New study shows that a genetic variant inherited from Neandertals impairs the function of a key enzyme involved in muscle performance   To the point Reduced enzyme activity: The Neandertal variant in AMPD1 decreases its enzymatic activity by 25 percent in laboratory-produced proteins and by up to 80 percent in the muscles of genetically engineered mice.

International research team study surrounding landscapes, biodiversity and human well-being Villages, often separated from larger towns and cities, consist of clusters of households and a few public buildings. Despite their long history, the biodiversity of European villages is not well understood compared to urban areas, forests, grasslands, or farmland.

A new study has shown that as early as the Stone Age, people in Africa traveled long distances to procure colorful stone, forming the raw material for the manufacture of tools. The study was led by Gregor D. Bader from the Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of.

A new paper published in Nature Communications reveals how the way tree species are arranged in a forest can help optimise ecosystem functioning and productivity. The study was conducted using empirical field data combined with advanced computer models and simulations by researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

New method enables large networks capable of processing the information of tomorrow The rapid rise in AI applications has placed increasingly heavy demands on our energy infrastructure. All the more reason to find energy-saving solutions for AI hardware. One promising idea is the use of so-called spin waves to process information.

News from By modeling different planting strategies and tree species mixtures, researchers offer insights for sustainable forest management, reforestation and climate change mitigation in a new study. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications and shows how the spatial arrangement of tree species can optimize the function and productivity of forest ecosystems.

This is what the structure of a bacterial flagellum looks like: the long thread, called the filament (pink); the cap (orange), which helps assemble the thread; other components include the hook (blue) and the junction between hook and filament (yellow and green). Photo: Prof. Marc Erhardt An international research team led by scientists at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) has resolved the complete structure of the bacterial flagellum.

Participants can accurately recognise levels of biodiversity through sight and sound, and aspects like colour, light as well as bird song matter. This has been confirmed by a recent study published in the journal People and Nature. According to this, both visual and acoustic stimuli influence our perception of biodiversity.

An international research team has found that black eye make-up used between the ninth and seventh centuries BCE in the northwest of today's Iran contained natural graphite and manganese oxide - unlike the typical kohl of the time used across the Ancient Near East, which was often based on lead. The team, led by Silvia Amicone from the Archaeometry working group at the University of Tübingen, discovered the unique formula while analyzing samples from the Kani Koter cemetery on the eastern border of the former Assyrian Empire.

To the point Power relationships between males and females are less clear-cut than expected: In most species, neither sex clearly dominates over the other. Evolutionary factors shape intersexual power: Males have power when they can physically outcompete females, while females rely on different pathways to achieve power over males.

Researchers at the Carl Ludwig Institute at Leipzig University have discovered that synaptic signal transmission between brain cells within the cerebral cortex functions very reliably even with small amounts of calcium ions, unlike in the posterior region of the brain. The findings are a further building block for understanding the healthy brain, but could also prove useful for the computer industry when it comes to developing neuronal networks, for example.

Osteoblasts are specialized bone cells that are responsible for the formation and regeneration of bone. In a high-ranking published study, researchers at Leipzig University have shown that a specific receptor is responsible for the strength of bone cells and how it can be specifically activated. The findings may help to develop new drugs with fewer side effects in the future to strengthen bones and muscles in ageing patients.

An international research team has published a new study on one of the oldest known sites for the processing of animal meat by humans in the southern Balkans. At Marathousa 1, an archaeological site in the Greek Megalopolis Basin, researchers not only found numerous stone tools that provide clues to human behavior but also remains of the extinct straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus.

Multisensory vs.

Study with data from four countries shows: Accelerated demographic change is creating significant differences in the number of relatives Growing differences: A study based on data from Thailand, Indonesia, Ghana, and Nigeria shows that two people of almost the same age can have completely different family structures-due to demographic change.

Mercury is not only similar in size to our moon, it is also gray and covered in craters. The special thing about the planet closest to the sun is hidden in its interior: Considering its small size, Mercury has a disproportionately large iron core. A phenomenon that is difficult to explain using traditional theories of planet formation.

Life Published: 10:20 The elucidation of the structure and origin of the so-called "Yellow Affinity Substance" (YAS) provides new insights into cellulose degradation by the bacterium Clostridium thermocellum (new name: Acetivibrio thermocellus). It is assumed that the yellow pigment plays a decisive role in the conversion of plant biomass into usable sugar, which opens up new perspectives for biofuel production.

A new study has reconstructed two 4000-year-old genomes from the rare pathogen Mycobacterium lepromatosis To the point Hansen-s Disease (leprosy) is thought to have originated in Eurasia : previous studies on Mycobacterium leprae , the dominant form of leprosy, suggest the disease originated in Eurasia.

Göttingen researchers show mixed woodland boosts wildlife diversity in European forests   Can animals share the same space peacefully high above the ground in the treetops? A research team at the University of Göttingen has found that forests combining both deciduous and conifer trees make it easier for red squirrels and dormice to coexist.

Whether in medicine, government, or industry-anywhere highly sensitive data needs protection, quantum communication could play a vital role in the future. Instead of transmitting electric signals, this technology uses individual particles of light-so-called photons-that are entangled in specific quantum states.