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The human gut is a multi-species habitat that can control our health and well-being. Bacteria, viruses and microbial fungi are part of this complex microbial community and help us with our digestion and immune defense. If the intestinal flora is impaired, for example by contaminated drinking water or food infected by germs, this can result in infectious diseases.

Chemists at the University of Jena developed a way of melting normally unmeltable metal-organic framework compounds - so-called MOFs. This allows the melt-based production of glass components for applications in energy and environmental technology. Glasses are an indispensable part of everyday life.

Nonlinear optics is of paramount importance in numerous fields of science and technology, in particular for second harmonic generation, namely the process of frequency doubling of a light beam. For instance, this process turns invisible infrared light into the visible light cursor of a laser pointer.

Using nanoparticles, a Jena research team implemented the targeted transport of an active ingredient into liver tissue. The particles were functionalized with a dye that is specifically absorbed by liver cells, and they carried an inhibitor of the signal protein PI3Kinase ', which contributes to the development of liver failure in sepsis.

University of Jena researchers have discovered a bacterial toxin that destroys the colour pigments in the eyespot of the single-cell green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Together with another toxic substance, the bacteria of the species Pseudomonas protegens not only disorientate and immobilise the green algae, but condemn them to a certain death.

The way in which a compound inspired by nature produces hydrogen has now been described in detail for the first time by an international research team from the University of Jena and the University of Milan-Bicocca. These findings are the foundation for the energy-efficient production of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source.

Over the past 35 years, there have been large shifts in the distributions of many dragonfly and damselfly species in Germany. Many species of standing water habitats have declined, probably due to loss of habitat. On the other hand, running-water species, living in rivers and creeks, and warm-adapted species have benefited from improved water quality and warmer temperatures.

Collaborative Research Center granted DFG funding for a further four years. Life The German Research Foundation (DFG) will fund the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio (CRC/TR) "FungiNet" for four more years with approximately ten million Euro. In the only CRC studying human pathogenic fungi, scientists in Jena and Würzburg will investigate infection processes and novel therapeutic options.

International research team develops new method for studying atomic structures in material surfaces Light Researchers from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the University of California Berkeley and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris use intense laser light in the extreme ultraviolet spectrum to generate a non-linear optical process on a laboratory scale - a process which until now has only been possible in a large-scale research facility.

Astronomers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Chile, the USA and Germany have imaged the newly discovered exoplanet "YSES 2b" right next to its host star Light An international research team with the participation of Dr Markus Mugrauer from the Astrophysical Institute of Friedrich Schiller University Jena has succeeded in the direct imaging of a young exoplanet.

Meta-analysis reveals: Hypnosis relieves pain, reduces mental distress and promotes recovery after surgery Hypnosis relieves pain, reduces mental distress and promotes recovery after surgical interventions - this has been shown in a meta-analysis recently published in Clinical Psychology Review. By evaluating 50 individual studies with over 4000 patients, scientists from Jena and Leipzig examined the efficacy of hypnosis in the context of surgical interventions.

Researchers from the University of Jena and University of Florence, develop cobalt compound with special quantum properties In quantum computers, instead of electrical circuits being switched on or off, quantum mechanical states are altered.

A research team is developing a high-resolution imaging technique that can be used to investigate materials in a non-destructive manner and with nanometre precision Light Images provide information - what we can observe with our own eyes enables us to understand. Constantly expanding the field of perception into dimensions that are initially hidden from the naked eye, drives science forward.

Researchers show positive effect of urban nature on mental health Daily contact with trees in the street may significantly reduce the risk of depression and the need for antidepressants . This is the result of a study by researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University (UL), and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, recently published in the journal Scientific Reports .

International Team is awarded the Breakthrough of the Year 2020 prize by Physics World magazine Light For the development of a light-emitting silicon alloy, researchers from TU Eindhoven, Netherlands and the University of Jena, Germany together with partners from the University of Linz and TU Munich, are today (17 December) being awarded the " Breakthrough of the Year " prize by Physics World magazine.

Most comprehensive evaluation of the occurrence of vascular plants in Germany to date Life Germany's plant diversity is on the decline: in the last 60 years, decreases by an average of 15 percent have been observed across Germany in over 70 percent of the more than 2,000 species examined. These are the findings of the most comprehensive analysis of plant data from Germany ever conducted, recently published in "Global Change Biology".

Jena research team discovers molecule that influences the resistance of cholera bacteria Life Antibiotics have revolutionized medicine by providing effective treatments for infectious diseases such as cholera. But the pathogens that cause disease are increasingly developing resistance to the antibiotics that are most commonly used.

Bioinformaticians at the University of Jena develop new method for analysing metabolites Everything that lives has metabolites, produces metabolites and consumes metabolites. These molecules arise as intermediate and end products from chemical processes in an organism's metabolism. Therefore, they not only have huge significance for our lives, but they also provide valuable information about the condition of a living being or an environment.

Researchers have succeeded in directly observing the formation and interaction of highly ionized krypton plasma Light The last decade has been marked by a series of remarkable discoveries identifying how the universe is composed. It is understood that the mysterious substance dark matter makes up 85 % of the matter in the universe.

Research team from Jena and Cambridge develops glass materials with novel combinations of properties Light Linkages between organic and inorganic materials are a common phenomenon in nature, e.g., in the construction of bones and skeletal structures. They often enable combinations of properties that could not be achieved with just one type of material.