news 2021

Research team led by Göttingen University investigates farmland birds in an Indian megacity Urbanization is one of the most drastic forms of land-use change, and its negative consequences on biodiversity have been studied extensively in temperate countries such as Germany. However, less research has been conducted in tropical regions from the Global South, where most of the ongoing and future urbanization hotspots are located, and little is known about its effects on agricultural biodiversity and associated ecosystems.

Heidelberg research group seeks and develops inhibitors against flaviand coronaviruses New drugs are intended to help stop viral zoonoses - infections that jump from animals to humans. To study suitable inhibitors, Christian Klein from the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (IPMB) of Heidelberg University is receiving funding in the amount of 450,000 euros from the Volkswagen Foundation.

Immune cell profile reveals appearance, number and activity level against SARS-CoV-2 T cells play a decisive role in fighting the coronavirus and preventing infected individuals from becoming seriously ill. They identify and fight the virus directly within the infected cells. A team of researchers working in Munich have produced a precise profile of the T cells that respond to SARS-CoV-2 and described them at various stages of the illness.

International research team conducted a genomic scan of thousands of pepper samples from around the world Pepper has flexible features like easily preserved and transportable in dried form, needed in moderate quantity to enrich dishes, easy to produce and wide scale. Genetic data stored in genebanks confirm that pepper has been spread along with the very earliest intercontinental traders, being among the first examples of a globally traded, mass-market, consumer-discretionary good.

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.

Model to serve as basis for new therapeutic strategies / Joint press release by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the MDC, and Freie Universität Berlin Covid-19 disease severity is determined by the individual patient's immune response. The precise mechanisms taking place inside the lungs and blood during the early phase of the disease, however, remain unclear.

Although Dr. Christian Maas does his research only on the computer, it's sometimes as if he were standing in a laboratory. "I do experiments," he says. By means of his virtual experiments, geophysicist Maas is investigating a question that couldn't be answered in any lab in the world: the question of the how the Earth came into being.

Enzyme treatment of skin samples improves microbiome analysis Healthy skin has a bacterial shield to protect against germs: the microbiome. This complex assembly of microorganisms was previously believed to be difficult to decipher. A team of researchers has now succeeded in using the enzyme benzonase to identify the living bacteria in skin swabs through sequencing.

Researchers from Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Bern have published the results of a groundbreaking study No 155/2021 from Aug 10, 2021 Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Bern (Switzerland) have developed highly effective SARS-CoV-2 preclinical vaccine candidates that can be administered in the form of nasal drops or sprays.

A new type of atomic sensor made of boron nitride is presented by researchers in "Nature Communications". The sensor is based on a qubit in the crystal lattice and is superior to comparable sensors. An artificially created spin defect (qubit) in a crystal lattice of boron nitride is suitable as a sensor enabling the measurement of different changes in its local environment.

The findings come as the result of anti-doping research at Freie Universität Berlin funded by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) No 153/2021 from Aug 06, 2021 According to a study spearheaded by Freie Universität Berlin, the anabolic androgenic steroid dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) is detectable in the body for several weeks after administration.

New Study by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Freie Universität Berlin, and Exeter University No 152/2021 from Aug 06, 2021 A major Atlantic Ocean current, which includes the Gulf Stream, may have lost stability over the course of the last century. The research appeared in a new study published , authored by Niklas Boers (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, PIK, Freie Universität Berlin, and Exeter University).

Research team led by the University of Göttingen calls for paradigm shift Is organic farming the only alternative to conventional agriculture to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes? An international research team led by the University of Göttingen questions this.

Chip with secure encryption will help in fight against hackers A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has designed and commissioned the production of a computer chip that implements post-quantum cryptography very efficiently. Such chips could provide protection against future hacker attacks using quantum computers.

Artifacts found in the Einhornhöhle cave in northern Germany are the subject of a research project involving experts from Freie Universität Berlin and shine a light on the cognitive abilities of our Neanderthal ancestors No 150/2021 from Aug 04, 2021 A discovery made by a research team in a cave in Lower Saxony, northern Germany, suggests that Neanderthals were not merely a primitive subspecies of archaic humans - a commonplace belief ever since their first fossil remains were found in the nineteenth century.

Nanocontainers made of biological materials use natural processes to enter cells and release their cargo / Study published in the journal "Advanced Science" Nanocontainers can transport substances into cells where they can then take effect. This is the method used in, for example, the mRNA vaccines currently being employed against Covid-19 as well as certain cancer drugs.

Comparing the impact of COVID-19 between countries or during a given period of time is challenging because reported numbers of cases and deaths can be affected by testing capacity and reporting policy. The current study provides a more accurate picture of the effects of COVID-19 than using these numbers, and may improve our understanding of this and future pandemics.

Studies of pigments from wall paintings in Cueva Ardales, a cave in southern Spain, have confirmed the assumption that they originated from Neanderthals / Publication in PNAS The dating of paintings in three caves in Spain supports the view that Neanderthals practiced cave art in the form of colored markings more than 20,000 years before the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe.

Göttingen research team creates phylogenetic tree of leaf insects An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has studied the evolution of the walking leaves. Walking leaves belong to the stick insects and ghost insects that, unlike their approximately 3,000 branch-like relatives, do not imitate twigs.

Immune response stronger than after two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine People under the age of 60 who initially received a vaccine from AstraZeneca should be given an mRNA vaccine at their second appointment. This is recommended by the German Standing Committee on Vaccination. However, up until now, there were no data available to indicate to what extent the human organism would react to such a combined vaccination and start to form antibodies.