news 2021

Weather conditions outside growing season very important The weather conditions in the winter and during the transitional phases from fall to winter and winter to spring have a significant influence on the yield level of key cereal crops, such as winter barley and winter wheat. These were the findings of a research team of scientists at the Chair of Plant Nutrition at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

International research team including Göttingen University sequence whole genome of quillwort The quillwort is an aquatic plant belonging to an ancient lineage of vascular plants, meaning plants that have tissues to transport water, sap and nutrients. This lineage diverged from the other vascular plants more than 400 million years ago.

New software helps determine the movements of large wild animals thereby minimising conflicts with people. The software is simpler than measurements obtained using radio transmitters and can be used where conventional methods fail. An international team led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Aarhus University and the University of Oxford has published a description of the new software in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

Researchers including Göttingen University use citizen science to study birdsong over last 25 years Natural sounds, and birdsong in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature. Birds have been declining due to changing land use and climate change. But how has this affected the dawn chorus around us?

Planetologists from Münster investigate origin of heavy bombardment of the Moon 3.9 billion years ago / Publication in "Science Advances" The lunar surface is covered by numerous craters that date back to the impacts of asteroids. Age determinations on lunar rocks formed during these impacts show a surprising clustering at ages of about 3.9 billion years before present, or about 500 million years after the Moon was formed.

Researchers from Heidelberg and Bern develop a new training approach for spiking neural networks Developing a machine that processes information as efficiently as the human brain has been a long-standing research goal towards true artificial intelligence. An interdisciplinary research team at Heidelberg University and the University of Bern (Switzerland) led by Dr Mihai Petrovici is tackling this problem with the help of biologically-inspired artificial neural networks.

Last summer, archaeologists from the University of Münster discovered a previously unknown sanctuary from the Roman era during excavation work in the ancient town of Doliche in south-eastern Turkey. Over a period of nine weeks, the team - headed by Prof. Engelbert Winter and Prof. Michael Blömer from the Asia Minor Research Centre -uncovered parts of a large temple notable not only for its size but also for its unusual form.

Researchers look for materials for the future A mobile phone is full of raw materials: its electronic components contain valuable precious metals, such as gold, silver and platinum, rare metals, like cobalt, gallium or indium, and rare-earth elements, such as neodymium. Often, the old devices end up in the bin - and, with them, their precious cargo.

Heidelberg geoscientists test new methods to understand the effects of rupture processes in the Earth's interior Spontaneous mineral growth and dissolution in the rock of the Earth's crust, until now observed only by chance and never described or systematically studied, are the focus of a new research project at Heidelberg University.

Dark-field X-ray technology improves diagnosis of pulmonary ailments For the first time, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have successfully used a new X-ray method for respiratory diagnostics with patients. Dark-field X-rays visualize early changes in the alveolar structure caused by the lung disease COPD and require only one fiftieth of the radiation dose typically applied in X-ray computed tomography.

Plants are not entirely at the mercy of their herbivore enemies. Often, chemical defences ensure that the plants are inedible, or even toxic, and as a result insects and other hungry animals steer clear of them. A new study has shown, for the first time, that the degradation of plants' defence substances by insects' digestive enzymes can influence the insects' preference for certain food plants.

Göttingen researchers use laser to reveal that the inside of living cells softens and fluidifies when dividing Living cells are the basic building blocks of all organisms. We, as humans, are essentially a collection of trillions of living cells: and all these cells emerge from a single fertilized egg.

Comparatively, neutrons detect most defects in 3D printed components In the manufacture of turbines conventional processes often reach their limits. Therefore, additive manufacturing is increasingly used to produce complex, curved components with intricate structures. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now examined common methods used to locate defects inside components.

MHH study develops reference tool for blood tests Lymphocytes belong to the white blood cells. They consist of several subgroups with different tasks in immune defence. Which and how many lymphocytes are in the blood provides information about our current state of health as well as congenital or acquired immune deficiencies.

More than a third of all medicines available today are based on active substances from nature and a research team from the University of Jena has developed a procedure to identify small active substance molecules much more quickly and easily. Secondary natural substances that occur in numerous plants, bacteria and fungi can be anti-inflammatory, can ward off pathogens or even prevent the growth of cancer cells.

MHH research team demonstrates how inflammatory cells improve the function of diseased heart muscle cells Heart failure or cardiac insufficiency is one of the most common causes of death in Germany and is caused by heart attacks, high blood pressure or heart valve defects. The heart is then no longer able to pump a sufficient amount of blood through the body and supply organs, muscles or other tissues with enough oxygen and nutrients.

Polyreactive antibodies as markers for autoimmune hepatitis Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation that is triggered by an immunological malfunction. In this case, the immune system falsely recognises the patient's own liver cells as "foreign to the body". The symptoms of this rare liver disease are unspecific, and the exact cause is not yet known.

Research team including Göttingen University observes charged particles 70 percent faster than uncharged Solar prominences hover above the visible solar disk like giant clouds, held there by a supporting framework of magnetic forces, originating from layers deep within the Sun. The magnetic lines of force are moved by ever-present gas currents - and when the supporting framework moves, so does the prominence cloud.

Antibiotics help us to treat bacterial infections and save millions of lives each year. But they can also harm the helpful microbes residing in our gut, weakening one of our body's first lines of defence against pathogens and compromising the multiple beneficial effects our microbiota has for our health.

Urbanisation appears to be another key factor for insect decline. This is shown by a study in which the impact of climate and land use on insects was disentangled for the first time. Worldwide, the quantity and diversity of insects are declining: scientists have reported more and more evidence for this in recent years.