German Center for Research and Innovation News Feed

GCRI recommends: 5th World Health Summit

The World Health Summit is the annual conference of the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centres and Medical Universities. This year's conference will take place in Berlin, Germany.

GCRI recommends: SEMICON Europa

The leading forum for semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturing in Europe, SEMICON Europa, takes place from October 8 until October 10, 2013 in Dresden, Germany.

GCRI recommends: 8th SKM Symposium

Competence-based Management in Cross-border Settings: Organizational Learning, Strategy, and Governance.

GCRI recommends: Munich Summer School of Applied Sciences - Managing Global Supply Chains

From July 8 until July 20, 2013, Munich University of Applied Sciences offers the summer program "Operational Excellence - Managing global Supply Chains the German Way": a two-week summer school with the modules "Doing Business in Germany", "Future Supply Chain Management" and "Operational Excellence - The German Way".

GCRI recommends: WorldSkills Leipzig 2013

From July 2 until July 7, 2013, the global vocational education event “WorldSkills” will be held in Leipzig, Germany. At this competition, the best skilled apprentices and young skilled workers from all over the world compete for the world title. The WorldSkills competitions, which are held every other year, are open to competitors up to age 22.

GCRI recommends: 7th International CFK-Valley Stade Convention

The annual CFK-Valley Stade Convention is a conference for experts on the topic of composite lightweight constructions and will next take place June 11-12, 2013 in Stade, Germany.

GCRI recommends: Green Talents Competition 2013

The annual competition "Green Talents – International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development" held by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), awards the 25 most outstanding minds worldwide.

GCRI recommends: Transport Logistic 2013

From June 4-7, 2013, Transport Logistics brings together experts from the industry for a unique exhibition with innovative solutions and networking opportunities.

The Future of Contact Sports: Sports-related Head Injuries and Their Effect on Memory

The German Center for Research and Innovation and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München cordially invite you to this panel discussion with Dr. Inga Katharina Koerte and Dr. Robert A. Stern.

GCRI recommends: CENIDE Nano Summer Program

The CENIDE Nano Summer Program is a seven-week international academic program focusing on the exciting and emerging field of nanotechnology.

GCRI recommends: Frankfurt MedTech

Frankfurt MedTech Forum is a platform built to enhance collaboration, innovation and business connections in the life science, biotech, device and pharma industries.

GCRI recommends: IMPACTS WORLD 2013

The first World Climate Impacts Conference aims to develop a new vision for climate impacts research. The event will take place May 27-30, 2013, in Potsdam, Germany.

Inauguration of CTA gamma telescope prototype

Milestone for large-scale project on the roadmap of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Today, at the Berlin Science Park Adlershof, DESY commissioned the first telescope prototype of the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA. In an inauguration ceremony, Professor Sabine Kunst, science ...

Going live – immune cell activation in multiple sclerosis

New indicator molecules visualise the activation of auto-aggressive T cells in the body as never before Biological processes are generally based on events at the molecular and cellular level. To understand what happens in the course of infections, diseases or normal bodily functions, scientists ...

2013 SAOT Young Researcher Award in Optical Technologies bestowed upon Professor Jonathan Home, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

- Prof. David Wineland, 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics, presents the lecture at the academic ceremony - In 2013, for the sixth time, the Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT) of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg will bestow the Young Researcher ...

Signs of motor disorders can appear years before disease manifestation

A pan-European study: German researchers present results in “Lancet Neurology” It is known that signs of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease can appear years before the disease becomes manifest; these signs take the form of subtle changes in the brain and behavior ...

A New Type of Laser

University of Würzburg physicists have succeeded in creating a new type of laser. Its operation principle is completely different from conventional devices, which opens up the possibility of a significantly reduced energy input requirement. The researchers report their work in the current issue ...

The dark side of respiration

Adventitious changes in cellular DNA can endanger the whole organism, as they may lead to life-threatening illnesses like cancer. Researchers at LMU now report how byproducts of respiration cause mispairing of subunits in the double helix. The DNA in our cells controls the form and function of ...

UFMG dedicates radio broadcast series to 'Germany+Brazil 2013-2014'

The coordinator of the German House of Science and Innovation São Paulo (DWIH-SP), Marcio Weichert, and the visual artist Luiz Henrique Coelho, ex-fellow of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), were the interviewed guests of this year’s first broadcasting of the programme Bar-ô-metro, ...

“Whodunnit” of Irish potato famine solved

An international team of scientists reveals that a unique strain of potato blight they call HERB-1 triggered the Irish potato famine of the mid-nineteenth century It is the first time scientists have decoded the genome of a plant pathogen and its plant host from dried herbarium samples. This ...

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Associated with Type 2 Diabetes

The presence of posttraumatic stress disorder is significantly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. This is the finding of scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University Hospital Gießen and Marburg who worked with data from the population-based KORA cohort study. ...

New World Record in Wireless Data Transmission

Researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology have achieved the wireless transmission of 40 Gbit/s at 240 GHz over a distance of one kilometer. Their most recent demonstration sets a new world record and ties in seamlessly with ...

Amazon and Apple fence off their e-book markets

Researchers from Mainz University hand over their recommendation of the EPUB3 standard to Neelie Kroes, EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda There are no technical or functional reasons for Amazon and Apple to fence off their e-book worlds using proprietary e-book formats. This is the result ...

The eloquence of the otoliths

Fish fossils that are about 23 million years old give unprecedented insight into the evolutionary history of the gobioid order, one of the most species-rich groups among the modern bony fishes. Researchers led by paleontologist Professor Bettina Reichenbacher from the Division of Paleontology ...

Snap shots of one of life's central processes

Human Frontier Science Program provides funding of 900,000 US Dollars in support of international collaboration on photosynthesis. Photosynthetic water-oxidation is one of the central processes of life on Earth but remains incompletely understood. Now, a German-American team of scientists has ...

New research project explores the migration of early modern musicians as Europe's identity-forming factor

Transnational project receives EU funding worth almost EUR 1 million over the next three years Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spent more than ten years traveling the European continent – a prominent example of the significant mobility and itinerant life that was characteristic of the careers of ...

Friction in the nano-world

Whether in vehicle transmissions, hip replacements, or tiny sensors for triggering airbags: The respective components must slide against each other with minimum friction to prevent loss of energy and material wear. Investigating the friction behavior of nanosystems, scientists from the ...

Electronic Cigarettes - An Uncontrolled Experiment with Consumers

Unlike conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes do not produce thousands of toxic and carcinogenic substances. Nevertheless, they are not harmless. They contain, as their main ingredient, a substance that irritates the airways, usually along with toxic, addictive nicotine and some ...

Self-assured entrepreneurs are more likely to act against their own pro-environmental values

“I care about nature, but ...” Many entrepreneurs claim that they care about sustainability, yet they make decisions that are harmful to the environment. Economic researchers from Germany and the USA have discovered that many bosses do indeed have firm convictions when it comes to the ...

Sulfate aerosols cool climate less than assumed

Life span of cloud-forming sulfate particles in the air is shorter than assumed due to a sulfur dioxide oxidation pathway which has been neglected in climate models so far Sulfur dioxide is as antagonist of greenhouse gases less effective than previously assumed. It forms sulfate aerosol ...

Cardiomyopathies and epigenetic inheritance

Epigenetic mechanisms, along with gene mutations, have been shown to play important roles in the development of heart diseases. Researchers from Heidelberg have discovered that the methylation of two specific genes has an impact on the development of dilated cardiomyopathy. These epigenetic ...

The Temptations of Big Data – A discussion on Big Data, its value and potential on May 16, 2013

Big Data is a term that everybody is talking about and that everyone defines differently. Although Big Data has been part of the mainstream vocabulary since 2012, there is no clear definition of this buzzword. Join us on Thursday, May 16, for a discussion with Jake Porway and Jeanette Hofmann on ...

The Tech Campus: A Catalyst for Innovation and Regional Development

Tech campuses merge entrepreneurial spirit and academic research, promote tech transfer, and cultivate an innovation ecosystem. While New York’s Cornell NYC Tech campus is still at an early stage of its development, Dortmund has already established one of Germany’s most successful tech campuses. ...

Individual efficacy of chemotherapies

The function of the mitochondria – also defined as “power plants” within the cells – is essential as to whether, and how, some chemotherapeutic agents take effect in tissue. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have thus discovered a significant cell characteristic that could possibly ...

Scientists confirm that the Justinianic Plague was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis

Ancient DNA analyses of skeletal remains of plague victims from the 6th century AD provide information about the phylogeny and the place of origin of this pandemic From the several pandemics generally called 'pestilences' three are historically recognized as due to plague, but only for the third ...

Markets Erode Moral Values

Many people express objections against child labor, exploitation of the workforce or meat production involving cruelty against animals. At the same time, however, people ignore their own moral standards when acting as market participants, searching for the cheapest electronics, fashion or food. ...

Immunoproteasome Drug Targeting: Immunoproteasome inhibitors allow control of autoimmune diseases

Marcus Groettrup is the chair of immunology at the University of Konstanz and has been active in the field of immunology for many years. In 2009, Groettrup made a discovery that led to him setting up a company. His analysis of immunoproteasomes, whose main function is to degrade unneeded or ...

Experience leads to the growth of new brain cells

A new study examines how individuality develops How do organisms evolve into individuals that are distinguished from others by their own personal brain structure and behaviour? Scientists in Dresden, Berlin, Münster, and Saarbrücken have now taken a decisive step towards clarifying this ...

Stability for the genome

In cancer cells, the genome is often in a chaotic, unstable state. Now, a research group from the Würzburg Biocenter describes which enzymes can stabilize DNA in the journal “Nature”. In healthy human cells, the genome tends to be in a highly ordered state: DNA is neatly packed into precisely 46 ...

Kiel and Seoul bridging the gap

Closer cooperation in research planned Not only in the field of ship and car building or the consumer electronics, South Korea is a striving nation. The country in the Far East has also well-known expertise in marine research. To further strengthen the cooperation between GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre ...

When Repair Services Fail

Cells are generally able to repair damage to the genome by themselves. However, a defect in the genes controlling such repair mechanisms usually leads to severe diseases. University of Würzburg scientists have now discovered mutations of an unexpected gene in the case of Fanconi anemia. They are ...

Robots - Versatile Helpers in Industry and Daily Life

ICRA 2013: The World’s Largest Conference on Robotics and Automation Takes Place in Germany for the First Time – 1800 Participants and More Than 70 Exhibitors at the Karlsruhe Congress Center Their forms and capabilities are manifold, not only in the world of science fiction. Also science and ...

The nocebo effect: media reports may trigger symptoms of a disease

Expectation of negative effects can increase likelihood of experiencing symptoms / Media needs to be more responsible when warning about health risks Media reports about substances that are supposedly hazardous to health may cause suggestible people to develop symptoms of a disease even though ...

Scientists decode molecule dynamics of benzene double molecule

Study reveals 20-year old mystery of chemistry A team of Dutch and German scientists decoded the inner dynamics of an important model system of organic chemistry. The investigation of the benzene dimer solves a 20-year old mystery, reported the group headed by Melanie Schnell from the Hamburg ...

John Searle at the University of Cologne

American Philosopher accepts Albertus Magnus Professorship 2013 John Searle is one of the most important philosophers of language of our time. As Albertus Magnus Professor, he will be holding lectures and a seminar on the themes of “Language and Social Ontology”, “Mind and Brain” as well as ...

Tracking aircraft from space

On 4 May 2013 at 04:06 (CEST), when the European Proba-V satellite lifts off on a Vega launcher with the primary mission of observing vegetation from space, it will be carrying another instrument on board – one that will be keeping an 'eye' on aircraft. A German Aerospace Center (Deutsches ...

New mechanism discovered in meiosis

Inactivated, but still active – how modification of an enzyme governs critical processes in sexual reproduction The Research Group headed by molecular biologist Andrea Pichler from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has made an important discovery in meiosis ...

Physics at the dawn of life

After accretion of the Earth, chemical evolution in the oceans led to the production of molecules that could store and transmit genetic information. LMU physicists now show how modest temperature gradients could have started the process. All living things start off small. Indeed, life itself got ...

The many faces of the bacterial defense system

HZI researchers discover multiple versions of microbial defense genes that lend themselves to being exploited by biotechnology Even bacteria have a kind of “immune system” they use to defend themselves against unwanted intruders – in their case, viruses. Scientists at the Helmholtz Center for ...

Exposure to Everyday Noise Influences Heart Rate Variability

Exposure to noise, for example from road traffic, may adversely affect the cardiovascular system. Until now, underlying mechanisms linking noise to elevated cardiovascular risk have rarely been explored in epidemiological studies. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have now shown that ...

Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation donates EUR 50 million to again promote the life sciences at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Foundation supports the realignment of the Faculty of Biology and the implementation of key aspects of JGU’s institutional strategy / University and state to construct state-of-the-art research building The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation is providing support for top level research at Johannes ...

Molecule Hunter in the Universe

HIFI has opened up new window to explore the cosmos After 3.5 years the liquid helium coolant on board of ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory has finally run out. This means that the molecule hunter HIFI - one of its three instruments - has ceased to collect spectra. But the scientific heritage is ...

New research project examines German financial literacy

Research network analyzes financial literacy in international comparison The ability to properly manage one’s personal finances is not very advanced in Germany. Older investors put their money in the stock market where they take enormous risks and even lose their retirement savings while young ...

Nanodomains Made Visible

In dry conditions, certain areas of the plant cell membrane are subject to significant changes. For the first time, scientists have made these so-called nanodomains visible under the microscope, investigating how they changed. Plants are generally firmly rooted in the ground so that they cannot ...

'Autotech meets Biotech' – current status and outlook

Intensive cooperation between the engineering-driven sectors and the biotechnology sector is a prerequisite for driving forward automation in the field of biotechnology. The Engineering – Life Sciences – Automation (ELSA) cluster initiative of BioRegio STERN Management GmbH aims to promote ...

Orthobion – a titanium coated plastic for the spinal column

The number of spinal disc herniations and back problems are increasing due to lack of exercise or incorrect movement. In many cases, artificial spinal discs need to be implanted to fill the space previously occupied by a removed herniated disc or to help repair another injury. Increasing life ...

Three-dimensional monitoring of high-speed fabrication

If you want to gage the quality of castings on a production line, you need high-speed systems. A new type of measurement system delivers a quick 40 images per second – and they are three-dimensional. Researchers will present the system at the “LASER World of PHOTONICS 2013” Trade Fair and ...

How the brain folds to fit

During fetal development of the mammalian brain, the cerebral cortex undergoes a marked expansion in surface area in some species, which is accommodated by folding of the tissue in species with most expanded neuron numbers and surface area. Researchers have now identified a key regulator of this ...

Protein shaped like a spider

The immune protein C4BP is potentially suitable as a transporter for drugs. The protein C4BP is similar to a spider in its spatial form with eight “arms”. The structure of the “spider body” has recently been described in detail by researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research ...

New radio telescopes for the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell

Where in space lies the Earth? Today the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell has inaugurated two new radio telescopes. The TWIN telescopes allow scientists radio-astronomical measurements with higher precision and data yield. In the future they will contribute significantly to the determination of the ...

Is the next step in your postdoc career Munich? Come and find out!

Research Opportunities Week November 11 – 15, 2013 Take this unique opportunity to experience the Technische Universität München (TUM) and its environment first-hand. TUM invites you to come to Munich for a week, fully financed by a travel grant. The most promising candidates will then be ...

Eight Days of Germany in Hyderabad

The DWIH New Delhi – Excellence on Tour 2013 bringing over 14 German universities, research institutes and funding organizations to tend to all your educational needs! The DWIH New Delhi – Excellence on Tour 2013, an initiative of the German government and German House for Research and ...

New Alexander von Humboldt professors selected

Germany’s highest valued international research award goes to four researchers from abroad. A communications engineer from the USA, a microbiologist from Sweden, a psychologist from the Netherlands and a solid-state physicist from Japan have been selected as new Alexander von Humboldt ...

New Alexander von Humboldt professors selected

Workplace stress poses risk to health

Stressful situations at work can have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system and the metabolism. Stress, which is transmitted by direct and indirect signaling pathways, leads to an inflammatory response in the body, which can trigger cardiovascular diseases, amongst others. These ...

New research project at the Mainz University Medical Center aims to improve cancer therapies using type I interferons

German Cancer Aid grants EUR 180,000 in support The immune system plays a decisive role in the fight against tumor cells. However, when tumor cells themselves prevent activation of the immune system, the immune system fails to destroy cancer cells. The cancer drug interferon-α could probably ...

Aging: Changing Attitudes and Successful Coping Mechanisms

With age, people confront many challenges that impact overall well-being and longevity. Experts from Germany and the U.S. discussed this issue at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) on April 4, 2013. Dr. Hans-Werner Wahl, Professor at the Institute of Psychology at Heidelberg ...

Putting the brakes on Parkinson's

Researchers have developed a new compound which blocks the progression of Parkinson´s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in mice with unprecedented efficacy. Research groups led by Armin Giese of LMU Munich and Christian Griesinger at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen ...

RNA Against Toxic Sugars

University of Würzburg researchers describe a new form of gene activation in the scientific journal "Cell". They also show how salmonella bacteria thus prevent themselves from being poisoned by too much sugar. The new findings also hold promise for application in bioengineering. Sugar is vital ...

From blank round to a potently active substance?

A long-forgotten candidate for antiviral therapy is undergoing a renaissance: Since the 1970s, the small molecule CMA has been considered a potent agent against viral infections, yet it was never approved for clinical use. Scientists at the Bonn University Hospital have now deciphered how the ...

Two second Earths

Astronomers have discovered two exoplanets in the constellation of Lyra where habitable conditions probably exist The search for a second Earth has directed the hunt for exoplanets. Most of these are too large or orbit their host suns too closely to sustain life. Now an international team that ...

Massive amounts of charcoal enter the worlds' oceans

Wild fire residue is washed out of the soil and transported to the sea by rivers Wild fires turn millions of hectares of vegetation into charcoal each year. An international team of researchers led by Thorsten Dittgar from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen and Rudolf ...

Disaster relief – DLR to chair the International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters'

Bureaucracy-free assistance in the event of an emergency – this is the aim of the 15 space agencies united within the International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters'. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has been a member of this network since October ...

A galaxy is not enough

Astronomers discover that behind the most productive star systems more hide Using the telescope network ALMA, astronomers have been able to determine the positions of more than 100 of the most prolific galaxies with unprecedented accuracy. The exact positions could help to solve the mystery of ...

Graduate School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof announces 15 doctoral fellowships

SALSA, the Graduate School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, is announcing 15 doctoral fellowships to begin on October 1st, 2013. The program offers a structured, three-year period of multidisciplinary research combined with an integrated curriculum in ...

New keyboard for touchscreens

Computer scientists design new keyboard layout on touch screen devices The research team of Antti Oulasvirta at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics has created a new keyboard called KALQ that enables faster thumb-typing on touchscreen devices. They used computational optimization techniques ...

DESY and the University of Hamburg inaugurate Wolfgang Pauli Centre for theoretical physics

DESY and the University of Hamburg have jointly inaugurated the Wolfgang Pauli Centre (WPC) for theoretical physics on Wednesday in Hamburg. The centre will promote and expand the joint research activities. "Hamburg is a beacon of theoretical physics with international radiance," emphasised the ...

New Membrane Process: Geesthacht Researchers provide the desired polymer

Dr. Sofia Rangou, polymer scientist in Geesthacht, has succeeded in synthesizing the required starting product for a new process which has been developed by the University of Yale (USA) for the production of ultrathin membrane films from block copolymers. The highly-respected journal ACS-Nano ...

German–French Master's and doctoral degree programme

Funding approved for the Bielefeld and Paris I Universities programme As the German–French Chamber of Industry and Commerce announced in February, France is once again Germany’s most important trading partner in 2012. It is only appropriate that Bielefeld University and University of Paris I are ...

How Plants Sense Dry Air

If the ambient air is very dry, plants need to protect themselves against excessive loss of water. For this purpose, they close special pores in their leaves. University of Würzburg researchers have explored how plants sense changes in humidity and translate this information into a signal. ...

Scientists Measure X-ray Laser's Heartbeat

Ultrafast stopwatch determines duration of femtosecond FLASH pulses Many fundamental processes in nature, including certain chemical and biological reactions, occur on very small timescales. Researchers have been dreaming of the opportunity to film these fast processes in real time and to ...

Molecule-specific diagnosis of metabolic diseases

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of rare inherited metabolic diseases that are difficult to diagnose due to their rather unspecific clinical signs. In cooperation with the company Centogene AG, Prof. Dr. Michael Przybylski from the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Biopolymer Analysis ...

Leopoldina strengthens cooperation with French national academy

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the French Académie des sciences are set to collaborate even more closely in future. Today in Paris, Leopoldina President, Prof. Jörg Hacker, and the President of the French national academy, Prof. Phillipe Taquet, signed a cooperation ...

Systems for international crisis management

ISCRAM 2013 International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management in the Kongresshaus Baden-Baden At the ISCRAM 2013 in Baden-Baden, from 12 to 15 May, scientists, practitioners, and representatives of relief and crisis management organizations will discuss new ...

Researchers demonstrate oldest dinosaur embryos

An international team of researchers, including a paleontologist from the University of Bonn, have proven dinosaur embryos to be the oldest ever found. The specimens of Lufengosaurus discovered in China lived during the lower Jurassic about 200 to 190 million years ago. Based on the bone tissue, ...

JGU adopts Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities

Clear statement of commitment to open access / Publication fund totaling EUR 85,000 available Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has adopted the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. University President Professor Dr. Georg Krausch signed the ...

American biochemist to receive this year's Inhoffen Medal

HZI and TU to honour Christopher T. Walsh 25 April 2013 / Press meeting scheduled for 2:40 pm How do bacteria cope when exposed to toxic mercury, how are they able to outlast antibiotics, and how can they be killed using so-called "suicide inhibitors?" These are but a few of the many research ...

Liquid on liquid goes solid

Kiel based research group discovers nano-crystals at the interface between two liquids Not all liquids are mixable. Researchers from the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics of Kiel University (CAU) have investigated chemical processes with atomic resolution at the interface between two ...

Botanists in the rainforest

Chimpanzees use botanical skills to discover fruit Fruit-eating animals are known to use their spatial memory to relocate fruit, yet, it is unclear how they manage to find fruit in the first place. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have ...

Immunotherapies against cancer: German Cancer Research Center to broaden strategic alliance with Bayer HealthCare

The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Bayer HealthCare (Bayer) will extend their successful strategic research alliance in search of novel cancer therapeutics by focusing their activities also on the field of immunotherapy. Immunotherapies are promising to treat cancer by selectively ...

The Tech Campus as Catalyst for Regional Development

Discussion on the role of universities in entrepreneurial activity and economic development showcasing TU Dortmund University and Cornell NYC Tech campus Tech campuses merge entrepreneurial spirit and academic research, promote tech transfer, and cultivate an innovation ecosystem. After ...

X-rays Reveal Coexisting Structures in Glass

PETRA establish missing link between mechanical and structural properties of glass The craft of glassmaking extends way back in time. It was over five-thousand years ago when mankind learned how to make glass. Even prior to this discovery, humans had been using naturally occurring glass for tool ...

A good wire for nanoelectronics

Silicon nanowires become doped with unexpectedly large amounts of aluminium during growth, so that their conductivity increases Nanoelectronics has taken another step forward. An international team including researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle has ...

Are more children born in the countryside than in the city?

A long-term study on the regional birth rates in Switzerland, Germany and Austria explores this question In the year 1900, the family formation patterns of women living in Berlin and in Lower Bavaria were very different: while women who lived in the big city had an average of 2.7 children, women ...

Technology for the Brain

Minister of Science Theresia Bauer Opens New Cluster of Excellence BrainLinks-BrainTools Baden-Württembergs Minister of Science and Research Theresia Bauer, Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Jochen Schiewer, Dr. Harald von Kalm from the German Research Foundation (DFG), and Cluster Director Prof. ...

The renowned Lewis Fry Richardson Medal is awarded to Jürgen Kurths

Jürgen Kurths is awarded the Lewis Fry Richardson Medal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) that honours outstanding achievements in nonlinear geosciences. The renowned prize will be given to him this week at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna that brings together more than 10.000 scientists ...

AIDS virus maturation by budding

The Heidelberg virologist Hans-Georg Kräusslich and his team are exploring the molecular architecture and morphogenesis of the HI-Virus and the processes occurring at the plasma membrane of the host cell that lead to the release of new viruses and new infections. The budding and maturation ...

Call for Applications: Fellowships at the Centre for Global Cooperation Research

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation offers Fellowships in Research Unit 3 “Global Governance revisited” and Research Unit 4 “Paradoxes and Perspectives of Democratisation”. The fellow will work at the Centre for a period of six to twelve months. The fellowships will start ...

Surprising Findings in Fish Genome

It is a popular aquarium fish: the platyfish, Xiphophorus maculatus. It is valued by researchers as an important model organism in the search for genetic trigger factors of skin cancer. Together with colleagues from the USA, University of Würzburg biochemist Manfred Schartl has decoded the ...

Call for Apllications: Fellowships at the Centre for Global Cooperation Research

Tracing Photochemical Reactions

When light hits organic molecules, it triggers processes that are of considerable interest to scientists. But the individual steps of the reaction are very hard to identify. A study group at the University of Würzburg has now accomplished this task – with a sophisticated approach. It might well ...

A new method for storing ultra-short current pulses now developed

An international team of researchers gains insight into the dynamics of ultrafast magnet-based processes (pug) How fast can electrical currents be turned on and off? An international team of researchers affiliated with the University of Göttingen have investigated new possibilities for testing ...

Germany searching for the smart option

Germany exported more energy in 2012 than at any time over the previous five years. That’s eyebrow-raising enough, but the real head-turner was that Europe’s powerhouse had managed to do this despite the ongoing shutdown of all its nuclear energy-producing facilities. This was because of the ...

Caught in the cold

First successful high-pressure freezing of a virus crystal Modern X-ray light sources like PETRA III allow scientists to determine atomic structures of very large protein molecules or even whole viruses. However, the intense X-ray radiation also causes damage to biological and organic samples ...

Ernst Bamberg receives 'Brain Prize'

This year's "Brain Prize" by the Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize Foundation will be awarded to six leading scientists for their joint development of "optogenetics". Ernst Bamberg (BFNT Göttingen and Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt) is one of the awardees. With one ...

Protein maintains order in the nucleus

Researchers in Freiburg identify a protein responsible for the correct arrangement of the chromosome centromeres in the nucleus Freiburg: Two metres of DNA are packed into the cell nucleus, presumably based on a strictly defined arrangement. Researchers working with biologist Patrick Heun from ...

Clockwork in the eye of a fly

The blue-light pigment cryptochrome is important in regulating the circadian clock of many organisms. Scientists have now discovered that in the fruit fly Drosophila it also intervenes in the visual process. The central experiments involved were conducted at the University of Würzburg’s ...

Immune cells in fetters

A new study demonstrates that immune cells formed during fetal development are immature and largely ineffectual. The findings explain why neonates are so susceptible to infection, and why the risk is even greater for premature infants. Pathogens that are otherwise relatively innocuous can cause ...

What is behind Einstein's turbulences?

Numerical calculations by scientists at the AEI give an initial insight into the relativistic properties of this mysterious process The American Nobel Prize Laureate for Physics Richard Feynman once described turbulence as “the most important unsolved problem of classical physics”, because a ...

Fast track to mouse modeling

Fewer laboratory animals for basic medical researchFast track to mouse modeling What genes are responsible for the development of breast cancer? What are the brain cell mutations that lead to the onset of Alzheimer’s? To find new therapies, scientists have to understand how diseases are ...

Researchers support Berlin on its way to climate neutrality

Berlin aims to be climate neutral in the year 2050 – how this goal can be reached is to be shown by a team of experts from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), on behalf of the Berlin Senate. “Europe and the whole world is monitoring the Berlin metropolis,” PIK director Hans ...

Cologne scientists discover new animal phylum

“Picazoa,” a single-cell organism is only three thousands of a millimeter in size and common in all oceans of the world It is not every day that a new animal phylum is discovered, and even rarer still if such a discovery is made by botanists. The magazine PLoS ONE features a description of these ...

On wings of light

LMU physicists have, for the first time, successfully transmitted a secure quantum code through the atmosphere from an aircraft to a ground station. Can worldwide communication ever be fully secure? Quantum physicists believe they can provide secret keys using quantum cryptography via satellite. ...

Mate choice in mice is heavily influenced by paternal cues

Hybrid offspring of different house mice populations show a preference for mating with individuals from their father's original population Mate choice is a key factor in the evolution of new animal species. The choice of a specific mate can decisively influence the evolutionary development of a ...

Ultrafast Spin Manipulation at THz frequencies

The demands for ever increasing speed of information storage and data processing have triggered an intense search for finding the ultimately fast ways to manipulate spins in a magnetic medium. In this context, the use of femtosecond light pulses ' the fastest man-made event - with photon ...

Congestion in the Earth's Mantle

Mineralogists explain in the science magazine 'Nature Geoscience' why plate tectonics stagnates in some places The Earth is dynamic. What we perceive as solid ground beneath our feet, is in reality constantly changing. In the space of a year Africa and America are drifting apart at the back of ...

Studying human skin in space – Soyuz mission takes SKIN B to the ISS

German researchers investigate the influence of space on our largest organ Human skin is an organ with many functions; it regulates, among other things, the water balance and temperature of the body, it prevents the entry of pathogens, protects the body from ultraviolet radiation and serves as a ...

New DNA test identifies ingredients in foods

Scientists at Mainz University develop a novel screening procedure for accurately determining the amount of animal, plant, and microbial substances in foods Almost all foodstuffs contain the genetic material of those animal and plant species that were used in their preparation. Scientists at the ...

Methodological analysis of study designs

For scientific and ethical reasons, researchers must give careful consideration to the numbers of patients used in clinical trials. Researchers have now analyzed the procedures for sample size determination given in original protocols submitted to Ethics Committees. Their results have just ...

Sun block for the 'Big Dog'

Astronomers detect titanium oxide and titanium dioxide around the giant star VY Canis Majoris An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and from the University of Cologne, successfully identified two titanium oxides in the ...

Pathological thickening of the cardiac wall halted

Inhibition of RhoGEF12 leads to considerable improvement in disease progression The heart responds to the increased stress caused by chronically raised blood pressure, for example, by thickening its wall muscle. In the late stage of this condition, a risk of heart failure arises. Scientists from ...

Helle Ulrich awarded highly prestigious ERC Advanced Grant to study how damaged DNA is managed by cells

Scientific Director at the Institute of Molecular Biology receives funding of EUR 2.5 million Professor Helle Ulrich, a Scientific Director at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, has been awarded a highly prestigious ERC Advanced Grant. The EUR 2.5 million award will enable Ulrich ...

Global Logistics: Challenges and Solutions

In today's globalized world, the distribution of goods is the backbone of international economics. In order to guarantee a steady global supply in the near future, logistics processes have to become more sustainable and secure. On March 14, the German Center for Research and Innovation and ...

Epigenetics for personalised cancer care for women

Every year in the EU, 45,300 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 330,000 with breast cancer. Ovarian cancer has a mortality rate of around 64% and breast cancer around 27%*. The EU-funded research project EpiFemCare aims at improving cancer detection and subsequent patient care. The ...

Genes without templates

Many genes are completely new inventions and not just modified copies of old genes It is easier to copy something than to develop something new - a principle that was long believed to also apply to the evolution of genes. According to this, evolution copies existing genes and then adapts the ...

In chimpanzees, hunting and meat-eating is a man’s business

Max Planck researchers find stable isotope evidence of meat eating and hunting specialization in adult male chimpanzees Observations of hunting and meat eating in our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, suggest that regular inclusion of meat in the diet is not a characteristic unique to Homo. ...

Rail Production that Is Fast and Energy Efficient

A new hardening technology used in the production of heavy duty rails saves energy and increases productivity. The Siemens' IdRHa+technology will now be used commercially for the first time in a production line operated by the Chinese steel manufacturer Baotou at its plant in Inner Mongolia. The ...

Specific microRNAs promote inflammation

Atherosclerosis, an inflammatory reaction, is at the root of the most common forms of cardiovascular disease. LMU researchers have now identified a microRNA that plays a prominent role in the process, and offers a promising target for new therapies. Atherosclerosis otherwise known as hardening ...

Lifetime fertility on the rise

The trend of falling cohort birth rates reverses: Women born in the 1970s will finally have more babies than previous cohorts The average number of children women have over their lifetimes appears to be rising or to have stopped its decline in many countries characterized by low birth rates in ...

ENNA-Workshop at MosBuild, Moscow

Participate in the next ENNA-workshop “Energy efficient buildings and districts“ The next ENNA seminar titled “Energy efficient buildings and districts” will be held at the MosBuild Mocow on 3rd April 2012 in cooperation with the Green Building Council Russia.

Physicists develop a new approach to quantum computing

Quantum computers counting on carbon nanotubes Carbon nanotubes can be used as quantum bits for quantum computers. A study by physicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) has shown how nanotubes can store information in the form of vibrations. Up to now, researchers have experimented ...

Climate-proofing Cities

City resilience and climate adaptation discussion at the German Center for Research and Innovation featuring Prof. Klaus Jacob, whose research forecast consequences of a Sandy-like storm, one year before the historic Superstorm hit the New York region. Five months ago, Superstorm Sandy wreaked ...

Has the race for ores from the deep sea begun?

International experts from science, economics and civil society meet in Kiel Whether smart phones, solar panels or electricity cables – nearly every technology uses metals. Up until now they have only been mined on the continents. Yet the world population is growing and the demand for raw ...

Can the canine distemper virus infect humans?

Eradicate measles – this is one of the goals of the World Health Organization. If it succeeds, this might open the door to another pathogen: the canine distemper virus. Every year, 20 to 30 million people worldwide contract measles. This viral infection is sometimes regarded as a “harmless ...

152 international young researchers from 40 countries to meet in Hannover

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellows’ meeting at Leibniz Universität Hannover from 20 to 22 March Leibniz Universität Hannover will play host to 152 young researchers from 40 countries from 20 to 22 March 2013 during the network meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The ...

Insights into life in the eternal ice

Life can sometimes be found in places where it is least expected – for example in Arctic and Antarctic ice. Anique Stecher, a biologist at Konstanz University, is investigating the biodiversity in these areas using samples collected on board a research vessel and then analysing the data using ...

German Research Foundation Establishes Eight New Research Units

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is establishing eight new Research Units. This was decided by the DFG Senate during its 2013 March meeting in Bonn. The research collaborations will offer researchers the possibility to pursue current and pressing issues in ...

Researchers Capture Clouds

We see clouds as great, bright formations in the sky. In reality, they are made up of vast quantities of minuscule water droplets and ice particles of various sizes and shapes. In the High Definition Clouds and Precipitation for Climate Prediction – HD(CP)2 project, researchers are investigating ...

Training sessions for the Philae comet lander

The original Philae comet lander has been travelling through space since 2 March 2004. It is currently in hibernation mode, awaiting its arrival at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. But the Philae models on the ground are being put through their paces: they are being tested to breaking point and ...

Breast Cancer Marker Identified in the Bloodstream

'To detect breast cancer early on and to make the screening as patient-friendly as possible' is the aim of an Aachen research group headed by Professor Edgar Dahl. The researchers of the Molecular Oncology work group at the Institute of Pathology at University Hospital Aachen have now identified ...

An accidental discovery becomes a tool for researchers: peptide facilitates gene transfer in the laboratory

It was pure chance that led to Frank Kirchhoff’s and Jan Münch’s discovery of a highly interesting peptide. The two virologists from Ulm are involved in AIDS research and a while ago their interest was aroused by a protein derivative just twelve amino acids long. The results of subsequent ...

Transistor in the fly antenna

Insect odorant receptors regulate their own sensitivity Highly developed antennae containing different types of olfactory receptors allow insects to use minute amounts of odors for orientation towards resources like food, oviposition sites or mates. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for ...

One week at TUM for the chance of a one year scholarship

In a week-long event, 45 postdoctoral candidates from around the world will have a chance to get to know Technische Universität München (TUM) – and maybe receive the offer of a research scholarship at the end of this year’s first “Research Opportunities Week”, starting on March 18.

The Next Generation of Tidal Stream Power Plants

Siemens continues to develop its technology for tidal stream power plants. In the future, the new model will deliver higher performance at lower costs due to optimized construction. Today, the SeaGen power plant in a northern Irish narrows has an installed capacity of 1.2 megawatts (MW). The ...

Environmentally Friendly Electric Buses in Vienna

Electrically powered buses with drive and charging technologies from Siemens have been operating in regularly scheduled service in Vienna for several months. The transportation authorities are now planning to operate two lines exclusively with eBuses by the middle of 2013. During the Skiing ...

X-ray laser allows scientists taking live snapshots of chemical reactions

An international team under the leadership of Hamburg scientists has observed a catalyst in action on the molecular level with the world´s strongest X-ray laser. The study shows surprising details of a chemical reaction and opens up the possibility to see live pictures of these ultrafast ...

Brain Cancer in Children and Young Adults

Nationwide therapy network meets at the German Cancer Research Center Specialists for pediatric brain tumors from all over Germany will meet in Heidelberg on March 15 and 16 to discuss current diagnosis and treatment options for young patients. Internationally renowned experts will report the ...

New success in Higgs search

There is more and more evidence: today, at the Moriond Conference in La Thuile (Italy), scientists of both LHC experiments CMS and ATLAS announced that the particle discovered last year at the world´s largest particle accelerator is looking more and more like a Higgs particle. Analyses of both ...

How oils and fats regulate feeling of satiety

Olive oil makes you feel full Reduced-fat food products are gaining in popularity. More and more people are choosing “light” products in an attempt to lose weight, or at least in the hope that they will not gain any pounds. But whether these products are effective or not is a matter of dispute: ...

Researching helicopter engine noise

First acoustic measurement campaign carried out For the first time, researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have been able to carry out noise measurements inside a helicopter engine. To do so, researchers from the Division of Engine Acoustics ...

The Paradigm Shift in the Energy World – A Supply-Driven Market

As a result of increased renewable energy generation, supply will replace demand as the key influence of modern-day power systems and will thus induce a paradigm shift in the energy sector in the near future. An evening discussion with Dr. Urban Keussen from E.ON SE at the German Center for ...

Tapeworms: Genome Mapped

For the first time, scientists have mapped the entire genome of four tapeworm species. Their publication in "Nature" magazine reveals new weak spots of the parasites – they seem to be susceptible to standard cancer drugs. Tapeworms live in the intestines and absorb nutrients from their hosts ...

Extreme water

Earth is the only known planet that holds water in massive quantities and in all three phase states. But the earthly, omnipresent compound water has very unusual properties that become particularly evident when subjected to high pressure and high temperatures. In the latest issue of the ...

Stellar baby boom

Astronomers observe starburst galaxies in early space with the ALMA telescope – and discover the most distant detection of water published to date. The most vigorous bursts of star birth in the cosmos took place at least one billion years earlier than previously thought. These new insights were ...

Fossil fishes found in Kenya

A research team led by LMU paleontologist Bettina Reichenbacher has uncovered a rich trove of fossil fish in Kenyas Rift Valley. A paleontological expedition to the Tugen Hills in Kenya, led by LMUs Professor Bettina Reichenbacher, has discovered assemblages of fossil fish at eight previously ...

Turn that alarm off!

Cells react to stress by alerting well known defense and repair systems, but how the alarm is turned off has long remained a mystery. The crucial enzymes involved have now been identified, and if one of them is missing it causes a serious neurodegenerative disease. When an alarm goes off, theres ...

A faster route to vaccines

Medical researchers at LMU have developed a facile method for the production of vaccines against multi-resistant bacterial strains. Multi-resistant bacteria that are unaffected by most conventional antibiotics are recognized as an ever growing danger to global health. Hospital-acquired ...

TUM spin-off AMSilk presents first artificial spider silk fibers

High-strength fibers from spider silk AMSilk, a spin-off of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), has produced the world's first artificial silk fiber that is entirely made of recombinant spider silk proteins. The fiber’s tensile strength is comparable to that of natural spider silk, which ...

Evolution in the antibody factory

How immune cells are able to advance their own evolution Immune system B cells play a crucial role in the defence of pathogens; when they detect such an intruder, they produce antibodies that help to combat the enemy. They concurrently and continuously improve these molecules to more precisely ...

Dialysis: Blood Protein as a Risk Factor

A modified blood protein increases the mortality risk in patients undergoing dialysis treatment. This has been reported by researchers from Würzburg and Boston in the journal "Science Translational Medicine". They also have an idea about how the risk factor might be successfully dealt with. ...

Young Aachen Entrepreneurs Receive Award from Minister Rösler

The RWTH Aachen start-up "terminbuddy" was successful at the nationwide "IKT Innovative Entrenpeneurship Competition", which had 300 participants. The Aachen team won first place in the category "Internet Based Services for Business". Last Tuesday, at the CeBIT trade fair, Dr. Philipp Rösler, ...

Hannover Messe: Open software platform to bring down energy costs

Energy is getting more and more expensive, and experts are predicting record electricity and heating prices. A software platform promises to lighten the load for households and businesses by making it easier for consumers to put renewables to good effect. For years now, electricity and heating ...

Hannover Messe: Tuned coatings ensure cleanliness

Contaminated industrial plants cost billions every year in Germany alone. Special coatings can prevent the build-up of contaminants. Researchers are now able to adapt ultra-thin coatings for an extremely wide range of applications. All of us are faced with the same daily battle against dirt. ...

Tapping into Previously Unused Green Electricity

A highly dynamic technology from Siemens should make it possible to store wind and solar-generated electricity that would previously have gone unused by converting excess power into hydrogen. Electrolysis can react to fluctuations in the supply generated by renewable energy in a matter of ...

Humboldt Research Award winner Ernest Moniz is designated US secretary of energy

Barack Obama nominates physicist with excellent connections to German research for his cabinet US President Barack Obama has nominated physicist Ernest Moniz as secretary of energy for his cabinet. Moniz is considered an expert on energy research and energy policy issues. He won the Humboldt ...

SPACES Scholarships for Doctoral Studies in Germany 2013

Programme Objectives The general objective of the SPACES Programme (Science Partnerships for the Assessment of Complex Earth System Processes) is to develop partnership projects in research and development in the Southern African Region which will contribute to the formulation of science-based ...

Ice cores show simultaneous changes of carbon dioxide and Antarctic temperature during the last deglacial warming

Bremerhaven, 28 February 2013. Atmospheric carbon dioxide and the Antarctic temperature increased synchronously during the last deglacial warming 20,000 to 10,000 years ago. A European team of researchers comes to this conclusion after having re-analysed the age of the enclosed air bubbles in ...

Enlightenment in the nervous system

A German-American team has modified nerve-cell receptors involved in regulating synaptic plasticity so that they react to light. The approach promises new insights into the basis of learning and the pathogenesis of neurological diseases. Information processing and storage in the nervous system ...

'Better' Hormones Through Diet and Exercise

Weight loss - by change in diet or in combination with physical exercise - has a positive impact on the production of adipose tissue hormones: Adipose cells produce less leptin but, instead, more adiponectin, which counteracts diabetes and cancer. These changes explain, at a molecular level, the ...

Scientists develop a numerical model of complex fluids: Ketchup turns somersaults

Blood, paint or ketchup are complex liquids composed of several different components. For the construction of pumps, or the improvement of technical processes scientists and engineers need description models. They make the special properties of such liquids predictable. Researchers at the ...

Denmark joins the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine

Today, the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine celebrates two important milestones: the renewal of the partnership agreement for an extended period of 10 years, and the expansion of the Nordic EMBL network with the official opening of the Danish Research Institute of Translational ...

Communication in an Indirect Way

Organic materials are comparatively poor conductors of electricity. Under certain conditions, however, this can change significantly. University of Würzburg physicists have now experimentally determined how exactly such a change in conductivity works in a two-dimensional layer. Organic ...

Metal ions regulate terpenoid metabolism in insects

Controlled by metal ions a prenyl synthase in leaf beetle larvae produces the precursors for chemical defences or juvenile hormones Max Planck scientists in Jena, Germany, have discovered an unusual regulation of enzymes that catalyse chain elongation in an important secondary metabolism, the ...

Indecisive quanta

In ytterbium nickel phosphide there is a quantum critical point between the ferromagnetic and non-magnetic states that was previously not thought possible What do the melting points of ice and high-temperature superconductivity have in common? Nothing. Yet there is a peculiar connection. This ...

Why fish is so good for you

Scientists of University Jena and University Hospital decode the antihypertensive impact of omega-3 fatty acids Fish is healthy: easy to digest and with a high level of precious proteins, fish is considered an important part of a healthy diet. And with the so-called omega-3 fatty acids fish ...

Study Confirms Safety of Colonoscopy

March´s Colon Cancer Awareness Month is about encouraging more people to get tested for colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy is the most reliable screening test. A current study from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) confirms that, contrary to what some critics ...

New technology for animation film experts

Movie heroes are soon to be transferred to virtual worlds more easily and realistically Hollywood devotes great effort to chasing monsters through realistic-looking environments. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken have now developed a technology that greatly ...

Zeroing in on heart disease

Innovative strategy pinpoints genes underlying cardiovascular disease risk Studies screening the genome of hundreds of thousands of individuals (known as Genome-wide association studies or GWAS) have linked more than 100 regions in the genome to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. ...

New insights into the causes of dementia - Shortage of protein TDP-43 causes muscle wasting and stunted nerve cells

A team of German and Belgian researchers has succeeded in gaining new insights into the causes of certain movement disorders and forms of dementia. Scientists including Bettina Schmid and Christian Haass from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Munich and the ...

Electron excitation influences crystal structure

Turbulence in a crystal When an intense ultrashort light pulse hits a crystal, it sets its atomic structure in motion. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), the Technischen Universität München (TUM), the Fritz-Haber Institute in Berlin (FHI) and the ...

Parkin protects from neuronal cell death

LMU researchers identify a novel signal transduction pathway, which activates the parkin gene and prevents stress-induced neuronal cell death. Parkinson's disease is the most common movement disorder and the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. It is ...

Germans Increasingly Combine Transport Means

An own car or car sharing? Going to work by bicycle? Flying at low costs or using the new long-distance busses? The mobility behavior is changing: On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development (BMVBS), researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have ...

Study reveals new avenues

Improving climate protection in agriculture Agriculture is responsible for around ten to twelve percent of all greenhouse gases attributable to human activities. This raises the question of how these emissions could be reduced. A recent study has investigated – for the first time – the full ...

DNA’s twisted communication

During embryo development, genes are dynamically, and very precisely, switched on and off to confer different properties to different cells and build a well-proportioned and healthy animal. Fgf8 is one of the key genes in this process, controlling in particular the growth of the limbs and the ...

News on Immunotherapy: Leukemia, Brain Tumors

Some T cells of the immune system are natural enemies of cancer cells. How they are prepared for their deployment in the organism appears to be very decisive in determining their effectiveness in cancer treatment. Many T cells of the immune system have the general ability to identify and destroy ...

New Junior Research Group at Freie Universität Investigates Nanogels for Cancer Therapy

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research Supports Project with Two Million Euros The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting a new research group at Freie Universität Berlin that is investigating so-called thermoresponsive nanogels. The nanogels are delivery ...

Order in the chaos of a cell membrane

Crystalline areas form in model membranes based on a previously unknown mechanism An explanation has been proposed for the way in which ordered structures arise in cell membranes. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam have discovered how complex compounds ...

Blueprint for an artificial brain

Bielefeld physicist Andy Thomas takes nature as his model Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn’t need any programming. Privatdozent ...

Transforming Carbon Dioxide Into a Valuable Resource

Fossil fuels are a limited resource. For this reason, the federal government supports the transformation of the economy from a petroleum- to a bio-based economy with its “Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Initiative.” Selected industrial companies and educational and research institutions take ...

Demagnetization by rapid spin transport

The fact that an ultrashort laser pulse is capable of demagnetizing a ferromagnetic layer in a jiffy has been well-known since approximately 1996. What we don't yet understand, however, is how exactly this demagnetization works. Now, physicist Dr. Andrea Eschenlohr and her colleagues at the ...

Healthcare Innovation World Cup: Call for Breakthrough Ideas to Tackle Diabetes

Competition funded by Boehringer Ingelheim offers entrepreneurs and innovators chance at start-up money, industry connections New York, NY – Starting today, entrepreneurs and innovators with novel solutions for tackling the worldwide diabetes epidemic are invited to enter the Healthcare ...

Researchers find controlling element of Huntington’s disease

Molecular troika regulates production of harmful protein A three molecule complex may be a target for treating Huntington’s disease, a genetic disorder affecting the brain. This finding by an international research team including scientists from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases ...

JUICE – mission to the icy moons of Jupiter

Mission involvement for the German Aerospace Center Last week, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced its choice of scientific experiments for the JUICE Mission (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) . The decision taken involved two experiments developed by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches ...

Microalgae can produce more than just fuel

Microalgae have played an important role as animal feed or food supplements for decades. They can also produce complex chemical compounds. This so-called material use of microalgae is already a major economic sector. However, when it comes to algal biotechnology, they are almost universally seen ...

The great orchestral work of speech

Max Planck Institute Director Peter Hagoort researches the complex score in the brain that enables humans to speak What goes on inside our heads is similar to an orchestra. For Peter Hagoort, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, this image is a very apt one for explaining ...

"How the ocean loses nitrogen"

Marine Scientists from Bremen and Kiel (Germany) identify key factor that control nitrogen availability in the Ocean Nitrogen is a required prerequisite for life in the ocean. Hence, knowledge about the nitrogen cycle is crucial to assess the impacts of recent or future environmental changes. In ...

Fragments of Continents Hidden under Lava in the Indian Ocean

The islands Reunion and Mauritius, both well-known tourist destinations, are hiding a micro-continent, which has now been discovered. The continent fragment known as Mauritia detached about 60 million years ago while Madagascar and India drifted apart, and had been hidden under huge masses of ...

Measles Virus Manipulates Immune Receptor

X-rays reveal mechanism of viral hide-and-seek Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-University and the Center for Integrated Protein Sciences in Munich, Germany, have uncovered how paramyxoviruses, such as the measles virus, attempt to evade an organism´s inborn immune system. Receptor molecules, ...

A new generation of aircraft: Materials research scientists in Geesthacht are engaged in original scale research on joints

Joining technology specialists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) are carrying out research on laser beam welding of a new aluminium-lithium alloy, within the research project LAWENDEL, which is part of the European Aeronautical Research Programme, Clean Sky. The long-term objective of ...

LMU introduces Massive Open Online Courses

Starting this summer, LMU Munich plans to make a range of academic courses available online to interested learners all over the world. With this step, LMU joins a group of internationally renowned universities that have begun to make use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs, for short) to ...

Microbubbles improve myocardial remodelling after infarction

Scientists from the Bonn University Hospital successfully tested a method in mice allowing the morphological and functional sequelae of a myocardial infarction to be reduced. Tiny gas bubbles are made to oscillate within the heart via focused ultrasound - this improves microcirculation and ...

Smoking Cessation in Old Age: Less Heart Attacks and Strokes Within Only Five Years

Smokers increase their risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke with every cigarette they smoke. Conversely, those who quit smoking even at an advanced age will have a considerable decrease in their risk after a very short time. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center ...

Gruber Genetics Prize for Svante Pääbo

Geneticist Svante Pääbo from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthroplogy is to receive the US$500,000 Gruber Genetics Prize for groundbreaking research in evolutionary genetics Svante Pääbo is the recipient of the 2013 Genetics Prize of The Gruber Foundation. Pääbo is being honoured ...

DLR researchers unveil a new kind of range extender for electric cars

Scientists at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have developed an entirely new kind of drive concept to extend the range of electrically powered vehicles. The free-piston linear generator (Freikolbenlineargenerator; FKLG) is a combustion engine that ...

New Humboldt Research Award winner at LMU

The latest winner of a Humboldt Research Award to choose LMU as the host for his research sabbatical is theoretical physicist Professor Nigel Cooper from Cambridge University, who has been the guest of LMUs Physics Faculty since the beginning of January. Cooper studies novel states of matter ...

More butterflies in the forest

Cutting back trees in the traditional way has a positive effect on bio-diversity / Getting wood for energy sustainably Woodland butterflies are among the most endangered butterflies in Europe. Their habitat is sparse forests of the kind that were once plentiful in Central Europe. Landscape ...

Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing: 25 Years

Ceremony and symposium commemorate the IWR's start and offer insights into current research A ceremony and symposium will mark the 25th anniversary of the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR) of Heidelberg University. This central research institution hosts scientists from ...

Surprising new role for well-known actor

Photosynthesis takes place on specialized membranes, made up of proteins and lipids, in the chloroplasts of plant cells. LMU researchers have now discovered an unexpected link between the processes of lipid and protein biosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis is a fundamental part of Earths ...

Renewable Energy in Times of Insufficient Wind and Sunlight

Battery research at Münster University starts the year 2013 with a new project: under the title "INSIDER", scientists are working on a new energy storage system based on dual-ion battery technology. The dual-ion storage is a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries. It could for example be ...

