news 2022

Researchers in Mainz and Kyushu established a novel strategy for the generation of highly energetic UV light Many photochemical processes rely on UV light from inefficient or toxic light sources that the LED technology cannot replace for technical reasons. An international team of scientists led by Professor Christoph Kerzig of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany and Professor Nobuhiro Yanai of Kyushu University in Japan has now developed the first molecular system for the conversion of blue light into high-energy UV photons with wavelengths below 315 nanometers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives. It has given rise to smart assistants that take on tasks that would otherwise take humans a great deal of time and effort - in medicine, business and industry, for example. To do this, smart assistants require vast amounts of data.

Trade wind cumulus clouds are found on about 20 percent of the globe and cool the planet. Until now, it was expected that these clouds would become fewer due to global warming and thus exacerbate climate change. A team led by Dr. Raphaela Vogel of the University of Hamburg has now been able to disprove this.

The gold in objects from Troia, Poliochni - a settlement on the island of Lemnos, located about 60 kilometers off the coast of Troia - and Mesopotamian Ur has the same geographical origin and was traded over long distances. This is the conclusion reached by an international team of researchers who used an innovative mobile laser method to analyze samples of famous Early Bronze Age jewelry from Troia and Poliochni for the first time.

Researchers decrypt transport dynamics of porous media What laws govern how chemicals pass through filters? How do droplets of oil move through layers of stone? How do blood cells travel through a living organism? A team of researchers led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) has discovered how pore space geometry impacts transport of substances through fluids.

Size of fat cells can cause metabolic diseases If you gain weight, the fat cells grow with you. In cases of severe obesity, the cells are usually greatly enlarged. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now been able to show how enlarged fat cells can cause metabolic diseases. In addition, they have developed examination methods to determine the fat cell size of humans non-invasively.

Studies in fruit flies reveal how the sex determines the responses to the anti-ageing drug rapamycin The effect of medicines on women and men can differ significantly. This also applies to the currently most promising anti-ageing drug rapamycin, as researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne and University College London have now shown.

International team observes innermost structure of quasar 3C 273 At the core of almost every galaxy is a supermassive black hole. But there are many different types. Quasars, for example, are one of the brightest and most active types of galaxy centres. An international group, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, presents new observations of the first quasar ever identified.

By dispersing seeds, animals can rapidly reestablish plant diversity in degraded forests As UN climate talks close in Egypt and biodiversity talks begin in Montreal, attention is on forest restoration as a solution to the twin evils roiling our planet. Forests soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide and simultaneously create habitat for organisms.

Research team from the University of Göttingen demonstrates widespread drought stress in copper beech More and more trees are suffering the consequences of the man-made climate change of recent decades. The growth of the copper beech - mainly at home in Central Europe and Germany's most important native forest tree species - has so far declined mainly in southern Europe.

Protein scissors activate defense function, a study shows For several years now, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors have been causing a sensation in science and medicine. This new tool of molecular biology has its origins in an ancient bacterial immune system. It protects bacteria from attack by so-called phages, i. e.

MHH psychiatry coordinates largest German study to improve depression treatment Using biomarkers to find individual diagnostic and therapeutic paths - what already works in oncology is also to become possible in psychiatry. Under the leadership of Professor Dr Helge Frieling, Vice Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Hannover Medical School (MHH), a national research network is now being launched that aims to tailor the treatment of depression more closely to the individual patient than before.

International team of researchers completes first global field study on the ecological impact of grazing in drylands Grazing is a form of land use which sustains the livelihood for billions of people. It is especially important in drylands, which cover around 41 percent of the Earth's land surface, hosts one in three humans inhabiting our planet and over 50 % of all livestock live.

University of Potsdam researchers have contributed to a global study that assesses ecosystem services in drylands. The international team led by Fernando T. Maestre (University of Alicante) found that grazing mostly negatively affects ecosystem services in warmer drylands, while positive effects of grazing were observed in colder and more biodiverse areas.

Research team at the University of Göttingen finds widespread drought stress in European beech More and more trees are suffering the consequences of decades of man-made climate change. The growth of the European beech has so far suffered decline mainly in southern Europe. European beech is Germany's most important native forest tree species and it is most commonly found in Central Europe.

Researchers of the University of Freiburg introduce biosensor for the nucleic acid amplification-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA CRISPR-Cas is versatile: Besides the controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs), created through gene editing, various new scientific studies use different orthologues of the effector protein 'Cas' to detect nucleic acids such as DNA or RNA.

New methods for conservation management of wild bees on calcareous grasslands investigated . Relatively little is known about the nesting requirements of ground-nesting wild bees, although nesting sites are of central importance for the support of most wild bee species. Of the nearly 600 wild bee species in Germany, 75 percent nest in the soil, but studies to date have mainly focused on wild bee species nesting above ground in cavities.

Changes in the behavior of birds persist well after the fireworks end Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany, and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology GPS tracked Arctic migratory geese in Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands over the New Year period to examine the long-term impact of fireworks.

Göttingen researchers investigate ways to improve conservation management of wild bees on calcareous grasslands Relatively little is known about the nesting requirements of ground-nesting wild bees, although nesting sites are of central importance for most wild bee species. There are almost 600 wild bee species in Germany and 75 per cent nest in the soil.

Researchers discover an important clue as to what mechanism drives the solar wind Using observational data from the U.S. weather satellites GOES, a team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany has taken an important step toward unlocking one of the Sun-s most persevering secrets: How does our star launch the particles constituting the solar wind into space? The data provide a unique view of a key region in the solar corona to which researchers have had little access so far.