains hidden from the human eye reveals survival strategies; strategies to which we may also have to adapt.
Kalina Peneva
The Transformative Powers of Fluorescent Dyes
If you stroll the streets at night, particularly in dimly lit areas, you'll notice cyclists sporting striped reflective jackets, construction workers in bright yellow vests, and even dogs with fluorescent collars around their necks.
What is the common thread? Fluorescent dyes.
These dyes are not just eye-catching colours for decoration; they serve a practical purpose by alerting passing cars and pedestrians: "Watch out, someone is there."
But the utility of fluorescent markers, or functional dyes, goes beyond this. They can mark nerve tissue during surgery for enhanced precision or illuminate subcellular structures, enabling scientists to observe and study microscopic biological functions.
They can even trigger photosynthesis and produce clean solar energy by generating light-driven reactions.
The development of fluorescent markers, versatile in various scientific and technological fields, is the focus of Kalina Peneva's work.
How much further can these bright colours that enrich our senses and lives take us? What new perspectives and life secrets will they unveil?
This is what this researcher aims to show us.
In certain situations, involving host impaired immunity, Candida albicans can become an opportunistic pathogen, causing invasive life-threatening infections.
Co-evolution with the host has favored the development of adaptive strategies that allow the fungus to hide from the host's immune system.
Candela Fernández-Fernández investigates one of these strategies - the ability to sense different immune mediators released by the immune cells after recognition of a pathogen. Understanding how Candida albicans recognizes these molecules and how it reacts will be helpful while searching for new therapeutic options.
The possibilities of gene therapy have made enormous progress in recent years and have found a multitude of new applications. Each of these steps had to be chosen with great care in order to avoid both material and ethical damage.
A prerequisite for the sustainable and justifiable application of gene methods is the safe and efficient transportation of genetic material into cells.
The research and testing of new materials for non-viral gene transfer is the task of Anja Träger.
With polymers explicitly developed for this purpose, methods can be found to carry out gene transfer efficiently and in a targeted manner. Anja Träger is investigating the interaction between these materials and cell membranes to ensure that the transport process runs flawless and predictable without causing undesirable side effects.
The consideration of potential risks of nanomaterials for health is essential to advance effective and safe materials.
Anja Träger is aware of the social and ethical issues raised by the rapid progress of gene therapy. Through interdisciplinary approaches, she strives to advance innovative and sustainable options for the treatment of diseases.
While time can be defined objectively in units such as seconds and minutes, our subjective perception of time is highly variable.
For example, viewers think that an action takes longer, even though they know that they are watching it in slow motion.
This also seems to have an effect on perceived intentionality - in slow motion, actions are often perceived as more intentional than when we watch the same action in real time.
Laura Sperl also finds such biases in terms of duration and intentionality in jurisprudence and sport, both contexts in which (slowed-down) video footage is increasingly being used.
For her, it becomes clear that slow-motion recordings in particular, which are generally used for better understanding, do not necessarily represent a clearer source of information.
In experiments, she investigates the general ability of people to perceive changes in video speed, as well as the consequences of the slow-motion bias in video evidence for decision-making.
A weakened immune system is associated with an increased risk of infections for which antibiotics are prescribed. Antibiotics are very effective in preventing and treating infections caused by bacteria. However, antibiotic treatment also kills benign bacteria living with us in the gut.
Microscopic fungi can take advantage of this imbalance.
Beatriz Cristovão searches for strategies to treat such infections. She is investigating how treatment with a signaling molecule from the immune system, called cytokine, affects fungal infections, with the aim of strengthening the immune system to fight the infection more efficiently.