New satellite shows precise extent of the Arctic sea ice loss

Current measurements of the ESA ice thickness satellite CryoSat-2 have shown that the total mass of the Arctic sea ice was 36 per cent smaller last autumn than during the same period in the years 2003 to 2008. Five years ago the autumn ice volumes averaged 11900 km3. But in the second quarter of ...

AIDS researchers from Ulm to shed light on the success of the HIV-1 M group

Frank Kirchhoff, AIDS researcher at the University of Ulm, has come up with a plausible explanation for the pandemic spread of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) M group and its ability to adapt to the human immune system. In a recent study with colleagues from Germany and abroad, ...

Monocyte migrations

LMU researchers led by Christian Weber have, for the first time, elucidated how cells that promote the development of atherosclerosis find their way to the blood vessel wall, where they stimulate the formation of obstructive deposits. Atherosclerosis is one of the commonest causes of death in ...

Blood is thicker than water – and blood plasma is, too

Joint press release from Saarland University and the University of Pennsylvania A German-American research team has succeeded in demonstrating that blood plasma has a much greater effect on how blood flows than was previously thought. The groups led by Christian Wagner (Saarland University, ...

United Nations Reference Center for Public Veterinary Health Opened at Freie Universität Berlin

Scientists Assist Developing and Emerging Countries A new reference center of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was opened on Thursday at Freie Universität Berlin. The scientists of the institution are working on issues of healthy livestock and food production in developing and ...

Proof: Cosmic Rays Are Accelerated in Exploding Stars

Particle Decay 'Smoking Gun' Settles Long Debate A new study confirms what scientists have long suspected: Most cosmic rays - energetic particles that impact on Earth from all directions - are born in the violent aftermath of supernovas, exploding stars throughout the galaxy. A research team led ...

Studying nuclear spin in the nanoworld

A new form of NMR technology gives scientists what they need to examine the structure of minute samples Making new insights into the nanoworld a reality! An international team working with scientists from the University of Stuttgart and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in ...

Entrepreneurship Funding and Resources in Germany

– Now Live on www.germaninnovation.org– The German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) is proud to announce the launch of its new web page, Entrepreneurship Funding & Resources, on http://www.germaninnovation.org/resources/entrepreneurship-funding. The GCRI’s web presence is an ...

Europe’s Fastest Computer Inaugurated at Jülich

Jülich’s new supercomputer JUQUEEN was inaugurated at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Light from Silicon Nanocrystal LEDs

KIT Scientists Develop Multicolor LEDs without Heavy Metals Silicon nanocrystals have a size of a few nanometers and possess a high luminous potential. Scientists of KIT and the University of Toronto/Canada have now succeeded in manufacturing silicon-based light-emitting diodes (SiLEDs). They ...

Ferries now ten years in the service of science: How FerryBoxes explore the oceans

The idea is a stroke of genius: ships that operate on fixed routes are equipped with measuring systems to investigate the marine environment. Scientists from the Institute of Coastal Research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht have put this idea into practice. Measuring systems are installed in ...

Earth League: International network established by leading research institutes

Leading research institutes from more than 10 nations joined forces last week in London and launched the “Earth League”. As a global alliance of eminent scientific representatives from climate research, environmental sciences and economics, this distinguished network focuses on planetary ...

Study published in Science: Rapid changes in the Arctic ecosystem from surface to depth during the ice minimum in the summer of 2012

Huge quantities of algae are growing on the underside of sea ice in the Central Arctic: in 2012 the ice algae Melosira arctica was responsible for almost half the primary production in this area

Wonderwalls

Hidden system makes it easier for elderly people to live at home In the future, home-assisted living for the elderly could take a very unusual form. Researchers have developed a system that can track down reading glasses or the front door key, analyze health data, and contact a physician or a ...

The cradle of the nanoparticle

A new model facilitates predictions about how nanoparticles form and gives clues about how the process can be controlled Nanoparticles are versatile harbingers of hope: They can serve as active medical agents or contrast media just as well as electronic storage media or reinforcement for ...

Blackbirds in the spotlight

City birds that experience light at night are ready to breed earlier than their rural cousins Street lamps, traffic lights and lighting from homes are causing a rise in our night-time light levels. For some time now, scientists have suspected that artificial light in our towns and cities at ...

New hope in fight against multi-resistant germs

International antibiotics study: HZI receives €6m funding An increasing number of bacteria is evolving antibiotic resistance. Much-feared representatives of this steadily growing group include Staphylococci strains. At this point, multi-resistant forms of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus - ...

Profiting from Climate Change

The climate is getting warmer, and sea levels are rising – a threat to island nations. As a group of researchers lead by colleagues from the University of Bonn found out, at the same time, tiny single-cell organisms are spreading rapidly through the world's oceans, where they might be able to ...

One million euros for international cooperation projects

DAAD is funding the prestigious network of the Universities Göttingen, Gent, Groningen and Uppsala (pug) The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is supporting the U4 Network, a strategic partnership between Göttingen University and the leading European universities of Gent, Groningen and ...

Cell Shape Changes during Mitosis

Heidelberg scientists study transient degradation of an actin regulator Scientists at the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University have gained new insight into the process of mitosis in mammalian cells. Researchers under the direction of Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior, in collaboration ...

Life under Pressure

DORIS explores protein interactions under deep sea conditions Researchers from Technische Universität Dortmund (Germany) have gained new insights into how organisms may cope with the immense water pressures governing the depths of the oceans. With DESY´s x-ray lightsource DORIS III, the ...

Scenario 2040 for Germany: How climate change alters our daily life

“Two degrees Celsius more in Germany” – scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and sociologists analyzed what this might mean in detail. A book with the same title was just released by Fischer publishing house, addressing a broad public. Hot summers with average ...

Waste Dump at the End of the World

Ecologists propose managing strategies to protect the Antarctic On their mission to the moon in 1969 the Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin created arguably the most famous footprints ever. Since the time the astronauts of the Apollo 11 Mission stepped onto the surface of our satellite ...

Major project on the quality of life of disadvantaged young people in Europe

Bielefeld University to coordinate the EU project ‘SocIEtY’ The European Union is investing 2.5 million Euro in the ‘SocIEtY’ research project launched on Friday 1 February. A total of 40 social scientists will be carrying out comparative national studies on how far young people are able to ...

How Bees Smell

Odors play a major role in the life of honeybees. Accordingly, their nervous system needs to be highly capable of processing olfactory information. Indeed, the animals have the ability to process the relevant data in parallel as researchers of the Biocenter have been able to demonstrate for the ...

Sugar influences the onset of flowering

Only when light, age and energy conditions are right do plants flower A plant can reproduce successfully only if it flowers at the appropriate time. Therefore, a complex network of photoreceptors and other proteins has evolved to monitor environmental conditions such as light and temperature. It ...

Colon cancer exhibits a corresponding epigenetic pattern in mice and humans

Epigenetic investigation of mice can as a result contribute to early diagnosis of cancer in humans Tumourigenesis is driven by genetic alterations and by changes in the epigenome, for instance by the addition of methyl groups to cytosine bases in the DNA. A deeper understanding of the ...

Translation error tracked in the brain of dementia patients

Scientists identify enigmatic aggregates linked to neurodegenerative diseases

3D Printing on the Micrometer Scale

KIT Spin-off “Nanoscribe“ Presents High-speed 3D Printer At the Photonics West, the leading international fair for photonics taking place in San Francisco (USA) this week, Nanoscribe GmbH, a spin-off of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), presents the world’s fastest 3D printer of micro- ...

Trick gives helicopters more 'puff' – DLR tests the influence on airflow when blowing air out of rotor blades

Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Göttingen have discovered a way to make helicopters more manoeuvrable. In a globally unique wind tunnel experiment, they have been blowing air through holes in the rotor blades to actively influence ...

Columbus research laboratory in microgravity for five years

From the outside it resembles a shiny barrel; inside, however, it contains a myriad of possibilities for scientific work under microgravity conditions. The European Columbus research module has been flying through space for five years, attached to the International Space Station (ISS). It is ...

Microscopic X-ray view

X-ray microscopy technique makes fluctuations inside of materials visible. Microscopic X-ray view Experimental setup: The test object is moved with nanometer precision through the X-ray beam. The scattered X-rays are captured by a detector. The scattering images are then reconstructed to an ...

Producing hydrogen from wet biomass

FAU researchers co-ordinate EU research project for improving sustainability in energy production Renewable energy sources – such as hydrogen from wind power – are an important step towards reducing greenhouse gases and protecting our climate. Hydrogen can be produced sustainably using other ...

New Research Training Group 'System Design' Takes up Work

The University of Bremen’s new research training group entitled “System Design” (SyDe) has officially started work. It is the result of a cooperation project involving the University of Bremen and two non-university research institutes located on the Technology Park adjoining the campus – the ...

Mainz and Kaiserslautern to supply state-of-the-art technologies to businesses

Two new joint large-scale research projects in materials science and spintronics at the universities of Mainz and Kaiserslautern with application potential

Natural climate archives play an important role in climate reconstructions of past millennia

Temperature and precipitation variation and extremes have previously been underestimated in comparison to longer-term climatic trends Tree-rings, ice-cores, and speleothems are all used to reconstruct climate of the past millennia. But are these records reliable? Researchers of the Swiss Federal ...

Award for Outstanding Work in Biomedical Research

Biochemist Dr. John Briggs of EMBL in Heidelberg to receive the Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award Biochemist Dr. John Briggs, scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, has been selected to receive the Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award for the year ...

FAU researchers develop test to assess everyday practical skills

Impediments to mental performance and especially mounting difficulties in everyday life – these are the main symptoms of the different forms of dementia. In order to reliably evaluate whether and to what extent dementia patients are already restricted in everyday life, researchers at the ...

Who Decides in the Brain?

Tübingen neuroscientists show how decision-making processes are influenced by neurons. Whether in society or nature, decisions are often the result of complex interactions between many factors. Because of this it is usually difficult to determine how much weight the different factors have in ...

RNA promotes metastasis in lung cancer

MALAT1, an RNA molecule, is a marker for progression of lung cancer. Heidelberg researchers have now found out that MALAT1 activates metastasis-promoting genes in cancer cells. In mice, blocking of MALAT1 reduced the number and size of lung cancer metastases. The vast majority - approximately 80 ...

Minimal Exposure for Outstanding CT Images

With the development of the Stellar detectors, Siemens has increased the sensitivity of its computer tomography (CT) detectors to an unprecedented level. CT scanners are equipped with one or two X-ray tubes that rotate around the patient. A detector is positioned opposite each tube. Bones and ...

Smart Grid Test as Part of the Energy Transition

Siemens and Stadtwerke Krefeld AG (SWK) are converting the electricity network of Wachtendonk, which is located in Germany on the Lower Rhine, into a smart grid. The two companies want to test the smart grid's behavior and technology in practice. Due to its large share of renewable sources of ...

OLYMPUS successfully concludes data taking

The nuclear physics experiment OLYMPUS at the DORIS accelerator successfully concluded its second data taking phase. In a two-month period until well into January, the scientists were able to collect four inverse femtobarns of electron-proton and positron-proton collisions. After definitely ...

Combining bio- and medtech for the diagnosis of cardiac diseases

The Department of Cardiology at Heidelberg University Hospital and Siemens Corporate Technology have been working together since 2011 to develop new software that improves the diagnosis of heart diseases. The new software analyses and manages data related to the genetic causes of cardiomyopathy ...

Learning from the linker

New study sheds light on cellular reprogramming In a nutshell: •The transcription factor Oct4 controls the genes involved in reprogramming mature cells to become pluripotent again •The 3D structure of a particular linker sequence within Oct4 sheds light on how the transcription factor interacts ...

Experimental physicist Immanuel Bloch honored

On 1. February, the Hector Science Prize 2012 was formally bestowed on Immanuel Bloch, Professor of Experimental Physics at LMU Munich and Director at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics. The Prize is valued at 150,000 euros. The Hector Foundation has awarded its Science Prize 2012 to ...

Anneliese Maier Research Award granted for the second time

Seven scholars of the humanities and social sciences will receive the collaboration award valued at 250,000 EUR. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is again granting Anneliese Maier Research Awards to seven scholars of the humanities and social sciences from abroad this year. The ...

Carolingian Minuscule Predates Charlemagne

Heidelberg scholar discovers earliest known example of Latin script as still used today In the course of research on written testimonies from the era of Charlemagne (d. 814), Dr. Tino Licht, a Heidelberg University scholar, has chanced upon a manuscript from Corbie Abbey containing the earliest ...

The tail of Venus

When the solar wind nearly breaks off, our neighbour's ionosphere expands into space In rare events, the sheath of electrons and ions enveloping Venus in a height of 150 to 300 kilometres can expand into space like a tail. This exceptional deformation occurs on the planet’s night side, when the ...

In the planetary nursery

Astronomers determine the mass of the disk of gas and dust surrounding the star TW Hydrae The disk surrounding the young star TW Hydrae is regarded as a prototypical example of planetary nurseries. Due to its comparatively close proximity of 176 light-years, the object plays a key role in ...

Formula for a biologically effective perfume

Max Planck researchers crack the olfactory code for partner selection and synthesise the first biologically effective perfume Individual body odour plays an important role in partner selection. Humans, mice, fish and birds, and probably other vertebrates too, receive important information about ...

The importance of the envelope

In a project that began with the retinal cells of nocturnal animals and has led to fundamental insights into the organization of genomic DNA, LMU researchers show how the nuclear envelope affects nuclear architecture - and gene regulation. The double-stranded DNA molecules that make up the ...

Mobile World Congress: Faster video streaming

In the smartphones and tablet era, more and more users are watching videos on the move – with a resulting strain on mobile networks. The combination of the HEVC video compression standard with LTE brings networks welcome relief. Whether on a long train journey, sitting in a café or lounging at ...

CeBIT 2013: The armchair as a fitness trainer

Each of us would like to pursue our personal hobbies and interests into old age. However, this depends on us staying fit and healthy. Researchers are now presenting an armchair that brings the gym right into your living room at the push of a button. For years the trends have been clear: not only ...

CeBIT 2013: Awakening the dormant potential of e-government

E-government holds the promise of gains in efficiency and satisfaction for case workers. In Denmark, seven government ministries have already undergone a full digital changeover. Now researchers have adapted the model for German government agencies Electronic communication has long been an ...

Up to a million Euros for visiting researchers

Four years of funding for the ‘Theoretical Sciences’ network Researchers at Bielefeld University’s Faculties of Mathematics, Physics, and Business Administration of Economics along with the Institute of Mathematical Economics have been selected for the ‘Thematic Networks’ programme of the German ...

Official starting signal for Wind Energy Research Alliance

Partners sign cooperation agreement A unique alliance for German wind energy research was officially formed in Berlin today – the Wind Energy Research Alliance. Representatives of the three partners, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), ForWind, the ...

New Programme for International Cooperation for German Universities

The German Academic Exchange Service and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research promote strategic partnerships.

Molecular spin memory devices

New developments for storing data - "A breakthrough in organic spin electronics" (pug) An international team of researchers affiliated with Göttingen University has found a way to store vast amounts of data - up to one petabyte - per square inch. One petabyte is equivalent to 1,000 terabytes or ...

New Options for transparent contact electrodes

Found in flat screens, solar modules, or in new organic light-emitting diode (LED) displays, transparent electrodes have become ubiquitous. Typically, they consist of metal oxides like In2O3, SnO2, ZnO and TiO2 . But since raw materials like indium are becoming more and more costly, researchers ...

Never get stressed searching for a parking space again

DLR reaches another milestone in its major project 'AIM' Looking for a parking space can be a strain on the nerves for drivers. How nice would it be for a car to be able to look for its own parking space, for example at a railway station, while we are boarding the train? The architects of this ...

Epigenetic control of cardiogenesis

Non-coding RNA is essential for normal embryonic cardiogenesis Many different tissues and organs form from pluripotent stem cells during embryonic development. To date it had been known that these processes are controlled by transcription factors for specific tissues. Scientists from the Max ...

Soya protein can be replaced by rapeseed protein

Nutritionists point out an additional dietary protein source for humans Today, more than 500 million people are suffering from a lack of adequate protein in their diet. Each year, the number of human beings increases by 80 million, a figure which is equivalent to the present population of ...

Helium emissions on the solar limb

Astrophysicists observe the exact structure of plasma clouds for the first time. (pug) Solar prominences are clouds of plasma, or ionised gas, that float far above the sun's surface and can extend more than 100,000 kilometres beyond its limb. What we previously knew about the structure of these ...

Bilayer structural makeup of biomembranes

Pathway for membrane building blocks Biomembranes consist of a mosaic of individual, densely packed lipid molecules. These molecules are formed inside the cells. But how do these building blocks move to the correct part of the membrane? Researchers from Technische Universität München (TUM) have ...

Glial cells assist in the repair of injured nerves

When a nerve is damaged, glial cells produce the protein neuregulin1 and thereby promote the regeneration of nerve tissue Unlike the brain and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system has an astonishing capacity for regeneration following injury. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of ...

Film or droplets?

There is a straightforward explanation as to when a liquid on a rough surface will form a thin film and when it will form droplets The phenomenon of liquids coating rough surfaces in the form of films or droplets is commonplace. The morning dew converts grass and leaves into scenes of magical ...

Academies recommend new measures in antibiotic research

A growing number of infections worldwide are caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics – and ever fewer effective antibiotics are available. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to treat infected patients successfully. Today, the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg and ...

CETREN focuses on 'Politics of the New'

BMBF funded transregional research network with focus on India and East Asia launched at the University of Göttingen (pug) The University of Goettingen is pleased to announce the launch of the "CeMIS-CeMEAS Transregional Research Network (CETREN)". The initial phase of the project will last for ...

Robot systems for the exploration of extreme regions

Two top teams join forces: German deep-sea researchers and space travel technologists jointly develop robot systems for the exploration of extreme regions Bremerhaven, 25 January 2013. The start of the first two-day scientific workshop at the MARUM Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences in ...

For a better exchange of academic information

The Alliance of German Science Organisations extends the Priority Initiative ’Digital Information’ until the end of 2017 The academic world needs a free, unrestricted and quick exchange of information. To further emphatically pursue this aim, the German Science Organisations started the second ...

Visio.M project: Carbon fiber lightweight design for electric car

Light yet safe contender for city streets Can an electric vehicle be extremely light and safe at the same time? Researchers working on the Visio.M project aim to show that the answer is yes. Scientists as well engineers from Germany’s leading technology companies have teamed up to develop a ...

European Mega-Project Develops Methods to Simulate Human Brain

The detailed simulation of the human brain on a supercomputer, from genetics to the molecular level to the interaction of entire cell clusters – this is the visionary goal of the Human Brain Project, in which several RWTH institutions are participating. On January 28, 2013, the European ...

International Standard for Charging of Electric Cars

Siemens is working with partners to promote an internationally standard interface and process control system for charging electric cars. The goal of the eNterop project, which is partly funded by the German government, is to ensure the smooth interoperation of cars and charging points from ...

Max Planck Center in Denmark dedicated

Since 1840, life expectancies have risen two-and-a-half years per decade in every country that maintains records. If this trend continues, many children born today have a good chance of celebrating their one-hundredth birthday. The new Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging ...

Humboldt Foundation cooperates with Bayer Foundation

Three million EUR for new Humboldt-Bayer Research Fellowships The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Bayer Science & Education Foundation will soon be awarding joint research fellowships. Until 2018, the Bayer Foundation will be making around three million EUR available to fund ...

Technology Update for Embedded Industrial PCs

Siemens has given its extremely robust industrial computers a makeover. All the computers are now equipped with powerful third-generation Intel Core i7 processors, which are well suited for permanent operation in maintenance-free automation solutions such as those utilized at wind and solar ...

The Centre of Simulation Technology is officially opened

Models help Göttingen University and TU Clausthal examine the "real world" (pug) Computer simulations are an integral part of scientific work in the natural, engineering, economic and social sciences. Now, Göttingen University and the Technical University of Clausthal are planning to work more ...

When the silence is broken

Young children with hearing loss who have received a cochlear implant are suddenly able to perceive speech. A team led by Professor Annette Leonhardt of LMU Munich is now studying what else changes for them. For almost three years she never used her voice, and couldnt hear and now there is this ...

Gene Mutation Immortalizes Malignant Melanoma

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and from University Duisburg-Essen have discovered a previously unknown genetic cause of malignant melanoma: a gene mutation that leads to overactive telomerase, the so-called ‘immortality enzyme'. The mutated gene region found in familial ...

EMBL-EBI researchers make DNA storage a reality

Researchers at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have created a way to store data in the form of DNA – a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method, published today in the journal Nature, makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of high-definition video in about a cup of DNA.

Birch-bark treasures

Experts in Indological Studies at LMU are in the process of analyzing 2000-year-old Indian Buddhist documents that have only recently come to light. The precious manuscripts have already yielded some surprising findings. The oldest surviving Buddhist texts, preserved on long rolls of birch-tree ...

2013 – international collaborations and diverse research projects

The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is using knowledge for tomorrow to shape the future of our society today. DLR is a world-renowned partner for research and will continue to develop its international network in 2013 by establishing new collaborations ...

Santiago de Chile will get drier and warmer

Santiago de Chile will get drier and warmer Scientists from Chile and Germany present recommendations of how to adapt the Latin American Megacity to climate change Santiago de Chile/Leipzig. Already nowadays ten per cent or more of the population in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile ...

More efficient solar power plants – DLR test facility for direct steam generation now operational

At the Plataforma Solar de Almería in southern Spain, researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have put a test facility for solar thermal power plants into operation. In the power plant, steam for generating power is produced directly in ...

New ice core study: Greenland‘s ice sheet shrank only minimally during the Eemian interglacial

Bremerhaven, 24 January 2012. An international team of researchers has succeeded for the first time in completely reconstructing the layer of the Greenland ice sheet from the Eemian interglacial (130 000 to 115 000 years ago). Using this ice data, the scientists can now say how warm it became in ...

Good fences make good neighbors

Nature abhors a vacuum, they say, but it also prefers sharp boundaries. LMU researchers have now come up with a theoretical model of how nature establishes such stable demarcations. Embryonic development for example is a succession of such all-or-none states. Thus, the fertilized egg first gives ...

Brain research: memories come quicker than expected

Magdeburg/London, January 18th, 2013. The brain can recall memories faster than previously assumed. A team of experts under the direction of neuroscientist Emrah Düzel, who is based in Magdeburg, Germany, was able to show this through a series of memory tests. 31 test subjects were charged with ...

Cell: Protein Folding via Charge Zippers

Proteins in Cellular Membranes Use Charged Side Chains like the Teeth of a Zipper to Fold and Assemble with other Molecules Membrane proteins are the "molecular machines" in biological cell envelopes. They control diverse processes, such as the transport of molecules across the lipid membrane, ...

Disabling the Camouflage Mechanism Used by Malaria Parasites

In 2010, there were about 216 million malaria cases, and an estimated 700,000 malaria deaths. So far, there is no effective vaccine against the disease, and resistance to treatments is increasing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria remains one of the greatest challenges in ...

A relative from the Tianyuan Cave

Ancient DNA has revealed that humans living some 40,000 years ago in the area near Beijing were likely related to many present-day Asians and Native Americans An international team of researchers including Svante Pääbo and Qiaomei Fu of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in ...

Immune system molecule with hidden talents

Fending off pathogens isn't all antibodies do - they also help to convey messages between immune cells Dendritic cells, or DCs for short, perform a vital role for the immune system: They engulf pathogens, break them down into their component parts, and then display the pieces on their surface. ...

Even Late-Onset Cancer in Parents Increases Cancer Risk in Offspring

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have found out that even if a parent gets cancer at an old age, the cancer risk of their offspring increases. Up to now, this association has been known only for cancer cases at earlier ages. The researchers ...

International Symposium on Urologic Cancer in Heidelberg

Cancer of the prostate is the most common type of cancer in men. Unlike other tumor types, prostate cancer has good chances of successful treatment if diagnosed early. Researchers from around the globe will discuss the latest advances in diagnostics and treatment of prostate cancer and other ...

On call: Satellite Data for Emergency Response

From the research stage to full operation – The Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) is now on call around the clock. This service facility established in 2004 provides up-to-the minute satellite-based maps for activities related to natural and environmental disasters, ...

Quantum Communication: Each Photon Counts

Emmy Noether Research Group Leader Wolfram Pernice Achieves Breakthrough at KIT in Building an Efficient Single-photon Detector Ultrafast, efficient, and reliable single-photon detectors are among the most sought-after components in photonics and quantum communication, which have not yet reached ...

The neurobiological consequence of predating or grazing

Scientists from Tuebingen compare neuronal network connections in two worm species Researchers in the group of Ralf Sommer at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tuebingen, Germany, have for the first time been able to identify neuronal correlates of behaviour by comparing ...

Reliable Electric Power Supply for the Energy Turn-around

The New Helmholtz Energy Alliance develops "Technologies for the Future Power Grid" Getting the grid prepared for the increased use of renewable energy sources is the goal of the Helmholtz Energy Alliance "Technologies for the Future Power Grid"coordinated by KIT. Helmholtz researchers are ...

The benefits of social grooming

Researchers found that in chimpanzees the hormone oxytocin is likely to play a key role in maintaining social relations with both kin and non-kin cooperation partners Animals which maintain cooperative relationships show gains in longevity and offspring survival. However, little is known about ...

Freie Universität and Charité Receive 2.8 Million Euros for Start-up Support

Successful in National Competition for Start-up Support Freie Universität Berlin and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin are receiving 2.8 million euros from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology to implement their proposal for providing better support for start-ups. Their ...

New building for literary treasures

After ten years of construction, the Bibliotheca Hertziana has opened its new premises. More than 300 guests from the German-Italian cultural life, politics and Curia attended the ceremony in Rome. January 15, 2013 The library is open to the gardens of the Palazzo Zuccari and the Lucullian ...

Field Research on Mount Everest

About 400000 tourists a year from Central Europe participate in a trekking trip in Europe, South America, North Africa, or Asia, making trekking one of the most popular recreational sports. Many of the adventurers, however, are not sufficiently prepared for activity thousands of meters up in the ...

GI tract bacteria may protect against autoimmune disease

Researchers show that altering gut microbes protects against disease, supporting the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ Toronto. Early life exposure to normal bacteria of the GI tract (gut microbes) protects against autoimmune disease in mice, according to research published on-line in the January 17 edition ...

Treating Organ Damage to Avoid Transplants

Diseases such as diabetes or hepatitis, or autoimmune diseases often lead to irreperable organ damage. Oftentimes a transplant is the only thing that helps those affected. However, suitable organs are not always available in time. Scientists at RWTH Aachen and the University of Bonn in SFB/TRR ...

Berthold Koletzko wins ERC Advanced Grant

Professor Berthold Koletzko has received one of the coveted Advanced Investigator Grants, worth approximately 2.5 million euros, awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). Koletzko, who heads the Division of Metabolism and Nutrition of the Dr. von Hauner Childrens Hospital at LMU, will use ...

'Image sensors out of a spray can'

Researchers from Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a new generation of image sensors that are more sensitive to light than the conventional silicon versions, with the added bonus of being simple and cheap to produce. They consist of electrically conductive plastics, which are ...

New electrolytes enhance battery safety

MEET informs at E-World about the latest research results in the battery sector The MEET Battery Research Centre at Münster University will once more be present at the trade fair "E-world - energy & water" in Essen in 2013. Highlights this year will include results from research into ...

Wood on the seafloor - an oasis for deep-sea life

Trees do not grow in the deep sea, nevertheless sunken pieces of wood can develop into oases for deep-sea life - at least temporarily until the wood is fully degraded. A team of Max Planck researchers from Germany now showed how sunken wood can develop into attractive habitats for a variety of ...

Window on future ocean change

First long-term experiment with GEOMAR mesocosms off Sweden investigates effects of ocean acidification on plankton communities 18.01.2013/Kiel/Kristineberg. From January to June 2013, more than 60 European scientists will conduct a worldwide unique long-term experiment on ocean acidification at ...

Genetic admixture in southern Africa

Ancient Khoisan lineages survive in contemporary Bantu groups An international team of researchers from the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the CNRS in Lyon have investigated the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA of 500 individuals from southern Africa speaking different ...

Global online atlas for solar and wind power

DLR coordinates development of the Internet platform During its Annual General Meeting in Abu Dhabi, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) made the world's first global atlas for renewable resources public. The atlas comprises databases and maps that are freely available on the ...

CeBIT 2013: Smart search engines for news videos

Searching for video recordings regularly pushes search engines to their limit. The truth of the matter is that purely automatic algorithms are not enough; user knowledge has to be harnessed, too. Now, researchers are making automated engines smarter. Anyone who has visited one of the big online ...

Climate Protection in India and Europe

Experts from the Environmental Policy Research Centre at Freie Universität and Partners in India and the Netherlands Examine Political Processes in Climate Policy – New Research Network Launched in January 2013 Beginning in January 2013, scientists involved in a new research network will address ...

Did an 8th century gamma ray burst irradiate the Earth?

Astronomers suggest that two compact stellar remnants merged together A nearby short duration gamma-ray burst may be the cause of an intense blast of high-energy radiation that hit the Earth in the 8th century, according to new research led by astronomers Valeri Hambaryan and Ralph Neuhӓuser. ...

Immune system foiled by a hairpin

The innate immune system detects invasive pathogens and activates defense mechanisms to eliminate them. Pathogens, however, employ a variety of tricks to block this process. A new study shows how the measles virus thwarts the system, by means of a simple hairpin-like structure. The innate immune ...

Viagra converts fat cells

Researchers from the University of Bonn treated mice with Viagra and made an amazing discovery: The drug converts undesirable white fat cells and could thus potentially melt the unwelcome "spare tire" around the midriff. In addition, the substance also decreases the risk of other complications ...

Partnership for Sustainable Energy Technologies

Fraunhofer and The University of British Columbia UBC in Vancouver, Canada will partner to jointly develop technologies for sustainable energy production and supply. The transition from fossil fuels to sustainable and regenerative energy concepts is a challenge that sooner or later all ...

Melt ponds cause the Artic sea ice to melt more rapidly

Bremerhaven, 15 January 2013. The Arctic sea ice has not only declined over the past decade but has also become distinctly thinner and younger. Researchers are now observing mainly thin, first-year ice floes which are extensively covered with melt ponds in the summer months where once ...

FORUM Viewer App: FORUM® Viewer App Makes Diagnostic Patient Data Available for Mobile Use

Intuitive and convenient use on the iPad® The Medical Technology business group of Carl Zeiss is presenting the new FORUM Viewer App at the 28th Congress of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) in the Indian city of Hyderabad. For the very first time, this provides doctors with ...

User-Friendly Development of Automation Solutions

In a move designed to make it easier to implement industrial automation solutions, Siemens has substantially enlarged its engineering environment in this field. The Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal) provides a uniform platform that obviates the need for individual interfaces for ...

More-Efficient Production of Large-Scale Batteries

Planning and design software from Siemens can help manufacturers to automate the production of large-scale batteries. The future will see a growing need for large-scale lithium-ion batteries, not only to store energy but also, and in particular, to power electric vehicles. Automation technology ...

Cheating to Create the Perfect Simulation

Physicists on the Way to Describe the Inside of Neutron Stars The planet Earth will die - if not before, then when the Sun collapses. This is going to happen in approximately seven billion years. In the universe however the death of suns and planets is an everyday occurance and our solar ...

The cell that isn’t

In a nutshell: New technique allows scientists to study cell division without cell membrane Advantages: can physically constrain and manipulate; can access nuclei normally buried deep in opaque embryo; combinable with wide-ranging fruit fly genetics techniques Revealed that, surprisingly, ...

RWTH Aachen Successful in 'EXIST Gründerkultur - Die Gründerhochschule' Competition

In the "EXIST Gründerkultur ' Die Gründerhochschule" competition by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), RWTH Aachen was awarded a prize for its strategy for the creation of a start-up culture at the University. The Aachen university will now receive up to 3.5 million Euros ...

Water fluctuations mediate lock-and-key fit

Without water, life as we know, it would not exist. Nearly every biological binding process that takes place within a cell requires the presence of an aqueous environment. Here, tiny molecules called ligands fit like "keys" into their matching "locks" - docking sites on larger protein molecules. ...

RWTH Scientists Conduct Research on Windfall Areas

Windfall areas are the result of storms that bend or uproot trees. In 2007, storm Kyrill toppled and uprooted trees in an area of about 123,500 acres, resulting in damage of approximately 1,5 billion dollars. The damage is still visible today, as only about 55 percent of the affected sites have ...

Sensor of bacteria and viruses on high alert at the site of action

Researchers show: Sophisticated transport system helps immune cells quickly detect infections "Danger!" signals TLR9, the molecular sensor, whenever it recognizes bacterial or viral genetic information, specifically DNA. Instantly, the immune system initiates the process of fighting off the ...

Thomas Bein receives ERC Advanced Grant

LMU chemist Professor Thomas Bein has received an Advanced Grant worth some 2.5 million euros from the European Research Council to enable him and his colleagues to study ordered chemical systems as models for more efficient solar cells. ERC Advanced Grants are intended for European researchers ...

Global warming has increased monthly heat records by a factor of five

Monthly temperature extremes have become much more frequent, as measurements from around the world indicate. On average, there are now five times as many record-breaking hot months worldwide than could be expected without long-term global warming, shows a study now published in Climatic Change. ...

ITA Wins 1st Prize in the 'NRW Inventing the Future' Competition 2012

The scientists Dr. Michael Glowania and Professor Thomas Gries from the RWTH Institute of Textile Technology (ITA) have found that with a thermal conductivity of more than 27 W/mk, pitch-based carbon fibers arranged in a honeycomb structure conduct heat as well as alloyed steel. For this ...

Gene flow from India to Australia about 4,000 years ago

Long before Europeans settled in Australia humans had migrated from the Indian subcontinent to Australia and mixed with Australian aborigines Australia is thought to have remained largely isolated between its initial colonization around 40,000 years ago and the arrival of Europeans in the late ...

Natural killer cells – the body’s own patrol against viruses and tumours

Setting the stage for personalised medicine, researchers decode major immune cell's protein content Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have analysed for the first time all the proteins inside natural killer (NK) cells of healthy individuals. The newly discovered ...

Tuberculosis: Agents in MycPermCheck

About two million people worldwide die of tuberculosis each year. There is an urgent need for new drugs and they will probably get easier to find in future – thanks to the new model MycPermCheck, which was developed at the University of Würzburg. Tuberculosis is caused by a pathogen called ...

A single molecule in sight

Intelligent Molecules Intelligence is not only a matter of humans and animals. Scientists speak also of intelligent molecules. The latter directly react to external stimuli and change reversibly their shape. NIM physicists demonstrate the process for the first time with a single molecule. ...

Ulm: New Research Centres for Diseases of the Nervous System

Federal Minister Schavan inaugurates new DZNE and University of Ulm institutes Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan opened two new neuroscience institutes today in Ulm. They are supported by the Federal Government as well as by the Land of Baden-Württemberg, and will expand the current ...

Early emissions peak more relevant than emissions reduction rate: study

Avoiding negative impacts of global warming depends more on starting early to let greenhouse-gas emissions decline than on the rate of reductions after the peak. This is one key outcome of the first global-scale assessment of climate change impacts across sectors, from coastal flooding to crop ...

Producing High-Tech Steel Cheaply and Efficiently

A new plant for desulfurizing pig iron is reducing the costs of steel production. Developed by Siemens, this innovative process makes it possible to more precisely dose the various desulfurizing agents that are injected into the molten metal and do so more economically. The technology is based ...

Clamorous city blackbirds

Birds can sing louder at higher frequencies and thereby make themselves heard in traffic noise Animals have developed a variety of strategies for dealing with increasing noise pollution in their habitats. It is known, for example, that many urban birds sing at a high pitch to differentiate their ...

About dispersible nanoparticles, stable pigment pastes, hot cooked cheese and adhesives

International Workshop Dispersion Analysis and Material Testing in Berlin, March 7-8 At first sight, blood and food, household products and industrial nanoparticles have nothing in common. A closer look reveals, all are subject to the same physical principles with respect to the characterization ...

More than three million Euros for research on ‘two Americas’

New Center for Regional Research at Bielefeld University Anglo America and Latin America: cultural, language, social, and political contrasts between industrial nations and so-called developing and emerging countries are encountered more in ‘the Americas’ than in just about any other region in ...

Scientists Generate Oncolytic Viruses for Targeted Attack on Cancer Stem Cells

Researchers from the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) have been the first to generate oncolytic viruses which specifically infect and kill CD133-positive cancer stem cells. Using such viruses, scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) ...

First Car Ferry Powered by Electric Drive System

Together with the Norwegian shipyard Fjellstrand, Siemens has developed the world's first electrically powered car ferry. The 80-meter vessel can carry 120 cars and 360 passengers. From 2015 onward, it will serve the route between Lavik and Oppedal, across the Sognefjord. The ship's batteries ...

Data Safe for Research

Research "Alliance for Research Data Storage" Develops Strategies for Long-term Storage of Valuable Data/ Test of Storage of Particle Physics, History of Literature, and Climate Research Data Information from former times survived centuries on stone and paper. Modern hard disks, DVDs, and ...

Noise protection – multifunctional and aesthetical

Noise abatement is growing in importance, thus, the demand for better acoustic building components raises. Scientists are developing new solutions: aesthetically good looking and flexibly applicable microperforated sound absorbers. Too much noise causes illness. This is as an undisputed fact ...

Shareholder liability: key to energy systems transformation

Assigning full liability for environmental impacts to the shareholders of corporations would reduce the rigidity of the fossil-nuclear energy economy and help establish an alternative energy system, a new study shows. Without such changes of regulation, a dynamic lock-in pattern of the energy ...

Max Planck Center in Jerusalem inaugurated

Max Planck Center in Jerusalem inaugurated Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology are consolidating their partnership with Israeli researchers. They are now jointly investigating how the brain translates perceptions into behaviour. The Max Planck Society and the Hebrew ...

RWTH Aachen Launches Two Projects in Research Campus Initiative

The Aachen university succeeded in the funding initiative "Research Campus – Public-Private Partnership for Innovations" of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF): two submissions from RWTH Aachen Campus clusters were approved. Research on digital photonic production and electric ...

Bugs need symbiotic bacteria to exploit plant seeds

Mid-gut microbes help insects in processing their food Aggregations of the red and black coloured firebugs are ubiquitous under linden trees in Central Europe, where the bugs can reach astounding population densities. While these insects have no impact on humans, their African, Asian, and ...

Particles of crystalline quartz wear away teeth

Study questions informative value of dental microwear for dietary habits of extinct species Dental microwear, the pattern of tiny marks on worn tooth surfaces, is an important basis for understanding the diets of fossil mammals, including those of our own lineage. Now nanoscale research by an ...

Researchers solve stroke research mystery

New study disproves theory of destructive role of immune cells / Münster University researchers involved In a recently completed study, researchers from the Universities of Münster, Berne, Berlin, Freiburg, Tübingen and Frankfurt have gained new insights into the causes of strokes. These results ...

Mars500 project – salt balance of the Mars 'astronauts'

For 205 days in 2011, Jens Titze, Professor of Electrolyte and Circulatory Research at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and his team strictly controlled the diet for the Mars500 test subjects during their virtual flight to Mars. Sometimes the selected food contained a lot of salt, sometimes ...

Leibniz-DAAD Research Fellowships 2013

The Leibniz – DAAD Research Fellowship programme is jointly carried out by the Leibniz Association (Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e.V.) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Leibniz-DAAD fellowships offer highly-qualified, international postdoctoral researchers, ...

Seismic Fabric Coming on the Market

In the case of earthquakes, only seconds may remain for a safe escape from buildings. Debris falling down and obstructing the escape routes may even aggravate the situation. A product developed at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) extends the time for saving lifes by reinforcing walls and ...

Better than Diamond

University of Würzburg physicists have modified silicon carbide crystals in a way that these exhibit new and surprising properties. This makes them interesting with regard to the design of high-performance computers or data transmission. Silicon carbide crystals consist of a regular lattice ...

From the Amazon rainforest to human body cells: quantifying stability

The Amazon rainforest, energy grids, and cells in the human body share a troublesome property: they possess multiple stable states. When the world’s largest tropical forest suddenly starts retreating in a warming climate, energy supply blacks out, or cells turn carcinogenic, complex-systems ...

HepaChip: a promising tool for assessing adverse drug effects

Liver damage is one of the most common adverse drug effects. Since results obtained with animal experiments can only be transferred to the situation in humans to a limited extent, there is a need for cell-based systems that model human organ function as closely as possible. The new HepaChip, ...

Polysilicon industry to resume growth in 2013

Polysilicon industry to resume growth in 2013 Bernreuter Research sees rising demand with new PV installations of 36 GW Würzburg (Germany), January 8, 2013 – The global polysilicon industry will return to the path of growth and increase its production by 6.5% in 2013, according to the latest ...

Field of cancer research continues to expand: new Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf Institute of Radiooncology opens

January 1, 2013, will see the inauguration of the brand-new Institute of Radiooncology at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Cancer researcher Prof. Michael Baumann, head of radiation therapy and oncology at University Hospital Dresden as well as an OncoRay Center spokesman, will ...

Oncolytic viruses for targeted attack on cancer stem cells generated

Scientists at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) have successfully created oncolytic viruses which effectively target CD133-positive cancer stem cells to infect and kill them. In animal experiments, multiple tumour foci could be completely eradicated. Cancer Research reports on the results of this ...

Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Heidelberg

The University of Heidelberg offers a Ph.D. in American Studies at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA). This structured, three-year English-language program is open to German and international applicants who wish to earn a research-oriented academic degree. The program aids students ...

Study: Time Pressure Enhances Thrill of Auctions

Emotions Influence Economic Decisions / Internet Auctions Use This Effect to Offer More Entertainment and Thrill Shopping is more than the rational exchange of goods against money. Emotions, however, do not only play a role when buying a red sports car or the fiftieth pair of shoes. At the stock ...

Why Are Old Stem Cell Lines Often Researched?

On January 2, 2013, the journal PLOS One published the results of a study conducted by scientists at RWTH Aachen, the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, and the Universities of South Hampton and Kiel. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas Schuppert from the RWTH Aachen Chair of Data Driven Modelling in ...

Water as an Energy Source

The energy sector in Germany is faced with the challenge to provide the population and industry with a reliable energy supply while achieving the German government's climate goals. This challenge is a key topic of the 43rd International International Symposium on Hydraulic Engineering in Aachen ...

Small RNAs and immunological reactions

Patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) lack antibodies that would protect them against infections. Only a handful of patients develop the disease because of a single defect in any of the genes involved in CVID pathogenesis. A group of researchers led by Dr. Ulrich Salzer at the ...

New Funding for Mars Research

3.23 Million Euros in Additional Funding for Mars Camera Experiment Freie Universität Berlin is to receive an additional 3.25 million euros earmarked for processing and analyzing data from its camera experiments on Mars. The money will fund the university’s high resolution stereo camera (HRSC) ...

RWTH Aachen To Receive up to 60 Million Euros from the Research Campus Funding Initiative

The Aachen university was convincing in the funding initiative "Research Campus ' Public-Private Partnership for Innovations" of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF): two submissions from RWTH Aachen Campus clusters were successful. Research on digital photonic production and ...

Death in the egg: as embryos, shore crabs have nothing to protect themselves against climate change

Bremerhaven, 19 December 2012. Up to now the shore crab has belonged to those animal species thought by scientists to be more or less immune to climate change. One reason for this was that the crabs are highly tolerant to extremes temperature and feel just as at home in the eight degrees offered ...

The last link in the chain

For almost 30 years, researchers have sought to identify a particular enzyme that is involved in regulating electron transport during photosynthesis. An LMU team has now found the missing link, which turns out to be an old acquaintance. Photosynthesis sustains life on Earth by providing ...

Investigating the immune system

Immune cells undergo complex processes during their development. If errors occur, the consequences for those who are affected can be fatal. Scientists from the University of Würzburg have now uncovered new details of what happens. These could be a target for new therapies. As recently as a few ...

Carbon in Vesta's craters

Large impacts of asteroids may have transferred carbonaceous material to the protoplanet and inner solar system January 03, 2013 The protoplanet Vesta has been witness to an eventful past: images taken by the framing camera onboard NASA's space probe Dawn show two enormous craters in the ...

A temperature below absolute zero

Atoms at negative absolute temperature are the hottest systems in the world January 04, 2013 What is normal to most people in winter has so far been impossible in physics: a minus temperature. On the Celsius scale minus temperatures are only surprising in summer. On the absolute temperature ...

Superconductors for Efficient Wind Power Plants

An efficient, robust, and compact wind power plant with a 10 MW superconducting generator is being developed by partners from industry and science within the recently established EU project SUPRAPOWER. Superconduction enables considerable savings of energy and raw materials. Within SUPRAPOWER, ...

A Shield Against Cancer

Tumors grow more rapidly if their genetic material is not sufficiently tagged with methyl groups, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center have discovered. Such tags in the DNA appear to act as a shield against cancer-promoting influences. The complex pattern of methyl groups tagging ...

Proteins on the Stretching Rack

When proteins change their fold, this can lead to fatal consequences. Scientists of a European research network are looking for new methods to predict and control the behavior of these molecules. Pharmacologists of the University of Würzburg take part in the project. Alzheimer's disease, ...

Grants for international master’s or doctorate in materials science – Application still possible until 15 Jan

Students with a background in science or engineering can apply for a binational AMASE master's degree including a grant from the European Union. Doctoral students can also carry out international research in materials science at the universities of Saarland, Barcelona, Nancy, Lulea and/or ...

Advancing computer simulations of climate change mitigation costs: EU project hosted by PIK scientists

Computer simulations of energy systems, the economy and land use are key for assessing the impacts of climate mitigation strategies. Policy-makers therefore rely on these assessments to decide between different options on the basis of robust information. The ADVANCE project – the acronym stands ...

Talk by Cosmonaut Sigmund Jähn

Dr. Sigmund Jähn, former cosmonaut and the first German in space, will be giving a talk titled "German Contributions to Rocket Development and Manned Space Missions" on Monday, January 14, 2013 at 5:30pm at Couven-Halle, Kármánstr. 17-19 in Aachen. All those interested are welcome to attend! The ...

DNA analysis helps prevent disease in animals

Breeding by genetic profile Fleckvieh cattle are a common sight in Bavaria, easily recognized by their brown back, white head and white tail tip. In Africa and South America the strength of the sun’s rays at those latitudes poses a particular risk of malignant eye tumors for these animals. Now ...

Germany joins the SKA Organisation

Ten countries now involved in the pre-construction phase of the world’s largest telescope. The Board of Directors of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Organisation has approved Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, as the tenth member of the organisation to ...

LHC proton collisions end with record

For the time being, the LHC concluded its last round of proton-proton collisions with an intensity record. Last weekend, 2748 particle bunches circled the 27-kilometre long particle accelerator in opposite directions, twice as many as before. At the beginning of 2013, the LHC will collide ...

Not without my microbes

After metamorphosis European forest cockchafers benefit from the same bacterial symbionts housed during their larval stage December 20, 2012 Apart from the common European cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha), the European forest cockchafer (Melolontha hippocastani) is the most common species of ...

'When the ice melts, the Earth spews fire'

GEOMAR researchers discover a link between climate and volcanic eruptions

Spintronics – The Next Generation of Electronics

Physicists from Münster Develop Miniature Source of Electromagnetic Radiation / Generator Driven by Spin Current Münster (upm), Mo, 17 Dez 2012 Data transmission with unprecedented high speed and electronic miniature components - these are visions of the future for scientists in the field of ...

Reproduction and life span are intertwined

Removing a roundworm's germ cells prolongs the animal's life December 17, 2012 The gonad is well known to be important for reproduction but also affects animal life span. Removal of germ cells - the sperm and egg producing cells - increases longevity of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. ...

Preventive Detention for Oxidizing Agents

Oxidative stress is believed to cause a number of diseases. Up to now, it has been common practice to measure oxidative stress levels by determining the oxidation state of a small molecule called glutathione in cell extracts. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches ...

Funding for four new programs

The Elite Network of Bavaria has agreed to fund three International Doctoral Programs (IDPs) at LMU, one on “Evidence-Based Economics” (Coordinator: Professor Joachim Winter), one in the area of the Learning Sciences on “Scientific Thinking and Argumentation” (Professor Frank Fischer) and a ...

Poison for cancer cells

A new method identifies active agents in mixtures of hundreds of substances A highly effective poison kills the larvae of the garden chafer when the threadworm Heterorhabditis lays its eggs in it. Until now it was a mystery why the much larger larvae die, while the threadworms survive the poison ...

DLR software unites aircraft engineers

Many disciplines are involved in the design and development of an aircraft. To obtain the best combination of wings, fuselage and engines, researchers must work closely together and share their expertise effectively. To support the cooperation of various aviation experts, scientists at the ...

The Changing Role of Higher Education in the 21st Century

A rapidly changing economic environment and the expansion of the educational landscape are pushing the U.S. and Germany to provide career-focused university training at the undergraduate level. On December 6, 2012, as part of the German Center for Research and Innovation’s (GCRI) higher ...

Alzheimer’s Disease: Inflammation as a new therapeutic approach

The number of Alzheimer’s patients will continue to dramatically increase in the next several decades. Various teams of researchers worldwide are feverishly investigating precisely how the illness develops. A team of scientists under the guidance of the University of Bonn and University of ...

Sync to grow

Oscillation of gene activity may underlie how embryos grow in proportion From a single-cell egg to a fully functional body: as embryos develop and grow, they must form organs that are in proportion to the overall size of the embryo. The exact mechanism underlying this fundamental characteristic, ...

Psychological Stress at Work

Business shows great interest in tool developed by Heidelberg industrial and organisational psychologists In order to uncover and counteract pathogenic psychological stress factors at work, Heidelberg scientists have developed a procedure that numerous well-known companies in Germany are already ...

First Georg Forster Research Awards granted

Four researchers from developing and transition countries will receive the awards valued at 60,000 EUR each This year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is for the first time presenting the Georg Forster Research Awards, which are funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and ...

New Helmholtz-Russia Joint Research Group at PITZ approved

Best injectors for modern X-ray sources: recently approved by the Helmholtz Association, the Helmholtz-Russia Joint Research Group headed by Mikhail Krasilnikov from DESY and Efim Khazanov from Institute for Applied Physics in Nizhny Novgorodand will optimise the generation of high charge ...

Axio Scan.Z1: Carl Zeiss introduces Axio Scan.Z1 Digital Slide Scanner

At this year's annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco, USA, the Microscopy business group of Carl Zeiss is presenting a Digital Slide Scanner. Axio Scan.Z1 is an automated microscope system which allows researchers to digitalize fixed tissue sections and cytologic specimens in brightfield and fluorescence.

Achilles' heel of pathogenic bacteria discovered

Max Planck researchers find promising new target for antibiotics December 17, 2012 Multidrug-resistant bacteria remain a major concern for hospitals and nursing homes worldwide. Propagation of bacterial resistance is alarming and makes the search for new antimicrobials increasingly urgent. ...

Hot iron in the cosmos

A precision experiment has provided details of the X-ray emissions from highly ionised iron, advancing our understanding of black holes and supernovae December 16, 2012 A forty-year old puzzle in astrophysics is one step closer to a solution. The puzzle involves astrophysical phenomena such as ...

Siemens' Patents up by Seven Percent

In fiscal year 2012, Siemens increased the number of patents it holds by seven percent to a total of 57,300. Initial patent applications also increased by seven percent. At 8,900, the number of invention applications reached a new all time high. That translates to 41 invention applications per ...

Human against virus – a molecular race

Immunologists discover a novel target to suppress a common virus 14.12.2012 Most people become infected with the human cytomegalovirus (CMV) at some point in life. Over millions of years, our immune system has evolved a trick or two to defend us against this virus, but unfortunately, CMV evolved ...

Lowering barriers to DNA-based nanomanufacturing

Reality check for DNA nanotechnology Two major barriers to the advancement of DNA nanotechnology beyond the research lab have been knocked down. This emerging technology employs DNA as a programmable building material for self-assembled, nanometer-scale structures. Many practical applications ...

Raising the blockade

At crucial points in the metabolism of all organisms, a protein with the unwieldy name of Translation Elongation Factor P (EF-P, for short) takes center stage. What it actually does during protein synthesis has only now been elucidated – by researchers at LMU. The research group led by Kirsten ...

Speeding up electronics to light frequencies

New results on the interaction of femto- and attosecond light pulses with a solid insulator hold promise for reaching electronic switching rates up to the petahertz domain December 14, 2012 Modern information processing allows for breathtaking switching rates of about a 100 billion cycles per ...

Why early Earth was no snowball: Illuminating the 'faint young Sun paradox'

12/17/2012 - In the early history of planet Earth, the Sun was up to 25 per cent less luminous than today. Yet there is strong evidence that the Earth’s oceanic surface was not completely frozen. High concentrations of warming greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) seem to be the most ...

12 Matter Particles Suffice in Nature

Limited Number of Matter Particles in the Standard Model of Particle Physics / No Fourth Fermion Generation / Statistical Analysis of Higgs Data How many matter particles exist in nature? Particle physicists have been dealing with this question for a long time. The 12 matter particles contained ...

