Michael Sars Centre

31/03/2026

Read more about the latest research published by the group of Pawel Burkhardt in ScienceNorway.no! 🤩⤵️

Ancient comb jellies have a surprisingly advanced sensory organ that can be compared to an elementary brain. Presented by The University of Bergen. Read more in the comments 👇

05/03/2026

Researchers in the group of Pawel Burkhardt at the Michael Sars Centre looked at a tiny sensory structure in comb jellies. What they discovered is reshaping our understanding of brain evolution! 🧠

Check the story below, in English and Norwegian! ⤵️

🧠 Kan hjernelignende strukturer ha oppstått flere ganger i evolusjonen?

Forskere ved Michael Sars Centre ved UiB har undersøkt et viktig sanseorgan hos ribbemaneter: Gelatinøse dyr som dukket opp i havet for rundt 550 millioner år siden.

Ved hjelp av avanserte 3D-rekonstruksjoner fant de at organet er langt mer komplekst enn tidligere antatt, med 17 ulike celletyper.

– Jeg ble nesten umiddelbart overrasket over den morfologiske mangfoldigheten i cellene i det aborale organet, sier førsteforfatter Anna Ferraioli.

Funnene tyder på at evolusjonen kan ha utviklet sentraliserte nervesystemer mer enn én gang.

Les mer i lenken i kommentarfeltet 👇

23/09/2025

Over the weekend, we met hundreds of science enthusiasts who were eager to learn about animal development and to observe sea sq**rts at various stages of their life 🤩

Our team of experts was very impressed by the turnout at this year's Forskningsdagene i Bergen science fair. We are grateful for all the visitors who stopped by to try out our sea sq**rt puzzles, explore our 3D models or look at animals under the microscope 🔬 We were also delighted to receive a visit from Universitetet i Bergen rector Margareth Hagen!

Thank you to the wonderful organizers at Forskningsdagene i Bergen and Universitetet i Bergen, and to Norges forskningsråd for supporting this fantastic event 👏

13/05/2025

We are very proud to share that the Centre's Appendicularian Facility was featured in a documentary 🤩

There are many tiny organisms in our oceans. All play an invaluable role in marine ecosystems, but understanding how they relate to each other isn't easy!

NORCE researchers set out to uncover how the filter-feeding appendicularians affect the distribution of viruses in the sea. They received some help from head engineer Anne Aasjord and her unique appendicularian culture 🌊

The film is produced by Warholm Film (warholmfilm.no©) in collaboration with NORCE.

Watch the whole movie and learn more about this exciting project ⤵️
https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/178038/michael-sars-centre-appendicularian-facility-featured-short-documentary

02/05/2025

A huge thank you to the organizers of the Museum's Kunnskapsfest, and to the thousands of curious visitors who attended 😍

We had an incredible time celebrating the research carried out at Universitetsmuseet i Bergen over the past two centuries, and connecting it to the research we pursue at the Centre today 🌊

Our comb jellies make a guest appearance in the photos below, can you find them?

Realfag UiB - Universitetet i Bergen

24/02/2025

We had so much fun during the Researchers' Night at Akvariet i Bergen 🤩

The atmosphere was magical, and the darkness is the perfect setting for our comb jellies to shine 🌈 A lot of curious visitors tried out our puzzles and quiz, and challenged our researchers with tough questions 🧐

A huge thanks to Akvariet i Bergen for the invitation, what an amazing event!

📸 Aishwarya Ravi & Marion Lebouvier

Realfag UiB
Universitetet i Bergen

03/02/2025

We are so happy to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Aquarium de Paris 🤩🌊

The Aquarium and our facilities have a few things in common: talented aquarists, a dedication to sharing the beauty of marine life with the public, and... Jellies! 🪼

This new partnership places comb jellies in the spotlight ✨ Through the exchange of expertise and specimens, the Aquarium de Paris is expanding its collection while researchers at the Michael Sars Centre get to explore the secrets of new species.

If you are visiting Paris, make sure to visit the Medusarium© and say hi to our jellies!

Read this article to know more about the partnership:
https://tinyurl.com/yc7erub5

Universitetet i Bergen
Realfag UiB