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Rubrik 4 F E AT U R E MICROSCOPIC WORLDS 08 TINY ORGANISMS OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE How microbial communities function in the natural world; how host organisms and the environment benefit from them; and how communication works in the diverse microbiomes: these are all topics currently being studied by FSU researchers, to- gether with numerous partners. 14 MICROSCOPIC FRIENDS AND HELPERS Microbiologist Prof. Axel Brakhage discusses in an interview what makes microor- ganisms so successful and what human beings can learn from them. 18 MICROORGANISMS AND HEALTH How harmless residents of the gut can turn into dangerous intruders; why advances in modern medicine can become a health risk; the possible psychological conse- quences of a life-threatening sepsis; and how resistant bacteria can be detected quickly and accurately. 26 DROPS OF BLOOD IN FOCUS In the research project »BLOODi«, scientists are working on developing a dynamic haemogram. The report follows the research team and shows how new optical technologies can be used to identify infections in whole blood. 30 MICROORGANISMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT How termites cultivate fungi to use them as food and bacteria hunt down green al- gae; how microorganisms survive in groundwater and rock, and contribute towards biomineralisation. 44 IMAGING WITH »X-RAY VISION« With ultrashort X-ray pulses, processes and structures can be resolved to the nanome- tre range. 46 GPS FOR ANTIBIOTICS Using polymer-based nanosystems, drugs could in future be precisely directed to the source of an infection.