RWTH Scientists Celebrate Award Win for LHC Experiments

In the summer of 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the European research center CERN, Geneva, announced the discovery of a new particle, presumably the long-sought for Higgs boson. Now, the discovery will receive the Special Fundamental Physics Prize: the three million Dollars in prize ...

DESY X-ray source PETRA III uncovers how liquid crystals flow

Novel experimental concept provides structural insights From blood vessels to cement mixers - information about how substances flow is key knowledge for a wide variety of systems. The viscosity and elasticity of fluids are routinely investigated in food, cosmetics, oil and other industries. ...

Open-access journal eLife website launched

eLife, the open-access journal for outstanding advancements in life science and biomedicine, reveals a fresh approach to presenting and navigating scientific content on its new website, launched today. December 13, 2012 In June 2011, three leading research funders came together in a unique ...

Physical constant passes the alcohol test

Fundamental properties of molecules have not changed during the past seven billion years December 13, 2012 The mass ratio of protons and electrons is deemed to be a universal constant. And rightly so, as the latest radio-astronomy observations of a distant galaxy have shown. Scientists at the VU ...

Leibniz Prizes 2013: DFG Honours Eleven Outstanding Researchers

Two Women and Nine Men to Receive Germany's Most Prestigious Research Prize / Honour, Prize Money, and "Idyllic Freedom" / Award Ceremony on 19 March 2013 in Berlin The new recipients of Germany's most prestigious research funding prize have been announced: On Thursday, 6 December 2012 the Joint ...

Humboldt Research Award goes to Materials Scientist Professor Roger Reed

Professor Dierk Raabe, chief executive of the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (Max Planck Institute for Iron Research), successfully nominated jointly with Professor Eggeler from the Ruhr University Bochum (both in Germany) Professor Roger C. Reed for this year’s Humboldt Research Award ...

First Graduates of GUtech in Oman

A celebration for the first graduates of the German University of Technology in Oman, GUtech for short, recently took place: 30 students successfully finished their Bachelor of Science. In addition to RWTH Aachen Rector Ernst Schmachtenberg, high-level guests also participated in the farewell in ...

"Energiewende" by Pushing a Button

Siemens/KIT Alliance Increases Quality and Reduces Costs of the Production of Lithium-Ion Batteries for Solar and Wind Power Storage and Electric Vehicles With the help of modern automation systems, even highly complex production plants can be operated easily and safely. The results: Products of ...

Canadian University Representatives are visiting the TU Dresden

The German Research Foundation welcomes Vice Presidents and Presidents for research and international affairs of the 15 universities in Canada that are the strongest in research. On December 12, 2012, the delegation visits the TU Dresden. The Rektor of the TU Dresden, Prof. Hans ...

Propaganda with feeling – music as an instrument of social purpose

Scientists study the emotions triggered by music through the ages Music speaks to the emotions and fulfils a range of functions. It can unite people, break down boundaries - and just as easily create them again. Take, for instance, a group of punk rockers poking fun at folk music fans: that in ...

Three New Research Units, One New Clinical Research Unit

From the Cultural Difference to Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will fund three new Research Units and one new Clinical Research Unit. This was decided by the DFG Senate during its 2012 December meeting in Bonn. The purpose of ...

Opening of PhD Positions in Solar System Science

The IMPRS on Physical Processes in the Solar System and Beyond at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany offers excellent research possibilities for students to obtain a PhD degree in a three-year graduate program in collaboration with the Universities ...

The Volkswagen Foundation is supporting cooperative Research between European and African Universities

Seven African PhD students at the University of Cologne and four African and Dutch partner institutes are currently investigating new forms of mobility and resource management in Africa. The background to this is research on the effects of globalization on countries such as Cameroon, Zimbabwe, ...

New insights on phagosome maturation

Phagocytes ingest particles as well as pathogens from their surroundings into compartments called phagosomes. The phagosomes possess a harsh milieu with microbicidal function; therefore the phagocytes represent the first line of defense against infections. However, some intracellular pathogens, ...

Working together against Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia

Collaboration between two Helmholtz Centres: Neuroscientists and infection researchers focus on interdisciplinary partnership to study brain diseases Two institutions of the Helmholtz Association are joining forces for health research: How does the brain protect itself from pathogens? Can ...

Old anti-psychotics with a new, promising effect in cancer therapy

Neuherberg, 10 December 2012. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and their cooperation partners have achieved a breakthrough in cancer research. The team headed by Daniel Krappmann has discovered a new, unexpected effect of drugs that have been in use since the 1950s to treat psychotic ...

500,000 EUR in additional funding for research in Africa

Sponsorship made possible by the Neville Alexander Memorial Fund To strengthen collaboration between outstanding African and German academics, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has initiated the “Neville Alexander Memorial Fund" with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and ...

Environmental Chemical Blocks Cell Function

Bisphenol A, a substance found in many synthetic products, is considered to be harmful, particularly, for fetuses and babies. Researchers from the University of Bonn have now shown in experiments on cells from human and mouse tissue that this environmental chemical blocks calcium channels in ...

A direct line through the brain to avoid rotten food

Odour activation of a dedicated neural pathway by geosmin activates a hard-wired avoidance response in the fly December 06, 2012 Consuming putrid food can be lethal as it allows bacterial pathogens to enter the digestive system. To detect signs of decay and thus allowing us and other animals to ...

Cocktail Boosts Immune Cells in Fighting Cancer

Natural killer cells (or NK cells), as part of the body´s immune system, can effectively fight cancer. Unfortunately, they quickly lose their aggressiveness and hence are unable to reject solid tumors. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) ...

My microbes

While large-scale efforts have rapidly advanced the understanding and practical impact of human genomic variation, the latter is largely unexplored in the human microbiome. We therefore developed a framework for metagenomic variation analysis and applied it to 252 fecal metagenomes of 207 individuals from Europe and North America.

New model for in vivo studies of mitochondria transport in nerve cells

See-through "MitoFish" opens a new window on brain diseases Scientists have demonstrated a new way to investigate mechanisms at work in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, which also could prove useful in the search for effective drugs. For new insights, they turned to the ...

Metal Strengthens Double Bond

Professor Holger Braunschweig and his team come up with stunning new discoveries in chemistry with great regularity. This time, the Würzburg researchers turn an established model describing catalytic processes on its head. Be it margarine, chemical fertilizers or plastic cups: The chemical ...

First call of the new International Max Planck Research School on 'Multiscale Biosystems'

Interested and sufficiently qualified students can now apply for fellowships of this doctoral program under http://imprs.mpikg.mpg.de.

Light pulses to control electrical signals:

10,000 times faster than electronic transistors Up to 100 billion switching operations per second is the top speed of today's silicon transistors. In two basic experiments Munich scientists have shown that non-conductive materials may be used for similar switching – with the help of extremely ...

Researchers from Münster demonstrate first optical barrier for absorbing fluid droplets

Guiding fluid droplets only by means of light is a vision which, although it seems to be taken from a science fiction film, has become reality through the field of research dealing with optical micromanipulation. Researchers from the Institute of Applied Physics at Münster University (WWU) have ...

Research on Nano mechanics gains ground in Düsseldorf (Germany)

Assignment of Prof Gerhard Dehm at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung The Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (Max Planck Institute for Iron Research; in the following: MPIE) has established a new department headed by Prof Gerhard Dehm. The department “Structure and ...

Small and efficient

Water nanodroplets cool biomolecules ultrafast Researchers of the Max-Born-Institute at Berlin, Germany, have observed how biomolecules transfer energy into extremely small water droplets in their environment. A water shell consisting of only 3 water molecules around a phospholipid molecule is ...

Nicole Dubilier receives award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Max Planck researcher recognized for her marine research December 06, 2012 Nicole Dubilier from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and MARUM of the University of Bremen, Germany, received the prestigious Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Marine Microbiology Initiative investigator ...

How cold will a winter be in two years? New study shows: climate models still struggle with medium- term climate forecasts

Potsdam/Bremerhaven, 4 December 2012. How well are the most important climate models able to predict the weather conditions for the coming year or even the next decade? The Potsdam scientists Dr. Dörthe Handorf and Prof. Dr. Klaus Dethloff from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ...

Machines with built-in copy protection

Pirated goods cost German industry billions, and expensive industrial goods like machining systems are becoming a growing target. Scientists are turning the tables on the forgers by studying their methods and developing anti-counterfeit solutions. The annual cost to industry of illegal copies of ...

Putting electronic cigarettes to the test

Are e-cigarettes harmful to users? An unresolved question. It’s harder still to judge the danger to bystanders. How many different substances do e-smokers exhale – and what are they? A new study brings light to the shadows. Electronic cigarettes are experiencing somewhat of a boom at the moment. ...

EAM Starting Grants – Call for proposals

The Cluster of Excellence EAM has decided to launch a second round of calls for the EAM Starting Grants. This way the EAM aims at investing in the most talented researchers at EAM. The EAM Starting Grant is also a measure to bring new ideas and new people into the cluster’s research activities. ...

Disrobing chromosomal DNA

In higher organisms the genetic material in the cell nucleus is coiled around protein complexes like spools of thread. LMU researchers now show how the spools are displaced to allow the information in the DNA sequence to be read out. In higher organisms, the genetic material is stored in the ...

Deuterium from a quantum sieve

A metal-organic framework separates hydrogen isotopes more efficiently than previous methods December 05, 2012 In future it may be easier for chemists, biologists and physicists to obtain the ideal substance with which to clarify numerous research issues. For the first time, a team of scientists ...

Large Pores

KIT Researchers Develop New Method to Produce Metal-organic Frameworks Researchers of the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG), Jacobs University Bremen, and other institutions have developed a new method to produce metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). By means of the so-called liquid-phase ...

IUCES - Good Prospects for Earth Sciences

KIT Co-founds “International University Consortium in Earth Science“ Eleven universities from seven countries, all renowned in earth sciences, have established the "International University Consortium in Earth Science" (IUCES). KIT is the only German institution that has joined this top-class ...

Sisyphean work for polar molecules

A new method of cooling polar molecules reveals the potential to investigate gases near absolute zero Something synonymous with unending efforts now makes possible a level of control in the microscopic realm which has never been previously attained by physicists. Optoelectrical "Sisyphus ...

'Wave riders, salt glaciers and food webs'

Scientific colloquium held to conclude the first phase of the Jeddah Transect Project 4 December 2012/Kiel, Jeddah. Coral reefs rich in different species, a graben which is more than 2000 m deep, rich deposits of various resources and heavy shipping traffic – these are the factors for which the ...

European Research Council recognizes TUM researchers

Multi-million euro funding for research Dedication to top-level research pays off. The European Research Council (ERC) has again awarded generous grants to scientists at Technische Universität München (TUM). Six researchers have been singled out for their cutting-edge projects in medicine, ...

Risk Aversion Visible in the Brain

Some people live their lives by the motto "no risk - no fun!" and avoid hardly any risks. Others are clearly more cautious and focus primarily on safety when investing and for other business activities. Scientists from the University of Bonn in cooperation with colleagues from the University of ...

Review of the 1st German-Brazilian Dialogue on Science, Research and Innovation

More than 140 researchers, lecturers, representatives from universities and companies, students and alumni attended the 1st German-Brazilian Dialogue on Science, Research and Innovation in São Paulo on 21st and 22nd November 2012. The event was organized by the DWIH-SP and consisted of ...

Successful appearance at the 'Open Innovations' trade fair

New trade fair concept, new perspectives: At the première of the Moscow “Open Innovations” trade fair, held between 31 October and 3 November 2012, the winning networks of the BMBF-funded National campaign for Russia actively extended their networks – much further than the city boundaries of ...

Successful appearance at the 'Open Innovations' trade fair

Concentrated competencies in the fight against infectious diseases

HZI and the Robert Koch Institute sign collaboration agreement. Press date: December 6, 3:15 pm. Two leaders in the field of infection research are planning on bundling their expertise in the future. Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and at the ...

Cooperation: High-precision metrology systems for next-generation microchips

Collaboration between Carl Zeiss and PTB extended to EUV lithography The Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology business group at Carl Zeiss and the German national metrology institute Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) will be expanding their cooperation in the future to include optics ...

Clearest satellite evidence yet of polar ice losses

'Measuring global warming' Scientists have been tracking polar ice losses from space for 20 years. But the severity of the melting process in Greenland and Antarctica has always been disputed, as different ice sheet studies delivered varying results. An international team of experts, including ...

How Signal Molecules for the Formation of Various Cell Types Are Controlled

Researchers study influence of chemically produced variants of natural indirubin The regulation of important signal molecules that are critical for the formation of various cell types can be influenced by a chemically produced variant of indirubin, a natural material used in traditional Chinese ...

Carbon dioxide could reduce crop yields

High-yielding dwarf plant varieties lose their advantage due to increasing carbon dioxide concentration The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere continues to climb and heat up the climate. The gas is, however, indispensable for plants, as they use the carbon it provides to form glucose and ...

Solliance and Forschungszentrum Jülich join forces in thin film solar cell research

Jülich, 3 December - Forschungszentrum Jülich and Solliance announce a new partnership in the field of thin film photovoltaics. Solliance is a cross-border initiative by ECN, imec, Holst Centre, TNO and TU Eindhoven. With Jülich as an additional partner, Solliance grows further as R&D cluster ...

Timing in the Animal Realm

To do the right thing in the right place at the right time: How animals accomplish this to ensure their survival is being studied at the University of Würzburg – at a new Collaborative Research Center funded by the German Research Foundation with about seven million euros. Fruit flies always ...

Light cages and light traps / Two publications of Münster University in 'Optics and Photonics News'

The prestigious journal "Optics and Photonics News" has included in its list of the 30 most exciting peer-reviewed optics research two publications by the group of Prof. Cornelia Denz. Traditionally, the magazine's last issue of the year recalls research highlights in the fields of optics and ...

The Changing Role of the University in the 21st Century

A rapidly changing economic environment is pushing U.S. universities to provide career-focused training over a broad, liberal arts education at the undergraduate level. On December 6, 2012, a discussion at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) will address the role of university ...

Traffic Cops of the Immune System

Molecule called IκBNS in charge of regulatory immune cell maturation A certain type of immune cell – the regulatory T cell, or Treg for short – is in charge of putting on the brakes on the immune response. In a way, this cell type might be considered the immune system’s traffic cop. Now, ...

Black hole upsets galaxy models

An unusually massive object at the heart of a tiny galaxy is challenging the theory A group headed by Remco van den Bosch from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy has discovered a black hole that shakes the foundations of current models of galaxy evolution. This monster has 17 billion solar ...

Bayer supports pharmaceutical research in Europe

Bayer HealthCare and Leiden University coordinate consortium to optimize binding kinetics for drug candidates

New approach allows past data to be used to improve future climate projections

Bremerhaven, 27 November 2012. Climate scientists are still grappling with one of the main questions of modern times: how high will global temperatures rise if the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide doubles. Many researchers are now turning to the past because it holds clues to how ...

Breathalyzer for Diagnosis of Lung Diseases

Siemens is researching a method that may make it possible to diagnose tuberculosis or lung cancer at an early stage using breath samples. The process involves an analysis of the molecular structure of the subject's breath. If the person concerned is ill, there is a shift in the relative ...

Major Breakthrough in Deciphering Bread Wheat’s Genetic Code

Scientists have unlocked key components of the genetic code of one of the world’s most important crops. The first analysis of the complex and exceptionally large bread wheat genome, published today in Nature, is a major breakthrough in breeding wheat varieties that are more productive and better ...

Astrium to build two new research satellites GRACE-FO

Astrium, Europe’s leading space technology company, has been commissioned to build two new research satellites for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL (Pasadena, California).

Making music together connects brains

When guitarists play together, networks of nerve cells are formed between their brains Anyone who has ever played in an orchestra will be familiar with the phenomenon: the impulse for one’s own actions does not seem to come from one’s own mind alone, but rather seems to be controlled by the ...

A German success story in Asia

TUM Asia celebrates 10 years of education and research in Singapore Technische Universität München (TUM) is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of its Singapore campus. In 2002 TUM became the first German university to set up an offshore campus. Since then, over 300 students from across the ...

Intensive farming with a climate-friendly touch: Farming/woodland mix increases yields

In the world of agriculture, climate protection and intensive farming are generally assumed to be a contradiction in terms. At Technische Universität München (TUM), however, scientists have come up with a new land development concept that could change this view. The new model is tailored to ...

Rainforest mushrooms as weather makers

Whereas in urban areas, soot or dust particles often double as condensation nuclei, in rain-forests, it is mainly organic evaporations from plants, which periodically trigger fog or cloud formation. Now, at HZB's BESSY II, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry scientists have shown that inorganic ...

How Aggregated Proteins Can Return to Their Original Shape

Anybody knows the process that happens when you cook an egg: The initially liquid and transparent egg white turns solid and opaque. Heidelberg scientists from the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH) at Heidelberg University and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered and ...

Smart Grid – Future Intelligent Energy Supply and Consumption

Co-Sponsor: German American Chambers of Commerce (GACC). The Smart Grid electricity network and technology has the potential to propel the energy industry forward, offering increased reliability, availability, and efficiency amidst growing 21st century energy demand. Experts from Detecon, SAP, ...

Improving people's lives through innovation

Systematic biotechnology: life science research for new therapies and a reliable food supply / Potatoes: head start for young tubers / Catalysis: turbocharged chemistry for innovative molecules Leverkusen, November 2012 - Advances in the life sciences for new therapies and enhanced plants, ...

Asteroid dust from space

DLR analyses samples from the Japanese Hayabusa mission To the naked eye there is nothing to see, and yet the small transparent container holds something never observed before. For the first time, scientists are studying asteroid dust collected by a spacecraft and returned to Earth. Ute Böttger, ...

Projected sea-level rise may be underestimated

The rate of sea-level rise in the past decades is greater than projected by the latest assessments of the IPCC, while global temperature increases in good agreement with its best estimates. This is shown by a study now published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Stefan Rahmstorf ...

Organic photovoltaics on steel

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe and Solliance researching applications for the new generation of solar cells ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe and Solliance are counting on a highly promising form of power generation: organic photovoltaics (OPV). OPVs are flexible solar cells made of light-active plastics and ...

ELISE investigating from today new type of heating for ITER

World’s largest test rig for ion sources inaugurated / IPP developing heating for the ITER fusion test reactor Tests for the heating that is to bring the plasma of the ITER international fusion test reactor to a temperature of many million degrees can go ahead from today: After three years of ...

German President Joachim Gauck has awarded Prof. Dr. Dr. Birger Kollmeier, Prof. Dr. Volker Hohmann and Dr. Torsten Niederdränk the Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2012.

In the presence of numerous illustrious guests from academia and industry, the team from the Institute of Physics and the Center of Excellence for Hearing Research, the University of Oldenburg and Siemens AG, Munich, has received the German President’s Award for Technology and Innovation for ...

Sieve holds nanoparticles and acts as solar absorber

Scientists of the “Helmholtz-University Young Investigators Group” from Kiel and Geestacht publish their research results A membrane consisting of polymer fibres and proteins makes a novel filter for tiny, nano-scaled particles in aqueous solutions. The result of such a research, which was done ...

First UNEP Permafrost Report relies on expertise of the Alfred Wegener Institute

Bremerhaven, 27 November 2012. For the first time the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has today published a Report on the status of the global permafrost regions. In it an international team of experts clearly explains how climate change is impacting the permanently frozen soils in ...

Combination of two pharmaceuticals proves effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis

Joint Press Release of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Max Planck Research Unit for Enzymology of Protein Folding Bonn/Magdeburg/Halle, November, 26th, 2012. A new substance class for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases now promises ...

Project 'DiscoGnosis' aims to develop a rapid malaria test

An estimated 220 million people become infected with malaria each year. The disease is often lethal - particularly in tropical developing countries with insufficient health care services. The infected suffer from a high fever. As this is also the case with other germs, however, it is important ...

New Risk Factor Identified for High Blood Pressure during Pregnancy

Preeclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy and the major cause of death for both mother and child in Europe and the U.S. It affects about one in 20 pregnancies. The main symptoms are high blood pressure and protein in the urine. The cause of preeclampsia is still unclear. Dr. Florian ...

Münster’s Centre for Nanotechnology inspires Institute in China

CeNTech assists University in Nanjing in founding New Nano Institute - the "Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience" (HGI) Following the example of the Institute of Nanotechnology at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as well as Münster's Centre for Nanotechnology (CeNTech), China's ...

New insights into a virus proteome

Max Planck scientists identify unknown proteins of the herpesvirus The genome encodes the complete information needed by an organism, including that required for protein production. Viruses, which are up to a thousand times smaller than human cells, have considerably smaller genomes. Using a ...

Detective work using terahertz radiation

Damaging biocides can be detected on old wooden sculptures, hidden wall paintings can be made visible again and the layered structures of pieces of art analyzed. Using terahertz scanners restorers will soon be able to identify quickly, and completely non-destructively, what is happening with an ...

'Agriculture worldwide needs new solutions' Scientists call for urgent turnaround in weed-control research

Growing weed resistance in all major production areas of the world / More than 25-year lull in bringing herbicides with new modes of action to market Increased research in weed control is urgently required now to address the severe agricultural problems of today and tomorrow. This was a ...

Profiling X-ray free-electron laser pulses

Physicists demonstrate crucial method for monitoring ultra short X-ray pulses With their ultra short X-ray flashes, free-electron lasers offer the opportunity to film chemical reactions or atoms in motion. However, for this super slow motion the arrival time and the temporal profile of the ...

Appetite suppressant for scavenger cells

Influenza curbs part of the immune system and abets bacterial infections When infected with influenza, the body becomes an easy target for bacteria. The flu virus alters the host’s immune system and compromises its capacity to effectively fight off bacterial infections. Now, a team of ...

Galapagos tortoises are a migrating species

The large, dominant male Galapagos giant tortoises usually start their annual migration at the beginning of the dry season The Galapagos giant tortoise, one of the most fascinating species of the Galapagos archipelago, treks slowly and untiringly across the volcanic slopes. Scientists of the Max ...

Risk Aversity Visible in the Brain

Researchers from the University of Bonn study the biological basis of economic decisions Some people live their lives by the motto "no risk - no fun!" and avoid hardly any risks. Others are clearly more cautious and focus primarily on safety when investing and for other business activities. ...

161 international young researchers to meet in Karlsruhe

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellows’ meeting at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology from 28 to 30 November The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will play host to 161 young researchers from 49 countries from 28 to 30 November 2012 during the network meeting of the Alexander von ...

Cosmic refinery

Using IRAM's 30m-telescope, astronomers find indications for vast petroleum reservoirs in the Horsehead Nebula What sounds like science fiction is actually reality: using the 30m-telescope of the Institute for Radio Astronomy for astronomical observations in the millimetre range of wavelengths, ...

Better protection for forging dies

Hard or tough – very often, the manufacturers of forging dies must make a compromise here. A new technology now makes it possible to combine both characteristics and clearly expand the useful life of forging dies. The scientists will introduce the process at the Euromold trade fair (Hall 11, ...

Smoking affects allergy-relevant stem cells

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research investigates the relationship between environmental influences and stem cell development for the first time. Environmental contaminants, such as smoking, are harmful to the human organism in relation to the occurrence of allergies. This is known. Until ...

DFG Establishes 23 New Research Training Groups

New Approaches to Doctorates in Medicine / Nine International Partnerships The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is establishing 23 new Research Training Groups to further support early career researchers in Germany. This decision was made by the relevant Grants ...

Geometry of super atoms

Rydberg excitations form ordered structures in a quantum gas due to long-range interactions Future computers are expected to use the laws of quantum physics to accomplish certain tasks in the blink of an eye that require decades for present-day computers. Physicists at the Max Planck Institute ...

Xenon goes topless

Record ionisation: An X-ray laser removes more than two complete shells from the electron cloud surrounding noble gas atoms Atoms have been thoroughly researched, but they are still good for a surprise. Researchers of the Max Planck Advanced Study Group (ASG) at the Hamburg Center for ...

Innovative clusters of the Country Campaign Russia visit Russian innovative region Tomsk

Russia is the focus country of the marketing campaign within the ‘Research in Germany’ Initiative led by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The initiative aims to enhance the visibility of Germany’s cutting-edge research in Russia in the fields of nanotechnology, ...

Cutting-Edge German Medical Innovations Put Patients First

3D Breast CT, Time-of-Flight Camera Among Breakthroughs Unveiled at RSNA ‘12 CHICAGO – Germany is a world leader in medical technology and can claim – depending on topic – between 5 and 20 percent of published research in the field. Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is ...

Cutting-Edge German Medical Innovations Put Patients First

Neural interaction in periods of silence

Tübinger neurophysiologists develop new method to study widespread networks of neurons responsible for our memory While in deep dreamless sleep, our hippocampus sends messages to our cortex and changes its plasticity, possibly transferring recently acquired knowledge to long-term memory. But ...

Germany consolidates its position in European space

On 20 and 21 November 2012, delegates from the 20 member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canada met at the 'Mostra d’Oltremare' conference centre in Naples, Italy. The start of the ESA presidency of Switzerland and Luxembourg was characterised by intensive and success-oriented ...

Nanotech structures mimic nature's way of tunneling through cell walls

Researchers build synthetic membrane channels out of DNA As reported in the journal Science, physicists at the Technische Universität München (TUM) and the University of Michigan have shown that synthetic membrane channels can be constructed through "DNA nanotechnology." This technique employs ...

Herbivore defence in ferns

Unlike flowering plants, bracken ferns do not release any odour signals to attract the enemies of their attackers for their own benefit They dominated the earth for 200 million years and numerous different species can still be found all over the world: mosses, horsetails and ferns. Researchers ...

Searching for Defects in Cancer Cell Genomes:

An interdisciplinary German research network with major participation of researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) has sequenced the complete genome of Burkitt lymphoma cancer cells. In their project as part of the International Cancer Genome ...

Innovative clusters of the Country Campaign Russia visit Russian innovative region Tomsk

Traffic Control: Cars Warn Each Other of Danger

Siemens is testing new traffic control technologies based on mutual cooperation between everyone and everything on streets, roads, and rails - i.e. automobiles, pedestrians, and trains. The system allows participants to exchange information with one another, as well as with infrastructure ...

Wireless Fire Protection for People and Equipment

A new radio-operated fire alarm system from Siemens offers reliable and error-free fire protection. The Swing (Siemens Wireless Next Generation) system combines failsafe wireless communication with the best possible fire detection features. The system uses mesh networking technology that boasts ...

Higher Energy Density for Breakthrough in Electromobility

University of Münster participates in new battery research project - BMBF provides € 8.1 million The go-ahead for a new project was given at the MEET-Battery Research Centre the University of Münster on 5th November: A research consortium known as "MEET- Hi-EnD" works on batteries with a much ...

Portrait of a super-Jupiter

A discovery in the Andromeda constellation sheds new light on the birth of planets Capturing an image of extrasolar planets is difficult: the celestial bodies are very far away, relatively small and drown in the light of their parent star. Despite this, a team of researchers, including several ...

Mechanism to Repair Clumped Proteins

Heidelberg researchers uncover the function of specific molecular chaperones Clumped proteins can be dissolved with the aid of cellular repair systems - a process of critical importance for cell survival especially under conditions of stress. Heidelberg researchers have now decrypted the ...

Algae can draw energy from other plants

Astonishing research finding by biologists at Bielefeld University published in the online journal Nature Communications Flowers need water and light to grow. Even children learn that plants use sunlight to gather energy from earth and water. Members of Professor Dr. Olaf Kruse’s biological ...

German High Tech Champions Awards 2012 in Green Buildings – Bâtiment Durable

On November 28, the German High Tech Champions (GHTC) Award in Green Buildings – Bâtiment Durable will go to five outstanding German technology developers from German Universities and Research Institutions. The festive Award Ceremony honoring the winners and offering a business networking platform will be held on the evening of November 28 at Le Clos des Varennes in front of industry executives, journalists, and guests.

German High Tech Champions Awards 2012 in Green Buildings – Bâtiment Durable

The navigator presses the start button

Gene transcription of DNA sequences into mRNA molecules is central to all forms of life. A new study shows that the molecular navigator that locates protein-coding sequences also gets transcription started. Cellular DNA contains coded instructions for protein synthesis, and the sequences that ...

Call for Applications: 15 doctoral fellowships for SALSA ̶ School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof

Online from 15 November to 14 December 2012 SALSA, the Graduate School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof, recently established at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin within the framework of the German Excellence Initiative, is announcing 15 doctoral fellowships to begin on April 1, 2013. The program ...

The Times of Our Lives

Population Europe Conference about Active Ageing and the Redistribution of Work in Europe Current and future generations can expect increasingly long lives. Why not working longer? And as a result, why not having more time during other periods of life, e.g. to care for the family or to invest in ...

Profiling X-ray free-electron laser pulses

Poland’s fusion programme concentrating on Wendelstein 7 X

Millions invested in German device / specialists from Poland working on Wendelstein 7 X Now successfully completed is the first of several cooperation projects that are to involve Poland's fusion research programme in Wendelstein 7-X, the device now being built at Max Planck Institute for Plasma ...

World's Largest Power-To-Gas Plant Opens in Stuttgart

Germany Trade & Invest shares the latest business opportunities at this year’s IRES 2012 Berlin - The development of renewable energy in Germany has taken a leap forward with the inauguration of a power-to-gas plant in Stuttgart. With an electrical power demand of 250kw and a maximum output of ...

German High Tech Champions Awards 2012 in Green Buildings – Bâtiment Durable

Cooperation with Fraunhofer

Within the framework of the Pact for Research and Innovation, the Max Planck Society and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft intend to continue and intensify their cooperation across research areas and disciplines. With its focus centred on application, the collaboration with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is of ...

Oxytocin Keeps Flirting Folks at Arm's Length

Flirting brings women and men closer. But the "social distance" ensures that they will keep a certain spatial distance from each other. Researchers under the leadership of the University of Bonn studied whether this distance can be diminished by the so-called love hormone, oxytocin. The exact ...

Appetite suppressant for scavenger cells

Invitation to the presentation of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award

Awards to be presented by Federal Minister of Education and Research Annette Schavan on 20 November 2012 in Berlin The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is bestowing 14 international junior researchers with the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award. The seven male and seven female researchers will each ...

A warning system for the planet

Earth’s ecosystems provide benefits like food or drinking water that are of crucial importance for the well-being of humankind. But although accumulated assessments indicate increasing system failures threatening livelihoods and lives, so far no centralized system exists to monitor and report ...

TUM Asia celebrates 10 years of education and research in Singapore

A German success story in Asia Technische Universität München (TUM) is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of its Singapore campus. In 2002 TUM became the first German university to set up an offshore campus. Since then, over 300 students from across the globe have graduated from TUM Asia. The ...

Heading for trouble?

Are headers bad for the brain in soccer players? A new study of the brains of professional soccer players points to widespread white matter brain alterations, particularly in areas known to be involved in attention and memory. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It is also the only ...

University-Industry Collaboration and Its Impact on Manufacturing

Leading German and U.S. experts discussed best practice examples of university-industry relations and their impact on regional development at the German Center for Research and Innovation on November 7, 2012. In the U.S., Albany and Pittsburgh are examples of regions in which the economy has ...

Researchers use GPS tracking to monitor crab behaviour

Scientists gain new insights into the behaviour of the coconut crab Birgus latro Researchers from Jena and Greifswald used GPS satellites for a long-term behavioural monitoring of land crab migration on Christmas Island. In cooperation with colleagues from the Zoological Institute at the ...

Potsdam hosts first World Climate Impacts Conference

The first World Climate Impacts Conference, IMPACTS WORLD 2013, will be held next year in Potsdam, Germany. "Our climate future will be largely determined by the choices we make in the next couple of decades – everything between 2°C and 10°C global warming by 2300 is possible,” says Hans Joachim ...

Third Round of German-USA Collaborations approved

Within the third round of the funding measure "German-USA Collaborations in Computational Neuroscience", 5 projects will receive a total funding of approximately 2.4 million € by BMBF, NSF and NIH (November 2012). The funding measure "German-USA Collaborations in Computational Neuroscience" is ...

Working together against Side Effects

Cooperation among Physicians, Pharmacists and Nursing Staff improves Therapy of Care Home Residents / A Study reveals Problems Associated with Drug Treatment

A 300 Million Euro Boost for Biomedicine in Berlin

Germany Trade & Invest shares the latest business opportunities at this year’s MEDICA Two of Berlin’s largest biomedical research centers are merging to form the Berlin Institute of Health (BHI), a joint venture that will receive at least 300 million euros in new funding over the next five ...

Germany Pushes Expansion of Electromobility

Germany Trade & Invest shares the latest business opportunities at this year’s The Battery Show Berlin wants to expand its role as the showcase metropolis for electromobility. The charging infrastructure within the capital is to increase from 100 to 300 by 2013 and to 800 by the end of 2015. The ...

German initiative for food security is gaining momentum: strategic projects in Asia and Africa currently being planned.

Since the foundation of GIAF, the German Initiative for Agribusiness and Food Security in Emerging and Developing Countries, in June 2012, the network has started many activities for the planning of strategic projects and the development of suitable partner alliances in Asia and Africa. Starting ...

Brain waves make waves

Listening abilities depend on rhythms in the brain Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this oscillation synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have found that this influences the way we ...

36 in one fell swoop – researchers observe 'impossible' ionization

Using the world´s most powerful X-ray laser in California, an international research team discovered a surprising behaviour of atoms: with a single X-ray flash, the group led by Daniel Rolles from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg (Germany) was able to kick a record ...

Europe's Queen of the Computers

New Supercomputer at German research center „Forschungszentrum Juelich" passes 5 Petaflop/s barrier Juelich Germany, November 12, 2012 - the new high performance Computer JUQUEEN at Forschungszentrum Juelich has reached the new top position as Europe's fastest supercomputer and 5th fastest in ...

Networking hub for TUM partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa

Technische Universität München opens new office in Cairo With the opening of its "TUM.Cairo" office, the Technische Universität München (TUM) expands its worldwide network to the Middle East and North Africa. The TUM.Cairo office is a hub for networking and mutual knowledge transfer between one ...

Rise and fall of the Maya in response to climate change

The role of climate change in the development and disintegration of classic Maya civilization, ranging from AD 300 to 1000, has been controversial for decades because of the absence of well-dated climate and archaeological sequences. In an article now published in Science, an international and ...

A ‘finger’ pointing the way to new hepatitis C medication

Braunschweig scientists develop compounds with potential against hepatitis C virus Some 160 million men and women are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), the most common cause of cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. The present standard therapy is thraught with serious side-effects leading to a ...

DESYs X-ray laser FLASH observes molecular explosion

Using DESY´s X-ray laser FLASH, a team of scientists from Hamburg has traced the ultrafast explosion of iodine molecules. The group headed by Markus Drescher from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) used the X-ray laser as a kind of high-speed camera -the observed molecular ...

Solving the mystery of ageing

Longevity gene makes Hydra immortal and humans grow older Why do we get older? When do we die and why? Is there a life without ageing? For centuries, science has been fascinated by these questions. Now researchers from Kiel (Germany) have examined why the polyp Hydra is immortal - and ...

Clear view into glass

Berlin-based researchers have analysed the atomic structure of amorphous silica We can look through glass, but what glass itself looks like on the inside has so far remained a mystery - at least as far as the precise position of the atoms is concerned. Scientists at the Fritz-Haber-Institute of ...

G proteins regulate remodelling of blood vessels

Max Planck researchers are investigating the signalling pathways via which the smooth muscle cells of blood vessels react to extracellular changes Blood vessels are extremely dynamic: depending on the external conditions, they can adapt their permeability for nutrients, their contractility, and ...

Once the conflict is over, solidarity in alliances goes out of the window

Anyone who competes or is at war should be careful when entering alliances. Above all this applies when there is booty to be shared afterwards. It is not always wise to form an alliance while in a conflict or at war, especially when there is something to be shared afterward. Economists from the ...

A lighthouse for science

The German Science Centre opens in Cairo The German Foreign Minister Dr. Guido Westerwelle opens on November 13th the new German Science Centre (DWZ) in Cairo, in the presence of top Egyptian officials including the Minister of Higher Education Dr. Mostafa Mosaad and Minister of Scientific ...

Researchers of Kiel University discover a new type of toxic protein

Researchers at Kiel University have discovered a toxic protein of pathogenic acanthamoebae and have been able to elucidate its three-dimensional structure. They found that this protein molecule looks different from all the structures formerly discovered. The acanthamoeba secretes a cell toxin ...

Turbo-charged Gut Hormones

Doubling down against Diabetes A collaboration between scientists in Munich, Germany and Bloomington, USA may have overcome one of the major challenges drug makers have struggled with for years: Delivering powerful nuclear hormones to specific tissues, while keeping them away from others. The ...

Lions of Science - Innovative Project Competition for East African Students

Lions of Science e.V. is a charitable association registered in Berlin/Germany and a new internet platform aiming to find and award prizes to Kenyan (East African) students with the most creative and innovative projects. Students can submit scientific projects by choosing between different ...

New Energy Husum 2013 expands its portfolio

New Energy Husum 2013 is staging a special exhibition on ecological building to focus on the subject of passive houses. The Husum exhibition from 21 to 24 March 2013 will for the first time also be providing a platform for biofuel producers, and businesses involved in geothermal energy and ...

MicroRNAs in plants: Regulation of the regulator

A phosphate switch to fine-tune the protein production in the cells MicroRNAs are essential regulators of the genetic program in multicellular organisms. Because of their potent effects, the production of these small regulators has itself to be tightly controlled. That is the key finding of a ...

Scientists discover new super-Earth

Conditions on planet may be just right to support life (pug) An international team of astronomers led by the Universities of Hertfordshire and Göttingen has discovered a new super-Earth with conditions that may be just right to support life. The new planet exists in the habitable zone of a ...

How we 'hear' with our eyes

In a noisy environment, lip-reading can help us to better understand the person we are speaking to In a noisy environment, lip-reading can aid understanding of a conversation. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences who have been investigating this ...

Fraunhofer honored for its winning satellite navigation ideas

Fraunhofer institutes took home a total of four awards from this year’s European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC). At the awards ceremony held on the 25th of Ocotber in Munich, the Bavarian Regional Prize went to the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, while the Project ...

Good Scientific Practice: DFG Reinforces Self-Regulation in Science and the Humanities

Advanced Training for Ombudspersons / Practice-Based Curriculum for All Subjects / National Meeting Held in Bonn / Dzwonnek: "Important Steps for Professionalisation" The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is further expanding its activities to establish and ...

BASF Innovation Campus Asia Pacific and Greater China headquarters inaugurated

Expansion of Pudong site with Euro 55 million investment BASF Innovation Campus Asia Pacific strengthens R&D activities within the region Focus on advanced materials, with applications including sustainable construction, energy efficient lighting, footwear, and biobased personal care New Greater ...

Monsoon might fail more often due to climate change

11/06/2012 - India might face more frequent monsoon failure in the future, according to a study by Jacob Schewe and Anders Levermann from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The paper published in Environmental Research Letters shows that severe failure of Indian summer monsoon ...

Sustainable land-use concept for South America

Intensive farming with a climate-friendly touch: Farming/woodland mix increases yields In the world of agriculture, climate protection and intensive farming are generally assumed to be a contradiction in terms. At Technische Universität München (TUM), however, scientists have come up with a new ...

Photovoltaics with Nanotubes

Researchers of the University of Würzburg are significantly involved in the new European collaborative project POCAONTAS. They intend to develop novel materials for photovoltaics from carbon nanotubes. The project is funded by the European Union with EUR 3.5 million. The conversion of solar ...

Strange diet for methane consuming microorganisms

Methane supplies the energy for cell metabolism, but is not the carbon source Methane is formed under the absence of oxygen by natural biological and physical processes, e.g. in the sea floor. It is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Thanks to the activity of microorganisms ...

Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Center for a Sustainable University (Universität Hamburg)

The Postdoctoral Research Group (PRG) “Sustainable Future” at the newly established Center for a Sustainable University at the Universität Hamburg was launched in April 2012 and aims at attracting excellent junior researchers with a clear potential to develop and realize their projects under the ...

New diagnostic method improves treatment options for breast cancer

Protein test finds hidden molecule Immunotherapy can be a successful treatment option for breast cancer patients. The method uses antibodies, which bind to the surface molecules of the tumor, hindering its growth. One of these antibodies targets the HER2 protein, which is not actually present ...

The energy of stunt kites

It may seem as though the German plains are all but tapped out when it comes to wind energy production. To refute this theory researchers are sending stunt kites into the skies to harness the wind and convert the kinetic energy generated into electricity. Kite surfing has risen to become a ...

Dealing with power outages more efficiently

When there is a power failure, the utility companies, public officials and emergency services must work together quickly. Researchers have created a new planning software product that enables all participants to be better prepared for emergency situations. Power supply is the backbone of our ...

Max Planck Science Tunnel 3.0

Creating knowledge – Shaping the future Today, new technologies build on a broad spectrum of scientific findings. Fundamental discoveries in one discipline can lead to crucial advances in completely different areas tomorrow. In all probability, this tendency will only intensify in the future. ...

FAU materials scientists top ten worldwide

Materials scientists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) were ranked among the best in the world according to the Quantitative Ranking of Engineering Disciplines (QRED) of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne which placed FAU at number 10. This is the first time ...

National campaign for Russia at the “Open Innovations Expo” in Moscow

With the help of the “National campaign for Russia” funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany will use the next two years as an opportunity to present itself to Russia as a location of research and innovation. In a first stage, the four selected campaign networks ...

National campaign for Russia at the “Open Innovations Expo” in Moscow

New BMBF Call: Junior Research Groups

Third call for research groups in the neurosciences headed by female scientists (November 2012). This funding measure allows female neuroscientists to establish an independent research group at a German research institution, to follow a long-term research program and to build a nationally and ...

Scientists Find Achilles' Heel of Cancer Cells

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) and Heidelberg University Hospital have identified the HDAC11 enzyme as a promising target for new cancer therapies. If this molecule is turned off, cancer cells stop growing and die. Normal cells, however, are ...

Network Stability through Automatic Load Shedding

Siemens is stabilizing the power supply systems at major industrial facilities. With an automatic load shedding technology - in other words a regulated interruption of power to consumers - the balance in a power grid can be maintained. This solution is intended primarily for use in the oil and ...

Listening Technology for Wheelsets for Safer Trains

With RailBAM, Siemens is providing an acoustic monitoring system that detects damage to the wheelset bearings in trains at an early stage. This solution improves the reliability of rail transport and reduces maintenance costs. As reported in the current issue of Pictures of the Future, the ...

Foggy perception slows us down

Max Planck scientists show that, contrarily to what was previously believed, speed is overestimated in fog Fog is an atmospheric phenomenon that afflicts millions of drivers every day, impairing visibility and increasing the risk of an accident. The ways people respond to conditions of reduced ...

Opening of DWIH New Delhi: German Science and Industry Join Together in India

Initiative Promotes Germany as a Location for Research and Innovation / 14 Partners with DFG as Coordinator / Intensive Collaboration between both Countries German science and industry have joined together to promote collaboration with Indian partners and expand existing contacts. On 27 October ...

Spot the difference

First combined map of genetic variation at different scales In a nutshell:1st map combining human genetic variation at different scales – from single letters to large chunks Based on genomes of 1092 healthy people from Europe, the Americas and East Asia Could help identify genetic causes of ...

Evolutionary biology: German research team solves toll-receptor puzzle

The puzzle about the ancestral function of toll-receptors has been solved. For more than 25 years, researchers from medicine and biology have been studying toll-receptors, revealing functions in immune defence on the one hand and developmental biology on the other. A research team from Kiel ...

Goals are essential

Field study shows motivational effect of performance targets In many areas of our everyday lives, goals are the norm. That not all of them are effective, however, is something which anyone who has seen their New Year resolutions crumbling with each passing month can confirm. "From the ...

Testosterone regulates solo song of tropical birds

Experiment in females uncovers male hormonal mechanism In male songbirds of the temperate zone, the concentration of sex hormones is rising in spring, which leads to an increase in song activity during the breeding season. In the tropics, there has been little evidence so far about such a clear ...

Brazilian-German Collaboration in Global Change Research

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and its partner organisation in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), have developed a new initiative to enhance scientific cooperation in the field of global change research and announce ...

University-Industry Collaboration and Its Impact on Manufacturing

In Germany and the U.S., universities play a major economic role by collaborating with local industry and attracting new investments to the region. On November 7, 2012, at the German Center for Research and Innovation, a panel of German and U.S. experts will present best practice examples of ...

New Mechanism in Ribosome Formation

Hitching a ride into the nucleus: Protein controls synchronised transport of ribosome factors A new mechanism in the formation of ribosomes has been discovered by researchers from the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center. In an interdisciplinary approach, the Heidelberg scientists, along ...

Health Information Technology: Electronic Medical Records and Beyond

Electronic medical records (EMRs) have the potential to make a significant impact on the quality of health care: They facilitate comprehensive patient-centered care and sustainably reduce costs by bridging time and distance between health providers and patients. The German Center for Research ...

Cellular structures evolved several times

The hornworts are among the oldest extant land plants and possess striking cellular structures (pyrenoids) that have been regarded as a legacy from algae. Instead, pyrenoids evolved and were lost many times. Of the three moss lineages, hornworts are the one most closely related to vascular ...

PhD fellowships in Ultrafast Sciences and Structural Dynamics

The International Max Planck Research School for Ultrafast Imaging & Structural Dynamics (IMPRS-UFAST) in Hamburg is now accepting applications for 2013. The IMPRS builds on a unique infrastructure of ultrabright electron and X-ray sources and international expertise in the Hamburg area. PhD ...

Cosmic birthplaces, and a dash of Hollywood

The Herschel Space Telescope provides new findings on the birth of distant suns An astronomical team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg (MPIA) has gained new insights into a birthplace of stars. Using the ESA's Herschel Space Telescope and evaluation ...

The pathways of epidemics

A new computer model rapidly and accurately estimates who spreads an infection particularly extensively, thereby facilitating countermeasures Epidemics could be more effectively contained in the future. A new computer-aided method developed by researchers of the Max Planck Institute for ...

Tumor Analysis in Cerebrospinal Fluid - €400,000 for Pediatric Brain Cancer Research

Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) plan to develop a technique that will enable them to detect pediatric brain tumors in cerebrospinal fluid. The biology and extent of the cancers - both decisive factors in determining therapeutic choices ...

Winter experiment planned in the Antarctic ice: the research vessel Polarstern leaves for the South Polar Sea on an 18-month long expedition

Bremerhaven, 26 October 2012. The research ship POLARSTERN sets off in the early morning hours of 27 October 2012 for an unusual expedition to the Antarctic. This time the ship will not be returning to Bremerhaven as usual at the end of the Antarctic summer, but will be spending the winter in ...

Poor Sleep, Poor Memory

New Study at Freie Universität Berlin Shows Evidence of Relationship between Sleep and Memory Formation A study done at Freie Universität Berlin shows that sleep deprivation impairs the processing of experience in the brains of bees. Neurobiologists in Professor Randolf Menzel’s group were ...

The evolution of mortality

During the last 100 years there has been a far greater drop in human mortality than there was when humans evolved from wild chimpanzees Over the course of human evolution, life expectancy has increased dramatically. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock have ...

X-ray laser FLASH uncovers fast demagnetization process

With the help of free-electron laser FLASH at the Helmholtz Research Centre DESY, an international team of researchers has recently described a most surprising effect that can result in faster demagnetization in ferromagnetic materials. This effect could be key to the continued miniaturization ...

New International Forum for Heavy Metal Research

A new international forum to support the dialogue between experimental and theoretical research in the field of radioactive toxic heavy metals will take place from November 5 to 7, 2012, at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Research on radioactive heavy metals in environmental systems ...

Off to the Future with a new Soccer Robot

Computer scientists from the University of Bonn have developed a prototype to inspire many research groups Computer scientists from the University of Bonn have developed a new robot whose source code and design plan is publicly accessible. It is intended to facilitate the entry into research on ...

Neanderthals meet Homo sapiens

New high precision radiocarbon dates of bone collagen show that a cultural exchange may have taken place between modern humans and Neanderthals more than 40,000 years ago. It has long been debated whether the Châtelperronian (CP), a transitional industry from central and southwestern France and ...

Nationwide Alliance Against Cancer

With the attendance of Germany´s Federal Minister Professor Dr. Annette Schavan and State Minister Theresia Bauer, the official launch of the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) was celebrated today in Heidelberg. The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg ...

TU Berlin in El Gouna: Opening Ceremony of the First Academic Year

Matriculation certificates presented to first students Technische Universität Berlin's new campus was officially inaugurated in El Gouna, Egypt on October 28, 2012. It took only six short years to complete this transnational project, from its inception to the inauguration of a brand-new campus. ...

Fraunhofer opens representative offices in India

As a partner to German industry, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft needs to gain experience in the most important production nations – which include India. On October 30, Fraunhofer will proudly open its branch in Bangalore. The Indian market is booming and continues to evolve dynamically – while also ...

EUV Lithography: BMBF Project for New Chip Fabrication Technology Successfully Completed

Carl Zeiss delivers the first EUV lithography optics BERLIN/Germany, OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 29.10.2012. The "Lithography for the 22 nanometer node" project, led by Carl Zeiss, has been successfully completed. This national project was part of the European EXEPT Project ("Extreme UV Litho- graphy ...

Infrared vision in a cichlid fish

Scientists at the University of Bonn discovered that fish can detect prey using infrared light Biologists from the University of Bonn have discovered that the cichlid fish Pelvicachromis taeniatus can see in the near infrared range; this was thought to be unlikely until now. Seeing in the ...

7.5 Million Euros for the Fight Against Cancer

The Dietmar Hopp Foundation will fund the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM) at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) for another five years. Four years ago, in October 2008, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, ...

Life without the Neurobeachin Protein

Scientists at Freie Universität, Universität Hohenheim, and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Breed Fruit Flies for First Time without the Neurobeachin Protein and Facilitate Study of Nervous Diseases in Humans In experiments on the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila, scientists at Freie Universität ...

The new Max Planck Science Tunnel (3.0)

The new Max Planck Science Tunnel (3.0) Creating knowledge – Shaping the future Today, new technologies build on a broad spectrum of scientific findings. Fundamental discoveries in one discipline can lead to crucial advances in completely different areas tomorrow. In all probability, this ...

TOP GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES FROM INDIA AND GERMANY TO COME TOGETHER TO INAUGURATE THE GERMAN HOUSE FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN NEW DELHI

Delhi will be part of the “ivy league” of German science cooperation, along with Sao Paolo, Moscow, New York and Tokyo, says German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner New Delhi, 22 October, 2012: Top government representatives from both India and Germany will convene this Saturday, 27th ...

Targeted dissolution: the new generation of implants

Is a paradigm shift imminent in the field of implant materials? Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht are engaged in research on biodegradable magnesium biomaterials which can be used as bone replacements in medical applications. They will present their research results from the 1st to ...

'Excellence in Research'- a German-Canadian Conference on Academic Exchange

The prospects of German-Canadian academic exchange will be the focus of expert discussions from 2 - 4 November 2012 in Toronto. Politicians, Scientists and University Representatives from Canada and Germany will be taking part in the interdisciplinary colloquium “Excellence in Research" held by ...

Digitally Reconstructed Treasury of Books

Cooperation with the Vatican: Virtual reconstruction of the once most famous library north of the Alps One of the most valuable collections of manuscripts from the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age - the Bibliotheca Palatina - will be virtually reunited. With the completion of the German-language ...

DNA packaging controls access to genetic information

The genetic information in the nucleus is found packaged into nucleosomes for the most part. The position of these structures influences which genes are active and which are not. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now been the first to ...

Last calls for ERC Consolidator Grants and Synergy Grants in the 7th EU-Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development

In October and November 2012, the European Research Council (ERC) announces the last calls for proposals for Consolidator Grants and Synergy Grants as part of the current 7th EU Research Framework Programme. The “Consolidator Grants” aim at researchers 7-12 years (in exceptional cases up to 16 ½ ...

A black widow's Tango Mortale in gamma-ray light

Max Planck scientists discover record-breaking millisecond pulsar with new analysis method Pulsars are the compact remnants from explosions of massive stars. Some of them spin around their own axis hundreds of times per second, emitting beams of radiation into space. Until now, they could only ...

Hightech textiles to combat heat stress

Optimised fire-resistant clothing to help protect against circulatory collapse According to a study from 2003, 49% of fatalities amongst fire-fighters in the USA were attributable to heat stress.* Based on this study and within the framework of the research project (AiF-Nr. 16676 N) scientists ...

Large Grant for Small Satellites

Once again a top award has been given to a researcher of the University of Würzburg: Computer scientist Klaus Schilling wins a Euro 2.5 million research grant to study innovative technologies for picosatellites that work together. The grant is awarded by the European Research Council. The field ...

BELECTRIC setting new standards with organic photovoltaics

Kolitzheim/Nürnberg, 22 October 2012: BELECTRIC, the global market leader (2010 & 2011) in the development and construction of ground-mounted solar power plants and roof-mounted photovoltaic systems, has taken over Konarka Technologies GmbH. The group was the leading manufacturer of “Power ...

Researchers discover turbo switch of calcium pump in biological cells

The vital calcium pump in our body´s cells has a turbo switch, as a Danish-British research team discovered in studies at the DESY X-ray source DORIS in Hamburg and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility ESRF in Grenoble. The on-off switch of the pump thus has a previously unknown third ...

