news 2020

Hydrochloric acid treatment improves catalysts for removing sulfur from crude oil A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) led by chemist Johannes Lercher has developed a synthesis process which drastically increases the activity of catalysts for the desulfurization of crude oil.

Much of our knowledge of how biodiversity benefits ecosystems comes from experimental sites. These sites contain combinations of species that are not found in the real world, which has led some ecologists to question the findings from biodiversity experiments. But the positive effects of biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems are more than an artefact of experimental design.

Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin investigated structures of discrimination and privileges in the theater No 144/2020 from Aug 25, 2020 A study by researchers at Freie Universität has surprisingly shown that men with a migration background and people with a nonbinary gender identity experience a slight advantage over other male applicants in the field of theater.

Much of our knowledge of how biodiversity benefits ecosystems comes from experimental sites. These sites contain combinations of species that are not found in the real world, which has led some ecologists to question the findings from biodiversity experiments. But the positive effects of biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems are more than an artefact of experimental design.

Research team from University of Göttingen develops drug approach against bacterial infections Antibiotics are among the most important discoveries of modern medicine and have saved millions of lives since the discovery of penicillin almost 100 years ago. Many diseases caused by bacterial infections - such as pneumonia, meningitis or septicaemia - are successfully treated with antibiotics.

Researchers led by Göttingen University develop new three-dimensional imaging technique to visualize tissue damage in severe Covid-19 Physicists at the University of Göttingen, together with pathologists and lung specialists at the Medical University of Hannover, have developed a three-dimensional imaging technique that enables high resolution and three-dimensional representation of damaged lung tissue following severe Covid-19.

Chess requires playing ability and strategic thinking; in roulette, chance determines victory or defeat, gain or loss. But what about skat and poker? Are they games of chance or games of skill in game theory? This classification also determines whether play may involve money. Jörg Oechssler and his team of economists at Heidelberg University studied this question, developing a rating system similar to the Elo system used for chess.

What alternatives to conventional agriculture exist to produce carbohydrates for food and feed? Scientists at Heidelberg University performed model calculations for artificial sugar production with a view towards synthesis of other carbohydrates such as starch. They are looking into whether a part of the human calorie requirement could be met by resource-saving, synthetically produced foods.

Residues of pharmaceuticals in surface waters - in this case an antidiabetic and two antidepressants - also have effects on fish. Drugs for the treatment of depression have particularly strong effects, with fish losing their natural reaction to stress when substance concentration in the water is above a certain level.

In some regions the Planaxis sulcatus sea snail produces larvae while in others they produce further-developed offspring. A research team headed by Benedikt Wiggering and Matthias Glaubrecht from the Center of Natural History (CeNak) at Universität Hamburg have now proven for the first time that the animals in question are indeed one and the same species and have thus adapted brilliantly to living conditions.

Sustainable biotechnological production of a natural substance against tuberculosis Corals growing on the reefs of the Bahamas produce an active agent that kills multi-resistant tuberculosis bacteria. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have managed to produce the antibiotic biotechnologically in the laboratory - fast, cost-efficient and sustainably.

Young thale cress seedling (Arabidopsis thaliana) with the fluorescent biosensor in its cells. The false colour image shows the redox status of the NAD pool in the cells and tissue. Rainbow scale from blue (oxidized NAD pool) to red (reduced NAD pool). Almost all life on Earth, in particular our food and our health, depend on metabolism in plants.

Like biological systems, artificial neuronal networks distribute computations across their interconnected neurons to solve complex tasks. Scientists from Heidelberg University and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen studied how so-called critical states can be used to optimise these networks.

Participants are needed for a study being conducted by Freie Universität, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC), the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT), and the National Research Center for App No 137/2020 from Aug 13, 2020 Researchers from Freie Universität, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC), the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SI

Until a million years ago, dwarf planet Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt, was the scene of cryovolcanic eruptions: below the Occator Crater, subsurface brine pushed upward; the water evaporated, leaving behind bright, salty deposits. This process is probably still ongoing. A team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany comes to these conclusions after evaluating high-resolution camera images of Ceres from the final phase of NASA's Dawn mission.

A study to balloon angioplasty with drug-coated and uncoated balloons in vascular occlusion in the femoropopliteal region proves the drug-coated devices to be superior Balloon angioplasty is the treatment option for the advanced stage of intermittent claudication - if medication and targeted training can no longer alleviate the pain and impairments caused by constricted leg arteries.

How growth rates influence the fitness of bacteria Bacteria are survival artists: When they get nutrition, they multiply rapidly, albeit they can also survive periods of hunger. But, when they grow too quickly, their ability to survive is hampered, as studies by a research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) on E. coli bacteria show.

Research team of the Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse" identifies new regulatory sRNA molecules Light Bacteria are always with us: These tiny organisms are found within and on our body as is the case with all animals and plants. As part of a healthy microbiome they ensure our wellbeing.

Longer ranges for electric vehicles and the effective storage of electricity from renewable energies - these are research topics for the future which PhD students in Münster will be working on in a new international Graduate School. The research centre for "Battery Chemistry, Characterization, Analysis, Recycling and Application" (BACCARA for short) was officially opened on August 5 at the MEET Battery Research Centre at the University of Münster.

International research team discovers unusual molecular structures The periodic system contains 118 chemical elements. However, only a few of them, such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and silicon, are of major importance in our daily lives. But things become really exciting from a chemical point of view when less well-known elements are involved.