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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.

Two-dimensional materials such as graphene are not only ultrathin, but also extremely sensitive. Researchers have therefore been trying for years to develop highly sensitive biosensors that utilise this property. Graphene-based field-effect transistors, for example, could register the tiniest changes in the electronic properties caused by the molecules when they interact with this atomically thin layer.

The yeast " Candida parapsilosis" is emerging as a growing threat for hospitalized patients in a new study. A team led by Dr Amelia Barber from the Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse" at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Dr Grit Walther from the National Reference Centre for Invasive Fungal Infections (NRZMyk) investigated an outbreak of multi-drug resistant hospital-acquired strain of this fungus.

Mushrooms come in a breathtaking variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Especially in autumn, mushroom hunters swarm into the forests to find the tastiest of them, prepare them in a variety of ways and eat them with relish. However, it is well known that there are also poisonous mushrooms among them, and it is vital to distinguish between them.

The state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg have caused political upheaval due to the AfD's results. Exploratory talks on the future formation of a government are still ongoing. An interdisciplinary study as part of the Volkswagen Foundation's NurtureDEMOS project at the University of Trier and the Centre for Research on Right-Wing Extremism, Democracy Education and Social Integration (KomRex) at the University of Jena has recorded and analyzed attitudes and voting behaviour in the states in the run-up to the state elections.

Just a matter of the head? Not at all: Psychologist Dr. Barbara Schmidt from Jena University Hospital investigated the influence of hypnosis on our physical performance in a study now published in the journal "Scientific Reports". The results showed that hypnosis can not only increase the subjective feeling of strength, but also objective strength - with long-lasting effects.

Current findings from a Jena-Zurich research project form an important basis for the creation of artificial symbioses with specific properties that could be used for biotechnological applications in the future. For example, they could be used in Medicine, agriculture or environmental technology to protect plants against illnesses or to modify fungi so that they produce certain enzymes or active pharmaceutical ingredients.

New research reveals nitrogen deposition, and to a lesser extent climate change, unexpectedly as the key driver behind surprising westward shifts in the distribution of plants. These are the results of a study published in the journal Science, in which three researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) were involved, among them Professor Dr Markus Bernhardt-Römermann from the University of Jena.

In a recent study, researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena have shown how they can investigate the growth and interactions of the green algae "Ulva" and its bacterial community non-invasively and non-destructively using Raman spectroscopy.

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.

An international team of researchers led by Maximilian Weißflog with the participation of scientists from Jena, Canberra and with support from Darmstadt has made a significant advance in quantum optics. In their latest publication in the renowned Nature Journal, the scientists present a novel method for generating entangled photon pairs using two-dimensional (2D) materials.

An international team of researchers led by Maximilian Weißflog, with the participation of researchers from Jena, Canberra and with support from Darmstadt, has made a significant advance in quantum optics. In their latest publication in the renowned journal "Nature", the team presents a novel method for generating entangled photon pairs using two-dimensional (2D) materials.

All higher organisms such as fungi, plants, animals and humans consist of eukaryotic cells. These are cells that have a nucleus and organelles such as mitochondria. Mitochondria supply eukaryotic cells with energy. In contrast to eukaryotes, prokaryotes are unicellular organisms. They have a simpler structure and are mostly significantly smaller than eukaryotes.

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.

When combined with antifungal drugs, synthetic polymers are particularly effective against the yeast Candida albicans . This is what a German-Australian research team found out and also clarified the mechanism of action behind it. The researchers presented their findings in the journal "Nature Communications".

An international team of researchers has investigated the mechanism that makes some types of bacteria reflect light without using pigments. The researchers were interested in the genes responsible and discovered important ecological connections. These findings were published in the current issue of the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A research team from the University of Jena has developed a small optical lens, only a few millimetres in size, whose refractive behaviour changes in the presence of gas. As reported by the researchers in the journal Nature Communications, this "intelligent" behaviour of the micro-lens is enabled by the hybrid glass material from which it is made.

Botanical gardens are found all'over the world and are home to plants from all'over the world. They are therefore ideal study platforms for researchers to find out how different plants react to changes - for example as a result of climate change. Numerous scientific studies are now being carried out in cooperation with botanical gardens, including the "PhenObs" project of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) .

Almost four billion light years away from Earth in the centre of the galaxy OJ287, two giant black holes orbit each other, which are approximately 18 billion and 150 million times more massive than our sun. The larger of the two black holes is surrounded by a vast accretion disk, a rotating disk of matter that flows towards the black hole at its centre.

The interaction between high-intensity, ultrashort laser pulses and solids has opened up significant technological opportunities in recent years. Laser ablation, for example, allows high-precision materials processing, thereby facilitating the miniaturization of components in medical and telecommunications technologies.