Using Waste Heat to Generate Clean Electricity

Siemens is researching technologies that would allow waste heat from vehicles and industrial facilities to be efficiently used without producing carbon dioxide. To date, exhaust gas has generally only been used if it was hundreds of degrees Celsius hot. For example, the gas turbines in natural ...

X-ray technology improves early detection of pulmonary disease:

Scattered X-rays reveal diseased tissue Severe lung diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide. To date they have been difficult to diagnose at an early stage. Within an international collaboration scientists from Munich now developed an X-ray technology to do just that. Now they ...

Lung mucus gel scaffold prevents nanoparticles from getting through

Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Saarland University unraveled lung mucus’s physical properties: They discovered that a rigid gel scaffold in lung mucus separates large, fluid-filled pores and prevents nanoparticle movement beyond individual pore ...

Biologists record increasing amounts of plastic litter in the Arctic deep sea: studies confirm that twice as much marine debris is lying on the seabed today compared to ten years ago

Bremerhaven, 22nd October 2012. The sea bed in the Arctic deep sea is increasingly strewn with litter and plastic waste. As reported in the advance online publication of the scientific journal Marine Pollution Bulletin by Dr. Melanie Bergmann, biologist and deep-sea expert at the Alfred Wegener ...

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

The majority of vendettas originate within a group It all began with a harmless game of soccer among young men in northwestern Albania. After one of the players had been injured in a subsequent dispute, his team members shot a relative of the suspected attacker. Now the male members of the ...

Otto Bayer Medals for Excellence in Research

Three Bayer-research teams have been honored for excellent innovations / Budget for research and development of EUR 3 billion in 2012 Scientists of the Bayer Group have been awarded the Otto Bayer Medal in their excellent achievements in three research projects. This award honors successful ...

A clear sign for the Market and the Region: New BASF Polyurethane applications technology center near St Petersburg

Comprehensive Sales and Technology Services for an increasing PU market Second site of the joint venture with OAO Nishnekamskneftechim (NKNC) Today, BASF officially opened its first Russian applications technology center for polyurethane systems in Vsevolozhsk, near St. Petersburg. Like the ...

Is the next step in your career Munich? Come and find out!

Research Opportunities Week March 18 - 22, 2013 Take this unique opportunity to experience the Technische Universität München (TUM) and its environment first-hand. TUM invites you to come to Munich for a week, fully financed by a travel grant. The most promising candidates will then be offered a ...

Register now for the '1st German-Brazilian Dialogue on Science, Research and Innovation'!

On 21st and 22nd November, the opening event for the "Brazilian-German Dialogue on Science, Research and Innovation" of the German House of Science and Innovation São Paulo (DWIH-SP) will take place at the Club Transatlântico in São Paulo. The first day of the event is dedicated to the ...

The virtues of self-control

In fruit flies, the single X chromosome present in male cells must make the same amounts of gene products as the two X chromosomes in female cells. This is made possible by the Dosage Compensation Complex (DCC), which must also regulate its own level. In all cells patterns of gene activity must ...

Scattered X-rays reveal diseased tissue

Severe lung diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide. To date, early diagnosis of these conditions has been difficult. An international collaboration including scientists from Munich has developed an X-ray technology to do just that in the future. Chronic obstructive pulmonary ...

Transalpine mobility in prehistory

How mobile were humans in prehistoric times? What kinds of cultural contacts did people in different regions have with each other? To answer these questions, a new DFG Research Unit at LMU plans to examine archaeological bone samples. Migration and trade have played major roles in the expansion ...

Registering chemical pairings

In chemistry, as in life, not every encounter leads to stable bonding. But stable binding to a target is essential for drug action. An LMU team has now come up with an elegant way of measuring the affinities of ligands for their target proteins. The average cell contains about 10,000 different ...

Rapid Changes in the Earth's Core: The Magnetic Field and Gravity from a Satellite Perspective

Annual to decadal changes in the earth's magnetic field in a region that stretches from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean have a close relationship with variations of gravity in this area. From this it can be concluded that outer core processes are reflected in gravity data. This is the result ...

Hot plasma core, cold edge – a masterpiece of control technique

ASDEX Upgrade fusion device breaks record for power exhaust / results of power plant relevance A world record in heating power, in relation to the size of the device, has been achieved by the ASDEX Upgrade fusion device at Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching: This was made ...

Electronic Tickets for Smarter Travel

Electronic travel tickets are the key to networking different modes of transportation. This week, Siemens presents its eTicketing system at the ITS World Congress in Vienna. The system will demonstrate how easy it is to organize and invoice an individualized trip with a smartcard. Travelers are ...

A circuit diagram of the mouse brain

Max Planck scientists aim to analyse a whole mouse brain under the electron microscope What happens in the brain when we see, hear, think and remember? To be able to answer questions like this, neuroscientists need information about how the millions of neurons in the brain are connected to each ...

Second Bonn Humboldt Award Winners' Forum

127 international researchers to discuss “the new desire for metaphysics" from 24 - 28 October in Bonn This year, the Bonn Humboldt Award Winners’ Forum examines “The New Desire for Metaphysics" and offers 127 researchers from over 20 nations a four-day opportunity for intensive exchange. The ...

GlobE - Research for the global food supply

Securing the global food supply is a central aim of the National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research launched the funding initiative "Securing the Global Food Supply" (GlobE) to support the global development of sustainable, high-output agriculture. ...

Bibliotheca Palatina - Digitally Reconstructed Treasury of Books

Virtual reconstruction of the once most famous library north of the Alps One of the most valuable collections of manuscripts from the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age - the Bibliotheca Palatina - will be virtually reunited. With the completion of the German-language manuscripts, the Heidelberg ...

Animal Globalism: Zoos, Slaughterhouses, and the City in the 19th Century

What characterizes a modern metropolis? Have you ever thought about the zoo or the slaughterhouse as a marker of global economics and culture in metropolitan areas? On October 25, 2012, at 7 p.m., Prof. Dorothee Brantz will discuss the links between the rise of modern metropoles and the ...

A sharper look into the past for Archaeology and Climate Research

Annual strata in the Japanese Lake Suigetsu enable a more accurate calibration of radiocarbon datings By using a new series of measurements of radiocarbon dates on seasonally laminated sediments from Lake Suigetsu in Japan, a more precise calibration of radiocarbon dating will be possible. In ...

New classification for malignant brain tumors

Based on a combination of molecular-biological data with clinical parameters, it is possible to classify glioblastoma, the most malignant type of brain tumor, into six subgroups. An international research team led by molecular biologists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches ...

Algeria plans construction of first solar tower power plant in North Africa

The first solar tower power plant in North Africa will be built in Algeria. The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministeriums für Umwelt, ...

RWTH Professor Dieter Enders Receives European Advanced Grant

Professor Dieter Enders from the Institute of Organic Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University has received a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). Thus the researcher will receive funding in the amount of almost 2.5 million Euros over a five-year period. “We are ...

X-rays reveal surprising behaviour of superconductors

Ceramic superconductors don´t behave as expected, as a detailed X-ray analysis at the DESY X-ray source DORIS shows. An international research team observed unexpected structural distortions in the material at very low temperatures. These distortions, known as charge density waves, have a big ...

More floods in the eastern Alps during cooling

A seasonally resolved flood reconstruction of the last 1600 years During periods of transition to cooler climatic conditions there was a distinct increase in the number of extreme floods. Such events were observed particularly during the Great Migration and the Early Middle Ages (AD 450-750) and ...

Next generation drug discovery

Drugs act by binding exclusively to specific target molecules. Now scientists from LMU Munich can study binding affinities based on the natural fluorescence of the target proteins, using the method of microscale thermophoresis. Within a single cell more than 10,000 different proteins share a ...

A glance at the brain's circuit diagram

A new method facilitates the mapping of connections between neurons The human brain accomplishes its remarkable feats through the interplay of an unimaginable number of neurons that are interconnected in complex networks. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and ...

Safety glass – cut to any shape

Shock-resistance is the great benefit of safety glass. However, the cut of the glass pane can make this difficult: With conventional processes, only straight cuts are possible. Yet a newly-developed method makes it possible to apply any cutting technique. Researchers will display an ...

An extremely brief reversal of the geomagnetic field, climate variability and a super volcano

41,000 years ago, a complete and rapid reversal of the geomagnetic field occured. Magnetic studies of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences on sediment cores from the Black Sea show that during this period, during the last ice age, a compass at the Black Sea would have pointed to the ...

Stopping tumor growth

Cancer remains one of the most lethal and intractable diseases worldwide. A new project will study the therapeutic potential of inhibiting the action of a tumor-promoting molecule called EpCAM. The abbreviation EpCAM stands for “Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule”, a membrane protein that is ...

EuroBlech 2012: Cost-effective titanium forming

Titanium is a material that offers excellent properties, however, it is costly and time-consuming to form. Fraunhofer researchers are now giving this multi-purpose metal another chance. They are presenting an economical forming technology for car exhaust systems at the EuroBlech trade fair (Hall ...

Bacterium in a Laser Trap

Scientists from the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) of the University of Freiburg have constructed an innovative new optical trap that can grab and scan tiny elongated bacteria with the help of a laser. The physicists Prof. Dr. Alexander Rohrbach und Matthias Koch created a kind ...

The Past of the Atlantic Heat Pump

The circulation of the Atlantic Ocean was faster during the last Ice Age than today Simplified concept of the Ocean Circulation: Warm and saline surface waters (red) transport heat from the Southern Hemisphere to the North Atlantic. Due to cooling these waters gain in density, sink into the ...

Virtual Institute Becomes Real: Partners Attend First Meeting on Magnesium-Based Implants

On 10 October 2012, about thirty participants in the Helmholtz Virtual Institute’s “In vivo studies of biodegradable magnesium-based implant materials” came to Geesthacht to attend their first meeting. The aim of the research association – known as MetBioMat – is to develop biocompatible ...

Customized Plans for an Evacuation

Siemens researchers have developed prototype software that can simulate the evacuation of stadiums, train stations, and other buildings, as well as optimize escape routes. The software calculates the movements of thousands of people and can be adjusted to match any situation down to the last ...

The body's own recycling system

Researchers discover "molecular emergency brake" in charge of regulating self-digestion Ralf Höcker/HZIUsing a microscope, the researchers are able to zoom in on the cells: If autophagy proceeds undisturbed, they are able to observe little digestive bubbles, shown in red, inside of which ...

Health Information Technology: Electronic Medical Records and Beyond

From mobile health applications to medication adherence algorithms, electronic medical records (EMRs) will have a significant impact on the future of health care.

Dousing the flames

New studies suggest that certain microRNAs play a role in the development of arteriosclerosis. Inhibition of a specific microRNA has been shown to suppress inflammatory reactions in an animal model, and it may someday help to prevent heart attacks. Arteriosclerosis results from a persistent ...

EU Framework Programme for Research

The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation - Horizon 2020 - is the most important instrument for the implementation of the Innovation Union. This flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy aims to strengthen Europe's ability to compete. The November 2011 commission proposal for ...

Studying stars on earth

Scientists from the universities of Kiel and Düsseldorf (both Germany) have developed a method to simulate gigantic magnetic fields that normally occur on neutron stars only. The physicists Professor Hartmut Löwen (Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf) and Professor Michael Bonitz (Kiel ...

Fraunhofer researchers earn environmental award: concentrated sunlight

An achievement for the solar experts: Dr. Andreas Bett of Fraunhofer ISE and Hansjörg Lerchenmüller of the Soitec Company received the 2012 DBU German Environmental Award (DBU Deutscher Umweltpreis). Federal President Joachim Gauck will honor them with this distinction on October 28, in ...

Deep cleaning with carbon dioxide

The Fraunhofer Cleaning Technology Alliance FAR is celebrating its 10th birthday at the parts2clean trade fair in Stuttgart, from 23 to 25 October 2012 in Hall 1, Booth F610/G707. To mark the occasion, FAR will be presenting highlights from 10 years of the Fraunhofer alliance, along with the ...

Return to Bremerhaven: The research vessel Polarstern returns with new findings from the Central Arctic during the 2012 ice minimum

Polarstern returned from the Central Arctic expedition “IceArc“ in Bremerhaven on 8 October 2012 after a good two months. 54 scientists and technicians from twelve different countries conducted research on the retreat of the sea ice and the consequences for the Arctic Ocean and its ecosystems ...

BASF products in Ravenscraig Innovation Park

BASF products have been used by the BRE (Building Research Establishment) in the construction of the Innovation Park. It has developed on the site of the former steel works in Ravenscraig, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The Innovation Park will be a demonstration development showcasing how the future of ...

Germany Seeks Closer Partnership with Japan in Biopharmaceuticals

Germany Trade & Invest and the Health - Made in Germany initiative will join forces at this year's BioJapan 2012 from October 10-12. In two seminars, guests from German and Japanese biotechnology companies, Germany's renowned Fraunhofer Insitute, and Germany Trade & Invest outline business ...

Reining in metastatic cells

Most cancer deaths are caused by metastases, secondary tumors seeded by cells that escape from the site of the primary tumor. So far, there is no way to prevent tumor metastasis, but a natural product synthesized by myxobacteria could change that. Surgical removal of a primary tumor is normally ...

Award goes to battery researcher from Münster

Stefano Passerini from the MEET battery-research centre at Münster University today received the "Electrochemical Society Battery Division Research Award" at the Electrochemical Society Fall Meeting. In presenting Prof. Passerini with the award, the Electrochemical Society (ECS) has recognized ...

Using less gas and oil to get where you’re going

A quick pit-stop at the gas station is enough to put a good dent in your wallet. New technology is set to lower the high cost of filling up your car, by enabling combustion engines to consume two to three percent less gas and significantly less oil, while eliminating a step in engine production. ...

The bouncer at the binding site

The spread of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic microbes poses a growing threat to health. A new study shows how one resistance factor evicts an antibiotic from its binding site. The findings could open a route to better anti-bacterial drugs. Many bacterial infections can be cured by ...

Scientists put stability of natural rubber to the test

PETRA III reveals strain response of rubber on short time scales Researchers from the Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, and DESY have used the PETRA III light source to study structural changes in natural rubber upon stretching. The scientists have ...

Driverless Roadtrip

The autonomous car "MadeInGermany" from Freie Universität Berlin has smoothly completed several drives on U.S. and Mexican test tracks and on the road. Computer science professor Raúl Rojas and his team who developed the car, gave demonstrations of it in North and Latin America, for example, at ...

Study on E-Mobility 2020-2030: Germany Ready for Change

The market launch of electric cars envisaged by the German Federal Government can be achieved without major modification of the electric grid. Jülich researchers and their partners in the NET-ELAN project funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology come to this conclusion in a ...

A molecular scissor related to Alzheimer's Disease

An international research team led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and researchers from Kiel University revealed the atomic-level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin ß (beta). The enzyme is related to inflammation, cancer and Alzheimer´s Disease and is involved in ...

Visiting Germany’s hottest spot

Virtual journey into the plasma vessel / 360-degree panorama of the ASDEX Upgrade fusion device The internet site of Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) presents a 360-degree panorama leading you right at the site into the plasma chamber of the large-scale ASDEX Upgrade fusion research ...

EU Clean Sky research programme to be extended

DLR supports European research into eco-efficient flight – EU Clean Sky research programme about to be extended The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and 13 leading representatives of the European aviation industry and research sector have jointly agreed to ...

A glimpse into turbulent space

H.E.S.S. II, the world’s largest Cherenkov telescope, is officially inaugurated. The gamma-ray eye in Namibia’s Khomas highlands has acquired significantly greater acuity: The new H.E.S.S. II Telescope, officially dedicated last Friday, contains a 28-metre mirror and augments the H.E.S.S ...

BASF and SGL Group on the Way to Reactive Polyamide-Carbon Fiber Composites

BASF and the SGL Group will jointly develop a composite material based on a reactive polyamide system and suitable carbon fibers, serving the cost-effective production of thermoplastic carbon fiber-reinforced composites.

The riddle of the mystery gazelle

From chimera to species: Museum specimens obtained nearly 200 years ago represent the only evidence for an enigmatic species of Arabian gazelle. Closer examination of the material has now led to a different, and very surprising, conclusion. Protection of biodiversity requires detailed knowledge ...

X-ray laser FLASH reveals fast demagnetisation process

Team of scientists discovers surprising effect at the change in magnetisation of ferromagnets Scientists from TU Berlin, DESY and the University of Paris discovered a surprising effect in the demagnetisation of ferromagnetic materials at DESY´s free-electron laser FLASH. The team of researchers ...

New Circuit Breakers Prevent Electrical Fires

A new fire protection circuit breaker from Siemens prevents electrical fires from developing. The device registers dangerous arcing in an electrical installation and breaks the circuit automatically. Arcing can happen as a consequence of voltage flashovers in electrical circuits, for example, or ...

"Genuine Green" Light for Brighter Projectors in Cells

A new green light-emitting diode (LED) from Osram Opto Semiconductors can nearly double the brightness of projectors in cellphones and smartphones. Brightness is critical in this context. Because without it the projected image would not be clearly visible in bright daylight. But the application ...

Max Planck Research Award to be presented in Berlin on 11 October

One of science’s most valuable prizes goes to Katharina Pistor and Martin Hellwig The Max Planck Research Award is one of Germany’s most valuable science prizes. Financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the award is presented annually by the Max Planck Society and the ...

Recovery of the ozone layer continues

Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have been instrumental in the preparation of a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) regarding the development of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. Based on estimates, by about the mid ...

Making cell division impossible: Optimized substance forces cancer cells into death

Many tumor cells have a defective cellular equipment. It is only by a special trick that they manage to distribute their chromosomes correctly to their daughter cells during cell division. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now developed ...

Solar cell consisting of a single molecule

Individual protein complex generates electric currents An team of scientists, led by Joachim Reichert, Johannes Barth, and Alexander Holleitner (Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Clusters of Excellence MAP and NIM), and Itai Carmeli (Tel Aviv University) developed a method to measure ...

Restricting nuclear power has little effect on the cost of climate policies

Incremental costs due to policy options restricting the use of nuclear power do not significantly increase the cost of even stringent greenhouse-gas emissions reductions. By applying a global energy-economy computer simulation that fully captures the competition between alternative power supply ...

MASCOT - an asteroid lander with a sense of direction

Cooperation of DLR and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA When the Japanese Hayabusa-2 mission is launched towards asteroid 1999 JU 3 in 2014 to collect surface samples, MASCOT – the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout – an asteroid lander developed by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches ...

The water flow of the Amazon River in a natural climate archive

Novel method for the study of tree rings - insight into the precipitation dynamics in the world's largest river system Oxygen isotopes in tree rings are an excellent archive of precipitation dynamics in the tropical Amazon region. The precise determination of the ratios of stable oxygen isotopes ...

Professor Reimund Neugebauer takes office as new President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Today, October 1, 2012, Professor Reimund Neugebauer takes office as Fraunhofer President at its headquarters in Munich. He is now in charge of Europe’s largest organization for applied research, with more than 20,000 employees. The Senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft elected him in May. “I am ...

Artificial cornea gives the gift of vision

Blindness is often caused by corneal diseases. The established treatment is a corneal transplant, but in many cases this is not possible and donor corneas are often hard to come by. In the future, an artificial cornea could make up for this deficiency and save the vision of those affected. Our ...

Systems biology: understanding complex biological systems

The German government continues to strengthen Germany’s position as a leading location of systems biology. Baden-Württemberg supports this mission with research institutions and projects with high potential for innovation. Many research activities are concentrated on mathematical modelling and ...

The chemical memory of seawater: scientists examine the biomolecules dissolved in the ocean and read them like a history book of the sea

Water does not forget, says Prof. Boris Koch, a chemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association. Irrespective of what happens in the sea: whether the sun shines, algae bloom or a school of dolphins swims through a marine area – everything and ...

Nano-hillocks: Of mountains and craters

In the field of nanotechnology, electrically-charged particles are frequently used as tools for surface modification. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Vienna were at last able to reconcile important issues concerning the effects of highly charged ions on ...

German Environmental Award for Concentrator Photovoltaics

Andreas Bett from Fraunhofer ISE and Hansjörg Lerchenmüller from Soitec Solar awarded for their achievement in solar energy technology Dr. Andreas Bett, Fraunhofer ISE, and Hansjörg Lerchenmüller, Soitec Solar, receive the German Environmental Prize 2012. © Fraunhofer ISE/SoitecIn the sun-rich ...

RNA strings and DNA parcels

The packaging of the DNA in the cell nucleus has an important influence on the control of gene function. LMU researchers have now shown that short RNA molecules play a critical role in regulating the accessibility of the genetic information. In higher organisms the genetic information is ...

All systems go at the biofactory

In order to assemble novel biomolecular machines, individual protein molecules must be installed at their site of operation with nanometer precision. LMU researchers have now found a way to do just that. Green light on protein assembly! The finely honed tip of the atomic force microscope (AFM) ...

A safer explosive

Research on new explosives focuses on improving safety during production and reducing levels of environmental toxicity. LMU chemists have synthesized a new compound, which is less toxic, more stable and more powerful than conventional explosives. The chemical compound cyclotrimethylene ...

RWTH Aachen Doubly Successful in the BMBF Research Campus Competition

RWTH Aachen was doubly successful in the funding initiative "Research Campus – Public-Private Partnerships for Innovation" by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). On September 26, Minister Annette Schavan announced that the Aachen research clusters "Digital Photonic Production" ...

Scientists prevent heart failure in mice

Two small RNA molecules play a key role in the growth of heart muscle cells Cardiac stress, for example a heart attack or high blood pressure, frequently leads to pathological heart growth and subsequently to heart failure. Two tiny RNA molecules play a key role in this detrimental development ...

'It pays to be a forerunner': studies explore second-best scenarios of climate policy

09/27/2012 - Industrialized countries can profit from taking early action for climate change mitigation even if the rest of the world delays greenhouse gas emission cuts. With the 2 degrees target of limiting global warming, it pays in the long term to incentivize investments into clean energy ...

Loop the loop, DNA style

In a nutshell: •Looping and unlooping DNA adjusts readout from gene and spread of regulation throughout the genome •When a gene forms a loop, its output increases, as the transcription machinery that reads it is trapped into moving only along that gene •When the gene loop is undone, ...

Electrons confined inside nano-pyramids

Quantum dots are nanostructures of semiconducting materials that behave a lot like single atoms and are very easy to produce. Given their special properties, researchers see huge potential for quantum dots in technological applications. Before this can happen, however, we need a better ...

Winning universities of the Research Alumni Competition announced

FU Berlin, University of Cologne and TU München are victorious in the ideas competition ’Research alumni of universities in Germany’ The award winners of the second round of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation ideas competition ’Research alumni of universities in Germany’ have been announced. ...

Driver assistance systems for greater safety and efficiency

Vehicles to assist city drivers All sorts of distractions and complex traffic situations make driving in the city particularly challenging. Researchers from academia and industry have joined forces in the UR:BAN project to develop new technologies to make urban driving safer and more efficient. ...

Wastewater – a recyclable resource

European joint research project P-REX has started to foster phosphorus recovery systems Wastewater is not simply waste. Besides a considerable amount of energy, the sludge produced during wastewater treatment contains also a number of vital nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen. For this ...

Slave rebellion is widespread in ants

Enslaved worker ants kill the offspring of their parasites and thereby improve the chances of survival for their neighboring relatives Ants that are held as slaves in nests of other ant species damage their oppressors through acts of sabotage. Ant researcher Professor Dr. Susanne Foitzik of ...

21 Starting Grants for Max Planck scientists

European Research Council allocates funding grants to junior scientists for the fifth time More Max Planck scientists than ever have reason to celebrate the fifth round of ERC Starting Grants: 4 female and 17 male researchers from 15 Max Planck Institutes have been awarded up to two million ...

Max Planck Society strengthens research in infectious diseases

HIV researchers lead two new Max Planck research groups in South Africa The Max Planck Society has established research groups in Africa for the first time. Alex Sigal and Thumbi Ndung'u have been appointed to head the two groups of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology. The groups of ...

Festival tents at marksmen's festivals in North Rhine-Westphalia: More tobacco smoke pollution than in pubs and bars

Breathing air in festival tents is heavily polluted by contaminants from tobacco smoke. This is the result of measurements which are now made available to the public in a new report. Commissioned by the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), the measurements were ...

HZDR Intensifies Its Cooperation with the Netherlands

On September 26, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) will sign an agreement of cooperation with the President of the Radboud University Nijmegen, Prof. Gerard Meijer, and the Director of the Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), ...

Leaner polysilicon industry poised for rebound

Bernreuter Research issues new report on companies, supply and demand Frankfurt/Main (Germany), September 25, 2012 – After a shakeout of nearly 40 manufacturers, the polysilicon industry will slowly recover from oversupply by 2014. 2015 could already see the harbingers of a new polysilicon ...

Burying the hatchet in the laser lab

New method provides answers to long lasting dispute about electrical insulators Experts have been heavily discussing why exactly electrically insulating materials insulate as they do. Based on different mechanisms, a classification scheme for insulators has been in use since the 1960s - a ...

Making and breaking heterochromatin

September 25, 2012 To fit the two-meter long DNA molecule into a cell nucleus that is only a few thousandths of a millimetre in size, long sections of the DNA must be strongly compacted. Epigenetic marks maintain these sections, known as heterochromatin. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of ...

Learning requires rhythmical activity of neurons

Memory-forming signal transmission in the hippocampus elucidated The hippocampus represents an important brain structure for learning. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich discovered how it filters electrical neuronal signals through an input and output control, thus ...

Dwindling space for Africa’s great apes

The first continent-wide perspective of the distribution of African ape habitat shows dramatic declines in recent years Over the last 30 years, great ape numbers have plummeted across Africa, due to increasing rates of commercial hunting, habitat destruction, and disease. A continent-wide, ...

Researchers Solve Puzzle of B-Cell Lymphoma Development

In the germinal centers of the lymphatic system B cells produce antibodies specific for the pathogen. However, most lymphomas derive from the B cells at the germinal centers. Now, Dr. Dinis Pedro Calado and Dr. Klaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) have identified subgroups of B cells ...

Researchers look into nutrition: can antioxidants protect against Alzheimer's?

Citrus fruit and carrots protect against Alzheimer’s disease, a press release recently published by the University of Ulm suggests. A closer look at the language used though reveals the statement to be rather hypothetical. However, accuracy does not seem to be a concern of articles aimed at the ...

GreenTech Atlas 3.0 released

Berlin, 10.09.2012 Environmental technologies on course for dynamic growth The global market for environmental technology and resource efficiency will more than double in size by 2025 and German providers are playing a prominent role in this dynamic development. "GreenTech made in Germany 3.0" ...

The smallest ice crystals in the world

An ingenious experiment reveals the minimum number of molecules needed before water forms a crystalline structure Ice crystals also have small beginnings - even smaller than previously believed. Already 475 water molecules can form a real crystalline structure; initial attempts can be discerned ...

Red King or Red Queen

In relationships based on mutuality, the number of individuals involved can determine the rate at which species evolve The relationship between species determines how rapidly they evolve. Parasites and their hosts coevolve more rapidly, and partners in a mutualistic relationship can evolve more ...

BASF and Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research inaugurate joint research laboratory for graphene

International team of scientists will research into carbon-based materials for use in energy storage systems and electronic applications Investment in Carbon Materials Innovation Center adds up to Euro10 million Ludwigshafen and Mainz, Germany - September 24, 2012 - BASF and the Max Planck ...

Constraining world trade is unlikely to help the climate

From rubber dinghies to television sets: the emissions of greenhouse gases in countries like China are to a significant extent caused by the production of goods that are exported to Germany or the United States. But this doesn´t necessarily mean that Western countries have relocated their ...

Cellular eavesdropping made easy

New method for identifying and measuring secreted proteins over time It is much harder to keep up with a conversation in a crowded bar than in a quiet little café, but scientists wishing to eavesdrop on cells can now do so over the laboratory equivalent of a noisy room. A new method devised by ...

A Galaxy From The Universe's Nursery

The galaxy designated MACS1149-JD1 was created less than 500 million years after the Big Bang An international team of researchers that includes astrophysicists of Heidelberg University has discovered a galaxy straight from the nursery of the universe. MACS1149-JD1 was created less than 500 ...

More accurate wind energy forecasts

Wind power is one of the most important forms of renewable energy. In order to exploit inland wind as effectively as possible, turbines must be optimally positioned and dimensioned. A 200-meter high wind measuring mast delivers precise data that can also be used to forecast energy yields. The ...

Arguing for cohesion: Study traces the course of vendettas

Göttingen researchers investigate mechanisms of punishment and retribution (pug) Long-lasting vendettas among neighbours or families generally follow similar patterns: along the bibli-cal lines of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', the quarrelling parties try to hurt one another to get ...

Tenth Anniversary of the HCLA

Ceremony in Santiago de Chile with Ministers Annette Schavan and Theresia Bauer The Heidelberg Center for Latin America (HCLA), the postgraduate study and advanced training centre of Heidelberg University in Santiago de Chile The Heidelberg Center for Latin America (HCLA), the postgraduate study ...

Surviving amongst cannibals

Locusts move in swarms to avoid falling victim to their conspecifics September 21, 2012 It may soon be easier to combat locust plagues. An international research team including members from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems clarified further details of how these ...

EUR 7 billion investment program to fuel further growth

EUR 5 billion earmarked for Research and Development between 2011 and 2016 / Investments of EUR 2 billion in production capacities and seed processing facilities / Strong integrated pipeline with at least EUR 4 billion peak sales potential / Share of Seeds business to double to 20 percent by ...

Container Ships Become More Energy-Efficient

Technology and Software from Siemens are making the world's largest container ships more energy-efficient. The Korean shipbuilding company Daewoo is building 20 container ships for the Danish shipping company Maersk, each with a total carrying capacity of 18,000 standard containers. For this ...

Anti-cancer project reaches next milestone

Successful transfer into pre-clinical drug development at Bayer Pharma AG The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) announces today that an innovative kinase inhibitor program licensed to Bayer Pharma AG, Germany (Bayer) last year, has reached an important transition milestone. Bayer has successfully ...

Robot control by neural signals wins award

DLR researcher shares the German Erwin Schrödinger Prize A robotic arm controlled entirely by the thoughts of a paraplegic woman – to accomplish this, Patrick van der Smagt from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and John P. Donoghue from Brown ...

Study shows ancient relations between language families

How do language families evolve over many thousands of years? How stable over time are structural features of languages? Dan Dediu and Stephen Levinson from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholingustics in Nijmegen introduced a new method using Bayesian phylogenetic approaches to analyse the ...

Unusual symbiosis discovered among marine microorganisms

Tiny single-celled algae and nitrogen-fixing bacteria exchange carbon and nitrogen in a mutually beneficial relationship that helps fertilise the oceans September 20, 2012 An international team of scientists from France, Germany and the USA have discovered an unusual symbiosis between tiny ...

Biomarkers for virus-induced cancer in the oropharynx

Patients with oropharyngeal cancers have a more favorable prognosis if their tumors are caused by human papillomaviruses. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and Heidelberg University Hospital have now identified biomarkers which enable them ...

Bernd Rendel Prizes 2012: From Climate Fluctuations to Research into Meteorites

DFG Recognises Early Career Geoscientists The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has announced the winners of this year’s Bernd Rendel Prize, which honours early career researchers who have made important and original contributions to basic geosciences research ...

SkyWind wins the Windalliance Technology Award

Husum / Hannover, 19 September 2012. SkyWind GmbH today received the Windalliance’s technology award. The four-strong jury of experts honoured the Rendsburg (Schleswig-Holstein) based company at a ceremony held during the leading international wind industry trade fair, HUSUM WindEnergy. As well ...

Siemens opens urban development center – the Crystal – in London

- World's largest exhibition dedicated to the future of cities Siemens has opened its first center for sustainable urban development in London. The heart of the Crystal is the world's largest exhibition dedicated to sustainable urban development. The crystal-shaped building will serve as a ...

Findings on Protein Misfolding

Misfolded proteins can cause various neurodegenerative diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) or Huntington’s disease, which are characterized by a progressive loss of neurons in the brain. Researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, ...

Germany Prioritizes Medical Biotechnology with New Initiatives

Health – Made in Germany and Germany Trade & Invest accompany biotechnology delegation to this year’s Biopharm America Berlin/Boston - The new round of funding by Germany’s Ministry of Education and Research will provide EUR 40 million for biotechnology research. At the same time, the Health – ...

BASF again included in three renowned indices

BASF listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, the Carbon Performance Leadership Index and the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index Carbon Disclosure Project: BASF is among the leading companies in the world in climate protection L udwigshafen, Germany - September 13, 2012 - BASF was ...

First 'Open Innovation Cluster' in the Field of Process Engineering Established in Aachen

Over the last two years, a group of ten companies and four RWTH research institutes has been collaborating to establish the “Advanced Metals and Processes” open innovation research cluster (AMAP) in Aachen. The cluster focuses on the manufacture and processing of non-ferrous metals, with a ...

Bernstein Award 2012 for Tim Vogels

Tim Vogels receives one of the world’s best endowed junior research awards for his research on the flexibility of the brain (September 2012). On 12 September, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), conferred this year's Bernstein Award for Computational Neuroscience. With up to ...

Capturing defective satellites in space – DLR awards contract to Astrium

A service satellite captures an uncontrollable satellite in space, repairs or refuels it and, at the end of the mission, ensures that the defective satellite is disposed of in a controlled manner. Something that sounds like science fiction is now a step closer to reality. The German Aerospace ...

ILA 2012: Fraunhofer supports continuation of »Clean Sky« program

Press Release Sep 12, 2012 Aviation will produce fewer emissions, save more fuel and become more environmentally friendly – these are the goals that leading aviation companies and research institutions have set for themselves in the EU project dubbed "Clean Sky." The mammoth project is now ...

Venturing over to British shores

Press Release Sep 06, 2012 Now the work can begin. Fraunhofer UK Research Limited, the latest foreign subsidiary of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, was founded only a few short weeks ago. Yet already on September 1, work will get underway in the first research centre – the Fraunhofer Centre for ...

Siemens Again Nominated for German Future Prize

Siemens is nominated for the German Future Prize 2012. The innovation developed with the University of Oldenburg makes it possible for patients with hearing loss to hear stereophonically again. This binaural technology optimizes the sound perception of both ears. It enables state-of-the-art ...

LED Modules for Retrofitting City Lights

OSRAM is simplifying the conversion of historical city lighting to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The modernization is necessary because the current EU guideline decreeing the end of the use of incandescent lamps also applies to street lights. Many communities are complying by switching to ...

New Strategies for Food Emergency Preparedness

2.5 Million Euros in Project Financing from National Security Research Program of Federal Government As part of the security research program of the federal government, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has allocated 2.5 million euros for the project "New Strategies for Food ...

New scholarships worth EUR 200,000 awarded by Bayer's foundation to promote international talent

Funding for ambitious study projects and international work / Focus on the fields of science, technology and medicine / Hermann Strenger scholarships for international vocational projects / Scholarships worth over EUR 1 million awarded to 199 young people since 2007 Leverkusen, September 18, ...

Learning from each other – growing together

The universities of Kiel, Germany and Halifax, Canada establish a benchmark partnership Kiel University and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada want to work more closely together in the future. With this benchmark partnership, which is part of Kiel's quality management and ...

Liberal Arts or Professional Training? Reflecting on the Purpose of Education in the 21st Century

According to Wilhelm von Humboldt, the German philosopher and founder of the University of Berlin, education is about Bildung – the concept of uniting the individual, culture and society in harmonious interplay. Universities, therefore, are not only responsible for training professionals, but ...

Solar and wind energy may stabilise the power grid

Power grids with many small power plants suffer fewer outages, but new lines must be planned with care September 13, 2012 Renewable energies such as wind, sun and biogas are set to become increasingly important in generating electricity. If increasing numbers of wind turbines and photovoltaic ...

Call for applications: the 'empowering people.Award' by Siemens Foundation

Wanted: Technical solutions to improve basic services By the "empowering people. Award" the Siemens Foundation aims at identifying efficient technical solutions that enable people in developing and emerging countries to reduce deficits in the supply of existential basic services. Inventors and ...

Discus throw with cancer signals

The Wnt signaling protein plays an important part in embryonic development and also in the development of diseases such as cancer. It has been unknown until now just how Wnt is carried from cell to cell. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and ...

Carl Zeiss introduces ORION NanoFab

ORION NanoFab Carl Zeiss introduces ORION NanoFab Extending nanofabrication to the sub-10 nanometer scaleRTF Documents JENA/Germany, MANCHESTER/UK, 17.09.2012. Carl Zeiss Microscopy is introducing ORION NanoFab at the European Microscopy Congress (EMC) in Manchester, UK. It is the first ...

Fifty years of sampling at Heligoland Roads: Marine data for climate modelers, biologists and structural engineers

Heligoland/ Bremerhaven, 17 September 2012. “Data from the Heligoland Roads marine sampling site are of immense importance for sustainability considerations of future generations.” With these words the Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Dr. ...

Light-activated reversal of anesthesia

In a new study, a light-sensitive moiety has been added to propofol, a commonly used anesthetic, allowing its narcotic effect to be controlled by light. The compound also offers a possible route to the treatment of certain eye diseases. Inhibitory neurotransmitters dampen the activity of ...

X-rays unravel mysterious degradation of a Van Gogh painting

Supposedly protective varnish caused discolouration - possible implications for other paintings? With a sophisticated X-ray analysis scientists have identified why parts of the Van Gogh painting "Flowers in a blue vase" have changed colour over time: a supposedly protective varnish applied after ...

The mystery of the third signal

In COPD, several mechanisms, which normally protect the lungs from the body's own immune cells, cease to function properly. 14.09.2012 Lungs under the microscope: The left image shows healthy lung tissue. If the immune system attacks lung tissue by mistake, immune cells, depicted in blue, ...

Teamwork in the tropics: pollinators and frugivores are less choosy

Press embargo: Thursday, September 13, 2012, 6 pm Scientists analyse pollination and seed dispersal in worldwide study (pug) Seed-dispersing birds and pollinating insects in the tropics are - contrary to prior doctrine - less specialised on individual plant species than in the temperate zones. ...

Call for applications: Scholarships for studies on climate protection and natural resources

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation offers 15 scholarships for young professionals from developing and emerging countries that operate in the areas of climate protection and natural resources. The scholarships will be awarded for studies in the academic and scientific field, whether in ...

Quantum stress in nanofilms

Electrons confined in an aluminium film of a few atomic layers thick create mechanical stress equivalent to up to one thousand times the standard atmospheric pressures September 12, 2012 Read heads in hard drives, lasers in DVD players, transistors on computer chips, and many other components ...

Tandem cells and catalysis research

Material researchers the world over would envy Klaus Lips for this laboratory At Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Björn Rau investigates how to make solar cells more effective In no fewer than 18 growth chambers, the scientist from Berlin's Helmholtz-Zentrum will be developing new material combinations ...

Insecticide resistance caused by recombination of two genes

Novel enzyme makes cotton bollworm resistant against pyrethroids September 12, 2012 Insecticide resistance in crop pests is a serious global problem. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now found out what causes the strong resistance of an ...

More traffic deaths in wake of 9/11

The fear of terrorist attacks can alter our everyday behaviour and result in more fatal traffic accidents September 11, 2012 In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many Americans started driving more due to a fear of flying - and lost their lives in traffic accidents. But ...

A Flower That Behaves like an Animal

Researchers from the University of Bonn and Freie Universität Berlin Investigate Flowering Behavior of Unusual Plant Family "Behavior" is generally associated with animals and not with plants. Flowering nettle plants, however, have an unusually complex repertoire of behavior in order to optimize ...

Ready for preclinical research - a novel CT scanner with innovative x-ray technology

Prototype represents a step toward enhanced soft-tissue tomography Ready for preclinical research - a novel CT scanner with innovative x-ray technology A promising approach for producing medical images with enhanced soft tissue visibility — grating-based x-ray phase contrast—has now advanced ...

Head start for little language learners

Babies’ ability to detect complex rules in language outshines that of adults September 10, 2012 New research examining auditory mechanisms of language learning in babies has revealed that infants as young as three months of age are able to automatically detect and learn complex dependencies ...

DLR next generation: knowledge for tomorrow at ILA 2012

At the International Aerospace Exhibition (Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung; ILA) 2012 in Berlin, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und- Raumfahrt; DLR) will be displaying their research in the aerospace sector with more than 70 exhibits at the DLR stand (Hall ...

DLR and NASA announce partnership in aeronautics research

On 11 September 2012 at the ILA Berlin Air Show, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a future collaboration in the field of aeronautics research. This bilateral agreement ...

Multiple sclerosis is remote controlled

The lungs function as a gathering point for autoaggressive immune cells September 10, 2012 Autoimmune diseases are triggered by immune cells that attack the body’s own tissue. In multiple sclerosis (MS) immune cells succeed in invading nervous tissue and sparking off a destructive inflammation ...

Bayer HealthCare starts special lab space-model CoLaborator™ for promising life science companies

New concept to support entrepreneurs / First laboratory spaces opened at Bayer HealthCare's San Francisco Mission Bay site San Francisco, CA, USA, September 10, 2012 - Bayer HealthCare today officially opened its new life sciences hub for early stage research companies, dubbed the ...

Ancient genome reveals its secrets

Max Planck researchers describe Denisovan genome, illuminating the relationships between Denisovans and present-day humans August 30, 2012 The analyses of an international team of researchers led by Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, show ...

Berlin at Night

Scientists publish high-resolution image of Berlin at night: Image facilitates light pollution research Researchers from Berlin have published an 878 megapixel aerial mosaic image of Berlin at night. With one pixel per square meter, the resulting map is the highest resolution image ever ...

Osamu Tabata – DNA origami for assembling nanomachines

Cells, receptor proteins, enzymes and DNA have outstanding properties. The question is, can they also be used as building blocks in computer processors, sensor systems and other micromachines in next generation microelectronics? In cooperation with his research group at the University of Kyoto ...

'BrainLinks-BrainTools' – how an intention becomes reality

An accident victim is no longer able to pick up a tea cup because the nerves between the brain and the arm are severed. Researchers from the faculties of biology, medicine and technology at the University of Freiburg are able to translate pure thought into the movement of a cursor on a computer ...

Canadian-German Science Forum

In the presence of the Canadian Ambassador to Germany, Dr. Peter M. Boehm, this year’s rotating meeting of the Helmholtz Alberta Initiative (HAI) will open on Monday 10, September 2012. HAI is a scientific collaboration between the Helmholtz Association in Germany and the University of Alberta ...

Skin and Immune System Influence Salt Storage and Regulate Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is responsible for many cardiovascular diseases that are the leading cause of death in industrialized countries. High salt intake has long been considered a risk factor, but not every type of high blood pressure is associated with high salt intake. This has puzzled scientists ...

Encyclopedia of All Functional DNA Elements

Heidelberg scientists contribute to the encyclopedia of all functional DNA elements in the human genome A surprisingly large part of allegedly useless DNA in the human genome turns out to be responsible for regulating gene activity. This is now shown in a study by the international ENCODE ...

Green Economy - A new economic miracle

Schavan and Altmaier launch joint initiative Annette Schavan, Federal Minister of Research, and Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister of Environment, want to speed up the transformation towards a sustainable green economy under a joint initiative. Schavan and Altmaier invited some 450 experts from ...

Successful Mercury Measurement Campaign at Mount Etna

An airport and the little town of Linguaglossa at the foot of the Sicilian volcano, Mount Etna, became a research base for Prof. Dr. Ralf Ebinghaus and Andreas Weigelt of the Institute of Coastal Research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht. From 29th July to the 3rd August, this was the ...

Noisy surroundings take toll on short-term memory

Speech content and bad acoustics draw on same limited brain resources September 07, 2012 Have you ever noticed how tiresome it can be to follow a conversation at a noisy party? Rest assured: this is not necessarily due to bad hearing - although that might make things worse. Scientists at the Max ...

Air travel of the future – aircraft with no leading-edge slats will be quieter and more environment-friendly

Every year, there is a six percent increase in the volume of air traffic. To make air travel more environment-friendly and quieter, researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), together with partners Airbus, EADS Innovation Works and Cassidian Air ...

Facade evaluated - and found good

Very good condition of Neopor insulating panels confirmed after twelve years of use Evaluation of the first modernized 3-liter house in Germany An impartial expert's report on the insulated facade of the 3-liter house shows that its thermal insulation material Neopor is still in very good ...

ESCRS 2012: Trifocal intraocular lenses and new methods for the laser correction of presbyopic patients in focus at congress for cataract and refractive surgery

Trifocal intraocular lenses and new methods for the laser correction of presbyopic patients in focus at congress for cataract and refractive surgery Carl Zeiss Meditec at joint congress of the ESCRS and EURETINA 2012 For the first time at a major international event, medical technology ...

German Solar Market Undergoing Dramatic Shift

Germany Trade & Invest releases new photovoltaic market report Berlin - This year will mark the most profound change to the German solar market since the passing of the country's renewable energy act (EEG) over a decade ago. By far the world's largest photovoltaic market, Germany has been ...

The Earthquake Risk of a Megacity

Exploration drilling to monitor earthquakes in the Istanbul area Today the drilling starts for a seismic monitoring network on the Marmara Sea near Istanbul. Specially designed seismic sensors in eight boreholes on the outskirts of Istanbul and around the eastern Marmara Sea will monitor the ...

InnoTrans 2012: High-tech for safe rails

Press Release Sep 04, 2012 Goods transport on Germany’s rails is booming. To manage the increasing challenges to people and materials, innovative railroad technology is in demand. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will exhibit two new safety technologies at the InnoTrans trade show in Berlin from ...

ILA 2012: Custom-controlled climate on airplanes

The indoor climate on airplanes is a frequent source of complaints. In the future, passengers should be able to set their own individualized climate and temperature controls and also be able to adjust air supply to their own personal preference. At the ILA Berlin Air Show from September 11 - 16, ...

250,000 EUR award for humanities scholars

Awards ceremony with Minister Schavan to take place on 13 September in Heidelberg The Anneliese Maier Research Award, which is valued at 250,000 EUR, will be presented for the first time on 13 September 2012 in Heidelberg by Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan. The three women and four men ...

In Quest of the Cosmic Origins of Silver

Heidelberg scientist shows that silver and gold materialised in different stellar explosions In the quest for the cosmic origins of heavy elements, Heidelberg scientist Dr. Camilla Hansen has established that silver can only have materialised during the explosion of clearly defined types of ...

Closer to customers: Carl Zeiss Opens New Assembly and Demo Center in India

Closer to customers Carl Zeiss Opens New Assembly and Demo Center in India New assembly and demo center for Industrial metrology opened OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 05.09.2012. In July 2012, Carl Zeiss opened a new assembly and demo center for Industrial Metrology in Ban- galore, India. "The opening of ...

EU-Project completed: With SELFMEM to intelligent membranes

The project “Self-assembled Polymer Membranes”, in short SELFMEM, which was funded by the European Union with the sum of 3.6 million euro, has now been completed with a final meeting held at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht. The twelve partners of the SELFMEM group carried out research on ...

Fast forward for biomedical research

Hinxton, 5 September 2012 Today, an international team of researchers reveal that much of what has been called ‘junk DNA’ in the human genome is actually a massive control panel with millions of switches regulating the activity of our genes. Without these switches, genes would not work – and ...

Measuring glucose without needle pricks

Research News Sep 03, 2012 Pricking a finger everyday is just part of everyday life for many diabetes patients. A non-invasive measurement approach could release them from the constant pain of pin pricks. The linchpin is a biosensor engineered by Fraunhofer researchers: A tiny chip combines ...

Turning ideas into products faster

Research News Sep 03, 2012 Together with the specialty chemicals company LANXESS, Fraunhofer researchers have engineered and built a system in record time, which produces reverse osmosis mem-brane elements for water treatment. Virtual engineering allowed research and development to proceed ...

2013 Max Planck Research Award announced

The 2013 Max Planck Research Award will be granted for research in the life sciences on “The Impact of Climate Change on Ecosystems”. The closing date for nominations is 31 January 2013. The long-term effects of climate change are expected to have a major impact on global ecosystems. For ...

Thermoplastic polyurethanes research lab opens in the United States

BASF intensifies global research activities Collaboration with American customers and universities to be stepped up Ludwigshafen, Germany/Wyandotte, MI - September 6, 2012 - BASF has opened a new research lab for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) in Wyandotte, Michigan. A multidisciplinary team ...

Call for Proposals: Bernstein Award 2013

Also for the year 2013, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has announced a call for applications for the "Bernstein Award for Computational Neuroscience" (September 2012). In 2013, BMBF will confer the eighth annual Bernstein Award to excellent junior scientists with ...

Advanced maternal age not harmful for adult children

September 06, 2012 Previously existing ideas on how advanced maternal age affects adult health of children have to be reconsidered. It had been thought that mothers delivering later in life have children that are less healthy as adults, because the body of the mother had already degenerated due ...

Methane source discovered in the underbrush

Max Planck Institute for Chemistry: Greenhouse gas is also released by fungi September 05, 2012 Some six years ago scientific textbooks had to be updated because of the surprising discovery made by the research group led by Frank Keppler that plants produce methane in an oxygen-rich environment. ...

Airborne observatory and electronic noses – DLR presents new space developments at ILA

From the magnificent Vinci upper stage engine to the small but important MOSFET circuit board for the flight to asteroid 1993 JU3 – the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) will be showcasing new developments in space technology at its stand during the ILA ...

Messe Husum and Deutsche Messe nominate three firms for the Windalliance Technology Award

Husum / Hannover, 5 September 2012. An independent jury has nominated HOCHTIEF Solutions, Kenersys Europe and SkyWind for the international Windalliance Technology Award. The award ceremony will take place at the leading international trade fair HUSUM WindEnergy on 19 September in Husum. In ...

News from the ant kingdom

Many pathogenic bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. New agents are needed urgently, and the quest for them is also being extended to the ant world. It is here that Würzburg biologists have now made a new discovery. Insects, too, have to fight off bacteria. Ants, for ...

Bayer CropScience and Mendel Biotechnology co-develop herbicide resistance breaking technology

Monheim, September 5, 2012 - Bayer CropScience and Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. Hayward, California, USA announced today a new multi-year collaboration to jointly identify herbicides with novel modes of action. Increasing evidence of herbicide-resistant weeds in different geographies - including ...

Epigenetic causes of prostate cancer

Researchers observe modified methylation patterns in a group of prostate cancers September 04, 2012 In about half of all prostate tumours, there are two genetic areas that are fused with one another. When this is not the case, the exact way cancer cells originate in prostate tumours was not ...

Improved radiotherapy for developing countries

The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and Precisis AG jointly present a prototype of a mechanical radiation collimator which will make it possible, for the first time, to use the cobalt machines commonly found in developing countries for precision ...

Climate change endangers wild bees in high mountains

If climate change continues unabated, it is likely to endanger numerous wild bees in high mountains and cooler regions of the globe – with unforeseeable consequences for biodiversity there. This is the conclusion being drawn by scientists from the University of Würzburg’s Biocenter based on ...

Researchers decipher manic gene

Discovery of the molecular root cause of the euphoric phases that occur in bipolar disorder Flying high, or down in the dumps - individuals suffering from bipolar dis¬order alternate between depressive and manic episodes. Re¬searchers from the University of Bonn and the Central Institute of ...

More carbon dioxide leads to less clouds

A new feedback mechanism operating between vegetation and cloud formation could enhance the climate change September 03, 2012 The warmer the air, the more water can evaporate: a simple relationship familiar to us from everyday life. Researchers from Germany and the Netherlands have now ...

The Matryoshka principle of green symbiosis

Unicellular, aquatic dinoflagellates are masters of what is known as nested symbiosis. They engulf chloroplast-carrying organisms which enable them to photosynthesize sunlight. While this type of symbiotic relationship enables dinoflagellates to survive, the toxins produced by algal blooms, ...

Sifting through chemical kaleidoscopes

LMU researchers have developed a new and highly efficient drug screening method. The technique can identify drug candidates in so-called dynamic compound libraries even when the target molecule itself is present only in extremely low concentrations. Effective drugs act by binding tightly and ...

LMU researchers win ERC funding

Two of the much sought after Starting Grants awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) have gone to the LMU professors Mario Halic and Martin Kerschensteiner. Each will receive 1.5 million euros in grant support over the next five years. Two new names have just joined the select group of ...

Hearing with rhodopsin and chemoreceptor proteins

Scientists discover receptor proteins for light and odours in the Drosophila ear (pug) Photo-, chemo-, and auditory receptor cells use different proteins for sensory stimulus detection: photoreceptors capture light with visual rhodopsins, chemoreceptors bind odorants with olfactory receptor ...

Discovery of the earliest arthropods preserved in amber

Inclusions 100 million years older than any previous finds - research led by Göttingen paleontologist (pug) An international team of scientists led by paleontologist Dr. Alexander Schmidt of the University of Göttingen has discovered the oldest arthropods that are preserved as fossils in amber. ...

Nanoparticles strengthen magnesium

Materials scientists of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht develop new magnesium materials for vehicles, airplanes and satellitesin the EU-project EXOMET, which is coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA). The European Union funds the ambitious project with 10 million Euro, 27 partners will ...

