The Department of Molecular Sensory Systems (Prof. Dr. U. B. Kaupp) studies the mechanisms of cellular signaling. We want to understand how a stimulus is detected by a cell and converted to a cellular response. A long-term goal is to unravel in quantitative terms selected signaling pathways in photoreceptors, olfactory neurons, and sperm. A unique feature of the Department is the ability to study signaling mechanisms at all levels – from single molecules to the behavorial response. For example, we study the structure of membrane receptors and ion channels that furnish cAMP- and cGMP-regulated pathways – at the molecular or even atomic level. At the same time, a major research area has become cell motitlity.