news 2024

After migrating to their wintering grounds, the animals move as little as possible to conserve energy In the fall, reindeer migrate from their northern grazing areas to the south.

Bonn researchers show how disease-relevant genes can be identified more easily The identification of genes involved in diseases is one of the major challenges of biomedical research. Researchers at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have developed a method that makes their identification much easier and faster: they light up genome sequences in the cell nucleus.

International research team describes for the first time the structure and function of the Zorya system, a highly specialized antiviral protection mechanism against bacteria. Bacteria are constantly infected by viruses, so-called phages, which use the bacteria as host cells. However, in the course of evolution, bacteria have developed a variety of strategies to protect themselves from these attacks.

Genomes of seven early Europeans show they belonged to a small, isolated group that had recently mixed with Neandertals but left no present-day descendants Few genomes have been sequenced from early modern humans, who first arrived in Europe when the region was already inhabited by Neandertals. An international team led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has now sequenced the oldest modern human genomes to date.

Scientists unravel timing and impact of Neandertal gene flow into early modern humans Ancient DNA research suggests that our non-African ancestors mixed with Neandertals about 50,000 years ago, resulting in one to two percent Neandertal DNA in non-African modern humans. In a study of 300 genomes, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the University of California, Berkeley found that this likely occurred in a single instance about 47,000 years ago, suggesting a human migration out of Africa no later than 43,500 years ago.

International research team describes for the first time the structure and function of the Zorya system, a highly specialised antiviral protection mechanism of bacteria.

A team of Würzburg neuroscientists investigates communication pathways in the brain and predicts intelligence. A new study approach uses machine learning to improve our conceptual understanding of intelligence. The human brain is the central control organ of our body. It processes sensory information and enables us, among other things, to form thoughts, make decisions and store knowledge.

Many animals orient themselves using their sense of magnetism. However, this can be based on different physical mechanisms. A research team from Oldenburg and Würzburg has now investigated the navigation of the desert ant. Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but these tiny insects rely on a different component of the field than other insects, a research team led by Dr Pauline Fleischmann from the University of Oldenburg reports in the journal Current Biology.

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.

Blue-throated macaws, a critically endangered parrot species, have demonstrated automatic imitation of intransitive (goal-less) actions-a phenomenon previously documented only in humans. In a study conducted by an international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, in collaboration with the Loro Parque Fundación, scientists reveal that macaws involuntarily copy intransitive movements.

Circadian clocks control physiological processes and behavior in virtually all living organisms. Now an international research team led by researchers from the University of Würzburg has created a detailed map of the internal clock in the brain of the fruit fly. All animals including humans are subject to daily rhythms in their activity and sleep, hunger, metabolism, and reproduction.

New therapies could prevent the adjustments in intestinal bacteria that enable them to survive in inflamed regions New studies suggest that evolutionary medicine could shape the future of gastroenterology. They pave the way for new approaches to treating inflammatory diseases, such as chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.

Results from the University of Bonn and the LMU Munich challenge previous ideas Some sequences in the genome cause genes to be switched on or off. Until now, each of these gene switches, or so-called enhancers, was thought to have its own place on the DNA. Different enhancers are therefore separated from each other, even if they control the same gene, and switch it on in different parts of the body.

Compared to intensive land use, sustainable land use allows better control of underground herbivores and soil microbes. As a result, the soil ecosystem is more resilient and better protected from disturbance under sustainable management than under intensive land use. Researchers from Leipzig University, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and other research institutions found that the total energy flux and the activities of so-called decomposers, herbivores and predators in the soil food web remained stable.

Researchers led by Alexandros Karakostis from the Institute for Archaeological Science and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen suggest that changes in the brain could have enabled early humans to use tools with precision, thus setting in motion the biocultural evolution that led to today's humans.

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.

Proteins that regulate animal stem cells are much older than animals themselves Critical proteins involved in animal stem cell regulation are much older than previously thought, predating the origin of animals that likely evolved more than 700 million years ago. This is the result of a study by a international research team including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Germany.

Researchers develop mathematical model to map tumor growth, for example Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Cologne and the University Hospital of Cologne have developed a three-dimensional mathematical model for prostate cancer. The model depicts various processes, including tumor growth, genetic evolution and competition between tumor cells.

Plant breeders, aiming to develop resilient and high-quality crops, often cross plants from different species to transfer desirable traits. However, they frequently encounter a major obstacle: hybrid seed failure. This reproductive barrier often prevents closely related species from producing viable seeds.

Research team at Freie Universität Berlin discovers unexpected differences in aging bacterial cells Surprising findings on bacterial aging have emerged from a study carried out by a team of researchers led by the biologist Dr. Ulrich Steiner at Freie Universität Berlin. In a new paper published in Science Advances the team demonstrated that even genetically identical bacterial cells living in the same environment react differently to the aging process and that changes occur at different rates within different regions of the cell.