International Experts Discuss the Change in German Energy Policy

OTTI e.V. organises conference on grid integration for renewable energies in Berlin Regensburg, 30 August 2012. The East Bavarian Technology-Transfer-Institute (OTTI) is organising the Fifth International Conference on Grid Integration for Renewable Energies. For the first time, the event will ...

Ancient genome reveals its secrets

Parting ways with Vesta

Dawn spacecraft on its way to Ceres, the largest asteroid to be explored A giant impact crater on its south pole; deep grooves around its equator; dark material on the craters that puzzles planetary researchers; and a mountain more than twice the height of Mount Everest. The Vesta asteroid that ...

How salt in the rainforest becomes clouds

Potassium salts from fungi and plants initiate the formation of aerosol particles upon which moisture from the air condenses August 30, 2012 In the ecosystem of the rainforest, fungi and plants are important contributors to the development of mist and clouds. Researchers at the Max Planck ...

Germany advocates the return of eminent researchers in Boston Meeting of the German Academic International Network (GAIN) from 7 to 9 September

Meeting of the German Academic International Network (GAIN) from 7 to 9 September Joint press release from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) and the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) ...

IBC 2012: Mini-camera with maxi-brainpower

Torrential rapids, plunging mud holes and soaring hurdles: in the outdoor competitions at the Olympic Games, athletes pushed themselves to the limit. But it’s hard to depict this in pictures alone. This is why researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS created an ...

Turning chemistry inside-out

Self-assembling smart microscopic reagents to pioneer pourable electronics 3.4 million Euros from EU programme for international research project First place in an EU competitive call on “Unconventional Computing” was awarded to a collaborative proposal coordinated by Prof. John McCaskill from ...

Keep your distance! - Why cells and organelles don't get stuck

Researchers explain "hydration repulsion" between biomembranes 30.08.2012, Research news Biomembranes enclose biological cells like a skin. They also surround organelles that carry out important functions in metabolism and cell division. Scientists have long known in principle how biomembranes ...

1.25 million euro for thermoacoustic imaging project

TUM scientist to receive Reinhart Koselleck Project funding from DFG1.25 million euro for thermoacoustic imaging project The German Research Foundation (DFG) has singled out TUM’s Prof. Vasilis Ntziachristos for Reinhart Koselleck Project funding. Over the next five years, he will receive 1.25 ...

How 'beige' fat makes the pounds melt away

Researchers from the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried have decoded a signal path that could boost the burning of body fat. Mice that are missing a signal switch called VASP are clearly leaner and have more of the coveted brown and beige-colored fat ...

Small droplets grow differently

Initially, there is an unexpected growth spurt when droplets grow from moisture condensing on a surface August 28, 2012 Fine dew drops on spider webs, blades of grass, and even insects can lend them breathtaking beauty. And, examining them very closely, one recognises that the drops themselves ...

DESY extends cooperation with Thailand

Germany´s largest accelerator centre strengthens cooperation with scientists in Thailand, with the aim to extend the exchange of knowledge, experience, equipment, and employees and students. In the presence of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, DESY Director Prof. Helmut Dosch and ...

Cardiac or intestinal progenitor cells? What controls the fate of pluripotent stem cells?

Cell fate decisions are made in the early mouse embryo when it is nothing more than a spherical mass of cells. A molecule known as eomesodermin determines whether pluripotent stem cells become cardiac or intestinal progenitor cells. Dr. Sebastian Arnold and his research group at the Freiburg ...

One third less life on planet Earth

Previous estimates about the total mass of all life on our planet have to be reduced by about one third. This is the result of a study by a German-US science team published in the current online issue of „Proceedings of the National Academy of Science“ (PNAS). According to previous estimates ...

Indo-European languages originate in Anatolia

August 27, 2012 The Indo-European languages belong to one of the widest spread language families of the world. For the last two millenia, many of these languages have been written, and their history is relatively clear. But controversy remains about the time and place of the origins of the ...

Chimpanzees create social traditions

August 29, 2012 Researchers have revealed that chimpanzees are not only capable of learning from one another, but also use this social information to form and maintain local traditions. A research collaboration between the Gonzaga University and the Max Planck Institute shows that the way in ...

Optimized Patient-Specific Knee Joint Implants

Researchers from RWTH Aachen University are developing new processes for efficiently planning and creating opimized patient-specific knee joint implants. The trend towards personalized therapies, adapted to patients' individual needs, requires innovative medical engineering solutions. During ...

Nanomedicine Makes Cancer Treatment More Effective

He investigates the smallest particles in order to help tumor patients: Dr. Twan Lammers, Research Unit Head in the Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging at Aachen University Hospital and at the RWTH Aachen Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, has now received a starting grant ...

Green light for photocathodes - BMBF funds joint German-Russian collaboration on the physics of photocathodes for high brightness electron beams (PCHB)

The photocathode electron injector is a significant enabling concept for light sources based on the Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) and Free Electron Lasers. Successful operation of such sources require photocathodes with reliable, uniform and long lifetime high quantum efficiency, low thermal ...

New insights to the role of Molecular Chaperones

Heidelberg University research team casts new light on their role in protein folding Heidelberg molecular biologists have gained new insights into the function of so-called molecular chaperones in protein synthesis. The team headed by Dr. Günter Kramer and Prof. Dr. Bernd Bukau of the DKFZ-ZMBH ...

Joining the Un-Joinable

New polymer linking technology based on nano crystals developed in Kiel Ever tried to paint on top of silicone? After a few hours, the paint will peel off. Annoying. Silicone is a so-called low surface energy polymer, well known from flexible baking forms: A synthetic material that has an ...

Cuckolded males sing louder

Rock sparrows indicate their age and their reproductive success with their songs and react to infidelity with a higher song volume August 23, 2012 The song of male songbirds is multifaceted and has two main functions: to repel rivals and to attract mates. Females often pay attention to certain ...

Penetrating Fluids and Materials in Solution using the Latest Methods

On Friday in Berlin an opening ceremony was held for a new research facility operated by Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB) and Freie Universität Berlin. It offers unprecedented possibilities for the investigation of functional materials in solution. The materials being investigated can be advanced ...

2012 Sofja Kovalevskaja Awards granted

14 international junior researchers each receive up to 1.65 million EUR The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is bestowing 14 international junior researchers with the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award. They will each receive up to 1.65 million euros, providing them with the risk capital they need for ...

Superheavy, and yet stable

Measurements of the shell effect in atomic nuclei contribute to finding out above which mass extremely heavy artificial elements no longer decay August 23, 2012 The heaviest element on earth is uranium, which has the atomic number 92 in the periodic table. Although superheavy elements up to ...

Cancer Survival in Germany after the fall of the Iron Curtain

Two decades after the fall of the Wall, cancer survival rates in East and West Germany have become almost equal. This is reported in a recent study by a team of epidemiologists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and eleven German cancer registries. ...

BASF sets an example with new competence centers and eco-efficient paint systems

New issue of the Coatings Partner customer magazine About idea scouts, trend researchers and paint experts Münster. "We create chemistry for a sustainable future": sustainability is firmly engrained in BASF's new corporate strategy, and at an early stage, BASF set its course to offer its ...

BASF expands center of competence for adhesive coatings

New coating facility in Ludwigshafen Reduction of "time-to-market" BASF expanded its coating center recently by adding a tailor-made and flexible laboratory coating and laminating facility. The new coater facilitates the development of adhesive systems for flexible packaging, labels, tapes and ...

Now in app form: Material solutions for climate protection

CO2 life cycle analysis for steel and aluminum auto bodies available in app store Advanced lightweight steels are the number one automotive material for climate protection. This has been shown by a new study by the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe has ...

DESY extends X-ray laser FLASH – Start of construction work for FLASH II main tunnel

DESY´s X-ray laser FLASH doubles its research capacities: only recently, construction of the FLASH II extension has started with the main tunnel section. Next year, in this 110-metre-long tunnel, the technical system for a second X-ray laser beam will be installed to serve a second experimental ...

2.27 Million Euros for Climate Research

DFG Extends Funding for Stratospheric Research Group at Freie Universität for Another Three Years A research group based at Freie Universität Berlin that studies changes in the stratosphere and their impact on the climate system will continue to be funded by the German Research Foundation ...

Soccer champions playing the stock exchange

How a team's performance influences its share price Borussia Dortmund (BVB), which finished on top of the Bundesliga championship table the last seasons, can claim another distinction dating back ten years: It was the first and remains the only German soccer club to be traded publicly on the ...

NRW Nano-Conference takes place for the 5th time in Dortmund

On September 18 and 19, the NRW Nano-Conference takes place for the 5th time at the Congress Center Westfalenhallen Dortmund. The conference addresses experts and users of nanotechnology. The organizers are expecting more than 500 visitors from all over the world. This year, the conference ...

BASF and CRC for Polymers to develop advanced technologies for soil moisture management

Five-year cooperation to develop polymers to control soil wettability, water availability and nutrient delivery Expands research and commercial scope of BASF's new business pillar Functional Crop Care Ludwigshafen, Germany and Melbourne, Australia - BASF and the Cooperative Research Centre for ...

DESY X-ray source reveals decoy protein of a herpes virus at work

Decoding of protein function has implications on the development of new therapies With the help of DESY´s X-ray source DORIS III, an international team of scientists decoded an important weapon used by a widespread human herpes virus. The study reveals at the molecular level how the Epstein-Barr ...

G.I.T. InnovationsAward: Carl Zeiss wins G.I.T. InnovationsAward 2012 for AURIGA Laser

JENA/Germany, 22.08.2012. The G.I.T. Laboratory Journal officially announced the winners of the G.I.T. InnovationsAward 2012. The CrossBeam (FIB SEM) AURIGA Laser from Carl Zeiss Microscopy took first place in the field of Laboratory Equipment & Technology. Prior to the final voting, a jury of ...

Drastic Desertification

Over the past 10,000 years, climate changes in the Dead Sea region have led to surprisingly swift desertification within mere decades. This is what researchers from the University of Bonn and their Israeli colleagues found when analyzing pollen in sediments and fluctuations in sea levels, ...

German High Tech Champions Award: GREEN BUILDINGS - extended call!

International Attention for Your Project If the results of your applied research in the field of Green Buildings (fr.: Bâtiment Durable) deserve international attention, you should enter the German High Tech Champions (GHTC) competition and kick-start your international marketing campaign today! ...

Flying auditorium and robotic microsurgery

DLR is the largest institutional exhibitor at ILA 2012 in Berlin The future of aerospace will be showcased by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) at the International Aerospace Exhibition (Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung; ILA) in Berlin, ...

Holy grail of the inner ear discovered

Sound conversion: Neurobiologists in Göttingen discover responsible protein (pug) When sound waves hit a sensory cell of the ear, they are converted into electrical nerve signals through specialized ion channels that open and close. Scientists at the University of Göttingen have now discovered a ...

Single photons produced electrically

Physicists have succeeded in using semiconductor nanostructures to produce single photons electrically and transfer them via a quantum channel. The application of these single photon sources is seen as further progress toward broader use in secure data communication. For data transmission over ...

Record-Size Rotor Blades Transported to Destination

The world's biggest wind turbine rotor blades have reached their destination. They were transported from the Danish port of Esbjerg to Østerild for installation in the first prototype of a six-megawatt offshore wind power plant. Transportation of the three 75-meter-long rotor blades was a ...

Steam turbine generates more power from same heat

Siemens is making its industrial steam turbines more efficient and more flexible. The upgrade is based on an improved design that increases the efficiency of the turbines by up to two percentage points. In addition, the redesigned turbines can be started up much more quickly - in the best case, ...

Natural substances halt bacterial growth

US scientists explain mechanism of action of substances discovered at HZI 03.08.2012 The current issue of the renowned scientific journal Science features the story of an international team of researchers and their serendipitous discovery of a group of natural substances capable of limiting ...

Falling Walls Lab Berlin

The Falling Walls Lab is a platform for excellent young scientists and innovators from all disciplines who get the opportunity to share their research work, business ideas or initiatives with peers and a distinguished jury from academia and business. On November 8, the Falling Walls Lab Berlin ...

Flexible snake armour

Biology could inspire systems in engineering with minimized abrasion Snakes are highly specialized legless animals, which have evolved around 150 Million years ago. Although without extremities their body is exposed to constant friction forces. The PhD-Student Marie-Christin Klein and Professor ...

Computing in the net of possibilities

The complex network computer processes information in a fundamentally new way - and could one day rival today's computers August 14, 2012 Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen have developed an entirely new principle for information processing. ...

Witnesses of glacial melting: marine researchers examine the influence of the rapid rise in freshwater inflow on marine algae along the west coast of Greenland

Bremerhaven, 10 August 2012. This year Greenland is experiencing one of the warmest summers in its recent history. This heat wave has meant that an international research team is in the unique position of being able to collect important climate data from the changing Arctic. Until today German ...

Marine research in the Brazilian rain forest

Slash and burn practice for centuries as source of stable carbon compounds in the oceans August 13, 2012 Until recent decades the Atlantic Rainforest covered a large area of today’s Brazil from Amazonas to present-day Argentina. In the 1970s, after years of deforestation, this rain forest was ...

Scientists from DESY and European XFEL develop method for dramatic improvement of X-ray lasers

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) are new, large-scale research facilities that open up completely new insights in the nanoworld. With X-ray flashes of unprecedented brightness and shortness, the XFELs allow direct observation of single molecules, atoms, and even chemical reactions. Several of ...

Differences in the genomes of related plant pathogens

Even in closely-related species, life-style moulds the genetic make-up of pathogens and how their genes are used August 12, 2012 Many crop plants worldwide are attacked by a group of fungi that numbers more than 680 different species. After initial invasion, they first grow stealthily inside ...

The Earthquake Risk and Europe

Harmonized Earthquake Catalogue for Europe and the Mediterranean for the last Millennium available for the first time How strong can earthquakes in Germany be? Where in Europa are the earthquake activities concentrated? These questions are the basis for risk assessments and become relevant when ...

Populations survive despite many deleterious mutations

Max Planck scientist investigates the evolutionary model of Muller’s ratchet August 10, 2012 From protozoans to mammals, evolution has created more and more complex structures and better-adapted organisms. This is all the more astonishing as most genetic mutations are deleterious. Especially in ...

Space-time symmetry renders optical systems invisible

FAU researchers examine the interplay between light amplification and light loss For the first time ever, physicists from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have succeeded in proving that an optical system can be ‘invisible’ from one side and act like a mirror from the other ...

New Call for: Germany - USA Collaborations in CNS

Proposals for German-US American collaborations are again solicited within the next call for application of the CRCNS program (August 2012). The funding scheme "Germany - USA Collaboration in Computational Neuroscience" is a transnational initiative for supporting collaborative research between ...

Energy from microbes for drying sewage sludge

A new biodrying process from Siemens quickly converts sewage sludge into a usable form while saving energy. When dried with the new process, sludge from wastewater treatment can be used as fertilizer, dumped in landfills or incinerated. Unlike thermal drying processes, the new technique, known ...

Major sales success for Donauer Solartechnik

LGA structural type analysis – Over 2.5 MWp already sold for commercial buildings Gilching, 09 August 2012. Thanks to LGA certification via type testing/structural type analysis of the Donauer Flat Roof and Flat Roof Duplex mounting frames by the LGA Test Office for Structural Analysis, Donauer ...

First Signs of Higgs Mechanism in a Magnet

Jülich, 7 August 2012 - British physicist Peter Higgs attracted widespread attention recently. Researchers at CERN announced the probable evidence of the Higgs boson, which he predicted back in the 1960s. The Higgs mechanism as proposed by him explains how elementary particles attain their mass ...

Molecule against HIV – small change yields major effect

Potential anti-AIDS drug compound shows enhanced activity 09.08.2012, Research news Researchers from Munich and Naples have shown that minimal modification of a synthetic peptide with anti-HIV activity results in a new compound with more than two orders of magnitude higher binding affinity to ...

Real career opportunities for young researchers

Ground-breaking change in Germany: TUM introduces international tenure-track system Real career opportunities for young researchers 09.08.2012, Campus news The Technische Universität München (TUM) has started a career system for young scientists that will serve as a forerunner in Germany. The ...

Dual Role for Carbon Dioxide

To reduce fossil fuel consumption while simultaneously improving the carbon footprint of fuels and chemical products, the use of carbon dioxide as a carbon source could be an attractive option. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, German researchers have now introduced a method by which carbon ...

You snooze, you lose

Less sleep leads to more offspring in male pectoral sandpipers August 09, 2012 During the breeding season, polygynous male pectoral sandpipers that sleep the least sire the most young. A team of researchers headed by Bart Kempenaers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen has ...

Bayer CropScience to invest EUR 12 million in Australian Breeding Center for Wheat and Oilseeds

Monheim, August 8, 2012 - Bayer CropScience plans to establish a new breeding center in the Wimmera region, near Horsham (Victoria, Australia), focused on wheat and oilseeds. The company plans to invest around EUR 12 million (AUD 14 million) for the new station in Western Victoria. The target is ...

Human evolution

New Kenyan fossils shed light on the evolution of the genus Homo August 08, 2012 Exciting new fossils discovered east of Lake Turkana confirm that there were two additional species of our genus - Homo - living alongside our direct human ancestral species, Homo erectus, almost two million years ...

Shadows on the Martian sand

Mars rover Curiosity beams back first snaps from Mars August 08, 2012 In the early morning the message reaching Earth brought relief all round: at 7.32 am on 6 August Curiosity, NASA’s Mars rover, had touched down safely on the red planet. "We were absolutely overjoyed," is how Dr. Walter Goetz ...

Making it easier to learn to read

Dyslexia caused by signal processing in the brain August 06, 2012 To participate successfully in life, it is important to be able to read and write. Nevertheless, many children and adults have difficulties in acquiring these skills and the reason is not always obvious. They suffer from dyslexia ...

Fibres with a filtering effect

Twisted photonic crystal fibres suppress specific optical wavelengths August 06, 2012 A simple longitudinal twist converts certain microstructured optical fibres into filters. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen have measured this effect in detail in ...

Broccoli and co.: mustard oils as chemical mace

Broccoli and other plants use mustard oils to ward off pests. These natural substances are also thought to have a preventive effect on cancer. A German-Danish team is now presenting new findings about mustard oils in plant science in “Nature” – with interesting prospects for agriculture. Plants ...

First Indian-European Research Networking Projects in the Social Sciences Launched

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) in association with the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), the UKEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific ...

German Electronics Market Attracts Investors

Germany Trade & Invest releases new Electronic Manufacturing Services fact sheet The European Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) market is expected to grow by more than 10 percent annually between 2011 and 2017, attracting EMS companies to Germany. The increase is expected to stem from EMS ...

Fossil elephant skull brought to light

The latest significant fossil found around Eichstätt comes from a sand pit, where an LMU researcher and members of the Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology have uncovered the well-preserved skull of a Miocene elephant. Picture Gallery. The newly discovered skull of an elephant comes from ...

Lions of science - support for scientific projects of Kenyan students

LIONS OF SCIENCE e.V. is a German registered charitable organization and a new internet platform aiming to find and award prizes to Kenyan students with the most creative and innovative projects. Students can submit scientific projects and benefit from our network, engaging with a world-wide ...

Curiosity gets to the bottom of Mars

Max Planck researchers use the rolling laboratory to search for water and organic compounds It weighs 900 kilograms, has ten scientific instruments on board and is the most powerful laboratory ever sent to our neighbouring planet: the Curiosity rover. It will herald a new era of Mars research. ...

Energy costs reduced by half a million euros

An energy efficiency program at the Siemens site in Kemnath in Bavaria has reduced annual energy costs by 20 percent, or more than €500,000. The program will repay its investment costs of €1.9 million in about four and a half years. At the same time, the location now emits one fourth less carbon ...

Providing greater security in postal traffic

Münster University heads German-French research project / Experts in logistics and law join forces Germany and France have started a research project with the aim of providing greater protection for international letter and parcel traffic. Logistics and legal experts from Münster University ...

A Good Network – Important for Brain Activity

Speech, sensory perception, thought formation, decision-making processes and movement are complex tasks that the brain only masters when individual nerve cells (neurons) are well connected. Berlin neuroscientists have now discovered a molecular switch that regulates this networking of nerve ...

Tobacco Plants Make Vaccination Protection Against HIV Possible

Plants can produce antibodies that can provide protection against HIV infection. RWTH Professor Rainer Fischer, Chair of Molecular Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology explains: “Substances such as the neutralizing ...

University and college cooperation programme 'Welcome to Africa'

What are the programme's objectives? With this programme, which was sponsored by the BMBF over a period of three years, the DAAD is making it possible for German universities and colleges to make new contacts at African higher education institutions and to strengthen existing contacts and ...

Worldwide increase of air pollution

Atmospheric model calculates changes in air quality over the coming decades Hot summer days cause in large cities very seldom great happiness among inhabitants. On those days the air is highly polluted with automobile and industrial emissions what makes breathing difficult and ...

Summer in the Lab - New International Student Program in Dresden

For the first time ever, an international summer student program will be held at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Ten students from Europe, Asia, and Africa will work on current research topics in the sectors health, matter, and energy. They will also attend a joint lecture ...

Using wastewater as fertilizer

Sewage sludge, wastewater and liquid manure are valuable sources of fertilizer for food production. Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a chemical-free, eco-friendly process that enables the recovered salts to be converted directly into organic food for crop plants. Phosphorus is a vital ...

Smart wireless power outlets

Many homeowners dream of being able to wash a load of laundry when the photovoltaic panels on the roof are delivering a maximum of electricity, even when they are not at home. A new Internet-enabled power outlet will soon allow users to control household appliances via their smartphone, and ...

Welcome: Greater Opportunities for Foreign Students, Scientists and Researchers

The DAAD welcomes the new German right of residence law Bonn, 1 August 2012. Germany’s Act Implementing the EU Directive on Entry and Residence of Highly Qualified Workers entered into force today. It far exceeds the EU targets and presents foreign students, scientists and researchers with new ...

Germany Relaxes Visa Rules for Entrepreneurs and Skilled Workers

Germany Trade & Invest legal experts welcome EU Blue Card and streamlined processes Berlin – Starting tomorrow, many foreign investors and their foreign employees will have an easier time obtaining a residence permit in Germany. Two key changes have been made to streamline the visa process for ...

Tailor-made viruses for enhanced cancer therapy

Parvoviruses specifically kill cancer cells and are already in the clinical trial stage for treating malignant brain tumors. However, as they can also infect normal cells - without doing any harm to them -, a large portion of viruses is lost during therapy. Scientists at the German Cancer ...

Indonesia: Angela Merkel visits Tsunami Warning Centre

At the end of her first trip to Indonesia, the Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the tsunami warning center in Jakarta on Wednesday, 11 July 2012. "I am very impressed with the tsunami warning centre," said Mrs. Merkel during the visit. "It's a very good example of a German-Indonesian ...

Collective motions near absolute zero

Phase transitions between different states of matter can be associated with a specific type of excitation called the “Higgs excitation”. This phenomenon has now been observed in a two-dimensional quantum gas at temperatures near absolute zero. In physics spontaneous symmetry breaking is a ...

Wind Turbine with Record-Breaking Rotors

Siemens has produced the world's longest rotor blades for wind turbines. Measuring 75 meters in length, the blades are almost as big as the wingspan of an Airbus A380. Beginning this fall, the B75 rotor blades will be installed into a prototype six-megawatt offshore wind power system in ...

New Science Prize Rewards Outstanding Research for Sustainable Developments

Starting 2012, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is awarding the Sustainable Developments Research Award within the framework of the German Sustainability Award. Researchers, who are make great contributions to sustainable developments with their projects, are distinguished ...

European research projects probe European issues

European national research funding agencies announce outcomes of the second round of the Open Research Area Scheme (ORA) As the impacts of the economic crisis continue to reverberate across European societies, it is more important than ever before that European social scientists work together to ...

2.5bn euros for the Environment

LIFE Programme of the European Union celebrates 20 years On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the European Union's LIFE programme experts from the European Commission, nature conservation agencies, the government and the Länder discussed the orientation of LIFE from 2014. To this end, the ...

Europe's fastest computer: The launch of SuperMUC

Next to theory and experiment, the simulations produced by these computers have become the third pillar of science, particularly in areas such as health, energy, climate protection, and mobility research. Expansion of supercomputers in Germany continues: After the 2009 launch of "JUGENE" in Jülich and the 2012 launch of "HERMIT" in Stuttgart, Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan attended the launch of SuperMUC in Garching on 20 July 2012 - the third German Supercomputer to reach petaflop speed. It is a worldwide leader in computational power and energy efficiency and is the most powerful supercomputer in Europe.

The EU Blue Card - helping secure Germany's workforce

The Federal Government has taken another step to attract more highly qualified workers to Germany. In addition to the Recognition Act, which facilitates the recognition of foreign professional credentials, several changes have been made to the German Residence Act in order to implement the European Union's Directive on Highly Qualified Workers. These changes, commonly referred to as the "Blue Card initiative," are to enter effect on 1 August 2012.

Foreign students studying at German universities number over quarter of a million for first time

2011 marks the first year that foreign students registered at German universities numbered over 250,000 – this represents 11.4% of all students in Germany. The bi-lingual publication "Wissenschaft weltoffen" by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the HIS-Institute for Research on Higher Education (HIS-HF) provides you with further information on the International Nature of Studies and Research in Germany.

Genome analysis of brain tumors showing the way to new treatment strategies

As part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), scientists in a project coordinated by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) are systematically investigating the genomes of pediatric brain tumors (medulloblastoma and pylocytic astrocytoma). In their first data evaluation, ...

DESY light source PETRA III now has the world's sharpest X-ray eyes

Scanning X-ray microscope reaches record resolution of 10 nanometres A novel X-ray microscope at DESY offers the world's sharpest X-ray vision: Thanks to the extraordinary brilliance of DESY's X-ray source PETRA III, this microscope is able to resolve details as small as ten nanometres – which ...

STEP Award 2012

New Deadline: August 10th The STEP Award is a competition designed to recognize innovative growth companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The initiators, Infraserv Höchst and F.A.Z.-Institut Innovation Projects, are pursuing the same goal together with numerous sponsors and partners of ...

Bi-lingual publication 'Wissenschaft weltoffen' - Facts and figures on the International Nature of Studies and Research in Germany

Twelfth edition of the “Wissenschaft weltoffen” publication - Facts and figures on the International Nature of Studies and Research in Germany The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD) and the HIS-Institute for Research on Higher Education (HIS-HF) have ...

Virtual Institute 'Dynamic pathways in multidimensional landscapes' invites for Scientific Kick-Off and Summer School

From 6th to 10th August 2012, the speaker of the Virtual Institute (VI), Prof. Dr. Alexander Föhlisch, invites associated members of the national and international partners as well as interested colleagues and students to come to Potsdam for the Scientific Kick-Off and Summer school. ...

Caught in the act: Bats use the sound of copulating flies as a cue for foraging

Noisy wing movements during mating make flies an easy prey Mating at night does not necessarily lead to offspring, at least in flies: males produce a buzzing sound with their wings that can be perceived by bats. Stefan Greif from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, and colleagues, observed ...

Evolution of regenerative mechanisms and stem cell systems

Researchers from around the world participated in the first annual symposium organised by the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg in early July to discuss the evolution of the regenerative mechanisms and stem cell systems of plants and animals. Although stem cells and the ...

A pulsar with a tremendous hiccup

Max Planck scientists discover a young and energetic neutron star with unusually irregular rotation Pulsars are superlative cosmic beacons. These compact neutron stars rotate about their axes many times per second, emitting radio waves and gamma radiation into space. Using ingenious data ...

Climate research with maximum added value

Climate research with maximum added value: radiation researchers from all over the world meet at the Alfred Wegener Institute Bremerhaven, 24 July 2012. The sun is viewed to be the driving force of all life on earth. How much of its energy actually reaches the earth’s surface is being recorded ...

Call for application to the postdoc and doctoral programs of the Berlin-Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies

The call for application to the postdoc program and doctoral program of the Berlin-Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies is open until the 5th August 2012. Postdoc positions and doctoral positions are available. Detailed information can be found in the calls for applications Postdoc and ...

Locating muscle proteins

Muscle contraction and many other movement processes are controlled by the interplay between myosin and actin filaments. Two further proteins, tropomyosin and troponin, regulate how myosin binds to actin. While theoretical models have in fact described exactly how these muscle proteins interact, ...

A Digital "Stethoscope" for Monitoring Equipment

An intelligent diagnostic system from Siemens can monitor the condition of mechanical equipment just by analyzing the noises it makes. The system's sensors listen to machine noises in the same way that a doctor listens to a patient's heart and lungs. The system learns to tell the difference ...

Of flies and men

What 10 000 fruit flies have to tell us about differences between the sexes What do you get when you dissect 10 000 fruit-fly larvae? A team of researchers led by the EMBL- European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in the UK and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI) ...

Siemens to supply 300 offshore wind turbines to DONG Energy

Projects in the United Kingdom to receive 300 of Siemens 6MW direct drive wind turbines Siemens and DONG Energy continue their successful cooperation in offshore wind. On July 19, 2012, the companies signed a framework agreement for the supply of a total of 300 wind turbines with a capacity of ...

Current study in the scientific journal Nature: researchers publish results of an iron fertilisation experiment

An international research team has published the results of an ocean iron fertilization experiment (EIFEX) carried out in 2004 in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature. Unlike the LOHAFEX experiment carried out in 2009, EIFEX has shown that a substantial proportion of carbon from ...

Martin Hellwig and Katharina Pistor receive Max Planck Research Award

Excellent research focus on the regulation of international financial markets The Max Planck Research Award 2012 goes to Martin Hellwig from the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn and Katharina Pistor from Columbia University School of Law (New York) for their work in ...

SPACES Scholarships for Doctoral Studies in Germany

Think Pink! Success of pink bacteria in oceans of the world

Efficient strategies for survival through plasmid-mediated gene transfer Marine bacteria of the Roseobacter clade are found to be spread widely throughout the oceans of this planet from the tropics to as far as Antarctica. They live freely in the water, in sediments and as symbiotic partners of ...

Geo-Engineering: Debate between 'stable solutions' and 'fancy fantasies'

Gigantic sun mirrors in the earth’s orbit, the vaccination of clouds or the fertilization of oceans: well-known scientists discussed the possibilities and risks of large-scale interventions in the earth system last week. The director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), ...

A magnification of two million

Telescope network zooms in on the heart of a distant quasar An international team led by scientists from the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy has succeeded in observing the heart of a distant quasar with unprecedented sharpness, or angular resolution. The observations, made by connecting ...

German-Spanish Conference on Training: Giving young people prospects for employment

According to information from the European Commission, approximately a quarter of 14 to 25 year-olds in Europe are unemployed. In particular, southern European countries such as Spain have youth unemployment rates of over 50 percent ...

TandemLaunch licenses new 3D technology

Max Planck Innovation, the technology transfer organization of the Max Planck Society together with the Patent Marketing Agency of Saarland Universities have licensed a new method for processing digital stereo image content to TandemLaunch Technologies, a Canada based company, which develops ...

Germany’s Energy Transition

A discussion featuring energy policy expert Professor Miranda Schreurs focused on Germany’s energy transition plans from nuclear to renewable power and how this shift affects the European energy economy. The event took place at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) on May 21, ...

Why powerlines confuse the internal compass

Migratory birds and fish use the Earth’s magnetic field to find their way. LMU researchers have now identified cells with internal compass needles for the perception of the field – and can explain why high-tension cables perturb the magnetic orientation. Although many animal species can sense ...

First 'material meets design' tbdc workshop

More than 50 researchers, designers, producers and users active in the fibre and textile industries came to Stuttgart on 3rd July 2012 to participate in the first “textile bio-based materials design challenge” (tbdc) workshop. The participants used the interdisciplinary environment to develop ...

4th International Stem Cell Congress in Dresden

More than 400 international scientists are sharing their experience about the latest research in stem cell biology from July 18th to 20th 2012 on the 4th International Stem Cell Congress in Dresden. This time, system biologists were explicitly invited to join the congress in order to contribute ...

First "material meets design" tbdc workshop

Climate Dialogue to promote new alliances

German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier to open third Petersberg Climate Dialogue this Monday Environment ministers from around the world will come together in Berlin on 16 and 17 July 2012 to discuss new ideas and partnerships to advance international climate policy. "The international ...

Space Camp Instead of the Beach

While their contemporaries enjoy vacation, Teresa and Philipp will be facing new challenges. The 17 year old school student and 19 year old secondary school graduate, respectively, from Aachen, were chosen for a one week stay at the Space Camp in Huntsville, Texas.The trip to the USA and the ...

Multiple sclerosis: New marker could improve diagnosis

Researchers identify potassium channel as an autoantibody target Diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS) is a challenge even for experienced neurologists. This autoimmune disease has many symptoms and rarely presents a uniform clinical picture. New scientific findings on the immune response involved ...

Call for applications for International Climate Protection Fellowships

The International Climate Protection Fellowship Programme for prospective leaders from transition and developing countries is entering its fourth round. Candidates are invited to start submitting applications immediately. The closing date is 1 December 2012. In this fourth round, up to 15 ...

Award for Outstanding Cancer Research

Neurooncologist Dr. Christiane Opitz to receive 2012 Hella Bühler Prize of 100,000 euros Physician scientist Dr. Christiane Opitz of Heidelberg University is this year's recipient of the Hella Bühler Prize, which is endowed with 100,000 euros. This is the seventh time the prize has been awarded. ...

Physicists in Mainz and all around the world cheer the discovery of the Higgs particle

Success at the world's largest particle accelerator LHC / Experiments involving scientists from Mainz University show first direct evidence of the Higgs boson The mystery of the origin of matter seems to have been solved. At the middle of last week, CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear ...

Support for Young Scientists

Chica and Heinz Schaller Foundation supports the work of five new C.H.S. research groups Five new research groups for young scientists, the C.H.S. research groups, have taken up their work in basic biomedical research. To mark the occasion, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) will hold a ...

"Taking Digital Transformation to the Next Level"

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) supports efforts to enhance the strategic development of information infrastructure in Germany. This is the underlying message in the new strategy paper Taking Digital Transformation to the Next Level: The Contribution of the ...

The life cycle of volcanic ash

The Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010 demonstrated how vulnerable our globalized society has become to the hazards associated with volcanic activity. A new research project will take a close look at volcanic ash and analyze the risks it poses. Volcanic ash is the major product of volcanic ...

New Agent against Tropical Parasites

There is an urgent need for better drugs to treat African sleeping sickness. Würzburg scientists have developed a very promising new agent, which is now to be further optimized. African sleeping sickness is caused by the tropical parasite Trypanosoma brucei. This unicellular, worm-shaped ...

Weight halved: Lightweight automotive technology with magnesium

At the first TeMaKplus workshop, BMW M GmbH presented a magnesium rear seat backrest for the BMW 3-series. Stemming from an advance engineering project, the rear seat backrest is a 60/40 split folding design. Weighing only 5.45 kilograms, the magnesium backrest is over 50 percent lighter than a ...

German-Californian commitment for the earth

Five Max Planck Institutes and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of San Diego cooperate to explore changes in the Earth system "It never rains in Southern California" is the title of a famous song by Albert Hammond. Whether even more regions in the world must face a ...

Long-distance relays for quantum data

The problem of long-distance transmission of quantum information is one of the biggest obstacles to the realization of communications networks based on quantum phenomena. LMU physicists have taken a significant step towards overcoming this hurdle. Transmission of quantum information is based on ...

A recharging record

Whether your electric vehicle has two or four wheels, the chances are that it runs on a lithium-ion battery. LMU researchers have developed a more efficient matrix for storing electrical energy, based on a novel lithium titanate nanostructure. A good battery should meet four basic requirements. ...

How tumor cells create their own pathways

Potential new treatment for metastatic colon cancerHow tumor cells create their own pathways For 90 percent of all cancer patients, the original tumor is no longer the cause of death. Nowadays, metastases are the major cause for concern. Metastasis occurs when tumor cells “migrate” to other ...

Last calls of the European Research Council (ERC) in the 7th EU-Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7)

On 10 July 2012, the European Research Council (ERC) has published the last calls for proposals of the ERC schemes "Starting Grants" and “Advanced Grants“ of the current Research Framework Programme. The ERC promotes frontier research in all fields of science with a bottom-up approach. The ERC ...

Climate in northern Europe reconstructed for the past 2,000 years: Cooling trend calculated precisely for the first time

The calculations prepared by Mainz scientists will also influence the way current climate change is perceived / Publication of results in Nature Climate Change 09.07.2012 An international team that includes scientists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has published a reconstruction ...

Frankincense as a Medicine

Pharmacists clarify the anti-inflammatory impact of boswellic acids It was one of the gifts of the Magi - in addition to myrrh and gold they offered frankincense to the newly born baby Jesus. Since the ancient world the aromatic fragrance of burning Boswellia resin has been part of many ...

Faster simulation – award for new method

Dominik Schillinger will be awarded the John Argyris Award for the development of a new method that can facilitate simulations in mechanical or civil engineering. It is the most prestigious award for young scientists in computational mechanics. Schillinger was a scholar of the Munich Centre of ...

Over EUR 9 Million Funding for Research Projects

Federal Ministry of Education and Research approves resources for continuation of successful work in basic research Research groups at Heidelberg University's Faculty of Physics and Astronomy are to receive funding to the tune of over EUR 9 million for basic research in hadron, nuclear and ...

Europe’s largest driving simulator completed: less energy consumption and fewer road casualties as the objective

At Institute for Internal Combustion Engines and Automotive Engineering (IVK) at University ofStuttgart and The Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS)the construction of a very efficient driving simulator was completed after a three-yearconstruction ...

When Anxiety Won’t Go Away

Scientists at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin have discovered a mechanism which stops the process of forgetting anxiety after a stress event. In experiments they showed that feelings of anxiety don’t subside if too little dynorphin is released into the brain. The results can help open up new ...

Non-slip tracheal implants

If a person‘s windpipe is constricted, an operation in which the surgeon inserts a stent to enlarge the trachea is often the only way to relieve their respiratory distress. But this grid-like implant can slip out of position, closing off the windpipe altogether. Researchers are working on a ...

Close-up of active galactic nucleus

First interferometric signals between the Effelsberg telescope and orbital radio telescope Spektr-R July 06, 2012 A group of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn and the Astro Space Center in Moscow, Russia, have obtained the first detection of interferometric ...

Humidity increases odour perception in terrestrial hermit crabs

Olfaction in land crabs is still in an early transitional stage between life in water and on land July 04, 2012 Max Planck scientists have found out that the olfactory system in hermit crabs is still underdeveloped in comparison to that of vinegar flies. While flies have a very sensitive sense ...

First coil delivered from USA

USA participates in Wendelstein 7-X / million dollar investment in German fusion project The first of the five auxiliary coils that the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is having manufactured for the German fusion research facility Wendelstein 7-X has arrived at the Max Planck Institute for ...

Tax evaders prefer institutional punishment

Establishing a central, costly authority can help to facilitate a stable coexistence July 04, 2012 Selfish behaviour is a threat to successful coexistence and mutual cooperation. In many cases this human cooperation is based on punishing those who do not cooperate. There can be two different ...

Stop and go

‘Traffic policeman’ protein directs crucial step in cell division A traffic policeman standing at a busy intersection directing the flow of vehicles may be a rare sight these days, but a similar scene appears to still frequently play out in our cells. A protein called Lem4 directs a crucial step ...

First direct evidence that elemental fluorine occurs in nature

200-year long dispute over smelly mineral from Upper Palatinate resolved: First direct evidence that elemental fluorine occurs in nature 05.07.2012, Press releases Fluorine is the most reactive chemical element. That is why it is not found in nature in its elemental form, but only in compounds, ...

CERN experiments observe particle consistent with long-sought Higgs boson

July 04, 2012 At a seminar held at CERN today as a curtain raiser to the year’s major particle physics conference, ICHEP2012 in Melbourne, the ATLAS and CMS experiments presented their latest preliminary results in the search for the long sought Higgs particle. Both experiments observe a new ...

Nobel Laureates meeting in Lindau

July 02, 2012 Between 1 and 6 July, some 580 talented young scientists from all over the world are meeting leading authorities in their disciplines by Lake Constance. This year, the focus is on cosmology and on particle and quantum physics. 27 Nobel Laureates have promised to attend. Particle ...

Evidence for the Higgs Boson?

In a scientific seminar that has been broadcast worldwide today, the two large-scale particle physics experiments ATLAS and CMS at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, presented the latest results in their search for the Higgs boson. Three RWTH institutes are ...

Lymphnode roundabout

Researchers probe origin of optimized antibodies against infections 28.06.2012 An organism's ability to make new antibodies and use them to optimize its own immune defenses is of central importance in the fight against pathogens. In the case of severe infections, the overall relative speed with ...

Evolution of muscles

Sponges - a very old evolutionary lineage - lack true muscles but still have some proteins typically found in muscle cells. These new findings suggest that the origins of musculature lie much further back in time than suspected. Neurons are not just for thinking. With the evolution of ...

New Approach to Pain Therapy

To keep the patient free of pain and mobile after surgery: Despite all medical advances, this still represents a major challenge for medicine. An innovative approach in this field has now been presented by scientists from Würzburg, Berlin, Jena and Erlangen. An artificial knee joint has been ...

Two species fused to give rise to plant pest

A fungal species native to Iran which attacks grasses is the result of natural hybridisation that occurred just a few hundred years ago July 03, 2012 Zymoseptoria tritici is often a headache for European farmers. This ascomycete originating from the Middle East attacks the leaves of wheat plants ...

What the electric meter tells us about the birth rate

Species that use more energy live longer and have fewer children July 03, 2012 If a German woman were to consume in the form of food the amount of energy she uses, and were to follow the fertility patterns seen in other species, she would weigh as much as two elephants, and would continue to ...

Together against liver failure

Medicines that are usually effective in treating diseases can sometimes be associated with severe adverse effects. This can occur when the liver, which normally metabolizes drugs and renders them harmless, becomes overburdened and even collapses completely. Prof. Dr. Jens Timmer from the ...

Calcium carbonate templates for drug delivery

Microcontainers for medical substances can be produced in different sizes using calcium carbonate microspheres as templates July 02, 2012 The fast and targeted delivery of drugs to the focus of a disease could soon be made easier. Helmuth Möhwald and his colleagues from the Max Planck Institute ...

Inspired by nature: Paints and coatings containing bactericidal agent nanoparticles combat marine fouling

Vanadium pentoxide nanoparticles mimic natural enzymes and inhibit surface build-up of algae and bacteria 02.07.2012 Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have discovered that tiny vanadium pentoxide nanoparticles can inhibit the growth of barnacles, bacteria, and ...

How to shoot ultrafast electrons

X-rays are used to probe the atomic-level structure of complex molecules, and methods for that tasks have been developed to more and more perfection, for instance at light sources like the PETRA III storage ring at DESY. But the images generated to date have been static: pictures resolve ...

amcure GmbH is working on a new compound against pancreatic cancer

amcure GmbH has identified a new compound with a new efficacy profile against pancreatic cancer. Animal experiments have shown promising results: the drug candidate successfully prevents tumour growth and destroys existing metastases. The company, which was spun out from the Karlsruhe Institute ...

International World Health Summit stays in Berlin

Messe Berlin, visitBerlin and the Charité - University Medicine Berlin have succeeded in tying the World Health Summit, the international health convention with a worldwide appeal, even closer to Berlin. In order to promote the top-class, international medical summit and strengthen the ...

Centralized Control Platform for Airport Efficiency

Working with partners, Siemens has developed a central platform for airport management that can improve air traffic punctuality by up to 20 percent. The Total Airport Management Suite (TAMS) integrates the IT systems of everyone involved in air traffic. Until now, deployment schedules for flight ...

New Virtual Institute for Plasma Acceleration

The Helmholtz Association will fund a new Virtual Institute at DESY which will advance a novel accelerator technology. Plasma wakefields have the potential toaccelerate particles over very short distances, thus offering a promising technology for future accelerator applications. The newly ...

Monumental effort to save the threatened Viking treasures of Oseberg

Norwegian conservators are conducting tests at HZB to halt the degradation of one of the most important cultural assets from the Viking Age Researchers from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, working closely with Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), have been studying ancient wooden Viking ...

Experiments on SHEFEX II successful

DLR researchers begin evaluating data; as yet, no recovery of the spacecraft Following the flight of the SHEFEX II spacecraft on 22 June 2012, researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have performed an initial assessment. "The flight of Shefex ...

Forschungszentrum Jülich and ThyssenKrupp VDM win 2012 Steel Innovation Prize

Jülich, 27 June - Forschungszentrum Jülich and ThyssenKrupp VDM was together awarded the 2012 Steel Innovation Prize in the "Steel in Research & Development/Processes" category for the new material Crofer® 22 H. Forschungszentrum Jülich and ThyssenKrupp VDM have been cooperating in the area of ...

Mini Hearing Aid Sounds Good Right from the Start

A new hearing aid from Siemens sits very deep in the ear canal to prevent the wearer from hearing his or her own voice sound unpleasantly distorted. This occlusion effect annoys many wearers of in-the-ear hearing aids. A small interchangeable foam cylinder ensures that the new device, called ...

ERC Starting Grants for Two RWTH Researchers

Two outstanding early-career researchers from RWTH Aachen, the chemist Paul Kögerler and the computer scientist Bastian Leibe, are receiving a “Starting Grant” from the European Research Council (ERC). The Aachen researchers succeeded in a competitive two-stage selection process and will now ...

Tunnel construction completed: European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser reaches important milestone

The European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (EuropeanXFEL) reached an important milestone: the construction of the network of tunnels, which total nearly 5.8 kilometres in length and extend 3.4 kilometres from Hamburg-Bahrenfeld to Schenefeld in Schleswig-Holstein, is now finished. The 11 sectors of ...

Global Change Research: How Do We Balance Economic Development With Climate and Environmental Protection?

Bearing in mind the global impacts of resource consumption and climate change, it becomes obvious that economic development must go hand in hand with climate and environmental protection. If the emerging and developing countries were to emit as much carbon dioxide per capita as the ...

How many cells can our Blood tolerate'

Bioinformaticians calculated the optimal value of hematocrit with the help of Einstein's equation When people say "Blood is thicker than water," they are literally right. Because nearly half of the 'life liquid' consists of solid components. The red blood cells form the greatest part of it - all ...

On the edge of time and space

Galaxy HDF850.1 can be seen as it was 12.5 billion years ago June 14, 2012 In observations with optical light telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, HDF850.1 is completely invisible. From other surveys, however, scientists knew that the object is one of the most productive star-forming ...

Bonobo genome completed

Max Planck scientists have completed the genome of the bonobo - the final great ape to be sequenced June 13, 2012 In a project led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, an international team of scientists has completed the sequencing and analysis of the genome of ...

DESY X-ray light reveals ozone killer from volcanic eruptions

Volcanic eruptions can cause large holes in the ozone layer. This is the conclusion from a study of Nicaraguan volcanic minerals by a team of Helmholtz scientists from Kiel and Hamburg. Using a new X-ray technology at DESY in Hamburg, the scientists were able to estimate the amount of bromine in ...

Cheap and Cheerful: Iron to Replace Palladium Scientists Develop Alternative Catalyst for Polyethylene Production

Scientists Develop Alternative Catalyst for Polyethylene Production Jülich, 14. June 2012. Precious metals are expensive and in demand, not just for jewellery or as a financial investment, but also in industry. Here, valuable metals are used, among other things, as catalysts in chemical ...

Research vessel Polarstern embarks on its 27th Arctic expedition

Bremerhaven, 13 June 2012. This Thursday, 14 June 2012, the research vessel Polarstern will leave Bremerhaven on course for the Arctic. 44 expedition participants from institutions from Germany, Belgium, USA and the United Kingdom will spend around one month at sea. Their main study area is the ...

MPG establishes new Institute in Luxemburg

MPG establishes new Institute in Luxemburg June 01, 2012 Partnership with the Grand Duchy gives a major boost to the basic research carried out by the Max Planck Society in the field of law. Junior scientists are also set to benefit. In cooperation with the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, the Max ...

Success for Mainz University Medical Center: German Research Foundation approves new Collaborative Research Center

New Transregional Collaborative Research Center under the direction of Mainz University Medical Center is to focus on multiple sclerosis research 12.06.2012 On July 1, 2012, the German Research Foundation (DFG) will set up a new Transregional Collaborative Research Center (CRC/Transregio) to be ...

Spin Currents in Topological Insulators

Once again, Würzburg physicists provide new insights into spintronics: In ultra-thin topological insulators, they have identified spin-polarized currents, which were first theoretically predicted six years ago. They also present a method of application for the development of new computers. ...

Meeting in the bacterial middle

Cycling proteins determine cell division When a cell divides, it first doubles in size and then constricts in the middle. A new model explains how self-organizing proteins allow bacterial cells to “sense” their shape and enable them to confine the site of constriction to midcell. In bacteria, ...

Conscious perception is a matter of global neural networks

New findings support the view that the content of consciousness is not localised in a unique cortical area June 12, 2012 Consciousness is a selective process that allows only a part of the sensory input to reach awareness. But up to today it has yet to be clarified which areas of the brain are ...

Humboldt Foundation are guests of Federal President Joachim Gauck

On 19 June, the Federal President will address over 600 international scientists and scholars in the garden of Schloss Bellevue. On 19 June, Federal President Joachim Gauck will host a reception in the garden of Schloss Bellevue for over 600 international scientists and scholars with their ...

North-East Passage soon free from ice again? Winter measurements show thin sea ice in the Laptev Sea, pointing to early and large scale summer melt

Bremerhaven, 8 June 2012, The North-East Passage, the sea route along the North coast of Russia, is expected to be free of ice early again this summer. The forecast was made by sea ice physicists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association based on ...

Successful video 'Earthbook': Earth goes online

06/13/2012 - In the online network “Earthbook“, Earth has millions of friends. Plants and Animals left their status updates on a 4.48 billion year old profile. But when “Human” burns too much coal and oil, Earth doesn't "like“ it anymore. The German version of this short film "Earthbook“ by the ...

Switchable nano magnets

Research group at Kiel University switches magnetism of individual molecules Using individual molecules instead of electronic or magnetic memory cells would revolutionise data storage technology, as molecular memories could be thousand-fold smaller. Scientists of Kiel University took a big step ...

Football Experts Meet at Heidelberg University

International Conference during EURO 2012 on Economics and Psychology in Football Erroneous offside decisions, psychostress during penalty shoot-outs and forecasts for the European football championship - these and other aspects of football will be among the themes of an international congress ...

Gang of Four: Genetic variants influence migraine risk

Headache strikes out of the blue, noise or bright light suddenly becomes intolerable, nausea and vomiting follow. More than 10% of us experience episodes of migraine like this. LMU researchers have now for the first time identified four genes linked to the commonest form of the disorder. ...

Chemical Evolution: Imposing order on the primordial soup

Life began in a chemical soup when molecular precursors spontaneously assembled to form short nucleic acids. But how could these molecules replicate and transmit information in the absence of proteins? With the aid of temperature variations, perhaps. In the primordial soup fragments of RNA ...

Engineered moss produces human hormone

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a human protein hormone that is predominantly produced in kidneys. Scientists from the Chair of Plant Biotechnology of the University of Freiburg, Germany, around Dr. Eva Decker and Professor Ralf Reski and from the Freiburg-based biotech company greenovation have ...

Does cooperation require both reciprocity and alike neighbours?

Max Planck scientists develop new theoretical model on the evolution of cooperation June 08, 2012 Evolution by definition is cold and merciless: it selects for success and weeds out failure. It seems only natural to expect that such a process would simply favour genes that help themselves and ...

Power from Waste Heat Cuts Costs and Emissions

A new development from Siemens makes it possible for operators of electric arc furnaces to obtain electricity from hot exhaust gases. Around 20 percent of the electricity required to melt steel scrap could be recovered with the method, according to a report in the latest issue of the research ...

Grid Stability Thanks to Precise Forecasts

A self-learning software system from Siemens can stabilize power grids. The program, which is based on neural networks, can forecast the electrical output of renewable energy sources over a 72-hour period with more than 90 percent accuracy. The data helps grid operators calculate power demand in ...

Meeting in the bacterial middle

When a cell divides, it first doubles in size and then constricts in the middle. A new model explains how self-organizing proteins allow bacterial cells to “sense” their shape and enable them to confine the site of constriction to midcell. In bacteria, so-called Min proteins act to prevent ...

Carbon nanotubes

The continuing trend toward miniaturization in electronics demands the use of new materials. Components made of carbon nanotubes may meet this need – and the properties of single nanotube devices can now be characterized with the required resolution. Given the demand for further miniaturization ...

How plants make cocaine

The discovery of the first enzyme in the pathway sheds new light on the evolution of alkaloid formation June 06, 2012Cocaine is one of the most commonly used (and abused) plant-derived drugs in the world, but we have almost no modern information on how plants produce this complex alkaloid. ...

Bayer opens European Wheat Breeding Center in Gatersleben

Nine billion people in 2050: a challenge for plant breeding / Research focused on increasing yields, efficient nutrient uptake and adaptation to climate factors Monheim/Gatersleben, June 6, 2012 - Wheat is the most widely grown crop and one of the world's most important staple foods. In order to ...

