Elke Deuerling, professor of biochemistry at the University of Konstanz, does what can be called true basic research: her work is focused on finding out more about how new proteins are synthesised and how the quality control of such proteins works.

Deuerling and her team's basic research initially focused on simple organisms such as Escherichia coli bacteria and baker's yeast and was then extended to include more complex organisms such as the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. This nematode is only about 1 mm long and cannot be seen on a transparent dish Deuerling is holding up to the light. The tiny organism can only be seen under the microscope. C. elegans worms with defective chaperones provide the researchers with important information about basic issues.