news 2023

Research at Göttingen and Warwick Universities reveals how filament interactions affect cellular networks Tiny things matter - for instance, one amino acid can completely alter the architecture of the cell. Researchers at the Universities of Göttingen and Warwick investigated the structure and mechanics of the main component of the cytoskeleton of the cell: a protein known as actin.

Novel Catalyst System for CO2 Conversion Researchers are constantly pushing the limits of technology by breaking new ground in CO2 conversion. Their goal is to turn the harmful greenhouse gas into a valuable resource. Research groups around the world are developing technologies to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into raw materials for industrial applications.

International research team models the different signatures of a kilonova explosion simultaneously for the first time Neutron stars are the end products of massive stars and gather together a large part of the original stellar mass in a super-dense star with a diameter of only around ten kilometres.

Small Tortoiseshell butterflies (Aglais urticae) are an example of a species with formerly high local abundances that has declined in number. Insect decline is being driven by losses among the locally more common species, according to a new study published in "Nature".

Researchers have charted vast areas of the dense, cold gas of star nurseries in a neighboring galaxy for the first time. An international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and involving the University of Bonn has mapped the cold, dense gas of future star nurseries in one of our neighboring galaxies with an unprecedented degree of detail.

Scientists have developed a new computational tool to detect up to second to third degree cousins using ancient genomes If two persons are biologically related, they share long stretches of DNA that they co-inherited from their recent common ancestor. These almost identically shared stretches of genomes are called IBD ("Identity by Descent") segments.

Three modules forming a new-to-nature CO2 fixation cycle successfully implemented in E.coli Synthetic biology offers the opportunity to build biochemical pathways for the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2). Researchers at the Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have developed a synthetic biochemical cycle that directly converts CO2 into the central building block Acetyl-CoA.

The colour of dragonfly communities reacts to seasonal variation in solar radiation. Over the last 30 years, however, this colour pattern has changed - probably as a result of climate change. In a new study, researchers at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, have discovered that the colour of dragonfly communities reacts to seasonal fluctuations in solar radiation.

Researchers have identified a mechanism that promotes the breakdown of harmful protein deposits. If it malfunctions, it can lead to Parkinson's disease. NEMO, a protein that is primarily associated with signaling processes in the immune system, prevents the deposition of protein aggregates that occur in Parkinson's disease.

Geologists from Heidelberg and Frankfurt simulate thermo-mechanical behaviour of a white schist from the Alps Movements of rocks from deep in the Earth to the surface could occur under different circumstances than previously thought, challenging our current understanding of plate tectonics and mountain-building.

Researchers investigate consensus building in virtual teams during the Covid-19 pandemic Virtual working offers many opportunities, but also harbors risks. In addition to the known disadvantages - less personal contact, communication and coordination difficulties - external crises can pose an additional challenge, especially if employees at different locations work together across local or national borders and are affected to varying degrees by a crisis.

Researchers at the University of Tübingen have discovered a novel antibiotic substance from the human nose that can be used against pathogenic bacteria. Named epifadin, the molecule is produced from specific strains of the bacterial species Staphylococcus epidermidis , which occur on the mucous membrane of the inside wall of the nose.

The investigation of the biosynthesis of panepoxydone, an important substance for biomedical research, in basidiomycetes has revealed a new enzyme as an important catalyst. The results of the researchers from the Leibniz-HKI, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse have now been published in the journal "Angewandte Chemie International Edition".

Are you feeling permanently stressed and overworked? It could be due to your social media consumption. Reducing it by as little as 30 minutes a day makes a difference. If you feel overworked and stressed, you'll be less committed to your job and perform less well. Many companies are aware of this problem and, therefore, spend money on professionals to look after the mental health of their employees.

Using optogenetics, Würzburg researchers have detected a new acid sensor in plant cells that is addressing a cell-internal calcium store, as they report in the journal "Science". When plants are infected by pathogens, suffer from a lack of water or have to react to other external stimuli, the first thing they do is increase the proton and calcium concentration in the affected cells.

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in Germany. People who suffer from it often lose control when eating and consume large amounts of food. Anja Hilbert, Professor of Behavioral Medicine at Leipzig University, is investigating how the disorder can be cured. In a recent pilot study, she and her research team found a positive effect of food-related neurofeedback.

Eyewitness statements are one of the key sources for identifying perpetrators - and one of the most error-prone. For example, the Innocence Project - an organisation that works to clear up miscarriages of justice in the US - states that incorrect eyewitness statements played a role in 64 per cent of the cases in which it was able to secure the release of people who had been wrongly convicted.

A DFG research group led by the University of Würzburg has developed a method that makes it possible to analyse the relationship between biodiversity within and between ecosystems and the multifunctionality of entire landscapes. Ecosystems fulfil a number of vital tasks: They store carbon, clean polluted water, pollinate plants and so on.

The pathogens want to benefit as long as possible from the food supply that life in the vector mosquitoes offers them Instead of being transmitted to humans as quickly as possible, malaria parasites develop in mosquitoes for up to twelve days and even run the risk of not being transmitted. Mathematical modelling allowed  researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin to study the evolution of malaria parasites over hundreds of generations.

Team of international researchers analyzed the remains of over 1,500 individuals who lived roughly 6,000 to 8,000 years ago Body size differences between females and males in northern Europe during the early Neolithic period (6,000 to 8,000 years ago) may reflect cultural factors in play. The findings of an international research project led by the University of Pennsylvania (USA) suggest that differences in stature during that period cannot be explained solely by genetics and diet.