Changes in gene activity indicate lung cancer in its early stage

Unclear disease symptoms of the lung and respiratory tract need to be clarified by a CT scan. How malignant are the nodules that are discovered this way? Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), the Hospital for Thoracic Diseases (Thoraxklinik) ...

Roadmap for sustainable global energy supply

DLR develops energy scenario on behalf of Greenpeace International On 5 June 2012, Greenpeace International presented a fundamental step in the development of sustainable energy supply, in the form of its 'energy [r]evolution' report. This global energy scenario, developed by the German ...

The world’s first control of a wind turbine with a nacelle-based Lidar system

Scientists from the department „Stuttgart Wind Energy” (SWE) at the University of Stuttgart together with engineers from the “National Renewable Energy Laboratory” (NREL) in Boulder, USA performed the world’s first control of a wind turbine with a nacelle-based Lidar system. The Lidar technology ...

Hear to see

New method for the treatment of visual field defects Researchers at the RUB and from Durham report Patients who are blind in one side of their visual field benefit from presentation of sounds on the affected side. After passively hearing sounds for an hour, their visual detection of light ...

Rio+20: Climate protection and poverty reduction both depend on a new global treaty

The Rio+20 summit could help pave the way towards a new global accord that links the crucial issues of climate protection and prosperity. “If the world wants to mitigate dangerous climate change, the discussions in Rio have to go beyond the very broad sustainability issue and the very narrow ...

Shape-shifting shell

Heidelberg, 3 June 2012 Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have for the first time uncovered the detailed structure of the shell that surrounds the genetic material of retroviruses, such as HIV, at a crucial and potentially vulnerable stage in ...

Export extravaganza

Heidelberg, 3 June 2012 Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have conducted the first comprehensive census of human cells’ export workers. In a study published online today in Nature Cell Biology, they found an unexpected variety of genes ...

Three new Humboldt laureates at LMU

Three new Humboldt Foundation laureates have arrived at LMU Munich to carry out research projects in collaboration with LMU faculty. Professor Henry F. Schaefer III (University of Georgia, USA) is the recipient of a Humboldt Research Award, and will be based at the Faculty of Chemistry and ...

Splitting the Unsplittable

Physicists from the University of Bonn split an atom using quantum mechanics precision Researchers from the University of Bonn have just shown how a single atom can be split into its two halves, pulled apart and put back together again. While the word "atom" literally means "indivisible," the ...

Position on Horizon 2020

For many years, the Max-Planck-Society (MPG) has successfully participated in the European Research Framework Programmes. The MPG intends to continue this commitment and is, therefore, intensively involved in the discussion towards the final structure of the Horizon 2020 for the promotion of ...

Milestone in non-invasive diagnostics: combination of molecular and anatomical imaging for the first time enables non-invasive 360° scans

Neuherberg, 01.06.2012. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have, for the first time, succeeded in determining structures in precise detail and in localizing them in a living organism. By combining x-ray computed tomography (XCT) and fluorescence molecular tomography* (FMT) they ...

Virtual plant planning, retrofitting and maintenance

Process plants have useful lives of thirty to fifty years, during which time they are routinely retrofitted. Virtual reality software simplifies and helps keep track of retrofit planning and testing. Fraunhofer researchers and BASF SE are jointly developing VR solutions for the plant life cycle. ...

German Wind Industry Anticipates Breakthroughs

Europe’s largest wind market tackling current challenges, expects ongoing growth Berlin/Atlanta – Last week an initial breakthrough was made to further accelerate Germany’s shift to renewable energy. The country’s four major grid operators provided the German government with a new plan for a ...

Wallflowers of the Earth system

Algae, lichens, and mosses take up huge amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrogen from the atmosphere and thus also influences the climate June 01, 2012 In cities, the presence of algae, lichens, and mosses is not considered desirable and they are often removed from roofs and walls. It is, however, ...

Two new high-performance computers make the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate a leader in scientific computing

Super-fast computing capacity will support and strengthen top-flight research in Mainz and Kaiserslautern 04.06.2012 The two newly installed high-performance mainframe computers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and at the University of Kaiserslautern provide the German federal state of ...

Tungsten - Material of Choice for the Burning Chamber Scientists report positive results with new wall materials at PSI 2012 conference

Scientists report positive results with new wall materials at PSI 2012 conference Aachen/Jülich, 23 May 2012 - Wall components made of tungsten will play a central role in future fusion reactors. This is the most important insight discussed at the 20th International Conference on Plasma Surface ...

Electron Spins Separated on a Semiconductor Surface

New findings on the spin of electrons in semiconductor materials: In a recent publication, physicists of the University of Würzburg describe the spin architecture of an ultra-thin metal layer on a semiconductor for the first time. This represents yet another step towards high-performing super ...

Compact and flexible thermal storage

Biogas plants, combined heat and power plants don’t just generate electricity, they also produce heat. However, unlike the electricity they yield, the heat generally dissipates unused. A new technology is set to change this: It will allow the heat to be stored lossfree in the smallest of spaces ...

Diabetes - Picking up the early distress signals

Diabetes is often diagnosed late, at a time when the insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas have already suffered serious damage. Newly identified biomarkers in the blood may betray the presence of the condition at an earlier stage, allowing for more timely and effective therapeutic ...

Free-electron lasers reveal detailed architecture of proteins

Ultrashort flashes of X-radiation allow atomic structures of macromolecules to be obtained even from tiny protein crystals May 31, 2012 In the centennial year of Max von Laue’s discovery that X-ray diffraction can be used to unravel the atomic architecture of molecules, a new approach to the ...

To what extent do thunderstorms influence the formation of ozone?

Measurement flights by DLR, NCAR and NASA Thunderstorms have a significant effect on the formation of ozone. Nitrogen oxide is produced as a result of lightning; this in turn yields ozone at altitudes of 10 kilometres. Strong updraughts in thunderstorms also transport emissions from the ground ...

Establishment of European free-electron laser collaboration

31.05.2012 Today, ten European research centres, including DESY and the European XFEL, agreed on a long-term close collaboration in the field of free-electron lasers and accelerator-based short-pulse sources. With combined efforts, the technologies and methods will be further developed and ...

Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Jewish Studies Officially Opened

Cooperation Partners Hoping for Rapid Transfer of Research Results to Society The German Federal Minister for Education and Research, Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan, was present at the official opening of the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Jewish Studies, a joint project of Humboldt-Universität zu ...

Establishment of European free-electron laser collaboration

Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Jewish Studies Officially Opened

Electron Spins Separated on a Semiconductor Surface

Compact and flexible thermal storage

Diabetes - Picking up the early distress signals

Free-electron lasers reveal detailed architecture of proteins

To what extent do thunderstorms influence the formation of ozone?

Establishment of European free-electron laser collaboration

Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Jewish Studies Officially Opened

Methane on Mars is not an indication for life

Intense UV radiation on the red planet releases methane from organic materials which meteorites transport onto its surface May 31, 2012 It was a sensation when scientists discovered methane in Mars’ atmosphere nine years ago. Many saw the presence of the gas as a clear indication of life on the ...

Life Sciences and the Health Economy from Berlin and Brandenburg on European level

Together with Berlin’s Senator for Economics, Technology and Research - Sybille von Obernitz -, enterprises and research institutes of the Cluster HealthCapital Berlin-Brandenburg launched a dialogue with representatives of the European Commission on 30th of May 2012. Together with seven ...

The cell’s ‘New World’

First complete atlas of RNA-binding proteins could point to function of genes linked to diseases In one of the most famous faux pas of exploration, Columbus set sail for India and instead ‘discovered’ America. Similarly, when scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in ...

Like a jet through solid rock

Volcanic arc fed by rapid fluid pulses Münster (upm), Do, 31 Mai 2012 In the depths of the earth, it is anything but peaceful: large quantities of liquids carve their way through the rock as fluids, causing magma to form. A research team led by the University of Münster, has shown that the ...

An international consortium sequences the tomtato genome

Scientists of the University of Bonn are involved in the international project May 30, 2012 The Tomato Genome Consortium (TGC), a group of over 300 scientists from fourteen countries, has sequenced the genome of the cultivated tomato and its wild ancestor, Solanum pimpinellifolium. This ...

Dual effect on tumor blood vessels

The growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) is considered to be among the major targets of new cancer treatments. The signaling molecule angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) is one of the key regulators of angiogenesis. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, ...

Using DLR technology to prevent rail accidents

Whether on high-speed lines or regional services, the consequences of a train collision are often devastating. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have developed a radio-based communications and positioning system that allows such ...

Methane on Mars is not an indication for life

Life Sciences and the Health Economy from Berlin and Brandenburg on European level

The cell’s ‘New World’

Like a jet through solid rock

An international consortium sequences the tomtato genome

Dual effect on tumor blood vessels

Using DLR technology to prevent rail accidents

Copy of the Genetic Makeup Travels in a Protein Suitcase

Scientists from the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Bonn have succeeded for the first time in the real time filming of the transport of an important information carrier in biological cells that is practically unmodified. The study shows how so-called ...

Greenland's current loss of ice mass

Loss through melting and iceberg calving during the last 10 years is unusually high compared to the last 50 years The Greenland ice sheet continues to lose mass and thus contributes at about 0.7 millimeters per year to the currently observed sea level change of about 3 mm per year. This trend ...

Pain changes our view of things

Chronic pains influence the way we perceive movements / study of patients with back and shoulder pain published in the journal "PAIN" Münster (upm), Di, 29 Mai 2012 Patients with chronic back or shoulder pain see the world around them through different eyes than healthy people do - at least, ...

MPG’s position on Horizon 2020

MPG’s position on Horizon 2020 May 22, 2012 The Max Planck Society (MPG) has for many years participated with great success in the Research Framework Programmes initiated by the European Commission. The MPG intends to continue this commitment in future and is therefore participating in the ...

Copy of the Genetic Makeup Travels in a Protein Suitcase

Greenland's current loss of ice mass

Pain changes our view of things

MPG’s position on Horizon 2020

Copy of the Genetic Makeup Travels in a Protein Suitcase

Greenland's current loss of ice mass

Pain changes our view of things

MPG’s position on Horizon 2020

Plastic surgery: Carl Zeiss Presents Fluorescence Technology for Intraoperative Analysis of Blood Flow in Skin and Muscle Tissue Graft Surgery

Plastic surgery Carl Zeiss Presents Fluorescence Technology for Intraoperative Analysis of Blood Flow in Skin and Muscle Tissue Graft Surgery INFRARED 800 and FLOW 800 Fluorescence Modules showcased at the upcoming EURAPS 2012 RTF Documents JENA/Germany, 25.05.2012. The INFRARED 800 and FLOW® ...

SolarEdge Launches Next Generation PV Power Optimizer

The power optimizers will be presented for the first time at the trade fair Intersolar Europe in June Hod Hasharon, May 25, 2012. SolarEdge Technologies announced today that it will introduce its next generation power optimizer featuring the new “IndOP” technology. Unlike other power optimizers ...

Oldest Jewish Archaeological Evidence on the Iberian Peninsula

Sensational Discovery by Archaeologists of Jena University at a Portuguese Excavation Site Archaeologists of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena found one of the oldest archaeological evidence so far of Jewish Culture on the Iberian Peninsula at an excavation site in the south of Portugal, ...

Scienion offers new sciFLEXARRAYER S1 model for Applications in Research Labs

Scienion launches the new version of its sciFLEXARRAYER S1 at European Lab Automation in Hamburg, May 30-31. The small compact non-contact piezo dispensing roboter with an increased throughput and versatility offers precise ultra-low volume liquid handling for a variety of applications in ...

Microreactors to produce explosive materials

The larger the reaction vessel, the quicker products can be made – or so you might think. Microreactors show just how wrong that assumption is: in fact, they can be used to produce explosive materials – nitroglycerine, for instance – around ten times faster than in conventional vessels, and much ...

Artificial photosynthesis

In order to achieve the sought-after shift towards sustainable regenerative energy supply, researchers around the world are focusing on the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen and carbon compounds using artificial chemical systems. They aim to achieve much more efficient photosynthesis than ...

DFG Establishes 20 New Collaborative Research Centres

From new therapies for multiple sclerosis via the heroic tradition to functional microgels / Innovative research approaches in all fields The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is to establish 20 Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) by 1 July 2012. This decision ...

Max Delbrück Center Wins EUR 1.8 Million Grant by the Helmholtz Association for a German-Israeli Research School

The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch has long standing collaborative relations with two top Israeli universities: Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). Now the MDC and its Israeli partners have succeeded in ...

Plastic surgery: Carl Zeiss Presents Fluorescence Technology for Intraoperative Analysis of Blood Flow in Skin and Muscle Tissue Graft Surgery

SolarEdge Launches Next Generation PV Power Optimizer

Oldest Jewish Archaeological Evidence on the Iberian Peninsula

Scienion offers new sciFLEXARRAYER S1 model for Applications in Research Labs

Microreactors to produce explosive materials

Artificial photosynthesis

DFG Establishes 20 New Collaborative Research Centres

Max Delbrück Center Wins EUR 1.8 Million Grant by the Helmholtz Association for a German-Israeli Research School

Microreactors to produce explosive materials

DFG Establishes 20 New Collaborative Research Centres

Max Delbrück Center Wins EUR 1.8 Million Grant by the Helmholtz Association for a German-Israeli Research School

Plastic surgery: Carl Zeiss Presents Fluorescence Technology for Intraoperative Analysis of Blood Flow in Skin and Muscle Tissue Graft Surgery

SolarEdge Launches Next Generation PV Power Optimizer

Oldest Jewish Archaeological Evidence on the Iberian Peninsula

Scienion offers new sciFLEXARRAYER S1 model for Applications in Research Labs

Artificial photosynthesis

Dortmund continuous annealing line: ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe invests in environmental protection

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG has modernized the continuous annealing line at its Dortmund site. Thanks to investment of around 30 million euros, nitrogen oxide emissions from the line will be reduced by half, further improving the environmental situation around the site. When steel is rolled ...

Zeppelin NT: Return Flight on Whit Monday

Jülich climatologists expect to complete their measurements with the Zeppelin NT in and around Rotterdam this weekend. The return flight to Friedrichshafen is planned to start on Monday. As on the outward flight, there will be a stop for refuelling at Hangelar airfield near Bonn. The Zeppelin NT ...

Dortmund continuous annealing line: ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe invests in environmental protection

Zeppelin NT: Return Flight on Whit Monday

Dortmund continuous annealing line: ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe invests in environmental protection

Zeppelin NT: Return Flight on Whit Monday

Electrical steel core

Bochum University and ThyssenKrupp Electrical Steel jointly developing motor for new solar-powered car The current SolarWorld GT solar-powered car is still on its way around the globe, but work is already starting at Bochum University of Applied Sciences, where it was built, on the next ...

Persistent sensory experience is good for the ageing brain

Rewiring in the brain is life-long May 24, 2012 Despite a long-held scientific belief that much of the wiring of the brain is fixed by the time of adolescence, a new study shows that changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring of the brain, even as one ages. In addition, the study ...

Research facilities collaborate on data management and analysis

Russian and German partners develop new IT approaches European XFEL, DESY, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow will cooperate to develop IT solutions for large scientific facilities. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on collaboration to find new data management and ...

New Helmholtz platform for detector technologies

The Helmholtz Association builds a new platform for the further development of detector technologies and detector systems. Nine Helmholtz institutes, together with DESY, are participating in this project, which also includes the bundling of competences of eleven universities and seven research ...

Acoustical process control for cranial aperture using robot-assisted laser-osteotomy

Recently there is a huge demand for minimally invasive surgery methods and navigated guiding of the surgical instruments to increase precision during opening the human skull. A minimal traumatization of the patient should be achieved for ethical and economic reasons. To guarantee a careful ...

Electrical steel core

Persistent sensory experience is good for the ageing brain

Research facilities collaborate on data management and analysis

New Helmholtz platform for detector technologies

Acoustical process control for cranial aperture using robot-assisted laser-osteotomy

Electrical steel core

Persistent sensory experience is good for the ageing brain

Research facilities collaborate on data management and analysis

New Helmholtz platform for detector technologies

Acoustical process control for cranial aperture using robot-assisted laser-osteotomy

DLR presents innovations in robotics at AUTOMATICA 2012

The Robotics and Mechatronics Center (RMC) at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is exhibiting at AUTOMATICA, the leading international exhibition for automation and mechatronics, which is being held in Munich from 22 to 25 May. A total of 15 exhibits ...

DLR presents innovations in robotics at AUTOMATICA 2012

CERAMITEC 2012: In terms of technology, the European machine manufacturers are well set up

23.05.2012 - Since 2010 business for European technology suppliers to the ceramics industry has in general been picking up. "But, looked at more closely, the picture is more complex," said Paul Eirich, Spokesman for ECTS, the European Ceramic Technology Suppliers, a grouping affiliated in the ...

Forensics Ferret Out Fire Beetle Secret

Black fire beetles of the genus Melanophila possess unusual infrared sensors. It seems that they use these to detect forest fires, even from great distances, since their wood-eating larvae can only develop in freshly burned trees. Scientists have been wondering for a long time how sensitive ...

Poorly armed, but successful

The stubby arms of Tyrannosaurus rexobviously weren’t designed for hand-to-hand combat. However, the abelisaurids of the Southern hemisphere were even less well equipped in that department–and upper limb reduction began very early in their evolution. When Tyrannosaurus and its relatives roamed ...

Tobacco plants advertise their defensive readiness to attacking leafhoppers

Herbivores evaluate their host’s readiness for defence May 23, 2012 A few minutes after an herbivore attack, plants produce jasmonic acid, a hormone which activates the plants’ defences to insect attacks, with the result that toxic substances like nicotine or digestion inhibitors accumulate in ...

Rapid coral death by a deadly chain reaction

Soil erosion in tropical coastal areas accelerates coral death May 23, 2012 Most people are fascinated by the colourful and exotic coral reefs, which form habitats with probably the largest biodiversity. But human civilisation is the top danger to these fragile ecosystems through climate change, ...

DLR presents innovations in robotics at AUTOMATICA 2012

LOPE-C 2012 - Organic and Printed Electronics Offers Solutions for Industrial and Consumer Systems

22.05.2012 - Organic and printed electronics is evolving as an attractive technology platform for comprehensive system solutions. LOPE-C 2012 offers a comprehensive overview of market-ready products and the trends of industrial research and development. LOPE-C 2012 takes place June 19 to 21 in ...

Blue Competence: Glass Machinery and Plant Manufacturers join in a VDMA Initiative to promote Sustainability

22.05.2012 - Sustainability - i.e. balancing and integrating economic, ecological and social objectives - is a term which until now had only been used relatively rarely in conjunction with the glass machinery industry - one of the most energy-intensive sectors in the world. And this is despite ...

Probability of contamination from severe nuclear reactor accidents is higher than expected

Western Europe has the worldwide highest risk of radioactive contamination caused by major reactor accidents May 22, 2012 Catastrophic nuclear accidents such as the core meltdowns in Chernobyl and Fukushima are more likely to happen than previously assumed. Based on the operating hours of all ...

The living fossils of brain evolution

Göttingen scientists reconstruct a radical change during the evolution of the brain May 22, 2012 In the course of its evolution, the architecture of the mouse brain may have barely changed. Similar to the tiny ancestors of modern mammals that lived about 80 million years ago, nerve cells in the ...

G protein-coupled receptor mediates the action of castor oil

Action mechanism of one of the oldest drugs known to man elucidated May 21, 2012 Castor oil is known primarily as an effective laxative; however, it was also used in ancient times with pregnant women to induce labour. Only now have scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung ...

Rare neurons discovered in monkey brains

Max Planck scientists discover brain cells in monkeys that may be linked to self-awareness and empathy in humans May 21, 2012 The anterior insular cortex is a small brain region that plays a crucial role in human self-awareness and in related neuropsychiatric disorders. A unique cell type - the ...

Zooming in on bacterial weapons in 3D

Max Planck scientists decipher the structure of bacterial injection needles at atomic resolution May 21, 2012 The plague, bacterial dysentery, and cholera have one thing in common: These dangerous diseases are caused by bacteria which infect their host using a sophisticated injection apparatus. ...

Antidiabetic drug inhibits dangerous inflammation of adipose tissue

The fat tissue around the waist (abdominal fat) of obese persons is chronically inflamed - this is regarded as one of the major causes for the development of type 2 diabetes. In mice with normal body weight, a specific group of immune cells keeps these inflammations in check. Scientists of the ...

Greater than the Sum of their Parts

Functional Molecular Complexes For the first time, individual biomolecules have been assembled to form a molecular complex with its own unique function For the first time, individual biomolecules have been assembled to form a molecular complex with its own unique function A few years ago, the ...

Names – omnipresent yet little-studied

Mainz linguists publish the first modern introduction to onomastics for both experts and the broader public 21.05.2012 Cows and hurricanes, inns and distant celestial bodies – as different as they seem to be, they do have something in common: They all bear names, whether it be Berta the cow, ...

More power for brain simulations Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience in Jülich

Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience in Jülich Jülich/ Freiburg, 21 Mai 2012 - Understanding the brain with supercomputers - this is the goal of the new Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience at Forschungszentrum Jülich that was founded by the Helmholtz Association. Within the new institution, the ...

Newly identified gene helps to increase sugar beet yields

German and Swedish research groups at Kiel University and Umeå Plant Science Centre have identified the long-sought bolting gene B in the sugar beet crop. The gene called BvBTC1 determines if and when a beet plant will flower. Early flowering has the undesired effect of terminating the root ...

Ray of hope for millions of patients

The 2012 Innovation Award of the biotechnology regions in Germany was presented to Prof. Ulrich Schraermeyer on 9 May 2012 in Frankfurt am Main. The Tübingen-based researcher received the award in recognition of his idea to use an active substance to treat the dry form of age-related macular ...

Monitoring of liquid-phase organic reactions by photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) under ultra high vacuum conditions enables the monitoring of organic reactions in solution when carried out in mixtures of reactive ionic liquids (ILs), as demonstrated by EAM scientists for a thermally activated alkylation of a nucleophilic amine by a ...

iPhone App for Ordering HVAC Replacement Parts

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians can order replacement parts online directly from the job site. Siemens has further developed its Old2New service tool as an iPhone app. A technician who is standing in a basement looking at a part that needs to be replaced - a meter, ...

Paralysed woman's thoughts control a DLR robot

Almost 15 years after being paralysed by a stroke, a 58-year-old US-American woman was once again able to serve herself a drink of coffee. This was possible thanks to a state-of-the-art DLR robot arm and hand that she controlled with neural signals sent directly from her brain. It took just a ...

Multiphoton Microscopy: New Possibilities for Multiphoton Microscopy from Carl Zeiss

Multiphoton Microscopy New Possibilities for Multiphoton Microscopy from Carl Zeiss OPO and simultaneous lasers for LSM 7 seriesRTF Documents JENA/Germany, 16.05.2012. Multiphoton confocal microscopes from Carl Zeiss now permit the simultaneous use of two NLO lasers or one laser with an optical ...

Siemens starts ten “smart grid” research projects with top universities

In fall 2011 Siemens ran a university contest for the first time in order to identify new research partners on „Smart Grid“. More than 3.000 professors were invited to participate in the Call for Proposals. Siemens received a multitude of innovative research proposals from Top-Universities on ...

'The Humboldt Professorship brings international superstars of research to Germany'

15 May 2012 Research Minister Schavan and Humboldt Foundation President Schwarz confer Humboldt Professorships in Berlin Six leading researchers from abroad received Alexander von Humboldt Professorships on Tuesday evening in Berlin. Germany’s highest-valued international research award, worth ...

The Spreading of Stress

International Conference by the Cluster of Excellence "Asia and Europe in a Global Context" The term stress' emerged about 70 years ago as a medico-social concept that was developed in the West and then rapidly spread. Heidelberg University's Cluster of Excellence "Asia and Europe in a Global ...

Beta blockers do not reduce colorectal cancer risk

For years now, cancer researchers have obtained evidence suggesting that beta blockers, which are prescribed for millions of patients to treat high blood pressure, may impact cancer risk. On this year´;s World Hypertension Day on May 17, a detailed study from the German Cancer Research Center ...

Internationality Still Important in Research Training Groups Programme

Grants Committee Decides on New Establishment and Extensions To further strengthen early career support for researchers in Germany, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of a new Research Training Group. This was decided by the ...

Germany’s Energy Transition: One Year Later

After the Fukushima nuclear explosions, Germany responded to the heightened international focus on energy procurement by returning to a fast-paced nuclear phase-out program. On May 21, a lunch discussion at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) will address the mechanisms for ...

Hydrogen as alternative to petrol: Geesthacht scientists research boron in tanks

The European Technology Initiative, “Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking” (FCH JU), is providing approx 2.3 million euro of finance for the development of new hydrogen solid-state containers on the basis of boron hydrides.These compounds absorb much more hydrogen, the tanks remain ...

Ray of hope for millions of patients

15.05.2012 Ray of hope for millions of patients The 2012 Innovation Award of the biotechnology regions in Germany was presented to Prof. Ulrich Schraermeyer on 9 May 2012 in Frankfurt am Main. The Tübingen-based researcher received the award in recognition of his idea to use an active substance ...

OD and SH – two new molecules in space

The German GREAT receiver on board of the flying observatory SOFIA studies the birth of stars in the galaxy May 10, 2012 The discovery of two new molecules and a detailed analysis of various phases of star formation – this is what the observatory SOFIA can report after completing its first ...

Biogas – a promising source of renewable energy?

In addition to sunlight, water and wind, biogas is a regenerative source of energy that contributes to saving fossil resources. Germany is home to around 7,100 biogas plants, including 796 (as of 2011) in Baden-Württemberg. In 2010, these facilities produced 11 per cent of the electricity ...

FANCM gene plays key role in inheritance

Scientists of KIT and the University of Birmingham have identified relevant new functions of a gene that plays a crucial role in Fanconi anemia, a life-threatening disease. The FANCM gene is known to be important for the stability of the genome. Now, the researchers found that FANCM also plays a ...

Manufacturing Made in Germany – Can This Model Be Imported to the U.S.?

Watch live and join the conversation on Twitter @AspenInstitute and @gcri_ny (#mfgUSGermany) this Wednesday, May 16, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. (EST), when leading representatives from government, industry, and academia discuss manufacturing as an engine of growth and job creation in the U.S. and ...

HZI opens study centre in Hannover

Long term medical studies of chronic diseases planned 02.05.12 - The new premises of the HZI study center in Hannover have been opened with an official ceremony today. In the future, long-term population studies with voluntary probands will be conducted in the new centre. The results are ...

Direct access to desired genes

tudy of natural compounds made simpler: Bacterial researchers develop improved DNA technique Targeted exchange of DNA segments instead of tedious search: German and Chinese scientists have developed a technique for the direct isolation of genetic information from complex mixtures of different ...

An incisive design solution: the spider’s venomous fang

Among the factors that make spiders successful predators is the ingeniously composed and structured material of their fangs. Although their armour consists of the same material as their predator’s fangs, flies, grasshoppers and other insects that are the usual prey of spiders have little to ...

Fighting Ecological Invaders Efficiently

Siemens is using a special water-treatment technique to make ship traffic more environmentally friendly. By disinfecting the ballast water in ships, a system named Sicure protects marine environments from damage due to the introduction of alien plant and animal species. In addition, Sicure can ...

Power Storage Buffers Fluctuating Solar Power

Siemens has developed an energy-storage system that can act as a buffer in electrical power grids. The aim is to provide a buffer against short-term fluctuations in output from renewable energy sources. Such fluctuations can last for seconds or several minutes long. The modular designed ...

Obesity and the biological clock

Urgent appointments, tight work timetables and hectic social schedules structure modern life, and they very often clash with our intrinsic biological rhythms. The discrepancy results in so-called social jetlag, which can damage one’s health. Among other effects, it can contribute to the ...

Turning on genes by a circuitous route

In order to reactivate silenced genes, a cell needs to remove certain "off" markers called methyl groups from the DNA. Scientists working with Frank Lyko and Achim Breiling of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg have shown that this process ...

Commitment to the Development of Young Scientists: New Research School of Radiation Sciences at Helmholtz Zentrum München

Neuherberg, May 3, 2012. In a joint endeavor with the two elite universities in Munich, Helmholtz Zentrum München is establishing the Helmholtz Research School of Radiation Sciences. The Helmholtz Association has allocated EUR 300 000 in funds over a six-year period for the graduate school, ...

Messe Husum and Deutsche Messe announce Windallianz Award – a Technology Prize for Innovative Wind-Energy Companies

Husum / Hanover, 11 May 2012. Innovative companies from the wind-energy sector can apply for the Windallianz Award starting immediately. This technology prize will be offered by Messe Husum and the Deutsche Messe for the first time. It is directed at national and international companies that ...

A new chapter in optics

They can be bent after all: In defiance of a decades-old assumption, gamma-rays can be focused with lenses. The discovery opens up a range of potential applications – from monitoring of nuclear waste to new cancer therapies. Gamma-rays are extremely powerful electromagnetic waves that are far ...

Research on Art Trade in the National Socialist Era

International cooperation project republishes auction catalogues from the time between 1930 and 1945 For the first time, all auction catalogues published in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland between 1930 and 1945 are being recorded bibliographically, digitised and published online. The project ...

Take-Off for PEGASOS Jülich scientists conduct research on climate in Europe using Zeppelin NT

Jülich scientists conduct research on climate in Europe using Zeppelin NT Jülich/Friedrichshafen, 4 May 2012 - The longest deployment of the Zeppelin NT for climate research so far was officially launched today in a campaign coordinated by scientists from Jülich. For a total of twenty weeks, the ...

Spin Spirals for Computers of the Future Researchers from Jülich, Hamburg and Kiel propose new approach for nanoscale information transport

Researchers from Jülich, Hamburg and Kiel propose new approach for nanoscale information transport Jülich, 7 May 2012. How can computer data be reliably stored and read out in future when computers are getting smaller and smaller? Scientists from Jülich, Hamburg and Kiel propose to make use of ...

Why there is a crossing in the brain

In a new publication scientists explain the origins of the crossing of nerve tracts in the forebrain. Münster (upm), Do, 10 Mai 2012 Strange world: in vertebrates, i.e. in humans too, the left half of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right half controls the left side. The ...

What do marine snails and insulin have in common?

Scientists at Kiel University are following a new approach to treat diabetes The cone snails are predators of the sea. They capture fish by injecting a venom into the prey that consists of a cocktail of different substances. The single components of the snails´ venom, so-called conopeptides, are ...

SOFIA: Molecules and star formation in the Milky Way

GREAT results of the early science flights with SOFIA, the airborne observatory The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has completed its first series of science flights using the German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies (GREAT). The scientific results are now ...

Climate scientists discover new weak point of the Antarctic ice sheet

Bremerhaven, 9 May 2012. The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf fringing the Weddell Sea, Antarctica, may start to melt rapidly in this century and no longer act as a barrier for ice streams draining the Antarctic Ice Sheet. These predictions are made by climate researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute ...

Performance boost for microchips

The semiconductor industry is faced with the challenge of supplying ever faster and more powerful chips. The Next-Generation Lithography with EUV radiation will help meeting that challenge. Fraunhofer researchers have developed key components. Flat computers, powerful cell phones and tablets – ...

Ultra-short laser pulses for science and industry

The shorter the pulse duration, the more precisely the laser tool operates. Ultra-short laser pulses of outstanding high average püower are opening the doors to new applications in high throughput materials processing. Thanks to the short pulse duration, thermal damage of the material being ...

League of European Research Universities celebrates its first 10 years

The League of European Research Universities (LERU), of which LMU Munich is a founding member, celebrates its first 10 years of activity this year. The association was set up in 2002, and currently represents 21 research-intensive European universities. The aim of the network is to contribute to ...

Everything under Control?

Psychologists have discovered that the perception of having everything under control depends on a person's age and their level of education. Münster (upm), Mi, 09 Mai 2012 The conviction of having every aspect of their life under control is pronounced in various degrees, depending on the ...

Tons of equipment for nanograms of science

On Wednesday, 9th May 2012, a special truck with air suspension will load a 1 ton heavy secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences which will then transport it to the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). This event marks the beginning of a ...

DFG Establishes Ten New Priority Programmes

Topics from Ultrafast Data Transfer to Climate Engineering to Novel Materials / All Programmes Interdisciplinary What is the role of phosphorus resources for trees and forests – and what do they mean for the nutrition and balance of a forest ecosystem? How can ultrafast wireless transmission ...

World Forum on "Fuel, Food and the Environment: The Bioenergy Challenge"

The 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition will take place in Milan, Italy, from 18 to 22 June 2012. This annual event constitutes one of the world’s leading science-to-science, business-to-business and science-to-industry fora for the biomass sector. One of the highlights of the 2012 ...

Geosciences: Forged in flames, but not always fireproof

Volcanic tuff has long been a popular building material, and is found not only in the many buildings in Rome, Naples and environs, but also in Cologne Cathedral. LMU researchers have now shown that, although formed in volcanic eruptions, some tuffs actually become unstable at high temperatures. ...

The electronic „Pavlovs Dog“

Nanotechnology scientists and memory researchers at the Kiel University redesigned a mental learning process using electronic circuits The bell rings and the dog starts drooling. Such a reaction was part of studies performed by Ivan Pavlov, a famous Russian psychologist and physiologist and ...

The Elbe – a European river in global climate change

05/07/2012 - The flooding of the Elbe river ten years ago or the contrasting dry summer just one year later: extreme events like these display the vulnerability of our society. The recently published “Elbe-Atlas des globalen Wandels” (Elbe-Atlas of Global Change) demonstrates possible shifts ...

Wastewater is not just boring old waste

In view of the changing climate and the finiteness of fossil resources, research into renewable energies is gaining in importance. One of the things that researchers have been looking into for quite some time is different possibilities to use organic wastewater compounds as sustainable energy ...

Climatic effects of a solar minimum

An abrupt cooling in Europe together with an increase in humidity and particularly in windiness coincided with a sustained reduction in solar activity 2800 years ago. Scientists from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in collaboration with Swedish and Dutch colleagues provide ...

Max Delbrück Center Wins EUR 1.8 Million Grant by the Helmholtz Association for a German-Israeli Research School

The molecular teamwork in biomembranes

For chemists, cellular biomembranes are hard nuts to crack. It is difficult to analyze proteins that are firmly anchored in biomembranes using standard biochemical methods; and it is even more difficult to investigate their three-dimensional structure and interaction with other proteins. A group ...

From Urban Climate Research to the Treatment of Incontinence

DFG to Establish Seven New Research Units / Over 16 Million Euros in Total for the First Funding Period The establishment of six new Research Units and one Clinical Research Unit has been decided by the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). ...

Infection of Epstein Barr Virus shown to be more complex

Neuherberg, 04.05.2012. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) not only causes various infectious diseases in man, it can also induce certain types of cancer. Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the LMU have now identified the molecular components that allow EBV to efficiently establish its genome in ...

International Research on Plant Nutrition Takes Off

Formal opening of the premises of the IAPN (pug) A new joint institute of the University of Göttingen and K+S KALI GmbH is dedicated to practice-oriented research in the field of plant nutrition. The Institute of Applied Plant Nutrition (IAPN) will investigate topical, practical questions ...

Nutrient supply after algal bloom determines the succession of the bacterial population

Joint Press Release with the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen Bremen, 4 May 2012. To most people, algal blooms are an annoyance, which interferes with their summer days by the sea. In the coastal zone of temperate regions a spring algal bloom is not a sign of excessive ...

First seeding at FLASH

There is a worldwide search of methods for initiating the process of producing laser light in free-electron lasers (FEL) with a well-defined radiation pulse, generated by an external laser source and superimposed to the electron bunch at the undulator entrance ("seeding"). Seeding promises an ...

Of Mice and Men

Malfunctioning single proteins can cause disruptions in neuronal junctions leading to autistic forms of behavior. A current study, published in the scientific journal Nature, comes to this conclusion after examining genetically altered mice. The study, in which scientists from Charité – ...

Green Talents Competition 2012

APPLY NOW to take part in this year's prestigious Green Talents Programme. Exchange views with peers from all over the world and German sustainability experts. Wanted: Bright Minds with Green Ideas Apply now for the German Federal Government’s 4th Green Talents CompetitionOne pressing issue of ...

New Therapy Standard for Adrenal Gland Cancer

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a malignant tumor that is difficult to control at an advanced stage. An international study now shows for the first time which chemotherapy is best suited to treat this tumor. The study was coordinated at the University Hospital of Würzburg. Adrenocortical carcinoma ...

Helmholtz Association funds PIER Graduate School

The Helmholtz Association will fund the PIER Graduate School with a total of 2.4 million euros in the coming six years. This was announced today by the Helmholtz Association in Berlin. The PIER Graduate School offers an excellent training for doctoral students in a unique environment, thus ...

Earth history and evolution

In classical mythology, the cypress tree is associated with death, the underworld and eternity. Indeed, the family to which cypresses belong, is an ancient lineage of conifers, and a new study of their evolution affords a unique insight into a turbulent era in the Earth’s history. During the ...

Producing Ultra-pure Water at Lower Costs

Power utilities and operators of industrial facilities are lowering their production costs for ultra-pure water with a new water-treatment module from Siemens. The ultra-pure water in question contains virtually no ions, very limited qualities of salts or minerals, in other words. It is often ...

Green Polymer Made of CO2 from Exhaust Gases

In cooperation with various project partners, Siemens researchers have developed a new recipe for plastic made primarily of renewable resources and CO2. The new material is an alternative to standard polystyrene-based acrylonitrite-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer. The new polymer is much ...

microRNA controls malignancy and resistance of breast cancer cells

Resistances to drugs are the main reason why breast cancer cannot effectively be fought in many patients. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now succeeded in restoring the sensitivity of resistant breast cancer cells to tamoxifen using ...

New DFG Research Centre on Biodiversity: Decision for Leipzig/Jena/Halle-Wittenberg

Joint Committee Selects Joint Proposal from Three States / Exploration and Protection of the Natural Foundations of Life / 33 Million Euros Initially through 2016 / Based in Leipzig The decision on the establishment of the new Research Centre of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German ...

Electric mass mobility for urban environments

Electric vehicles powered by electricity from renewable energy sources are an attractive option for mobility within the urban area and beyond. However, previous approaches lead to vehicles that either are too heavy and too expensive or do not meet mass-market safety requirements. Within the ...

Gene Mutation Leads to Impairment of Two Senses: Touch and Hearing

People with good hearing also have a keen sense of touch; people with impaired hearing generally have an impaired sense of touch. Extensive data supporting this hypothesis was presented by Dr. Henning Frenzel and Professor Gary R. Lewin of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) ...

Electric mass mobility for urban environments

Paleontology - Dinosaurs indecline long before mass extinction?

Despite years of intensive research about the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs about 65.5 million years ago, a fundamental question remains: were dinosaurs already undergoing a long-term decline before an asteroid hit at the end of the Cretaceous? A study led by scientists at the American ...

Migratory locusts in a wind tunnel

Insects are capable of masterful feats of flying; whenever they witness locusts flying long distances or moths hovering over flowers, aerodynamicists can only marvel. This is why researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) are working on a new ...

DAAD Welcomes ‘Right of Residence’ Improvements

Greater freedom of choice for foreign students, graduates, scientists and researchers Bonn, 30 April 2012. On 27 April 2012, the Bundestag (lower house of Germany’s federal parliament) passed the Act Implementing the EU Directive on Entry and Residence of Highly Qualified Workers. The scope of ...

What Social Networks Know about Non-members

Heidelberg researchers study automatic generation of so-called shadow profiles What can social networks on the internet know about persons who are friends of members, but have no user profile of their own? Researchers from the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing of Heidelberg ...

3D insights into the molecular teamwork in biomembranes

How is phytochrome B translocated into the cell nucleus?

Plants cannot see, but they can perceive the quantity and quality of light. As they have evolved, plants have developed numerous molecular photodetectors such as phytochromes. Phytochromes can detect changes in the light situation. The undergrowth of forests thus manages to grow towards the few ...

Assembly errors quickly identified

If errors creep in during the assembly of components, costly post-processing is often the consequence. Automatic testing is difficult, especially where individual products are concerned. Now there is a new testing system that is flexible and economical, even for smaller production runs. ...

"Lab Driving License" from the Heidelberg Life Science Lab

The "Thinking and Experimental Laboratory" will be officially opened on May 2, 2012 as a new offering of the Heidelberg Life Science Lab. The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) provides a fully equipped laboratory room with twelve workplaces for this venture. The new experimental lab is open ...

Incorporating "Green" Power from Small Sources

While Siemens has already put its first virtual power plants into operation, the company's global research department Corporate Technology is also forging ahead with the development of a decentralized communications unit. This powerbridge will enable operators of solar or wind power facilities ...

Mini cargo transporters on a rat run

Kinesins assume a vital function in our cells: The tiny cargo transporters move important substances along lengthy protein fibers and ensure an effective transportation infrastructure. Biophysicists of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the Ludwig Maximillians Universitaet Muenchen ...

Nano materials for medical measuring devices

New magnetoelectric sensors for deep brain stimulation Up to now, the brain´s magnetic field is measurable only under technical laboratory conditions. This technique is therefore not feasible in terms of the broader medical use, although it would be significant for diagnosing numerous conditions ...

Surviving the conditions on Mars

Alpine and polar lichens could also survive on Mars. Planetary researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) simulated the conditions on Mars for 34 days and exposed various microorganisms to this environment. "During this period, the lichens and ...

Seeing inside the nose of an aircraft

Radio signals reach pilots on board an aircraft through the “radar dome“, the rounded nose of the aircraft. But if errors occur during the production of this “nose“, – tiny foreign particles, drops of water or air bubbles – this can impede radio traffic. In the future, a non-destructive testing ...

Virtual Power Plants for Renewable Energies

Siemens recently put two virtual power plants into operation. Virtual power plants are networks of several small power stations that are run like a single system. One of the new virtual power plants enables the Munich municipal utility company to run six of its cogeneration modules, five ...

Effective light amplifiers

Physicists from Münster and Beijing develop new type of composite polymer / Cover story in "Advanced Materials" journal Münster (upm), Do, 26 Apr 2012 Physicists from Münster University (WWU) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing have jointly developed a new type of composite polymer ...

How probiotic bacteria protect against inflammatory bowel diseases

Some lactic acid bacteria can alleviate inflammation and therefore prevent intestinal disorders. Scientists have now decoded the biochemical mechanism that lies behind the protective effect of the bacteria. In experiments with mice, the researchers succeeded in demonstrating that lactocepin – an ...

Rapid tsunami warning by means of GPS

For submarine earthquakes that can generate tsunamis, the warning time for nearby coastal areas is very short. Using high-precision analysis of GPS data from the Fukushima earthquake of 11 March 2011, scientists at the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ showed that, in principle, the ...

Global Atlas for Solar and Wind Energy launched

Global database set to accelerate the transition to renewable energies - energy ministers attending international forum on low-carbon energy The International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, and the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) presented the first ...

Research – Planning – Expulsion: DFG Presents Exhibition on 'The National Socialists’ General Plan East' in Poland

Impetus for Coming to Terms with a Particularly Difficult Chapter in German-Polish Relations/Close Cooperation with Academy of Sciences and National Institute of Remembrance A special exhibition is set to tour Poland in the coming months. Under the title “Wissenschaft – Planung – ...

Genetic Markers for Tracking Species

At the supermarket checkout, hardly anybody enters pricesmanually anymore. Using scanners that can read the barcodes is much faster. Biologists now want to use a similar procedure for identifying domestic animal and plant species more efficiently. German Barcode of Life (GBOL) is the name of an ...

An Unexpected Virus Reservoir

International researchers under the aegis of the University of Bonn have discovered the probable cause of not just one, but several infectious agents at the same time. Paramyxoviruses originate from ubiquitous bats, from where the pathogens have spread to humans and other mammals. In total, this ...

Pod corn develops leaves in the inflorescences

A leaf gene active in the maize cob causes leaves to grow in the male and female inflorescences 20.04.2012 In a variant of maize known as pod corn, or tunicate maize, the maize kernels on the cob are not 'naked' but covered by long membranous husks known as glumes. According to scientists from ...

Doubts about gamma ray bursts as the source of cosmic radiation

Our Earth is incessantly bombarded by high-energy particles, so-called cosmic rays. These comprise especially protons, neutrons, electrons and muons, but also heavier atomic nuclei. Even though they were first discovered exactly 100 years ago, to this day the source of cosmic rays remains one of ...

How the Ecological Risks of Extended Bioenergy Production can be Reduced

Researchers present a modelling too lFor years experts have discussed the ecological impact of the extended cultivation of energy crops. Scientists have now developed a computer model that allows assessing the impacts and comparing the effectiveness of strategies for the reduction of risks for ...

Xenotransplantation as a therapy for type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is caused by autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells. Over 250,000 patients suffer from type 1 diabetes in Germany who are treated with daily insulin injections to maintain glucose metabolism. Replacement of the destroyed beta cells by transplantation of either ...

A matter of priorities

Bacteria evolved way to safeguard crucial genetic material Just as banks store away only the most valuable possessions in the most secure safes, cells prioritise which genes they guard most closely, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute ...

New Alexander von Humboldt professors selected Germany’s highest valued international research award goes to five researchers from abroad.

Germany’s highest valued international research award goes to five researchers from abroad. Two philosophers, a physicist, a medical scientist and a classicist are the new Alexander von Humboldt professors. The international award for research in Germany, worth up to five million EUR, is granted ...

Single-neuron observations mark steps in Alzheimer's disease

Studying a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, neuroscientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have observed correlations between increases in both soluble and plaque-forming beta-amyloid – a protein implicated in the disease process – and dysfunctional developments on several levels: ...

LMU nominee among new Humboldt Professors: Philosopher Stephan Hartmann receives coveted award

LMU Munich has notched up another success in the latest round of applications for Alexander von Humboldt Professorships. Stephan Hartmann, currently Professor of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, who was nominated by LMU, is among those recently ...

Still in Good Shape? The Role of the Humanities in Higher Education and Society

In today’s uncertain economic climate, both students and educators are pondering the importance of the humanities for higher education and society as a whole. Higher education and research institutions in both Europe and North America are facing tighter budgets and shifting sources of funding as ...

Turbo boost for solar cells

Low cost solar cells suitable for rooftop panels could reach a record-breaking 40% efficiency following an early stage breakthrough by a University of Sydney researcher and his German partners. With Australian Solar Institute support, Professor Tim Schmidt from the University's School of ...

A world´s first: quicksilver-free energy-saving bulb

Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Holger Heuermann of the University of Applied Sciences Aachen a scientific consortium developed an energy-saving bulb free of electrodes and quicksilver. From September 2016 on it will be impossible for consumers to buy any traditional bulbs. They need to switch ...

Making It Home: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Recognition and Displacement in America

International Conference at the Graduate School of North American Studies On May 11th and 12th, 2012, Freie Universität Berlin’s Graduate School of North American Studies will host an international conference about North America’s understanding of Home as both a national and domestic space of ...

Shakespeare Illustration Archive Oppel-Hammerschmidt at the Mainz University Library goes online

Users worldwide have now full digital access to thousands of Shakespearean illustrations 19.04.2012 On April 23, the day William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616, the new digital Shakespeare Illustration Archive Oppel-Hammerschmidt at the University Library of Johannes Gutenberg ...

Alfred Wegener Institute, PlanktonTech and imare for the first time with their own stand at Hannover Messe, the world’s most important technology event

Bremerhaven, 17 April 2012. A five times six metre pavilion along with models of a 3.6 metre high offshore wind turbine and lightweight sailing boat are the visual attractions at the stand of the Bremerhaven researchers at this year’s Hanover Fair in Hall 6. From 23 to 27 April 2012 the plankton ...

Lunar Symposium in Berlin – Interview with DLR planetary scientist Ralf Jaumann

On 19 and 20 April, 170 international experts met to discuss present and future lunar research The Moon continues to be a fascinating research objective for scientists from around the world. The DLR Institute of Planetary Research collaborated with NASA's Lunar Science Institute to hold a ...

Germany Still Leading the Green Revolution

Berlin/Hanover - Solar electricity generation in Germany increased by 40 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous year, according to the German industry association BSW. This is yet another indicator of Germany’s lead in the green energy revolution, also a key topic of this ...

Cosmic superaccelerators surprise scientists at South Pole telescope

Observations put theory of the origin of cosmic radiation to the test The most powerful particle accelerators are found in space: some subatomic particles that rain down from space on earth´s atmosphere have energies up to one hundred million times higher than those created in the Large Hadron ...

DNA origami puts a smart lid on solid-state nanopore sensors

The latest advance in solid-state nanopore sensors – devices that are made with standard tools of the semiconductor industry yet can offer single-molecule sensitivity for label-free protein screening – expands their bag of tricks through bionanotechnology. Researchers at the Technische ...

Germany Still Leading the Green Revolution

Germany Trade & Invest showcases the latest business opportunities at Hannover Messe 2012, the world’s leading industrial technology trade fair Berlin/Hanover – Solar electricity generation in Germany increased by 40 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous year, according ...

Deadly Jellyfish Weapons

Heidelberg researchers analyse proteins of stinging cells in the Hydra freshwater polyp Heidelberg researchers have succeeded in unravelling the defence mechanisms of jellyfish. Scientists working with Prof. Dr. Thomas Holstein and Dr. Suat Özbek from the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) of ...

Mechanical tests for SHEFEX

DLR space vehicle undergoes final tests prior to launch The SHEFEX II (SHarp Edge Flight EXperiment) spacecraft successfully withstood vibration on a shaker and spinning at two rotations per second. These tests represented the final simulation of the conditions that the space vehicle will be ...

Use less water, producing energy and fertilizer at the same time

Water is a valuable resource. New technologies are making it easier to handle drinking water responsibly, purify wastewater effectively and even recover biogas and fertilizer. Fraunhofer researchers will be showing how this is done at the Hannover Fair (23 - 27 April) in the House of ...

Second round of ideas competition on international alumni work begins German universities again invited to compete for three 130,000 EUR awards

German universities again invited to compete for three 130,000 EUR awards After its successful first round in 2011, which was won by RWTH Aachen and the Universities of Bayreuth and Heidelberg, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is again inviting universities to take part in its ideas ...

Nanotechnology - Improved Batteries with Carbon Nanoparticles

From smartphones to e-bikes, the number of mobile electronic devices is steadily growing around the world. As a result, there is an increased need for batteries that are small and light, yet powerful. As the potential for the further improvement of lithium-ion batteries is nearly exhausted, ...

BMBF Global Change Research Projects at HANNOVER MESSE 2012

Global Change research projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will be presenting themselves at HANNOVER MESSE from 23rd to 27th of April, 2012. Discover how future megacities and small and medium-sized enterprises fight climate change through research and ...

Honorary Doctorate for Prof Rudolph for successful implementation of water research in Vietnam

On 28 March 2012, the Vietnam National University (VNU) held a ceremony to confer the honorary doctorate to Prof Rudolph from Witten, Germany. This honour was granted in acknowledgement of the "outstanding success in implementation of technology-based solutions, researched and developed under ...

Liquorice root found to contain anti-diabetic substance

Researchers discover promising anti-diabetic substance in the amorfrutin class of natural substances It provides the raw material for liquorice candy, calms the stomach and alleviates diseases of the airways: liquorice root. Chosen as the "Medicinal plant 2012", the root has been treasured in ...

When Physicists Get Involved in Piano Tuning

A Würzburg physics professor publishes an article. Some English media take up the topic with snappy headlines, causing agitation in music circles: The story of a misunderstanding. Haye Hinrichsen is a professor at the Institute of Physics of the University of Würzburg. And he is a family man. ...

Smartphone Supports Safe Dialysis at Home

Siemens is collaborating with partners to examine how the dialysis of kidney-impaired patients can be gently and safely performed at home. In an unparalleled field test, selected dialysis patients in Berlin will soon be equipped with a telemedical support system that will enable them to ...

Global Standard to Help LEDs Market Breakthrough

At the Light+Building fair in Frankfurt (until April 20) Osram will present its first LED light source which meets the international Zhaga standard. The Siemens subsidiary will display the Prevaled Core Z2 spotlight, whose electrical output of 108 lumens per watt make it ten times more efficient ...

A vehicle for rethinking mobility rolls into Hannover Messe

The public and press can see the latest progress in a unique, ongoing electromobility research project during the international trade fair MobiliTec, which takes place April 23-27 at the Hannover Messe. Embodied in a sleek, Colani-designed tractor-trailer that looks more like a spaceship than a ...

A toxic menu

Marine worm feeds on carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide with the help of symbiotic bacteria In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen and Greifswald University, together with ...

Thin film solar panels for bulk production

Scientists from TU Chemnitz developed procedures to produce silicon based thin film solar panels. The first results will be presented at Hannover Fair 2012. Together with Saxon companies chemists and physicists from University Chemnitz plan the technical revolution in photovoltaic. They want to ...

The sea as a rubbish tip: biologists prepare guidelines for a more precise investigation into marine pollution from microplastic particles

Bremerhaven, 16 April 2012. Large quantities of globally produced plastics end up in the oceans where they represent a growing risk. Above all very small objects, so-called microplastic particles, are endangering the lives of the many sea creatures. An estimate of how greatly the oceans are ...

