news 2022

Dementia is on the rise in Germany. In the absence of treatment options, the focus is shifting to preventing dementia. In particular, a healthy lifestyle is considered beneficial for brain health. A study by the Faculty of Medicine now shows that opportunities for a healthy lifestyle are unequally distributed: being socially disadvantaged is associated with a higher risk of dementia.

Researchers at the University of Bonn find clues to the causes of the condition Cleft lip and palate are among the most common congenital malformations, which are mainly due to genetic causes. It is not yet known exactly which genes are affected. A study led by the University of Bonn has now uncovered new correlations: New mutations near known genes such as SPRY1 could contribute to the increase in disease risk.

When prehistoric people re-sharpened cutting tools 300,000 years ago, they dropped tiny chips of flint - which today yield evidence of how wood was processed by early humans. The small flint flakes were discovered at the Lower Paleolithic site of Schöningen, Lower Saxony. Now, a multidisciplinary team led by the University of Tübingen and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (SHEP) in Tübingen has analyzed this very old material for the information it can provide.

Researchers including Göttingen University analyse resources, demographics and disruption in energy transition Research led by University of Queensland (UQ) and including the University of Göttingen analysed the effects of decarbonisation strategies by linking global resource inventories with demographic systems to generate a matrix showing the risks and benefits.

Sediment cores obtained from Eifel maar sites provide insight into the presence of large Ice Age mammals in Central Europe over the past 60,000 years / Overkill hypothesis not confirmed Herds of megafauna, such as mammoth and bison, have roamed the prehistoric plains in what is today's Central Europe for several tens of thousands of years.

Meta-analysis of scientific literature shows decline of interactions with nature due to growing urbanisation, but systematic studies are rare Humans are living further and further away from nature, leading to a decline in the number of our interactions with nature. This is the finding of a meta-study conducted by a Franco-German research team at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University and the Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (SETE - CNRS).

Using the new space telescope, international research team under Heidelberg leadership discovers galaxy cluster in formation Using the observations of a distant, very luminous galaxy, an international research team has discovered a cluster of galaxies with the aid of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and, at the same time, one of the densest known areas of galaxy formation in the early Universe.

Researchers use baker's yeast to study potential targets for fighting cancer cells Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz may have discovered new insights into how cancer cells regulate the ends of their chromosomes, called telomeres.

New findings lay the foundation for the search for dark matter How are galaxies born, and what holds them together? Astronomers assume that dark matter plays an essential role. However, as yet it has not been possible to prove directly that dark matter exists. A research team including Technical University of Munich (TUM) scientists has now measured for the first time the survival rate of antihelium nuclei from the depths of the galaxy - a necessary prerequisite for the indirect search for Dark Matter.

TUM researchers discover new cell mechanism in multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common type of blood cancer. It attacks the plasma cells in the blood. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now discovered a mechanism which provides indications of when and why these cells become aggressive.

In future it will be possible to incorporate data from deep space telescopes into the underlying atomic models with a high degree of reliability Very hot gas, as found in the sun's corona or in close proximity to black holes, emits very intense x-rays. It reveals the locally prevailing physical conditions, such as temperature and density.

Technically, it would be possible for future space missions to detect DNA, lipids and other bacterial components on icy moons with an ocean beneath the ice in our solar system - assuming these building blocks of life exist beyond Earth. This is the conclusion reached by an international team of scientists including Professor Abel's research group at Leipzig University.

The doctoral program PharMetrX of Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Potsdam welcomes the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk as new partner PharMetrX - Pharmacometrics & Computational Disease Modelling, an interdisciplinary doctoral program of Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Potsdam, has gained its seventh international partner with the addition of the research-driven pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.

Scientists simulate a whole family of universes with curvature in ultracold quantum gases According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, space and time are inseparable. In our universe - which is hardly measurably curved - the structure of this spacetime is predetermined. Scientists at Heidelberg University have now succeeded in realizing an effective spacetime in a laboratory experiment that can be manipulated.

An international research team including the Department of Biology at the University of Hamburg has used computer models and engineering methods to analyze the mobility of dinosaur tails. According to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers found that these tails could move at speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour.

Centre for Clinical Studies (ZKS) brings findings from science into practical application Hannover Medical School (MHH) is one of Germany's leading institutions in vaccine research. Before new vaccines are launched on the market, they have to undergo extensive clinical testing. The requirements for a clinical trial are high, the bureaucratic effort for planning and implementation is immense.

Chemists at the University of Münster develop method for simple production of vicinal diamines Among the most common structures relevant to the function of biologically active molecules, natural products and drugs are so-called vicinal diamines - in particular, unsymmetrically constructed diamines. Vicinal diamines contain two functional atomic groups responsible for the substance properties, each with a nitrogen atom bonded to two neighbouring carbon atoms.

Sediment cores from Eifel maars provide information on the development of ice-age large mammals in Central Europe during the past 60,000 years / Overkill hypothesis not confirmed For tens of thousands of years, herds of large mammals such as mammoth and bison roamed the landscape of what is now Central Europe.

Researchers use speleothems as a source of information on historic climate / Hydroclimate volatility and increase in natural forest fire events are linked Scientists are trying to uncover and analyze evidence from the past in their search for a better assessment of future climate trends. In a joint international research project, researchers have been studying the effects of the sudden decrease in global temperatures that occurred about 8,200 years ago, the so-called 8.2-kiloyear event, with the help of mineral deposits present in White Moon Cave in Northern California.

News from Abdominal fat poses a serious health risk. Also known as visceral fat, it is closely linked to the onset of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. Now an international research team including the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University have discovered that a certain Mediterranean diet can help banish unwelcome belly fat.