news 2024

After migrating to their wintering grounds, the animals move as little as possible to conserve energy In the fall, reindeer migrate from their northern grazing areas to the south.

Bonn researchers show how disease-relevant genes can be identified more easily The identification of genes involved in diseases is one of the major challenges of biomedical research. Researchers at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have developed a method that makes their identification much easier and faster: they light up genome sequences in the cell nucleus.

A binary star system at the center of the Milky Way provides new clues as to how stars form around the central black hole An international research team led by Florian Peißker has for the first time found a binary star in the immediate vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sagittarus A* at the center of our galaxy.

The Moon is much older than previously thought. Its crust was reheated after its formation - and has thus misled researchers in determining its age After its formation, the Moon may have been the scene of such immense volcanic activity that its entire crust melted several times and was completely churned through.

New observations with the James Webb Space Telescope no longer rule out the presence of an atmosphere around the Earth-sized rocky planet. However, a geologically active planet also explains the data. Recent measurements with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) cast doubt on the current understanding of the exoplanet Trappist-1 b-s nature.

University of Bonn Researcher Involved in Sensational Find in Frankfurt University of Bonn Researcher Involved in Sensational Find in Frankfurt Inscription on 3rd-century amulet capsule highly significant, says Professor Wolfram Kinzig Some time ago, archaeological excavations in the Praunheim district of Frankfurt am Main uncovered a burial ground from the 3rd century.

International research team describes for the first time the structure and function of the Zorya system, a highly specialized antiviral protection mechanism against bacteria. Bacteria are constantly infected by viruses, so-called phages, which use the bacteria as host cells. However, in the course of evolution, bacteria have developed a variety of strategies to protect themselves from these attacks.

How did the Fukushima disaster occur in 2011 and how can we better understand geological processes in order to protect coastal infrastructure in the long term? These questions surrounding the Tohoku earthquake are the focus of an expedition involving a scientist from RWTH Aachen University. The Tohoku earthquake occurred off the east coast of Japan on March 3, 2011.

Genomes of seven early Europeans show they belonged to a small, isolated group that had recently mixed with Neandertals but left no present-day descendants Few genomes have been sequenced from early modern humans, who first arrived in Europe when the region was already inhabited by Neandertals. An international team led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has now sequenced the oldest modern human genomes to date.

Scientists unravel timing and impact of Neandertal gene flow into early modern humans Ancient DNA research suggests that our non-African ancestors mixed with Neandertals about 50,000 years ago, resulting in one to two percent Neandertal DNA in non-African modern humans. In a study of 300 genomes, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the University of California, Berkeley found that this likely occurred in a single instance about 47,000 years ago, suggesting a human migration out of Africa no later than 43,500 years ago.

International research team describes for the first time the structure and function of the Zorya system, a highly specialised antiviral protection mechanism of bacteria.

A team of Würzburg neuroscientists investigates communication pathways in the brain and predicts intelligence. A new study approach uses machine learning to improve our conceptual understanding of intelligence. The human brain is the central control organ of our body. It processes sensory information and enables us, among other things, to form thoughts, make decisions and store knowledge.

Contactless diagnosis: research team develops innovative measurement technology to determine vital signs A research team from TU Ilmenau and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) has jointly developed an optical measurement system that can be used to monitor the health status of chronically ill or highly contagious people using vital parameters such as body temperature, respiratory rate or oxygen saturation without contact.

Bonn researchers decipher structure of coagulation factor XIII using cryo-electron microscopy A deficiency in blood plasma coagulation factor XIII leads to a disruption in the cross-linking of fibrin, the "glue" in blood coagulation. The enzyme therefore plays an essential role in blood clotting. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, together with Thermo Fisher Scientific in the Netherlands, deciphered the previously unknown structure of the Factor XIII complex using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), even at the atomic level.

Space mission "BepiColombo" delivers data from the innermost planet in our solar system for the first time On December 1, 2024, the BepiColombo mission flew past Mercury for the fifth time and has now become the first spacecraft to observe the surface in the mid-infrared using the MERTIS ("Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer") infrared spectrometer.

A comprehensive study conducted by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, now found that while there is a connection between political orientation and prosociality, it is weaker than previously assumed. It is often assumed that people who hold left-wing political beliefs have stronger prosocial traits and are more altruistic than those who support right-wing parties.

Many animals orient themselves using their sense of magnetism. However, this can be based on different physical mechanisms. A research team from Oldenburg and Würzburg has now investigated the navigation of the desert ant. Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but these tiny insects rely on a different component of the field than other insects, a research team led by Dr Pauline Fleischmann from the University of Oldenburg reports in the journal Current Biology.

Researchers from the University of Jena and the Leibniz Institutes in Jena have published new findings on the adaptability of the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The interdisciplinary study, largely carried out by researchers from the Cluster of Excellence -Balance of the Microverse-, shows how the tiny green alga can adapt its shape and metabolism under natural conditions without changing its genome.

Blue-throated macaws, a critically endangered parrot species, have demonstrated automatic imitation of intransitive (goal-less) actions-a phenomenon previously documented only in humans. In a study conducted by an international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, in collaboration with the Loro Parque Fundación, scientists reveal that macaws involuntarily copy intransitive movements.

Circadian clocks control physiological processes and behavior in virtually all living organisms. Now an international research team led by researchers from the University of Würzburg has created a detailed map of the internal clock in the brain of the fruit fly. All animals including humans are subject to daily rhythms in their activity and sleep, hunger, metabolism, and reproduction.