From the Satellite to the Model

Geesthacht coastal researchers are actively involved in the European forecasting service for the world’s oceans and European regional seas. Whether measuring marine pollutants or monitoring changes in currents, the European project “My Ocean” has the oceans of the world in its focus. In the ...

Copernicus Award 2012 for German-Polish Collaboration in Business Information Systems

Joint Award by DFG and FNP Goes to Researchers from Siegen and Poznan Experts in business information systems Professor Erwin Pesch from Siegen and Professor Jacek Błażewicz from Poznan have been awarded the Copernicus Award by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research ...

High expectations for ACHEMA 2012

Two months before the start of ACHEMA 2012, the outlook on the global flagship event for chemical engineering and biotechnology is exceedingly positive. The organizers expect a slight growth compared to the last event in 2009 when 3,767 exhibitors and more than 173,000 participants were counted. ...

On the safe side: contact-free analysis of chemical substances

Is it drugs, medicines or explosives? At the Analytica trade fair, Fraunhofer researchers, joined by the Hübner Company, are presenting a terahertz spectrometer that provides reliable, contact-free identification of substances. December 2011: Security forces intercept a letter bomb addressed to ...

The sea as a rubbish tip: biologists prepare guidelines for a more precise investigation into marine pollution from microplastic particles

Pollen levels are rising across Europe

From Reykjavik to Thessaloniki, pollen levels are on the increase. A team of researchers headed by Prof. Annette Menzel at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen reports that pollen counts have already risen across Europe in recent years. Their findings are based on an analysis of pollen time ...

People, population and diseases in the Middle Ages

Interreg-Project "Bones4Culture": the first analyses of 700 skeletons from the city of Schleswig The Interreg-project "Bones4Cultures" has just been started. Its aim is to analyze population, life, health and culture of the people that lived in the German-Danish border land during the Middle ...

From the Satellite to the Model

Decision-making can and must be learned – new test measures risk intelligence

www.riskliteracy.org provides information about how well individuals can assess risks Tests exist for evaluating personality, intelligence and memory. However, up to now, it was not easily possible to find out how good someone is at making decisions in risky situations. "Yet this is an important ...

Sulfur in Every Pore

Improved Batteries with Carbon Nanoparticles From smartphones to e-bikes, the number of mobile electronic devices is steadily growing around the world. As a result, there is an increased need for batteries that are small and light, yet powerful. As the potential for the further improvement of ...

DERri Network grants Free Access to Research Infrastructure for Scientists

Milan, 12 April 2012. The Distributed Energy Resources Research Infrastructure (DERri) is calling scientists from industry and research organisations to apply for the free access to the laboratories. The selected user teams will have the chance to access and use the research facilities, ...

Africa: mitigating the effects of climate change

Higher temperatures, less rainfall, more erratic weather conditions: farmers are already noticing changes in the global climate. In Africa, in particular, the survival of large numbers of people is directly dependent on farming. How must land use there be organized in order to cushion the impact ...

Direct transfer of plant genes from chloroplasts into the cell nucleus

Gene function preserved despite structural differences in the DNA Chloroplasts, the plant cell’s green solar power generators, were once living beings in their own right. This changed about one billion years ago, when they were swallowed up but not digested by larger cells. Since then, they have ...

Design Award: OPMI PENTERO 900 Surgical Microscope from Carl Zeiss Receives Prestigious red dot Award

Carl Zeiss Meditec to showcase award-winning microscope at the 2012 American Association of Neurological DUBLIN/California/USA, JENA/Germany, 13.04.2012. Medical technology provider Carl Zeiss Meditec announced that its OPMI PENTERO® 900 surgical microscope has won the highly-coveted red dot ...

DESY cooperates with CAN

The research centre DESY became a member of the nanotechnology sponsors´ association which is the holder of theCenter for Applied Nanotechnology (CAN). CAN is a Hamburg based nanotechnology enterprise providing nanotechnology products applicable for example in medicine and food industry, and ...

Majority-biased learning

The transmission of knowledge to the next generation is a key feature of human evolution. In particular, humans tend to copy behaviour that is demonstrated by many other individuals. Chimpanzees and orangutans, two of our closest living relatives, also socially pass on traditional behaviour and ...

Ripe for biomedical applications

There was much excitement surrounding cell reprogramming with the breakthrough of Shinya Yamanaka. In 2006, the Japanese scientist was able to reprogram skin cells for the first time with the aid of a few control factors into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) – “multipurpose” ...

RWTH Aachen Named Germany's Best University

In the latest university rankings list published in April 2012 by the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche, human resources managers of the largest German corporations again ranked RWTH Aachen as the best German university. Asked about their preferred university for the recruitment of ...

New cost-effective upscaling technique for antireflective foils

Researchers from Saarbruecken developed an upscaling technique for the application of anti-reflective coatings on plastic foils of several meters using a wet-chemical process. It is a cost-effective solution for large-size foils to be fitted with a pre-selected refractive index, and it is ...

Federal Minister Schavan meets DAAD and Humboldt Foundation Alumni in South Africa

Alumni meeting and Opening of the German-South African Year of Science in Cape Town From 13 to 15 April an Alumni meeting of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in partnership with the University of Cape Town will be held in Cape Town under the ...

Nanotechnology - Improved Batteries with Carbon Nanoparticles

The green light gives the game away

The immune system is a vital part of our defenses against pathogens, but it can also attack host tissues, resulting in autoimmune disease. The antigens that induce destructive immune reactions can now be identified directly – without any prior knowledge of their possible structure. Molecules ...

Simulation software optimizes networks

By the year 2020, thousands of kilometers of new grids will be operating in Germany to permit even more extensive use of power from renewable sources. However, these new “smart grids” also come with increased complexity, costs and vulnerability. Fraunhofer researchers developed new software that ...

How to make customers happy

Economists present a study about the evaluation of call centers Are you having trouble with the dishwasher' Or with a computer, that doesn't work as it should do' Or with an incomprehensible instruction manual for the new book shelf' No problem - there is a service hotline for cases like these ...

International student survey: Göttingen has the best university in Germany

The "International Student Barometer 2011", an international student survey service, has given Göttingen University the top place among German Universities. In the global rankings, the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen placed 5th. The renowned International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate) ...

Looking for clues in the cosmic network

Observing the galaxy distribution when the universe was half its current age The distribution of galaxies in the early universe provides us with insights into the history of our cosmos. Astronomers have now announced the most accurate measurement yet of this "pattern", looking back into an era ...

Best marketing for renewable energies

Transmission system operators must assess precisely the supply of electricity from renewable energies for the next day in order to market this electricity on the European Power Exchange (EPEX) as effectively as possible. The sharply fluctuating supply of solar and wind energy makes reliable ...

Cone snail venom controls pain

Components of the venom from marine cone snails can block the transmission of signals between nerve cells in minute quantities. This makes them potentially suitable for use as a novel analgesic. Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Jena, the Technical University of Darmstadt and the ...

Low friction coating and corrosion protection - nanocomposite material with double effect

Materials researchers from Saarbruecken developed a low friction coating combining two properties: It shows lubrication properties similar to grease and oil and it protects from corrosion. The new material is suitable for the coating of metals and metal alloys, such as steel, aluminium or ...

Leave the navigation to the grid cells

Teams at LMU and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin report that temporal patterns in the neuronal activity can be used for spatial navigation. Their data show that the firing patterns of so-called grid cells have the potential to affect the behavior of rats, and imply that rat brains have more ...

Solar Research for the Renewable Energy Revolution

The Free State of Bavaria is investing several million euros in the exploration of innovative concepts for the conversion of solar energy into electricity and non-fossil fuels. The funds flow into a joint project of five Bavarian universities. With the supplementary budget of 2011, the Free ...

Death cap mushroom poison to arrest pancreatic cancer in mice

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center have coupled the fungal toxin amanitin to an antibody which recognizes a cancer-typical target molecule. Like a guided missile, the antibody carries its poisonous load to target cancer cells. The poison-loaded antibody arrested the growth of ...

New immune defence enzyme discovered

A previously unknown serine protease forms part of the antibacterial defence arsenal of neutrophil granulocytes Neutrophil granulocytes comprise important defences for the immune system. When pathogenic bacteria penetrate the body, they are the first on the scene to mobilise other immune cells ...

New Max Planck Princeton Partnership in fusion research

The Max Planck Society is strengthening its commitment to the development of a sustainable energy supply and has joined forces with internationally renowned Princeton University to establish the Max Planck Princeton Research Centre for Plasma Physics. Shirley M. Tilghman, the President of ...

CO2 was hidden in the ocean during the Ice Age

Why did the atmosphere contain so little carbon dioxide (CO2) during the last Ice Age 20,000 years ago? Why did it rise when the Earth’s climate became warmer? Processes in the ocean are responsible for this, says a new study based on newly developed isotope measurements. This study has now been ...

520,000 EUR for new endowed chair and mathematics centre in Senegal Contribution to African mathematics network of excellence

Contribution to African mathematics network of excellence The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has created a new endowed chair for application-related mathematics with the intention of promoting mathematical teaching and research in Africa. The internationally advertised professorship will ...

Greenland ice sheet may melt completely with 1.6 degrees global warming

The Greenland ice sheet is likely to be more vulnerable to global warming than previously thought. The temperature threshold for melting the ice sheet completely is in the range of 0.8 to 3.2 degrees Celsius global warming, with a best estimate of 1.6 degrees above pre-industrial levels, shows a ...

Universities and Their Impact on the Economy and Society

Both the small German university town of Heidelberg and the metropolis of New York City prioritize academics, research and development as a means of fostering growth and maintaining economic competitiveness in the 21st century and beyond. On February 29, 2012, Prof. Peter Meusburger (Universität ...

Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Competence Center for a Sustainable University (Universität Hamburg)

The Postdoctoral Research Forum (PRF) “Sustainable Future” at the newly established Competence Center for a Sustainable University at the Universität Hamburg will be launched in April 2012 and aims at attracting excellent junior researchers with a clear potential to develop and realize their ...

Still in Good Shape? The Role of the Humanities in Higher Education and Society

A panel discussion on the challenges, contributions, and progress in humanities education and research featuring German, U.S., and Canadian experts at the German Center for Research and Innovation on April 3, 2012. NEW YORK (March 29, 2012) – In today’s uncertain economic climate, both graduates ...

Artificial thymus tissue enables maturation of immune cells

Four signalling substances control the transformation of T cells The thymus plays a key role in the body’s immune response. It is here where the T lymphocytes or T cells, a major type of immune defence cells, mature. Different types of T cells, designated to perform specific tasks, arise from ...

New 'room' for the ISS - ATV-3 now docked

Rendezvousing at 28,000 kilometres per hour at an altitude of about 380 kilometres is hardly routine – even for experienced spaceflight engineers and astronauts, which is why applause broke out in the European Space Agency (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Control Centre in Toulouse when ...

Culprit behind unchecked angiogenesis identified

Max Planck researchers discover how drug resistance in tumours may be prevented Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, is a complex process during which different signalling proteins interact with each other in a highly coordinated fashion. The growth factor VEGF and the Notch signalling ...

Fossil planets

Astronomers discover a solar system from the early days of our universe The newly discovered planetary system consists of the star HIP 11952 and two planets, which have orbital periods of 290 and 7 days, respectively. In itself, this would not be particularly remarkable since the discovery of ...

Chemical microgradients accelerate coral death at the Great Barrier Reef

Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology along with Australian colleagues, have examined corals from the Great Barrier Reef affected by the Black Band Disease and identified the critical parameters that allow this prevalent disease to cause wide mortality of corals around ...

Photochemical Turbo Power for Solar Cells

How organic molecules make yellow light from red. Modern silicon solar cells achieve a maximum efficiency of around 25 percent. Researchers around the world are running a race to increase this efficiency even further. However, a natural limit exists at around 30 percent because the laws of ...

Searching for exotics in the shrimp nets: shrimp fishermen help biologist to monitor rare fish species

So far the shrimp fisherman Uwe Abken has had little interest in the bycatch in his nets. But recently the fisherman from the East Friesian town of Neuharlingersiel has been taking a closer look. The fisherman and his deck hand have been recording which North Sea exotics and rare migratory fish ...

Research while on the move

The Max Planck Society’s new iPhone app provides the latest research news and films, as well as directions to all Max Planck institutes, ensuring that you are always well informed even when on the move. The Max Planck Society’s MaxPlanckApp provides an additional information channel that ...

Hamburg and Dresden accelerator physicists cooperate

22.03.2012 - The research centres Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) will closely cooperate in the future in a series of research fields, including accelerator physics and technology, detector technologies and systems, the use of synchrotron ...

LMU extends formal cooperation with the University of California at Berkeley for a further five years

Meeting in San Francisco, the President of LMU Munich Professor Bernd Huber and Professor Robert J. Birgeneau, the Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, have agreed to extend the existing cooperation arrangement between the two institutions, which has been in operation for the ...

Seeing movement: Why the world in our head stays still when we move our eyes

Scientists from Tübingen discovered new functions of brain regions that are responsible for seeing movement When observing a fly buzzing around the room, we should have the impression that it is not the fly, but rather the space that lies behind it that is moving. After all, the fly is always ...

Young infant imitation not guided by rational thinking

Rationality of infants has been overstated In a widely noticed study, developmental psychologists reported that 14-month-old infants imitate an unusual action if it was chosen deliberately by the person they observed, but not if it could be attributed to external constraints. This selective ...

Somatic stem cells obtained from skin cells for first time ever

Skipping pluripotency 'detour,' Max Planck researcher Prof. Schöler again takes lead in stem cell research Breaking new ground, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster, Germany, have succeeded in obtaining somatic stem cells from fully differentiated somatic ...

Highly flexible despite hard-wiring – even slight stimuli change the information flow in the brain

Neural networks of the brain can easily influence each other One cup or two faces? What we believe we see in one of the most famous optical illusions changes in a split second; and so does the path that the information takes in the brain. In a new theoretical study, scientists of the Max Planck ...

Virtual Compilation of Lorsch Monastic Library

Ministers from Hesse and Baden-Württemberg present the unique project The unique holdings of the medieval monastic library of Lorsch, currently scattered over 68 libraries worldwide, are being re-compiled into a virtual library. In cooperation with the Administration of State Houses and Gardens ...

A new short cut for stem cell programming

Researchers at the University of Bonn artificially derive brain stem cells directly from the connective tissue of mice Scientists at the Life & Brain Research Center at the University of Bonn, Germany, have succeeded in directly generating brain stem cells from the connective tissue cells of ...

Weather records due to climate change: a game with loaded dice

03/25/2012 - The past decade has been one of unprecedented weather extremes. Scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany argue that the high incidence of extremes is not merely accidental. From the many single events a pattern emerges. At least for extreme ...

Launch of the Country Campaign Russia in Moscow

Under the brand “Research in Germany - Land of Ideas”, the BMBF, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is hosting issue- and country-specific campaigns abroad for the Centre of Research and Innovation Germany. Now also in Russia, under the slogan “Russia and Germany - ...

Launch of the Country Campaign Russia in Moscow

Successful launch of ATV-3 'Edoardo Amaldi'

It is a freighter, storage facility and propulsion system all in one – and an important link between the astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) and their base on Earth. The third European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) space transporter was launched on 23 March 2012 at 05:34 ...

Siemens is European patent champion - Lead in European patent applications increased

Siemens is again the uncontested leader in patent applications in Europe. According to the 2011 Patent Applicant Ranking of the European Patent Office (EPO), the company submitted 2,235 patent applications (excluding Osram: 1,994) to the EPO in calendar year 2011 to capture first place in the ...

Microlenses from a test tube

Max Planck researchers develop new method for the production of microlenses Inspired from Mother Nature: The body of the brittlestar Ophiocoma wendtii is studded with tiny crystalline lenses made of calcium carbonate. Microlenses like these are of great interest technologically, yet they have ...

When Our Skin Fails to Protect Us

A conversation about disorders affecting skin and hair featuring Prof. Thomas Krieg (University of Cologne), Dr. Angela Christiano (Columbia University Medical Center), and Dr. David Bickers (Columbia University Medical Center) at the German Center for Research and Innovation on March 26, 2012. ...

Construction Site Monitoring with 3D Models

Siemens researchers are developing a system for monitoring construction sites that uses optimized planning and logistics to save time, money, and energy. It regularly generates and updates a three-dimensional model of the construction site, documents the progress, and detects irregularities. The ...

Researchers demonstrate versatility of solid-state protein sensor

A novel type of sensor, based on nanometer-scale pores in a semiconductor membrane, is a step closer to practical use in applications such as analyzing the protein contents of a single cell. Researchers pioneering single-molecule nanopore sensor technology at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen ...

New Strategic Partnerships between Canadian and German Universities

On March 8, representatives of Canadian universities and their German partners concluded four cooperation agreements, paving the way for even closer collaboration between German and Canadian partners.

HRK map of main German university research areas is now online

For the first time ever, university research in Germany has been mapped. Launched today, the new online research map by the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) shows the particular areas of research that German universities are working on. “The scope and diversity of research activity at our ...

Germany Writes Big Check for Renewable Heating

At this year’s Ecobuild, Germany Trade & Invest presents opportunities in Europe’s largest market With the 20 percent renewable electricity mark already achieved, Germany is now targeting sustainable heating. EUR 500 million were provided in 2011 towards Germany’s renewable heating goal - 14 ...

Gravity is climate

How much ice is Greenland really losing? - Movement in the Earth's mantle? - Enough water for all? For the first time, the melting of glaciers in Greenland could now be measured with high accuracy from space. Just in time for the tenth anniversary of the twin satellites GRACE (Gravity Recovery ...

Times Higher Education World Reputation Ranking 2012

In the latest edition of the World Reputation Ranking compiled by the Times Higher Education magazine, which is published today, LMU has once again come out very well, improving its position by no less than six places in comparison with last year's showing. Now ranked in 42nd position, LMU is ...

Need for speed

Molecular ticket determines RNA’s destination and speed inside egg cell Like any law-abiding train passenger, a molecule called oskar RNA carries a stamped ticket detailing its destination and form of transport, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, ...

Public-spirited bacteria

The mathematics of microbial cooperation A superficial interpretation of Darwin’s theory of evolution would not lead one to believe that natural selection could give rise to cooperative behavior. After all, although socially responsible behavior may benefit communities, it imposes costs on ...

Fine-tuning of Protein Production in Plant Cells

Scientists at Heidelberg University study fine-tuning of protein production Throughout their life, plants form leaves and side roots. These two types of organs have something in common: their development is finely tuned by small regulatory RNA molecules, the trans-acting short interfering RNAs ...

Great International Interest in the Value of Nature

Leading environmental economists meet at the UFZ in advance of the Rio sustainability summit Leipzig. More than 250 scientists and experts from around the world will meet next week in Leipzig to discuss the economic value of biodiversity. The international conference with the title "TEEB ...

Driverless Metro from the Louvre to Arc de Triomphe

The Paris transport authority (RATP) is currently switching the Metro's Line 1 to fully automatic operation - which also means driverless. Siemens is responsible for the modernization of the automation technology. The new system is more energy-efficient in operation and makes it possible to ...

New material for greater energy efficiency

Almost every electrical device has them, whether computer network componentry, solar modules or electric cars. Power converters convert ac to dc and vice versa and make sure that the voltage from the grid is just right for each consumer. The heart of these electrical circuits takes the form of ...

Biokerosene proven in flight operations

DLR exhaust gas measurements during first operational Lufthansa flight using biosynthetic kerosene Lufthansa AG has conducted a long-term test of biokerosene on 1187 scheduled flights. This involved one of the engines of an Airbus A321 being powered by a fuel mixture containing 50 percent ...

Treatment for Wastewater in Open-pit Mines

Together with the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg Siemens has developed plants for the treatment of wastewater in open-pit mines, which make the ore extraction process more environmentally friendly. As the operators can reuse the treated water, the mine requires less water. The ...

A new theory on the formation of the oldest continents

Geologists at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne have come up with a new idea as to how the earliest continents were formed Geologists from the Universities of Bonn and Cologne have demonstrated new scientific results in the April issue of the scholarly journal Geology, which provide a new ...

Snapshots of Firework in Nanoparticles: Beyond Conventional Ultrafast Spectroscopy

A Holy Grail of ultrafast science and technology is to image the changing structure of matter at the nanoscale during the interaction with light. An international collaboration including DESY photon scientists led by Thomas Möller of the Technical University Berlin and Christoph Bostedt of SLAC ...

Merck and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg cooperate in the field of new hybrid materials for more energy-efficient processes

Merck and the Cluster of Excellence Engineering of Advanced Materials (EAM) at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) have today announced their cooperation in the field of new hybrid materials for more energy-efficient processes. This new strategic cooperation centers on ...

Validation of Landauer's principle

Results of an experiment that validates an important principle for information theory and computer science are published in Nature this week. NIM member Eric Lutz and his colleagues show that erasing information produces heat, as predicted by Rolf Landauer fifty years ago, and demonstrates the ...

obsAIRve - air quality forecasts now online

"How clean is my air?" People, businesses and public authorities across Europe can now find this out online – the new 'obsAIRve' service portal provides rolling three-day forecasts and current observations of air quality for places and regions across Europe. All information is presented in a ...

Orientation of ants: every cue counts

Foraging desert ants always find their way back to the nest, even when it is only marked by a magnetic cue, vibration, or carbon dioxide. Desert ants have adapted to a life in a barren environment which only provides very few landmarks for orientation. Apart from visual cues and odours the ants ...

Climate risks of bioenergy underestimated

Joint press release by Technische Universität Berlin and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Energy from biomass presents underappreciated risks, new research published in Nature Climate Change shows. “A precautionary approach is needed,” says Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist of the ...

The German-Japanese Riken Max Planck Joint Research Centre for Systems Chemical Biology is taking shape

Kick-off symposium at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund from 5th to 7th March March 08, 2012 In April 2011, both the Presidents of the Max Planck Society and Riken signed the establishing agreement. Less than a year later, a Japanese delegation of 35 scientists ...

The dance of the chaperones

Max Planck scientists identify key player of protein folding Proteins are the molecular building blocks and machinery of cells and involved in practically all biological processes. To fulfil their tasks, they need to be folded into a complicated three-dimensional structure. Scientists from the ...

The smallest radio stations in the world

Individual photons, transmitted from one molecule to another, could be used to carry quantum information Radio communication is now possible on the most elementary level: scientists at the ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen have used two molecules as ...

Cell movement patterns

A method that enables scientists to grow cells on easily generated fine structures provides new insights into cell migration Whereas a cut knee often reduces children to tears, adults are more likely to be distressed by the fear of cancer. In both cases, that is wound healing and the growth and ...

Healthy ageing begins in womb

Neurologists investigate stress in pregnancy on brain ageing 08.03.2012 Maternal stress during pregnancy influences brain ageing and age-associated diseases such as dementia and stroke. In this 3 million Euro EU-funded project, neurologists at the Jena University Hospital (Germany), ...

Wellness for dairy cows

Center of Integrated Dairy Research to allow balanced milk production Does butter taste better when the cows are happy? How much is too muchfor a liter of milk? What will dairy cows of the future look like? Whatdoes a glass of milk have to do with environmental protection? Willcows be pastured ...

The immune response to viral infections

T cells are crucial for protective immunity Many modern vaccines use genetically altered viruses to induce protective immune responses to pathogenic viral strains. A recently published study throws new light on the elements that determine the immunogenic efficacy of antiviral vaccines. The ...

An OFF switch for pain

The notion of a pain switch is an alluring idea, but is it realistic? Well, chemists at LMU Munich, in collaboration with colleagues in Berkeley and Bordeaux, have now shown in laboratory experiments that it is possible to inhibit the activity of pain-sensitive neurons using an agent that acts ...

Back-side solar cell including silicon hetero contacts from HZB and ISFH reaches record efficiency

Independent test laboratory confirms 20,2 percentage A new type of solar cells called “Back Contact Hetero Transition Solar Cell” achieved an enormous progress concerning the efficiency of solar cells. The results that were published until 2011 hit only 15 to 16 per cent. The new type of solcar ...

A foot in the door to genetic information

In the cell nucleus, DNA wraps around what are called histone proteins, forming regularly spaced spherical bodies called nucleosomes. Thus, large portions of the genetic material are inaccessible to the gene reading machinery. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches ...

Poor impulse control keeps children from sharing

Late development of the prefrontal cortex explains why children find it hard to suppress selfish impulses When children fail to share fairly with each other, it may not be due to poor understanding of what constitutes right and wrong; after all, they grasp early on that fairness and generosity ...

Sperm can do calculus!

The speed at which the calcium concentration in the cell changes controls the swimming behaviour of sperm. They can calculate the calcium dynamics and react accordingly. Sperm have only one aim: to find the egg. The egg supports sperm in their quest by emitting attractants that induce changes in ...

Internet-based therapy relieves persistent tinnitus

A German-Swedish study shows that internet-based self-help training for tinnitus is as successful as group therapy 07.03.2012 Those suffering from nagging tinnitus can benefit from internet-based therapy just as much as patients who take part in group therapy sessions. These are the findings of ...

Electrons catch a wave

Physicists use ultrashort laser pulses to drive and accelerate electrons out of nanotips (pug) In 1905 Albert Einstein transformed physics with his explanation of the famous photoelectric effect. In his Nobel-Prize-winning work, Einstein abandoned classical principles and introduced the concept ...

Crush hour in the test-tube

Overcrowding spoils the law of mass action The rate at which two chemical species react with one another is partly determined by the probability that they will collide. The so-called law of mass action explicitly takes account of this fact, stating that the reaction rate is dependent on the ...

'We need energy storage for the energy transition'

Interview with Ulrich Wagner, Executive Board Member for Energy and Transport at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Until now, energy storage has mainly been used in devices such as mobile phones or notebook computers. Energy experts say this is going to change. As the use of renewable energy ...

alpha ventus 2011 Annual Review - Encouraging Offshore Power Yields

The alpha ventus consortium DOTI, formed by the companies of EWE, E.ON and Vattenfall, can look back with satisfaction on a successful 2011: the twelve wind power turbines of Germany's first offshore wind farm have fed over 267 gigawatt hours of electricity into the German power grid over the ...

Charging up qubits in diamonds

A method for manipulating the charge of nitrogen vacancy-centres in diamond - which are thought to be important areas in the creation of qubits in quantum computers - is reported in Nature Communications this week. The approach, which relies on the use of electrolytes similar to those used in ...

Introducing plug-and-play nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS)

The measurement of very low concentrations of various agents plays an important role in medicine, pharmacology and food technology. So-called "nanomechanical resonators" - vibrating nanostrings - represent promising candidates for suitable detectors, because their oscillating motion is extremely ...

Researchers discover possible approach to the treatment of aggressive breast cancer

Blocking of receptor protein prevents the development of breast cancer metastases in mice In particularly aggressive forms of breast cancer, cancer cells can settle in other organs and form metastases there. Once such metastases form, complete recovery is rare. Consequently, it is enormously ...

Cebit 2012: 3D animations for everyone

3D movies like "Toy Story" or "Transformers" are based on everyday objects that are able to move like humans. Such 3D characters are created by skilled experts in time-consuming manual work. Computer scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics have now developed two computer programs ...

Photovoltaics with Record Efficiency

The photovoltaics manufacturer Semprius has achieved a record efficiency rating of 33.9 percent for its high-performance concentrator photovoltaic (PV) modules. Siemens has a 16-percent stake in the U.S. start-up and wants to develop the technology further. Production of the modules is scheduled ...

Software Architecture for the Car of the Future

The global Siemens research department Corporate Technology is working with partners to develop new information and communications technology (ICT) for future electric cars. In vehicles built with this new technology, the driver assistance, safety, and infotainment features will mostly be ...

Observations refute widely held view on causal mechanism in ALS

In science, refuting a hypothesis can be as significant as proving one, all the more so in research aimed at elucidating how diseases proceed with a view toward preventing, treating, or curing them. Such a discovery can save scientists from spending precious years of effort exploring a dead end. ...

Don´t blame it on the traffic!

Several million euros in funding for systems biologists at DKFZ

In February and March of this year, three new research consortia have started work at DKFZ. They are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of its program "Systems Biology in Cancer Research - CancerSys" and will receive funds amounting to nine million euros over ...

New approach to stroke therapy

LMU researchers developed a new strategy for the treatment of stroke, which could help to improve blood flow to ischemic brain. Strokes are due to a localized reduction in the blood supply to the brain, mainly due to the blockage of a vessel by a blood clot. This can lead to the death and ...

German Research and Academic Institutions Sign Cooperation Agreement with Russia's Skolkovo Foundation

TU Berlin, Science and Technology Park Berlin Adlershof and Campus Berlin-Buch sign letters of intentNew chapter in long-lasting academic relations between both countriesScientific network of the Skolkovo Foundation continues to grow Today marked a new milestone in cooperation between Russian ...

Aimed shot on single molecules

Nowadays, large laser systems provide ultra-short light pulses of very high intensity, which – in principle – allow the imaging of matter and its dynamics on atomic scales, down to a single molecule or a virus. However, current methods fall short in efficiency to overlap a target molecule in a ...

Swarming and transporting

Research News Mar 01, 2012 - On its own, an ant is not particularly clever. But in a community, the insects can solve complicated tasks. Researchers intend to put this „swarm intelligence“ to use in the logistics field. Lots of autonomous transport shuttles would provide an alternative to ...

Helmet mounted display for safer helicopter flight

Helicopter flights and landings in poor visibility conditions always present pilots with special challenges. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has now completed a series of tests with a new helmet mounted display and has brought it into use a flight ...

Science No spin: Nerves of silk fibres

Many people view spiders with fear or disgust. The eight-legged creatures are generally thought to be ugly, and tarnished with a poisonous image. This bad PR could well be set for a boost, however. Today, researchers are busy making spider’s silk suitable for application in medicine. ...

Nose spray for panic attacks?

Current study on mice documents the anxiety-reducing effect of intranasally administered neuropeptide S Max Planck researchers have succeeded in showing in experiments on mice that the anxiolytic substance neuropeptide S (NPS) can be absorbed through the nasal mucosa and unfold its effect in the ...

Accelerator tunnel for the European XFEL completed

Construction of the more than 2 kilometre long accelerator tunnel of the European XFEL facility has been completed. At the end of February, the construction company ARGE Tunnel XFEL officially handed over the tunnel to Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY). Currently ARGE Tunnel XFEL is ...

Cause of a Particular Malformation of the Skeleton Clarified

Missing Gene Causes the Development of TAR Syndrome Scientists at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin in collaboration with the Sanger Institute in Cambridge and other cooperation partners in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, were able to identify a genetic defect that is responsible for the ...

Research experience in Germany facilitates international careers The Humboldt Foundation evaluates its fellowship programme

The Humboldt Foundation evaluates its fellowship programme If you have been a Humboldt research fellow at an early age, you are likely to go on to have a successful career in academia. This is the message contained in the evaluation of the Fellowship Programme that has just been published: more ...

German Consulate General in Edinburgh welcomes German-Scottish literature project

Mainz University and the University of Edinburgh to work jointly on researching "The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border" by Sir Walter Scott 23.02.2012The German Consulate General in Edinburgh has welcomed the inception of a joint German-Scottish research project concerning the ballads published ...

Balloon flights – improving climate models with BHEA

The first sounding balloons are in the air, and by 30 April 2012, 90 of these atmospheric probes will have been launched in sequence to gather data. Starting at Oberpfaffenhofen, their purpose is to record wind velocities and temperatures, especially at elevations between 12 and 30 kilometres. ...

The Path to Personalized Breast Cancer Therapy

Adjusting breast cancer therapy to individual patients to avoid ineffective treatment: Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin and eleven partner institutions from six countries have set this as their goal. They have launched the EU research project RESPONSIFY. Prof. Carsten Denkert, project director ...

Research for Internet of the Future

Status Meeting on Future Internet Technology, February 14 and 15, 2012, at Freie Universität Berlin The exploration of new technologies for the Internet of the future is the focus of a conference to be held February 14 and 15 at Freie Universität Berlin. About 100 scientists from industry and ...

Flying high in Europe

Big science teams up with big business to kick‐start European cloud computing Today a consortium of leading IT providers and three of Europe’s biggest research centres (CERN, EMBL and ESA) announced a partnership to launch a European cloud computing platform. ‘Helix Nebula ‐ the Science Cloud’, ...

Simulator computes evacuation scenarios for major events

Predicting how large numbers of visitors to major events will behave is difficult, even using evidence based on past experience. To prevent disasters, however, the police, rescue services and event organizers have to be able to identify dangerous bottlenecks, hidden obstacles and unexpected ...

New Emmy Noether Junior Research Group

Heidelberg astronomers investigate how galaxies get their stars A newly established Emmy Noether Junior Research Group at the Centre for Astronomy of Heidelberg University (ZAH) will be inquiring into the way stars form in galaxies. The research team headed by Dr. Frank Bigiel engages with a ...

With nanometer precision

Protein transportation via "Cut & Paste" method Peptides and antibodies can be used as new handles and anchors for single-molecule cut and paste (SMC&P), as reported by Hermann Gaub and co-workers, University of Munich, Germany. According to the authors, their most recent results are an ...

Catalyser for clean rainforest air

Plant odour isoprene buffers atmospheric self-cleaning capacity The atmosphere’s robust capacity to clean itself is owed to the consistent recycling of its cleaning agent. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz have now clarified exactly how hydroxyl radicals, which ...

An electrical switch for magnetic current

A multiferroic tunnel junction provides storage media with increased data density A new mechanism will make it possible to switch data storage in the future. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle use a short electric pulse to change the magnetic transport ...

SCIAMACHY - 10 years monitoring climate in space

How has our ozone layer changed in the last 10 years? How do trace gases like nitrous oxides, carbon dioxide and methane influence our climate? How do environmental protection measures work? These were the questions that German researchers sought to address when, 10 years ago – on 28 February ...

The end of the 'Lily of the Valley phenomenon' in sperm research?

Sperm cannot detect smells. According to a 2003 study by German and American scientists, a component of the Lily of the Valley scent known as Bourgeonal alters the calcium balance of human sperm and attracts the sperm. The "Lily of the Valley phenomenon" - also the title of a book about smelling ...

Scientists Target Major Bottleneck in Structural Biology

X-ray free-electron lasers make membrane structure determination easier In terms of potential drug development, membrane proteins are of immense pharmaceutical interest. Studying their structures is an imperative step for successful drug design. Unfortunately, membrane protein structure ...

Making the most of what you have

Bacterium fine-tunes proteins for enhanced functionality The bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes atypical pneumonia, is helping scientists uncover how cells make the most of limited resources. By measuring all the proteins this bacterium produces, scientists at the European Molecular ...

Forestry scientists from Göttingen 'minders' of China's forests

International research project to develop utilisation concepts with 1.35 million Euros in funding (pug) Forestry scientists at Göttingen University are looking at new, long-term concepts for the utilisation and management of forests in China. Within the last 30 years, up to 50 million hectares ...

New defence mechanism against viruses and cancer identified

A team of scientists from the Charité and German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin and the University of Geneva has found a fundamentally new mechanism how our defense system is ramped up when facing a viral intruder. Exploitation of this mechanism in vaccines sparks new hope for better ...

Dangerous bacterium gets cold feet

Helmholtz scientists disarm plague pathogen's next of kin In medieval Europe, the Black Death once decimated large parts of the population. Although in Europe no longer a genuine cause for concern, in Africa, South America, and India the Bubonic plague still to this day poses a viable threat to ...

Storm surges: Only every second person feels endangered – sensitivity to climate change is decreasing.

How safe do people feel when living behind the dykes? Since 2008, the Institute of Coastal Research at the Helmholtz Centre Geesthacht has been conducting annual surveys of the population of Hamburg on the topic of climate change and its potential impact. One result: only every second person ...

Targeting the bacterial protective shield

Research consortium set on developing new drugs that target bacterial biofilms Slime-like and near impenetrable are biofilms built by a number of bacterial cells during the course of an infection. Typically, they are composed of long molecular strands called polymers. Many different species of ...

New distributed research infrastructure for structural biology

Instruct formally launched Breakthroughs in biomedical science are a step closer today, with the launch of a new distributed research infrastructure for the science of structural biology: Instruct. The launch of Instruct will give academic and commercial scientists across Europe access to a full ...

113 superconducting high-tech magnets for the accelerator facility FAIR

GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH in Darmstadt, Germany, has placed an order with Babcock Noell GmbH for the manufacture and supply of 113 superconducting high-tech magnets for the accelerator facility FAIR. The magnets, each of which weighs more than a ton, are required for the ...

Game Console Technology in the Operating Room

In the future, a surgeon will need only a hand movement to browse through a patient's x-ray images during an operation. Until now it has been much harder to operate the monitors because surgical team members are not allowed to touch any objects other than surgical instruments, due to the risk of ...

Ultralight vehicles: New cooperative venture strengthens magnesium research in Geesthacht

In the framework of the World Premier Materials (WPM) development programme, the South Korean government has provided more than 100 million dollars to fund research and development in the field of magnesium technology. The Magnesium-Innovations Center (MagIC) in Geesthacht will be an important ...

Unique in Germany: the DLR railway test laboratory

Sometimes the light goes out for a fraction of a second, and sometimes the high speed train is forced to stop at a border, making the journey time longer – anyone travelling in Europe as a rail passenger can sometimes experience the practical effects of using over 20 different train control and ...

Quick Roll-Changing in Steelstrip Production

Siemens simplifies the production of steel strips: A new technology is making the exchange of pinch rolls in hot strip mills faster and more efficient. The patented process reduces the time needed to replace pinch rolls in the down-coiling area by several hours, down to about ten minutes. ...

Core Facilities: Promoting Outstanding Research Infrastructure

While most of the programmes funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) focus on scientific projects, the DFG’s Gerätezentren – Core Facilities initiative was developed to improve research frameworks. Many German universities and research institutions have ...

CeBIT 2012

“Urban living” is the slogan of Fraunhofer’s appearance at this year’s CeBIT. Fraunhofer City at CeBIT offers visitors more than 40 points of interest.Press Releases CeBIT 2012 CeBIT 2012: A robot sketches portraits An industrial robot as artist? From March 6-10, 2012, researchers will be ...

Access to Hightech Infrastructure all over Europe

New Alliance “Instruct” connects cutting edge technologies across the borders Abbildung einer Protein Sample Production Facility Making the most advanced technologies available to researchers all over Europe is the goal of the initiative “Instruct”. Fifteen research institutes from eight ...

Customized vaccine in a nasal spray format

HZI scientists investigate new approach to targeted activation and inhibition of defender cells Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany, are currently investigating Alpha-GalCerPEG, a substance capable of activating target groups of cells that are ...

Top clusters are a model for Europe

International cluster conference in Berlin / Schavan: "Top clusters create the prosperity of tomorrow” / EU Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn: "High-tech strategy is exemplary” Outstanding achievements in research and innovation are frequently generated by high-tech clusters in cooperation with ...

Half a billion for climate innovation - EU Commissioners visiting Climate-KIC

02/23/2012 - Today two European Commissioners are in Berlin for talks with the European Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (Climate-KIC). In only three years, Climate-KIC and its partners will invest around half a billion Euros in European climate innovation. Through this effort, science ...

New Representation in São Paulo

DFG Expands its Presence in Latin America / German House of Science and Innovation Opens With an expanded presence and in a new environment, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) aims to further strengthen research cooperation between Germany and Latin America ...

BASF launches white biotechnology research lab in the United States

Ludwigshafen, Germany/Florham Park, NJ - February 22, 2012 - BASF has opened a new white biotechnology and microbiology research center in Tarrytown, New York. In the laboratory, biologists and biotechnologists will work to develop more efficient biotechnological production processes and - ...

Universities and Their Impact on the Economy and Society

What do Germany’s oldest university and New York City’s highly visible Tech Campus competition have in common? Find out how the symbiotic relationship between universities and their surrounding areas can influence a region on February 29, 2012, at the German Center for Research and Innovation ...

No such thing as a typical criminal career

Freiburg study questions established criminological theories Is there such a thing as a typical criminal career? This was the question addressed by criminologist Volker Grundies from the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg. This study examined the data of ...

'Sauber+': More Than Just Clean Water

"Residue from medications are polluting waste water more and more," summarizes Professor Johannes Pinnekamp from the RWTH Institute of Environmental Engineering (ISA). It is expected that the use of pharmaceuticals, among other things, is increasing again due to demographic change. "Waste water ...

Observing Single Atoms during Relaxation toward Equilibrium

Results of a Quantum Simulation Published in Nature Physics Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin, the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich) have succeeded for the first time in simulating the dynamic behavior of strongly correlated ...

Bavarian research cooperation ForLayer develops worldwide hardest Nano diamond foil

Research work about innovative coating possibilities leads to three patent applications 20-times harder than hardened steel, twice as firm as common ceramic foils, thermally insulating and furthermore applicable where diamond coating was not possible until now: The patented multilayer Nano ...

Incidence of type 1 diabetes-associated autoantibodies is particularly high in early childhood

Neuherberg, 14.02.2012. The incidence of autoantibodies against antigens of the insulin-producing beta cells has a peak between the age of nine months and two years. In turn, children who develop autoantibodies at this early age have a very high risk of developing type 1 diabetes by the age of ...

Saving data in vortex structures

Faster, smaller and more energy-efficient – that is what computers of the future should be like. A new phenomenon stands to make a major contribution in this direction: It needs 100,000 times less current than existing technologies, and the number of atoms needed for a data bit could diminish ...

Eat and let die

Kiel biologist discovers new animal enzyme to use plant toxins for self-defence Certain insects, such as the African variegated grasshopper (Zonocerus variegatus) or the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae), native in Europe and Asia, feed on toxic plants in order to protect themselves from ...

Black Arsenic: Fact or Fiction?

Phosphorus and arsenic are on top of each other in one group of the periodic table, so they have many similar properties. In addition to tubular forms, phosphorus is found in white, red, black, and purple structural forms. At room temperature, black phosphorus is the stable form; the others are ...

Trapped in a ring

Ring-like protein complex helps ensure accurate protein production In fairy tales, magic rings endow their owners with special abilities: the ring makes the wearer invisible, fulfils his wishes, or otherwise helps the hero on the path to his destiny. Similarly, a ring-like structure found in a ...

Enhanced zooming on maps

Road maps and city maps in the Internet could be even more attractive and user-friendly than today. This is what computer scientists of the University of Würzburg are currently working on. One of their objectives is to develop maps the scale of which changes gradually rather than abruptly when ...

Live from the thymus: T-cells on the move

For the first time, scientists follow the development of individual immune cells in a living zebrafish embryo T-cells are the immune system’s security force. They seek out pathogens and rogue cells in the body and put them out of action. Their precursors are formed in the bone marrow and migrate ...

10 years of risk assessment for nanomaterials - conclusions to date: no unusual risks

The intermediary report on "10 Years of Research: Risk Assessment, Human and Environmental Toxicology of Nanomaterials" by the joint DECHEMA/VCI Working Group "Responsible Production and Use of Nanomaterials" is now available in English. Experts from industry and research institutions have ...

DFG to Establish Four New Research Units

Topics Range from Digital Knowledge Representation to Ecological Networks The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of four new Research Units. This decision was taken by the DFG’s Senate at its February meeting in Bonn. The purpose of ...

Determination of the immunoproteasome crystal structure

Like a shredder, the immunoproteasome cuts down proteins into peptides that are subsequently presented on the cellular surface. The immune system can distinguish between self and nonself peptides and selectively kills cells that due to a viral infection present non-self peptides at their ...

Rivaling the World's smallest Reptiles: New tiny Chameleons discovered in Madagascar

German and American scientists under the lead of Frank Glaw (Zoologische Staatssammlung München) report about newly discovered dwarf chameleons from Madagascar (published in PLoS One). The smallest of the four new species, Brookesia micra, reaches 24 mm in total length including tail and thus ...

A Salmon DNA- and Nanosilver-based Data Storage Device

A Novel Type of Biopolymer Film for Low-cost Ecological Encoding of Information A novel type of salmon DNA- and nanosilver-based biopolymer film allows low-cost environmentally friendly storage of information. The organic system has been developed through interdisciplinary international ...

Truck Scheduling in a Matter of Minutes

IT at KIT: Researchers Parallelizing Transport Planning Software on Multi-core Computers / Time Savings of a Factor of 18 Shipping companies optimize their truck transport schedules and, hence, their costs by means of special software. As a matter of fact, however, calculation of optimum routes ...

BASF to invest USD 33 million in R&D facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

Focus on plant biotechnology and crop protection research LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA, February 15, 2012 - BASF today announced a USD 33 million investment to expand its facilities in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. Nearly 80,000 sq. ft. of ...

Siemens Awarded German Industry Innovation Prize

With its world-record gas turbine, Siemens has won this year's "Innovationspreis der deutschen Wirtschaft" (Innovation Award of German Industry) in the large companies category. Established under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the award was presented on February ...

Medico: Smarter Use of Medical Data

Medico, a computer-based assistance system, could help doctors perform diagnoses and identify the right treatment. That's an important step on the path to personalized medicine. Medico is one of six application scenarios of the research program Theseus of the German Federal Ministry of ...

The Helmholtz Association is offering 40 postdoc positions

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving grand challenges which face society, science and industry by performing top-rate research in six research fields. With a total of 31,745 staff work in its 18 research centres the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific research ...

Scientists discover new mechanism for muscular elasticity

An international team of scientists discovered a new mechanism which provides elasticity to our muscles. Using X-ray light of DESY's accelerator DORIS, the team of Matthias Wilmanns from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory EMBL investigated a specific protein that links muscular filaments. ...

How globular star clusters survive collisions

Simulations shed new light onto the turbulent birth of objects approx. 13 billion years ago Our Milky Way galaxy is surrounded by some 200 compact groups of stars, which, viewed through small telescopes, look like snowballs. These globular clusters are 13 billion years old, which is almost as ...

Solar Power Stations Like Sunflowers are Optimal

RWTH researcher and mathematics professor Manuel Torrilhon and colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new way to lay out mirrors in solar power stations, which is both more compact and converts sunlight into energy more efficiently. Torrilhon ...

German House of Science and Innovation in Brazil begins operations

Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle inaugurates the DWIH São Paulo on 14 February 2012 Over 200 guests, including numerous DAAD alumni, attended the inauguration ceremony of the German House of Science and Innovation (DWIH) in São Paulo. For the Foreign Minister, the grand opening was the ...

Stress in cells activates hepatitis viruses

Substances which suppress the immune system while simultaneously keeping viral infections in check would be an ideal drug for organ transplant recipients. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now demonstrated that specific substances with ...

Cooperation in theoretical particle physics

DESY and Linz University prolong cooperation until 2017 Since 2007, DESY in Zeuthen and the RISC-Institute at Johannes-Kepler-University Linz (JKU) are working closely together in a cooperation for the development and use of computer algorithms. Until 2017, this cooperation will be prolonged and ...

The world’s strongest and purest neutron beam

The world’s strongest neutron beam is produced by a scientific instrument at the research neutron source FRM II (Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz) at the Technischen Universitaet Muenchen (TUM). But that is not all: During the long maintenance break in 2011, the instrument PGAA ...

Under cover of graphene

Researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have developed a method to conserve electronic surface states using graphene. Scientists at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), together with colleagues from Dresden and Jülich, have succeeded in making the electronic surface-state of a metal extra-durable. To ...

Judder-free videos on the smartphone

Overloaded cellular networks can get annoying – especially when you want to watch a video on your smartphone. An optimised Radio Resource Manager will soon be able to help network operators accommodate heavy network traffic. Researchers will present their solution at the GSMA Mobile World ...

Jointly utilizing LTE networks

Data-intensive Internet applications on smartphones, tablets and laptops are more popular than ever before. The result: Traffic on the mobile network is increasing at a blinding speed. Intelligent technologies are intended to increase the data rates on the new LTE network. The solution is to use ...

Times are getting harder for thieves - biocoding equals security

People can now mark their possessions with artificial DNA, thus making it more likely for thieves and people who fence stolen goods to be caught red-handed. Each marker is as unique as a genetic fingerprint and can be easily visualized using UV light. The artificial DNA can also be used to prove ...

Art historian at Mainz University participates in a new project on the history of royal residential cities

The long-term cultural studies project will examine the interaction between the bourgeois civil society and courtiers in urban environments 10.02.2012 - The Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities has given the green light for a new long-term cultural studies research project for which ...

Six-Megawatt Direct-Drive Wind Turbine from Siemens

Siemens has launched a six-megawatt (MW) direct-drive wind turbine for use in offshore wind farms. Direct-drive wind turbines combine robust engineering with a low system weight. This not only reduces infrastructure, installation, and maintenance costs but also increases energy yields and ...

Ultra-high Voltage: 1.2-Megavolt Circuit Breaker

Siemens has developed the world's first circuit breaker capable of operating at 1.2 million volts. Ultra-high voltages increase the capacity of power cables, thereby making it possible to transport large amounts of electricity with a relatively small number of overhead lines. Circuit breakers ...

Space debris in the spotlight

DLR and the Laser Station in Graz provide Europe's first ever demonstration of laser location Every year, the number of small items of debris in space rises by tens of thousands. This number is currently based on estimates, as it has not been possible to track space debris accurately. ...

Science for Sustainability

8 Februrary 2012 - Ministers Schavan, Ramsauer and Röttgen open Science Year "Project Earth: Our Future" / Focus on local redevelopment Urban and rural communities play an important part in the development of sustainable lifestyles. They are therefore major players in the Science Year "Project ...

Young flies smell sweeter

Young fruit flies are sexually more attractive for the other sex / publication in "Journal of Experimental Biology" Münster (upm), Do, 09 Feb 2012 Old fruit flies are less sexually attractive than their younger counterparts. This is what an international team of researchers led by Prof. Scott ...

Ocean warming causes elephant seals to dive deeper

Bremerhaven, 8 February 2012, Global warming is having an effect on the dive behaviour and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association cooperating in a joint study with biologists and ...

Molecular Chaperone for Membrane Proteins

Heidelberg biochemists decipher the "escort service" for biological solar collectors For photosynthesis, the chloroplasts of all green plants contain biological solar collectors known as light-harvesting proteins. Because these proteins are not manufactured in the plant cell where they are used, ...

Tiny galaxy with a huge appetite

For the first time, astronomers have caught a so-called dwarf galaxy in the process of swallowing another, even smaller galaxy. From small to large - this motto also applies in space. Tiny galaxies can merge into formidable Milky Way systems. But how do dwarf galaxies grow? Apparently, in a ...

Scientists make iron transparent

For the first time, an experiment shows that atomic nuclei can become transparent At the high-brilliance synchrotron light source PETRA III, a team of DESY scientists headed by Dr. Ralf Röhlsberger has succeeded in making atomic nuclei transparent with the help of X-ray light. At the same time ...

Environment Minister Röttgen meets Chinese colleague Zhou Shengxian

"China is an important partner for the German government. The range of environmental topics on which we cooperate bilaterally is impressive", said Federal Environment Minister Röttgen at a meeting with Chinese Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian in Berlin on 7 February 2012. The exchange on ...

BASF and COFCO Tunhe work together for sustainable tomato production in China

Develop integrated solutions to meet needs across the food value chainBASF sustainability expertise and newly established unit Functional Crop Care enrich cooperationInitial focus on AgCelence ® products LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY - February 8, 2012 - BASF and COFCO Tunhe, one of the world's largest ...

EAM destination of choice for Humboldt scholar

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) welcomes six new Humboldt scholars from different corners of the globe. One of them is working in the group of Andreas Hirsch. Prof. Dr. Sule Erten-Ela from Ege Üniversitesi in Izmir, Turkey has been a guest at the Chair for Organic ...

Zero Sum World? How Should the West Respond to the Growing Competition for Natural Resources?

An upcoming panel discussion at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) will address how increased demand for diminishing natural resources will shape strategic international relationships in the 21st century. The event will take place on February 15, 2012. NEW YORK (February 8, ...

Excellent chemist does research on power supply using enzymes

Ceremony of first Clara Immerwahr Award on 10th February / Invitation to press conference with guided laboratory tour Dr. Kylie Vincent from Oxford University is the first winner of the Clara Immerwahr Award, conferred by the Berlin Cluster of Excellence UniCat. On 10th February 2012 the award ...

Professor Helmut Schwarz is awarded the Wilhelm Manchot Professorship

The Department of Chemistry of the Technische Universität München (TUM) and the Jürgen Manchot Foundation have awarded Professor Helmut Schwarz, a Chemist in the UniCat Cluster of Excellence and President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Manchot Research Professorship 2012. With ...

Increased crop yield through better insight in molecular networks

VIB and BASF Plant Science jointly develop TopYield TechnologyLargest collaboration VIB has entered in the field of plant biotechnologyCooperation supported by Flemish government agency IWT Ghent, Belgium and Ludwigshafen, Germany - February 7, 2012 - The VIB Department for Plant Systems Biology ...

Quantifying climate impacts: new comprehensive model comparison launched

02/07/2012 - Climate change has impacts on forests, fields, rivers – and thereby on humans that breathe, eat and drink. To assess these impacts more accurately, a comprehensive comparison of computer-based simulations from all over the world will start this week. For the first time, sectors ...

Bronze-Matryoshka: The metal in the metal in the metal

A doll in a doll, and then one more, enveloping them from the outside – this is how Thomas Faessler explains his molecule. He packs one atom in a cage within an atom framework. With their large surfaces these structures can serve as highly efficient catalysts. Just like in the Russian wooden ...

