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International research team find highest speciation in Asteraceae family on oceanic islands Asteraceae, a family of flowering plants which includes daisies, sunflowers and asters, are the most diverse group of flowering plants in the world. This plant family comprises around 34,000 species, some of which are well-known, such as artichokes, chamomile, dahlias and lettuce.

Pollen not only plays a role in allergies, but also influences the local weather. Especially in spring, when large amounts are released, it contributes to the formation of ice in clouds, which can increase rainfall. A recent study led by the Institute for Meteorology at Leipzig University is the first to prove this outside the laboratory.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, in collaboration with the Swiss Ornithological Institute in Switzerland and the University of Vienna in Austria, investigated how young golden eagles improve their flight skills as they age. Their results, published in eLife, show that as golden eagles improve their flying skills, they become able to explore a broader area within their range in the central European Alps.

In 1974, scientists first sounded the alarm about the destruction of the ozone layer caused by human activities. Yet it would take several more years for the global community to reach a consensus on banning ozone-depleting chemicals. At the time, Paul Crutzen and his research team played a pivotal role in bringing this issue to the world's attention.

Canopy gaps in a mixed floodplain forest have a direct effect on forest soil temperature and moisture, but only have a minor impact on soil biological activity. This is the conclusion of a study by Leipzig University, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, which was recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Canopy gaps in a mixed floodplain forest have a direct effect on forest soil temperature and moisture, but only have a minor impact on soil biological activity. This is the conclusion of a study by Leipzig University, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, which was recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

The birds save more energy prior their migration to the south than they consume during the flight itself Millions of birds migrate every year to escape winter, but spending time in a warmer climate does not save them energy, according to research by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany.

Researchers at Göttingen University find climate traffic light system prevents consumer deception A research team led by the University of Göttingen found that the label 'climate neutral' makes food appear significantly more climate-friendly than it actually is. Even when information about how the damage to the climate is being offset was explained, this did not stop consumers having the wrong perception about the product.

A research team of scientists from Freie Universität Berlin and Princeton University provide insights into the origins of complete metamorphosis in insects More than sixty percent of all'animal species are insects. The majority of these species undergo complete metamorphosis, whereby the larva transforms into a pupa and then an adult.

A team of researchers from Jena and Ulm have developed an innovative approach to precisely influence the properties of light-absorbing materials, so-called chromophores. They focused on specific iron compounds, demonstrating that small changes in their chemical structure can control how these compounds react to light.

Dangerous mixtures: pesticides in combination can have unexpected effects on the development of honeybees. This is shown by a new study from the Biocenter. Honeybees are social insects. Their colony only survives as a community, and healthy new generations are very important. It is therefore not surprising that honeybees invest significant care and resources into their offspring: nurse bees feed the young larvae with a food juice made from nectar and pollen which they produce in a gland in their head.

Special features of the Arctic climate, such as the strong reflection of the sun's rays on the light-colored snow surface or the low position of the sun, intensify global warming in the Arctic. However, researchers are constantly faced with the challenge of mapping the climatic processes responsible for this in order to make reliable weather forecasts.

Satellite and street view images provide basis for more precise evaluation of the environmental conditions that favor the presence of Aedes aegypti The Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible worldwide for the spread of infectious diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. To combat the widely transmitted diseases affecting millions, detailed mosquito distribution maps with data on the spatial and temporal spread of populations are of major importance.

Researchers at Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen and Kobe University discovered populations of female brown algae that reproduce from unfertilised gamete s'and thrive without males. They used -Amazonalgae to shed light on the phenotypic and genetic consequences of shift from sexual to asexual reproduction.

It's not just us humans who suffer from heatwaves. Researchers at the University of Würzburg discovered that hot temperatures rob bumblebees of their sense of smell - and makes them struggle when searching for food. Climate change is affecting ecosystems in many different ways. One of its consequences are increasingly longer and more intense periods of heat, which affect essential natural processes - such as pollination.

Study by University of Bonn: Where measures against illegal deforestation are in force, the number of homicides falls In December 2007, the then Brazilian government passed a law to curb the illegal destruction of the rainforest. A study by researchers from the Insper Research Institute in São Paulo and the University of Bonn now shows an interesting side effect: where the measures were implemented, not only did deforestation decrease, but so did the number of homicides.

News from Terrestrial ecosystems become increasingly vulnerable to global change as the number of environmental stressors rises, according to a new study published in Nature Geoscience.

A team of scientists from the Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse" has discovered a previously unknown rejuvenation mechanism in unicellular organisms. They studied unicellular microalgae, which serve as the basis of food chains in the oceans. Unicellular organisms, such as microalgae, also age when they can no longer divide due to a lack of nutrients.

Researchers confirm positive effects of organic farming and flower strips for bee colonies   Honey bees are valued both for their honey and their ability to pollinate crops. However, populations are suffering from the loss of areas of wild flowers in intensive farming, pesticide applications and from the influence of pathogens, so it is all the more important to understand what keeps them healthy.

Baby sea turtles respond even more to fluctuating precipitation than to changes in air temperature during their development in the egg. The effects of precipitation differ depending on the species - or even the population.