Mathematicians from Freie Universität Winners in Visualization Competition

Awarded by Prestigious Journal "Science Two mathematicians from Freie Universität Berlin are winners in the world’s leading visualization competition for science and engineering. Konstantin Poelke and Professor Konrad Polthier won honorable mention in the International Science & Engineering ...

Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil

The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany, has completed the genome sequence of a Denisovan, a representative of an Asian group of extinct humans related to Neandertals. In 2010, Svante Pääbo and his colleagues presented a draft version of the genome from a ...

Sharp images from the living mouse brain

Max Planck scientists in Göttingen have for the first time made finest details of nerve cells in the brain of a living mouse visible. To explore the most intricate structures of the brain in order to decipher how it functions - Stefan Hell’s team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for ...

Colorectal cancer: Phase II results with cancer vaccine IMA910 are positive

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, announced positive results from its Phase II clinical trial with IMA910 in patients with advanced colorectal cell carcinoma (CRC) which were ...

Falcon – measurement flights in Malaysia

Project SHIVA reveals presence of ozone-depleting halogen compounds The coastal regions of Malaysia are major source areas of biogenic halogen compounds capable of damaging the ozone layer. This was the verdict reached by scientists from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- ...

Foreign Minister will inaugurate the German House of Science and Innovation São Paulo

The German Foreign Minister, Dr. Guido Westerwelle, will inaugurate the German House of Science and Innovation in São Paulo and will hereby start the operating phase. The German House of Science and Innovation Sao Paulo houses the following German institutions under one roof: Partners in the ...

CI3 immunotherapy cluster wins the Leading-Edge Cluster competition held by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research

More than €80 mio. in funding for the development of individualized forms of immunotherapy and diagnostics 06.02.2012The independent jury of the third round of the Leading-Edge Cluster competition organized by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has selected the winners of this ...

Meteorological observatory becomes climate observation station – 30 years of temperature measurements at Neumayer Antarctic research station

Bremerhaven, 12 January 2012. The meteorological observatory at the Antarctic Neumayer Station III is now officially considered to be a climate observation station by virtue of the fact that meteorologists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association ...

Project NEOShield: Asteroid defence systems

International cooperation under the leadership of DLR It is not entirely clear when exactly the last major asteroid impact on Earth occurred. But there are plenty of examples of impact craters, such as the Nördlinger Ries in Bavaria. That there will be other collisions in the future is something ...

OLYMPUS starts research programme

Detector at DORIS starts the first of two measuring periods In the past decades, the image of the proton has become ever more precise. Especially DESY's accelerator HERA has helped physicists to clearly understand the complexity of the particles they are currently smashing in the Large Hadron ...

79 international young researchers from 28 countries to meet in Kiel

Fellows’ meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Kiel from 8 to 10 February 79 young researchers from 28 countries will be guests at Christian Albrechts University in Kiel (CAU) from 8 to 10 February 2012 for the network meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt ...

Disturbed lipid balance in mitochondria can cause cardiomyopathy

Neuherberg, 27.01.12. Disturbances in the lipid balance of mitochondria* and the related functional impairment of the mitochondrial membrane proteins are possible causes of cardiomyopathy*. This has been demonstrated by a study currently being conducted by scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum ...

Award for Pioneering Work in Biomedical Basic Research

Dr. Anton Meinhart and Prof. Michael Platten receive the 2011 Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Awards The Heidelberg scientists Dr. Anton Meinhart and Prof. Michael Platten will receive the Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award for their pioneering work in biomedical basic research. The ...

European Fashion Award – FASH 2012 By Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie – SDBI

Victory and loss, pain or relief – sports invoke pure emotions and have seeped into almost all areas of life, even fashion. Yet performance sportswear does not play a very significant role in fashion design schools. The European Fashion Award FASH 2012, in cooperation with the Special Award Gore ...

Foreign Minister will inaugurate the German House of Science and Innovation São Paulo

Bayer CO2 project among best ideas for the future

Pilot plant in Leverkusen is one of the "Selected Landmarks 2012" / Innovative process for producing plastics with carbon dioxide Leverkusen, February 2, 2012 - A Bayer project for using the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as a component for plastics is among Germany's most promising ideas for the ...

How much energy does a machine tool require? METAV 2012 brings users' and manufacturers' skills together.

02.02.2012 - In times where the user is not running his machines at full load, there are several levers available for saving energy, says Professor Hermann. One option in concatenated production operations is to plan the process chain so skilfully that no waiting times occur. Sometimes ...

Genetic information migrates from plant to plant

Sexually incompatible species exchange chloroplast genomes at contact zones Plant scientists were confounded by the fact that the DNA extracted from the plants’ green chloroplasts sometimes showed the greatest similarities when related species grew in the same area. They tried to explain this ...

Millisecond pulsars: the discovery of deceleration

Stellar astrophysics helps to explain the behaviour of fast rotating neutron stars in binary systems Pulsars are among the most exotic celestial bodies known. They have diameters of about 20 kilometres, but at the same time roughly the mass of our sun. A sugar-cube sized piece of its ...

Human immune cells react sensitively to

Scientists at the University Medical Center in Mainz prove multiple DNA repair defect in monocytes 02.02.2012 Scientists working with Professor Bernd Kaina of the Institute of Toxicology at the Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have demonstrated for the first time that ...

Collective action

Occupied genetic switches hold clues to cells’ history If you wanted to draw your family tree, you could start by searching for people who share your surname. Cells, of course, don’t have surnames, but scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have ...

Positive outlook for ACHEMA 2012 - energy and resources in focus

In the run-up to ACHEMA one thing is already evident: the organizers and the exhibitors are unanimously optimistic about the world's biggest fair for chemical engineering, biotechnology and environmental protection, which will take place from 18-22 June 2012 in Frankfurt am Main. The figures ...

Electronic services for foreign research alumni

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation honours Göttingen University's concept (pug) In the ideas competition entitled "Research alumni of universities in Germany", the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation bestowed honourable mention upon the University of Göttingen, among others, for its research alumni ...

Open Access: Comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety Resource Now Available Online

DFG Provides No-Cost Access to MAK Collection / Milestone in Establishment of Free Access to Research Data / Transparent Policy Consultancy The DFG’s Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has evaluated the state of research and provided ...

New study shows correlation between summer Arctic sea ice cover and winter weather in Central Europe

Potsdam/Bremerhaven, 26 January 2012. Even if the current weather situation may seem to speak against it, the probability of cold winters with much snow in Central Europe rises when the Arctic is covered by less sea ice in summer. Scientists of the Research Unit Potsdam of the Alfred Wegener ...

Halogenated Organic Molecules

Results from an international field measurement campaign coordinated by scientists from Heidelberg University's Institute of Environmental Physics Coastal waters of the tropical Western Pacific produce natural halogenated organic molecules involving chlorine, bromine and iodine atoms that may ...

Transgene insects: scientists call for more open data

Max Planck scientists analysing the release of genetically modified insects into the environment have found that the available scientific information can be misleading While genetically modified plants have already been introduced into the wild on a large scale in some parts of the world, the ...

Short-term memory is based on synchronized brain oscillations

Scientists have now discovered how different brain regions cooperate during short-term memory Holding information within one’s memory for a short while is a seemingly simple and everyday task. We use our short-term memory when remembering a new telephone number if there is nothing to write at ...

Anti-malaria drug synthesised with the help of oxygen and light

In future it should be possible to produce the best anti-malaria drug, artemisinin, more economically and in sufficient volumes for all patients The most effective anti-malaria drug can now be produced inexpensively and in large quantities. This means that it will be possible to provide ...

“One Month in India” – Presenting German Research Opportunities in India

In February and March 2012, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Research Foundation (DFG) and Fraunhofer join forces and organise events to present German innovation and research in India. The purpose of their joint effort "One ...

On the Origins of Our Solar System

Second funding period for DFG priority programme coordinated by Heidelberg scientists After positive evaluation by an international team of experts, the Priority Programme (SPP 1385) "The First Ten Million Years of the Solar System" supported by the German Research Council (DFG) has now embarked ...

Ultra-fast photodetector and terahertz generator

New applications for graphene Extremely thin, more stable than steel and widely applicable: the material graphene is full of interesting properties. As such, it is currently the shining star among the electric conductors. Photodetectors made with graphene can process and conduct light signals ...

Poisonous Morning Hygiene

Chemists reveal how algae delete unwanted 'competitors' Every morning when the sun comes up, the ocean ground is radically cleaned. As soon as the first rays of sunlight find their way into the water, the microalgae "Nitzschia cf pellucida" start their deadly 'morning hygiene'. The algae, the ...

Speed limit on the quantum highway

Propagation velocity of quantum signals A quantum computer based on quantum particles instead of classical bits can in principle outperform any classical computer. However, how fast and how efficient realistic quantum computers may actually be remains an open question. One critical parameter in ...

HIV Escapes Immune Response in Macrophages

HIV uses macrophages of the immune system as a hideout, where viral particles can persist without being attacked by antibodies. From these reservoirs, viruses can be directly transferred to non-infected cells. These are the results of a study carried out by scientists from Hamburg and München ...

Prejudices' Quite normal!

Psychologists analyse the development of prejudices within children Girls are not as good at playing football as boys, and they do not have a clue about cars. Instead they know better how to dance and do not get into mischief as often as boys. Prejudices like these are cultivated from early ...

Helicopters set to become more manoeuvrable - using humpback whales as the prototype

Modern helicopters could be significantly faster and more manoeuvrable - if aerodynamics did not impose limitations on them. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Göttingen have now discovered and flight-tested a way to increase ...

Max Planck scientists very pleased about ERC grants

The Max-Planck-Gesellschaft has once again been successful in winning support from the European Research Council (ERC) January 30, 2012 With seven Advanced Grants, the MPG is Germany’s top recipient of EU funding. In response to its fourth call for applications, the ERC conferred a total of 294 ...

Hot molecule explains cold chemistry

Researchers shed light on the mystery surrounding energy-rich molecules in interstellar clouds Surprisingly, hydrogen cyanide and its far more energetic isomer, hydrogen isocyanide, are present in almost equal amounts in cold interstellar gas clouds. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for ...

The first atomic X-ray laser

A new perspective on the nanoworld: free-electron laser elicits extremely short and brilliant X-ray pulses from neon gas In future, scientists should be able to observe more closely how plants generate sugar from the energy in sunlight or how electricity is generated from solar cells. ...

Defects in the packaging of genetic material in malignant brain tumors

Glioblastomas are regarded as particularly aggressive brain tumors. In children with glioblastoma, Heidelberg scientists have now discovered genetic alterations that affect the function of DNA packaging proteins known as histones. In a cell, histones serve as coils around which the DNA wraps. At ...

Palusol achieves excellent sound attenuation levels

Fire protection doors constructed using Palusol SW successfully tested according to British Standard Palusol® SW fire resisting boards from BASF have achieved excellent sound attenuation levels inacoustic tests in accordance with the British Standard BS EN ISO 10140-2 at Chiltern International. ...

Scientists x-ray key enzyme for sleeping sickness

Free-electron lasers open new routes for structural biology An international team of scientists has for the first time crystallised a key enzyme of the pathogen for African sleeping sickness in a living cell and investigated it with the world’s strongest X-ray laser. This new method will open ...

Teck and BASF announce partnership to reduce zinc deficiency through micronutrient food solutions

Jointly developed solutions will reduce zinc deficiency among 100 million peoplePartnership aims to contribute to fulfill the UN Millennium Development Goals Davos, Switzerland, - January 27, 2012 - BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Teck Resources Limited, Vancouver, Canada, announced at the ...

Technical Oscar for ARRI and Fraunhofer

The Munich-based producer of professional motion picture equipment ARRI and the Freiburg Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques have been awarded the “Academy Award of Merit” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their jointly developed ARRILASER film recorder. ...

Heart of silk

Max Planck scientists use silk from the tasar silkworm as a scaffold for heart tissue Damaged human heart muscle cannot be regenerated. Scar tissue grows in place of the damaged muscle cells. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim are seeking to ...

Blood Test Instead of Biopsy Identifies Liver Damage

Siemens is marketing the first rapid, automated biomarker test for diagnosing and assessing liver fibrosis. The ELF test (Enhanced Liver Fibrosis test) takes approximately one hour to complete and requires only a blood sample. The process is therefore less invasive but just as reliable as the ...

Snapshots Make Power Grid More Efficient

Siemens wants to use “snapshots” of the power grid to help make it more stable. Power snapshots from smart meters by Siemens provide synchronous grid information with maximum precision from the low-voltage grid, data that can serve as a basis for analyzing these grids in cities and communities. ...

Software Development in High Performance Computing

The German Research Foundation (DFG) regards the redesign of software development in high performance computing as one of the main future challenges. Thus the DFG is first starting the priority program “Software for Exascale Computing (SPPEXA)” from the strategy fund. TUM informatics professor ...

The German Leading-Edge Cluster Competition has five new winners

The German Leading-Edge Cluster Competition in 2012 has now finished and five winners have been awarded. The Leading-Edge Cluster competition is intended to take Germany to the top of the league of technologically advanced nations. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research launched the ...

New mechanistic insights into adaptive learning

Associative learning leads to changes in the brains internal connectivity The brain is a fantastically complex and mysterious device, too large and with too many internal connections to be entirely programmable genetically. Its internal connectivity must therefore self-organize, based on the one ...

Physicists develop an innovative light source

Tiny components with the ability to emit single particles of light are important for various technological innovations. Physicists of the Universities of Würzburg, Stuttgart and Ulm have made significant progress in the fabrication of such structures. Why are researchers interested in light ...

Students develop internet portal enabling users to gain information on the results of DNA analyses

If people could look into the future they would discover which illnesses they will suffer from – as well as when they will die. Although no one is clairvoyant, today experts can already predict for a range of illnesses – for example Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and various types of cancer – how ...

Artguardian: Watchman for artworks

A publicly displayed object of art experiences a lot: dazzling light, unfavorable temperatures or too much moisture. With ‘Artguardian’ Fraunhofer researchers have developed a fully automated, intelligent monitoring system helping art lovers to optimally preserve their objects of art. Thanks to ...

The first atomic X-ray laser

A group of scientists headed by Nina Rohringer from the Hamburg Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) realized the first X-ray laser based on atoms at the Californian research centre SLAC. Using neon atoms, they generated ultra-short X-ray bursts of unique colour purity. In many cases, ...

Speed limit on the quantum highway

A quantum computer based on quantum particles instead of classical bits can in principle outperform any classical computer. However, how fast and how efficient realistic quantum computers may actually be remains an open question. One critical parameter in this context is the velocity with which ...

Predicting your own illnesses

Students develop internet portal enabling users to gain information on the results of DNA analyses Münster (upm), Do, 26 Jan 2012 - If people could look into the future they would discover which illnesses they will suffer from - as well as when they will die. Although no one is clairvoyant, ...

DLR 2012 – Research is an important investment for the future

As one of Europe's leading research institutions, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) will continue to align its research work with key issues concerning environmental protection, mobility, energy supply and security in 2012. The focus is to link results ...

Biological nano-motor with hybrid drive discovered

Methane building members of the archaeae form a link in the evolution of cellular bio energetics Methane building archaeae can be counted to the most original forms of life on earth. In the deep oceans those microorganisms gain energy for their metabolism with the generation of methane out of ...

First solar thermal power plant in Southeast Asia is fully operational

New direct steam generation principle co-developed by DLR is used in a parabolic trough collector The solar thermal power plant fed its full output of five megawatts into the grid for the first time on 25 January 2012. This power plant went into operation at the end of last year, and is the ...

New insights into nanoscale electronics

Physicists from Hannover and Geneva investigate single electron transport through semiconductor nanostructure The basic building block in conventional electronics is the transistor; a computer, for example, contains more than a billion transistors and worldwide nearly 10 billion transistors are ...

Efficient Subway Train Almost Entirely Recyclable

The new Inspiro from Siemens is currently one of the lightest subway trains in the world. Engineers at Siemens Mobility relied on a lightweight design with aluminum profiles while developing the rail vehicle. As a result, a six-car train is around six tons (or more than three percent) lighter ...

Laser materials processing for medical device manufacturing

At Compamed 2011, ROFIN showcased the latest developments in laser material processing. The focus was on manual laser welding and high-precision cutting with ultra short pulse femto / fiber laser sources for medical device manufacturing. Within a few months, ROFIN's newly designed manual welding ...

Funding approved for a Franco-German project looking at the synthesis of non-conducting surfaces

Cooperation between Professor Dr. Angelika Kühnle of Mainz University and André Gourdon of CEMES-CNRS 23.01.2012 Since early January 2012, Angelika Kühnle, Professor of Physical Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and André Gourdon, Director of the Materials Science Institute ...

Acidification provides the thrust

How diamond-bearing kimberlites reach the surface Kimberlites are magmatic rocks that form deep in the Earth’s interior and are brought to the surface by volcanic eruptions. On their turbulent journey upwards magmas assimilate other types of minerals, collectively referred to as xenoliths (Greek ...

Function of Signaling Pathways in Cells

DFG approves second funding stage for integrated research venture involving Heidelberg and Karlsruhe The integrated research venture "Mechanisms, Functions and Evolution of Wnt Signaling Pathways" involving 11 teams of scientists from Heidelberg and Karlsruhe will be receiving funding to the ...

Magnetic particles in fabric softeners and nanotubes in creams?

International Workshop Dispersion Analysis organized by LUM in Berlin from 1-2 March Nanoparticles and convenience goods, having nothing in common at first sight, are subject to the same physical principles with respect to the characterization of their separation behaviour during production, ...

Bonobos‘ unusual success story

Dominant males invest in friendly relationships with females Mate competition by males over females is common in many animal species. During mating season male testosterone levels rise, resulting in an increase in aggressive behavior and masculine features. Male bonobos, however, invest much ...

How cells dispose of their waste

Max Planck researchers reveal the structure of the cellular protein degradation machinery Defective proteins that are not disposed of by the body can cause diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry recently succeeded in revealing ...

Antipsychotic Drugs Increase the Activity of Endogenous Retroviruses in Humans

Neuherberg, January 16, 2012. The activity of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in brain cells of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorders may be increased by treatment with antipsychotic medication. Scientists of the Helmholtz Zentrum München show in the current issue of PLoS ONE ...

Which Way Did It Go? New Insights into the Organization and Development of Brain Circuits That Compute Motion Direction

On January 31, 2012, David Fitzpatrick (Max Planck Florida Institute) and Joshua Sanes (Harvard University) will discuss how identifying motion-sensitive neurons in the visual system aids in understanding brain function and development. The event will take place at the German Center for Research ...

How Immune Cells Destroy Cancer Cells - MDC Researchers Elucidate Mechanism

Dr. Kathleen Anders and Professor Thomas Blankenstein of the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) Berlin-Buch and researchers of the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California, USA showed that drug-based cancer treatment and adoptive T cell therapy are both highly ...

Rigged to explode?

Inherited mutation links exploding chromosomes to cancer An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the ...

Avalanche of reactions at the origin of life

The origin of life is seen as the formation of the first biomolecules which may be subject to multiplication and further development. Hitherto it was unclear, which reactions could have triggered the evolution of this ur-metabolism. Now scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) ...

PIK ranked amongst top environmental think tanks

01/20/2012 – The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research again has been ranked amongst the top environmental think tanks worldwide. In the 2011 survey now published, it has been placed on the fourth rank – slightly improving from a fifth rank in the year before and a seventh rank in 2009. ...

Innovation 'made in Germany' honoured by IKU award 2011

Competition sends important signal For the third time, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federation of German Industries (BD) have jointly awarded a prize for outstanding innovations in the field of climate and environmental ...

Fusion of Images: CT and Ultrasound Combined

The new ACUSON S3000* ultrasound system from Siemens will be able to display pictures from different imaging technologies at the same time. It includes advanced automated ultrasound fusion imaging. This feature provides radiologists additional clinical and spatial information in the analysis of ...

BASF and Philips first to develop OLED lighting for use as a transparent car roof

OLED lighting concept for car roofs is a solar-powered light source, transparent when switched off BASF and Philips have achieved a practical breakthrough in the development of OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology that allows it to be integrated in car roofs. The OLEDs are transparent ...

Pictures of food create feelings of hunger

Max Planck researchers have proven something scientifically for the first time that laypeople have always known: the mere sight of delicious food stimulates the appetite. A study on healthy young men has documented that the amount of the neurosecretory protein hormone ghrelin in the blood ...

The chemistry of exploding stars

Meteorite contains evidence of formation of sulfur molecules derived from the ejecta of a supernova explosion Fundamental chemical processes in predecessors of our solar system are now a bit better understood: An international team led by Peter Hoppe, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for ...

Dirk Jancke coordinates German-Israeli Cooperation

Dirk Jancke (Bernstein Group Bochum, Ruhr Universität Bochum) is German coordinator of the new German-Israeli project "Decoding visual content and perception from neuronal population activity in visual cortex: VSDI, fMRI and computational modelling" (January 2012). How does our brain construct a ...

Keeping chemokines apart

New approach helps to alleviate acute lung injury Acute lung injury results from bacterial infections, sepsis – commonly known as blood poisoning – or to the aspiration of gastric juice. Other noxious agents may also induce or contribute to acute lung injury, and in about 40% of cases the ...

New Role for Membrane Components

Heidelberg scientists discover unexpected precision in membrane component interaction With the help of a newly devised procedure, Heidelberg University biochemists have cast light on the hitherto largely unexplained functioning of membrane components. In conjunction with bioinformaticians at ...

Anti-malaria drug synthesised with the help of oxygen and light

The fermented cereal beverage of the Sumerians may not have been beer

4000-year-old cuneiform writings from Mesopotamia tell us little about the brewing techniques used at the time Archaeological finds from cuneiform tablets and remnants of different vessels from over 4,000 years ago show that even around the dawn of civilisation, fermented cereal juice was highly ...

Invitation to New Year’s reception and awards ceremony for the ideas competition "Research alumni of universities in Germany" Reception with over 300 international guests on 19 January in Berlin

Reception with over 300 international guests on 19 January in Berlin The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is again inviting numerous guests from academia, politics and business, among them Humboldtians from all five continents, to its annual New Year’s reception on 19 January 2012 in Berlin. ...

Tracking human evolutionary history

Foundation of the Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology in Rehovot/Israel A new element is being brought in to the already well-developed and multifaceted cooperation between the Max Planck Society and Israel's Weizmann Institute: on 11 January 2012, Max Planck ...

VDMA Technology Symposia at glasstec 2012

17.01.2011 - "Energy- and resource-efficient Technology in designing Glass Machinery" and "Innovative Production Technology for Solar Products and Applications" are the titles of two symposia that VDMA Forum Glass Technology organises at this year's glasstec. The glasstec exhibitors may join ...

World's best metronome enables slow-motion pictures of atoms and molecules

The world's most accurate metronome keeps stroke to an incredible 10 quintillionth of a second. The device enables slow-motion pictures from the world of molecules and atoms, scientists from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg, Germany, and the Massachusetts Institute of ...

Genetic fingerprint reveals new efficient maize cultivars

A computer model predicts the ability of different maize lines to produce high-yield offspring The parent’s performance has little to do with the child's success - at least in maize. Even weak parent plants can be crossed in a way in which they produce vigorous offspring. But not all plants by ...

A nanoear to listen into the silence

Gold nanoparticles detect tiny acoustic vibrations How noisy is a walking flea? What sorts of sound waves are caused by motile bacteria? Physicists at the Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM) have managed for the first time to detect sound waves at such minuscule length scales. Their nanoear is ...

A step closer to mapping the Earth in 3D

After a year in service, the German Earth observation satellite TanDEM-X, together with its twin satellite, TerraSAR-X, have completely mapped the entire land surface of Earth for the first time. The data is being used to create the world's first single-source, high-precision, 3D digital ...

Largest seabird alters their foraging due to climate change

Adapting to changing environmental conditions in the Southern Ocean Paris/ Leipzig. Wandering albatrosses have altered their foraging due to changes in wind fields in the southern hemisphere during the last decades. Since winds have increased in intensity and moved to the south, the flight speed ...

Birds and butterflies are unable to track climate change

European study reveals for the first time impacts on a large scale Montpellier / London/ Halle/Saale. Birds and butterflies are obviously unable to keep up with climate change. Temperatures have risen faster in the last two decades than both animal groups have been able to adapt. Their northward ...

Energy saving chaperone Hsp90

Large conformational changes without ATP consummation A special group of proteins, the so-called chaperones, helps other proteins to obtain their correct conformation. Until now scientists supposed that the chaperone Hsp90 needs energy from hydrolyzing ATP for its large conformational changes. ...

Light on Protein Synthesis

Research team from Heidelberg University and German Cancer Research Center lays foundations for investigation of molecular chaperones Heidelberg molecular biologists have achieved new insights into the synthesis of proteins with a newly developed innovative technique. A team of scientists headed ...

ERC Advanced Grant for Prof. Dr. Joachim Wittbrodt

Funding from European Research Council for Heidelberg developmental biologist Heidelberg developmental biologist Prof. Dr. Joachim Wittbrodt has been awarded a generously endowed ERC Advanced Grant by the European Research Council. Grants from this line of funding are accorded to leading ...

The world's smallest magnetic data storage unit

Scientists from IBM and the German Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) have built the world's smallest magnetic data storage unit. It uses just twelve atoms per bit, the basic unit of information, and squeezes a whole byte (8 bit) into as few as 96 atoms. A modern hard drive, for ...

Ericsson, RWTH Aachen, and Rovi MainConcept Improve Video Conferencing

Ericsson, RWTH Aachen University, and the company Rovi MainConcept have started a collaborative research and development project called Connected Visual Reality (CoVR). The goal of the project is to substantially enhance the performance of audiovisual online communication and thus make it more ...

Energy saving chaperone Hsp90

A special group of proteins, the so-called chaperones, helps other proteins to obtain their correct conformation. Until now scientists supposed that hydrolyzing ATP provides the energy for the large conformational changes of chaperone Hsp90. Now a research team from the Nanosystems Initiative ...

Planet Population is Plentiful

Using gravitational microlensing, research team shows exoplanets are virtually everywhere This artists's cartoon view gives an impression of how common planets are around the stars in the Milky Way. The planets, their orbits and their host stars are all vastly magnified compared to their real ...

Algae for your fuel tank

The available amount of fossil fuels is limited and their combustion in vehicle motors increases atmospheric CO2 levels. The generation of fuels from biomass as an alternative is on the rise. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Johannes A. Lercher and his team at the Technische Universitaet ...

South Asia Institute Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Anniversary programme begins with a talk by mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner The celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Heidelberg University's South Asia Institute (SAI) begin on 17 January 2012 with a talk by mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner about her climbing experiences in the ...

EU Millions to the development of »Plastic Antibodies« - Chemists of TU Dortmund University Coordinate Multinational Network

The EU initial training network PEPMIP or »Robust Affinity Materials for Applications in Proteomics and Diagnostics« will focus on the development of robust “antibodies” made of plastic and other tailor-made materials, for applications in bioanalysis. It is supported with roughly three million ...

New agents to combat the plague

The plague is believed to have been eradicated in Europe. But it continues to reappear in other parts of the world, such as Madagascar, the Congo, and Peru. Since the pathogens are becoming resistant to the usual antibiotics, new agents are urgently needed. Progress has now been made in this ...

Brain region can signal early-stage Alzheimer's and other dementias

Early changes to the inferior frontal junction observed in early dementias A key misplaced yet again? Unable to recall a name? Forgetfulness frequently leads to anxiety: is it just a sign of age, or are these the first symptoms of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease? It has never been easy to ...

13 posts for doctoral researchers

Giessen University's International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC), funded by the German federal government’s Excellence Initiative, offers a three-year structured PhD-programme in the study of culture. With its excellent research environment, a doctoral programme which is ...

Atlantic circulation remains stable for now

World’s first predictions of oceanic overturning circulation: Atlantic flows will not undergo significant change in the next four years One of the most important factors influencing Europe’s climate will not experience any significant change, at least in the near future. Atlantic circulation, ...

Light now in sight

Control of a “blind” neuroreceptor with an optical switch When nerve cells communicate with one another, specialized receptor molecules on their surfaces play a central role in relaying signals between them. A collaborative venture involving teams of chemists based at ...

Backing out of the nanotunnel

New method for nucleic acid analysis In the world of biomolecules such as proteins and the hereditary nucleic acids DNA and RNA, three-dimensional structure determines function. Analysis of the passage of such molecules through nanopores offers a relatively new, but highly promising, technique ...

Diseases and sex

The cocktail maintaining immune gene variation The great variation of a specific form of immune genes makes organ transplants so complicated. On the other hand, we need such a great variability in order to resist infectious diseases. This is why it also plays a major role in the selection of ...

Did our ancestors migrate through a green Sahara?

– Oceanographers from Kiel retrieve climate archives from the Gulf of Sirte– December 22, 2011/Kiel. How did modern man migrate from inner Africa to Europe and Asia more than 100,000 years ago? When answering this question the climatic history plays a decisive role. To study this question more ...

Bayer HealthCare to Share Lab Space with Start-Up Companies

Dedicated lab space-model at Bayer HealthCare U.S. Innovation Center to be called CoLaborator™ / Shared lab space will help promising life science companies get their start San Francisco, January 9, 2012 - One year after the opening of its U.S. Innovation Center, Bayer HealthCare is expanding ...

Can certain foods help treat cancer?

Researchers at the Centre for Nutritional Medicine (ZEM), a joint institution of the Universities of Hohenheim and Tübingen, are investigating whether and to what extent certain food components can support the treatment of cancer and are hoping to derive scientifically founded dietary ...

Standardisation of Cell-based Screens

EU-funded research project combines molecular biology with materials science An international consortium of academic and industrial partners including the BioQuant Centre at Heidelberg University will receive approx. EUR 4.4 million in funding from the European Union over a period of three years ...

The Copernicus of Geosciences: Alfred Wegener presented his revolutionary theory of continental drift 100 years ago

Bremerhaven, December 21, 2011. On 6 January, 1912, the annual meeting of the Geological Association in Frankfurt, Germany witnessed the spectacle of one man against the world. On this date, the meteorologist Alfred Wegener, then 31, gave his talk on the formation of oceans and continents, and ...

Dawn spacecraft now in its lowest orbit around Vesta

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has been in its lowest orbit around asteroid Vesta since mid-December 2011. During November the orbit was gradually lowered to an altitude of 210 kilometres above the asteroid's surface. The first images acquired by the German Framing Camera system at this altitude have ...

Tracking genes’ remote controls

New method for observing enhancer activity during development As an embryo develops, different genes are turned on in different cells, to form muscles, neurons and other bodily parts. Inside each cell’s nucleus, genetic sequences known as enhancers act like remote controls, switching genes on ...

First hint of the Higgs boson particle

Particle physicists at Mainz University are excited: 50 years after its prediction, the Higgs boson gradually takes shape 06.01.2012 - The answer to one of the most exciting questions in particle physics seems almost close enough to touch: Scientists at the Geneva research center CERN have ...

First ever direct measurement of the Earth’s rotation

A group with researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are the first to plot changes in the Earth’s axis through laboratory measurements. To do this, they constructed the world’s most stable ring laser in an underground lab and used it to determine changes in the Earth’s rotation. ...

Record reaction cascade yields cancer drug candidate

Researchers generate Centrocountins involved in cell division in twelve-step cascade synthesis process New active substances can be produced quickly and efficiently with the help of reaction cascades. Once set in motion, these processes lead to the desired end product via a series of ...

Nanocrystals Make Dentures Shine

Chemists develop novel glass ceramics for dentistry The hardest substance in the human body is moved by its strongest muscles: When we heartily bite into an apple or a schnitzel, enormous strengths are working on the surface of our teeth. "What the natural tooth enamel has to endure also goes ...

Fish oil during pregnancy does not protect against excessive adipose tissue development

Is obesity in infants “programmed” in the womb? Previously, researchers assumed that consumption of “bad” fats during pregnancy contribute to excessive infant adipose tissue growth and that “good” Omega 3 fatty acids prevent expansive adipose tissue development. An intervention study run by the ...

Flipped from head to toe: 100 years of continental drift theory

The modern plate tectonics and the image of the Earth Exactly 100 years ago, on 6 January 1912, Alfred Wegener presented his theory of continental drift to the public for the first time. At a meeting of the Geological Association in Frankfurt's Senckenberg Museum, he revealed his thoughts on the ...

Energy conversion in chaperones

Chaperone protein Hsp90 makes large conformational changes even without ATP Living cells continuously produce proteins. A special group, the so-called chaperone proteins, helps other proteins (clients) to obtain their correct conformation. Until now scientists supposed that the chaperone Hsp90 ...

500 years ago, the number of Native Americans plummets by half

For the first time, German and American researchers use genome analysis to demonstrate population bottlenecks (pug) Coincident with the arrival of Europeans in North and South America, there was a significant decline in the indigenous populations on both continents. This is what scientists ...

I know something you don’t know – and I will tell you!

Wild chimpanzees monitor the information available to other chimpanzees and inform their ignorant group members of danger Many animals produce alarm calls to predators, and do this more often when kin or mates are present than other audience members. So far, however, there has been no evidence ...

The art of molecular carpet-weaving

Two-dimensional networks from boronic acids Stable two-dimensional networks of organic molecules are important components in various nanotechnology processes. However, producing these networks, which are only one atom thick, in high quality and with the greatest possible stability currently ...

Great apes make sophisticated decisions

Research suggests that great apes are capable of calculating the odds before taking risks Chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos make more sophisticated decisions than was previously thought. Great apes weigh their chances of success, based on what they know and the likelihood to succeed ...

BASF participates in US American technology company Renmatix

BASF led a $50 million financing round BASF share of investment is $ 30 million Renmatix's patented PlantroseTM technology allows manufacture of sugar from wood biomass Philadelphia ( Pennsylvania ) and Ludwigshafen (Germany) - January 3, 2012 - BASF is participating with $ 30 million through ...

Sky light sky bright - in the office

Working under the open sky – it sounds enticing, but it’s seldom really a practical option. Now, a dynamic luminous ceiling brings the sky into office spaces by creating the effect of passing clouds. This kind of lighting generates a pleasant working environment. As the wind swiftly blows clouds ...

Treasure Hunt in the Bacterial Genome

EU funds research on Actinomycetes with 1.5 million Euro A research project aimed at finding new medical compounds in bacteria has now been granted financial support from Brussels. The European Research Council (ERC) will fund the work of Dr. Andriy Luzhetskyy, a junior scientist investigating ...

Film coatings made from whey

Convenience foods are growing in popularity, and the food they contain is usually protected by films based on petrochemicals. Now researchers have not only developed a biomaterial from whey protein, they have also come up with a commercially viable method of producing multifunctional films on an ...

Electronics made of plastic

The "Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2011" was won by a team comprising existing and former Fraunhofer researchers. Professor Karl Leo, Dr. Jan Blochwitz-Nimoth and Dr. Martin Pfeiffer were honored for their pioneering achievements in the field of organic electronics. When the concept was first ...

From the Baltic to the Tropical Atlantic

Pupils from northern Germany perform marine research in Cape Verd Shortly before Christmas, three pupils from Heikendorf near Kiel, Germany travelled to Cape Verde to study the ecosystem of the tropical Atlantic. The trip was part of the school projects of the Leibniz Institute of Marine ...

Scientists succeed in making the spinal cord transparent

In the event of the spinal cord injury, the long nerve cell filaments, the axons, may become severed. For quite some time now, scientists have been investigating whether these axons can be stimulated to regenerate. Such growth takes place on a scale of only a few millimetres. To date, changes ...

Spider Silk for Wound Healing

RWTH Researchers are Developing a Bandage from Spider Silk In relation to the diameter of its threads, a spider web is five times stronger than steel. To describe the thread's resilience, biochemist Artem Davidenko from DWI Interactive Materials Research at RWTH says, "A thread with a diameter ...

The art of molecular carpet-weaving

Stable two-dimensional networks of organic molecules are important components in various nanotechnology processes. However, producing these networks, which are only one atom thick, in high quality and with the greatest possible stability currently still poses a great challenge. Scientists from ...

German waste management sector set up the portal "German RETech Partnership"

From today, the Federal Environment Ministry's Export Initiative Recycling and Efficiency Technologies (RETech) is self-reliant (20 December 2011). Representatives of waste management companies and German higher education institutions have established the association "German RETech Partnership" ...

Positive feedback and tumorigenesis

Cancer cells are essentially immortal. The acquisition of an unlimited capacity to divide – the process of immortalization - is a central event in the genesis of tumors. Normally, cells are subject to stringent mechanisms which control their proliferation. Together these ensure that ...

Self-regulation of the immune system suppresses defense against cancer

Regulatory T cells (Tregs), which are part of the body´;s immune system, downregulate the activity of other immune cells, thus preventing the development of autoimmune diseases or allergies. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now found the activation steps that are ...

IMB starts international PhD program on

Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation funds a new program for 30 outstanding doctoral students from all over the world 21.12.2011 The Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) establishes a new international PhD program in the Life Sciences with the support of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation. The ...

Describing Reactions in a Fuel Cell

International research team comes up with new microscopy technique â€" Heidelberg mathematician involved For the first time, physical chemistry reactions in a fuel cell can now be observed and described in detail on the nanoscale. This innovation is due to a new microscopy technique devised by ...

Excellence at PIK

12/22/2011 - The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) is one of the most important scientific institutions in this field of research worldwide; many international scientists are therefore drawn to Potsdam. A manifestation of the excellent work done at PIK is the growing number of ...

Mercury’s magnetic field – nipped in the bud

A new computer model takes account of the solar wind Mercury, the smallest of the eight planets with a diameter of 4900 kilometres and the closest to the Sun, looks more like the Moon than the Earth from the outside. It is the only rocky planet that has a global magnetic field like Earth. But ...

DFG to Establish Seven New Research Units

Topics Range from European Socialization Processes to the Optimisation of Hearing Aids The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of seven new Research Units. This follows a decision by the Joint Committee of Germany's central research ...

Proposals for reducing emissions must balance with development needs

12/22/2011 – How to integrate developing countries into global CO2 reduction schemes is subject of an ongoing debate. An approach for balancing climate change mitigation and the need for development is now being presented by the North South Project of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact ...

Optogenetics – Combination switch turns neurons on and off

Max Planck scientists control neurons using two linked light channels Flies that display courtship behaviour at the press of a button, worms made to wriggle by remote control: since the dawn of optogenetics, scientists can turn nerve cells on and off using pulses of light. A research team at the ...

Fastest X-ray images of tiny biological crystals

Protein Nanocrystals Form a Time Switch for Diffraction An international research team headed by DESY scientists from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg, Germany, has recorded the shortest X-ray exposure of a protein crystal ever achieved. The incredible brief exposure ...

Tissue structure delays cancer development

Computer model reveals that spatial structure delays tumour formation Cancer growth normally follows a lengthy period of development. Over the course of time, genetic mutations often accumulate in cells, leading first to pre-cancerous conditions and ultimately to tumour growth. Using a ...

On the edge of friction

Precise insight into how two microscopic surfaces slide over one another could help in the manufacture of low-friction surfaces The problem exists on both a large and a small scale, and it even bothered the ancient Egyptians. However, although physicists have long had a good understanding of ...

Spiders for Wound Healing

Targeted immune stimulation based on DNA Nanotechnology

DNA is usually known as the genetic code for protein synthesis in all living organisms. The application of DNA as a molecular building block on the other hand, allows for the construction of sophisticated nanoscopic shapes that are built entirely from DNA. In particular the recent invention of ...

Air Compressor of Unrivaled Power for Plastics

Siemens is supplying compressor trains to China for the world's largest propylene plant. Each one can compress 700,000 cubic meters of air to 2.4 bar every hour, which is the highest flow rate of an axial-flow compressor in the world. The plant will start up in 2013 and produce propylene as the ...

German Future Prize for DFG-Funded Researchers

Future Technology for Solar Energy Recognised by German President's Award The research team working with Professor Karl Leo from the Dresden University of Technology was awarded the "German Future Prize - German President's Award for Technology and Innovation" (Zukunftspreis) on 14 December 2011 ...

Rapid rise in wildfires in large parts of Canada?

Ecologists show for the first time threshold values for natural wildfires Chicago/Leipzig. Large forest regions in Canada are apparently about to experience rapid change. Based on models, scientists can now show that there are threshold values for wildfires just like there are for epidemics. ...

ECJ ruling on embryos must not be interpreted to the detriment of research

Joint Press Release from the Alliance of German Science Organisations The Alliance of German Science Organisations has expressed concern about possible negative implications for research resulting from the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the interpretation of the term “embryo". ...

Achieving good academic practice

Joint Press Release from the Alliance of German Science Organisations The objective is to create a “culture of openness and responsibility", which is ultimately intended to boost the quality of academic work. This involves intensive discussion and further development of the way good academic ...

“Chaire Blaise Pascal” awarded to Professor Mukhanov

Cosmologist Professor Viatcheslav Mukhanov, who is a member of the Faculty of Physics at LMU, has been chosen to receive one of the “Chaires internationales de recherche Blaise Pascal” sponsored by the French Republic and the regional government of the Île-de-France. Mukhanov’s research is ...

Germany supports Morocco's solar plan

Finance agreement for first large solar power station in Morocco signed The Federal Government will contribute to financing the first large solar power station in Morocco. A first agreement was signed yesterday (14.12.2011) between the KfW Entwicklungsbank and the Moroccan Agency for Solar ...

Tapping the brain orchestra

Jülich, Norge, 19 December 2011 - Researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany have developed a new method for detailed analyses of electrical activity in the brain. The method, recently published in Neuron, can help doctors and ...

New research training group to investigate bacterial survival strategies

The University of Tübingen is to establish a new DFG-funded research training group in which doctoral students from twelve research groups will investigate bacterial survival strategies. The results will contribute to the development of new antimicrobial drugs and also be put to good use in the ...

Shutting the lid – core of Wendelstein 7-X complete

Last major component of the fusion device in place / thermal-insulation cryostat mounted The last major component of the Wendelstein fusion experiment, a section of the outer shell, is scheduled for installation on 21 December 2011. This completes the base machine: The research device, to be ...

How do Tsunamis off the coast of South Italy develop?

– Earth scientists from Kiel examine the continental margins in the Strait of Messina– Joint press release of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) and the Kiel Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean” December 19, 2011/Kiel. From late December 2011 till Mid January 2012 earth ...

Following the crowd supports democracy

From shoals of fish to human society: social organisms need to make collective decisions. And it is not always the majority that prevails. In some cases, a small, resolute group may succeed in bending the whole community to their will. Using computer models and behavioural studies of fish, a ...

Exchange with Central Asia and the Caucasus region: applications until March 2012

More than 200 international scholarships available from Göttingen University - EU-funding of 5,3 million Euros (pug) In the coming years, the University of Göttingen is able to assign a total of 226 international scholarships to scientists, students, and staff of universities in Europe, Central ...

No brakes on breast cancer cells

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have discovered a tiny RNA molecule, called miR-520, which at once blocks two important pathways in the development of cancer in cells. In estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, the production of this microRNA is often reduced and this is ...

Microtechnology finds its way to Industrial Automation: IVAM breaks new ground at HANNOVER MESSE

In 2012 microtechnology will be part of the special area "Industrial Automation" at the HANNOVER MESSE. The main reasons for IVAM and Deutsche Messe to decide this relocation were the close proximity of the application markets and the demands of the exhibitors. "Together with Deutsche Messe we ...

Is Aachen better than New York?

What it is that motivates researchers to come to Germany 8. December - The latest edition of Humboldt Kosmos magazine is out today. Under the headline "Why is Aachen better than New York?" the new edition of Humboldt Kosmos magazine is being published today. International researchers and their ...

Insecticides an increasing problem in future for streams in Europe

Pollution growing particularly in the Baltic Sea region according to study Leipzig. Europe's streams will in future be more heavily polluted with insecticides than before. This is the conclusion of a study by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) for which scientists compared the ...

DAAD bids farewell to Professor Max Huber

Professor Joybrato Mukherjee succeeds him on 1 January Bonn, 15.12.2011. Professor Max G. Huber, Vice-President of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for 16 years and currently its Acting President, retires from his DAAD offices on 1 January 2012. Professor Margret Wintermantel, ...

Opportunities and Challenges of a Sustainable City in the 21st Century – A Comparison of Hamburg and New York

The Brazilian architect and urban planner Jamie Lerner once said “The city is not a problem. It is a solution.” On December 1, at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) New York, representatives from government, commerce, and the media in Hamburg and New York City discussed the ...

High-tech for the finishing touches - METAV 2012 is a forum for grinding technology

15.12.2011 - The sheer diversity of the jobs involved is enormous: they range from forming, decorating glass, sharpening tool edges all the way through to fine-cutting processes for microscopic examinations. No wonder that the subject of grinding will be playing an important role at the METAV ...

Multisensory integration: when correlation implies causation

Researchers discover how the brain merges sights and sounds In order to get a better picture of our surroundings, the brain has to integrate information from different senses, but how does it know which signals to combine? New research involving scientists from the Max Planck Institute for ...

Prof. Burkhard Rauhut Receives DAAD Award for International and Intercultural Involvement

The former Rector of RWTH Aachen University, Professor Burkhard Rauhut, was awarded the first Theodor-Berchem Prize from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) on December 11, 2011. With the award, which is worth €10,000, the DAAD honors individuals who have been outstanding models for ...

Freie Universität Most Important German University for Chinese Scholarships

Cooperation with China Scholarship Council Extended for Three Years Freie Universität has recently extended its cooperation with the largest Chinese funding organization for students, the China Scholarship Council (CSC), for another three years. In Beijing both sides signed an agreement ...

Where will the scientist of tomorrow come from?

IMPRS – a 10-year success story December 12, 2011 For ten years International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) have been successfully tempting young talented students from all over the world to come to Germany. The IMPRS cooperate with their German partner universities to provide a structured ...

Innovative chemical substances from bacteria

Synthetic biology finds new ways to manufacture lantibiotics Roderich Süssmuth and Nediljko Budisa, both professors at the Ber-lin-based Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” (UniCat), have developed a new method for the artificial manufacture of lantibiotics. Lantibiotics are a ...

Getting the image - Decisions are made in the forebrain

For the first time it was clearly demonstrated that the forebrain is causally involved in human decision-making. Researchers at the Bernstein Center Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin have for the first time clearly demonstrated that the forebrain is ...

Stroke impairs learning in remote brain regions

A stroke can affect the learning ability even in remote brain areas. This holds true even if the regions have no known impact on each other. By use of anti-inflammatory drugs, the neuronal networks can regain some of their learning ability. Stroke patients often have difficulties with ...

A big meal coming up for galactic black hole

Astronomers discover a gas cloud which will soon be swallowed up by the object Saggitarius A* At the moment, the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way is going hungry. But its diet may soon be over: a gas cloud has ventured too close to the super massive black hole and will be devoured by it ...

Leibniz Prize 2012 to Honour Eleven Outstanding Researchers

Most Important Research Award Goes to Two Women and Nine Men / Fundamental Insights from Arabic Studies to Oceanography to Cellular Neuroscience Next year’s winners of the most important research award in Germany have been announced: The Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ...

Younicos to receive 'European Solar Prize 2011'

Recognition for developing world’s first renewable energy system for Azorean island of Graciosa Younicos is to receive the "European Solar Prize 2011" for the development of the world's first energy system based on up to 100 percent renewable energy for the Azorean island of Graciosa. In its ...

Follow your nose

Compared to Neanderthals, modern humans have a better sense of smel Differences in the temporal lobes and olfactory bulbs also suggest a combined use of brain functions related to cognition and olfaction. The increase of brain size is intimately linked to the evolution of humanity. Two different ...

ATLAS and CMS experiments present Higgs search status

In a seminar held at CERN today, the ATLAS and CMS experiments presented the status of their searches for the Standard Model Higgs boson. Their results are based on the analysis of considerably more data than those presented at the summer conferences, sufficient to make significant progress in ...

The search for the Higgs makes a significant step forward

Physicists at the worlds largest particle accelerator LHC made a significant step forward on the hunt for the sought-after Higgs particle. The teams of both large detectors ATLAS and CMS narrowed down further the last possible hideout of the hypothetical elementary particle. This is the result ...

Scars in the soul – scars in the brain

Münster researchers demonstrate long-term consequences of child abuse by means of magnetic resonance tomography Münster (upm), Mo, 12 Dez 2011 People who were abused as children mostly suffer their whole life long from the psychological consequences. As a result, adults who were exposed to ...

Zeolite synthesis made easy

Possible applications in chemistry and industry Zeolites are porous materials with perfectly regular pores and high surface area that can act as molecular sieves. This property has led to important applications including the purification of air or water such as the contaminated seawater around ...

Leibniz Prize awarded to Ulf Riebesell

-Marine Biologist from Kiel was honoured with Germany’s most highly endowed research award- 08.12.2011/Kiel. Prof. Dr. Ulf Riebesell from the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) was honoured with the Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation. For his research on the effects ...

Control by the matrix: RUB researchers decipher the role of proteins in the cell environment

How astrocytes, certain cells of the nervous system, are generated was largely unknown up to now. Bochum’s researchers have now investigated what influence the cell environment, known as the extracellular matrix, has on this process. They found out that the matrix protein tenascin C has to be ...

Humboldt Research Award for Top US Researcher Robert J. Cava of Princeton

Renowned materials scientist comes to Germany at the invitation of researchers at Mainz University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology / Focus on superconductors US scientist Robert J. Cava of Princeton University is the recipient of a research prize of the Alexander von Humboldt ...

Minihelicopter Flies Autonomously

Siemens uses a minihelicopter equipped with onboard sensors to collect and interpret videos. Known as the quadrocopter, the aircraft uses the data to create a 3D digital model of its immediate surroundings. As reported in Pictures of the Future magazine, computer scientists working for Corporate ...

The world’s smallest steam engine

A heat engine measuring only a few micrometres works as well as its larger counterpart, although it splutters What would be a case for the repair shop for a car engine is completely normal for a micro engine. If it sputters, this is caused by the thermal motions of the smallest particles, which ...

The European Research Council supports quantum information and many particle physics research with 1.34 million Euros

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded one of the coveted ERC Starting Grants to a researcher at the Leibniz Universität Hannover. Prof. Tobias J. Osborne, professor of theoretical physics at the Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Cluster of Excellence QUEST (Centre for Quantum ...

High wind with low energy

The high winds of the upper atmosphere contain less renewable energy than previously assumed It seems that the energy mix of the future will have to differ from the current suggestions of some visionaries. This is because the jet streams that sweep the upper atmosphere with high winds would ...

DLR tests Australian spacecraft

Can new types of engine make spaceflight easier and more economical? This question is being investigated by researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) using one of Europe's leading hypersonic wind tunnels, located in Göttingen. The engine is being ...

Protection against gastrointestinal diseases

Freiburger research team isolates food molecules that improve the immune system A group of food molecules, the so called glucosinolates, play animportant role in the function and sustainment of the intestinal immunecells. The team around Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach and Elina Kiss,Institute for ...

UniCat Cluster of Excellence and BASF establish joint lab on raw material change

On December 8, 2011, the Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” (UniCat) and the chemical company BASF SE signed a cooperation agreement establishing a new joint lab dedicated to the development of new catalytic processes for raw material change. The move promotes the search for ...

Novel nano-carbon platform shows potential for future bioelectronic implants

Biocompatible graphene transistor array reads cellular signals NIM researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, a graphene-based transistor array that is compatible with living biological cells and capable of recording the electrical signals they generate. This proof-of-concept platform ...

Two ERC grants go to the German Cancer Research Center

Two DKFZ researchers at a time are awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant this year. One of the grants is awarded to a project of Prof. Michael Boutros, who endeavors to show, for the first time, the interaction of all genes in cells of a higher organism. Prof. ...

The future of Afghanistan lies in education

Ten years of DAAD support for Afghan higher education Bonn, 29.11.2011. Since 2002, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has been particularly involved in establishing and developing Afghan universities. In the context of the Stability Pact for Afghanistan, with Federal Foreign Office ...

Strengthening Universities, Enhancing Capacities

Higher Education Management: Ten Years of Cooperation with Developing Countries Bonn, 28.11.2011. What are the major challenges concerning the management of universities and technical institutes in Europe and other regions of the world? How can universities respond to these challenges, and what ...

New insights into how the brain reconstructs the third dimension

A new visual illusion has shed light on a long-standing mystery about how the brain works out the 3D shapes of objects As dizzying as it may sound, the impression that we are living in a 3D world is actually a continuous fabrication of our brains. When we look at things, the world gets projected ...

Forests as climate regulators: Complex topics future forestry scientists must face

Over the course of their lifetimes, trees absorb huge amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) and store it for extended periods of time. That makes forests a natural and highly effective "climate regulator" that incurs comparatively little cost to operate. In order that future ...

Breakthrough in X-Ray Nanospectroscopy

HZB researchers achieve X-ray spectroscopy at nanoscale spatial resolution Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have developed a new microscope for high spatial resolution X-ray spectroscopic studies. While conventional X-ray spectroscopy has so far fallen short of resolving single ...

Fraunhofer researchers receive the Franco-German Business Award 2011

Press Release Dec 06, 2011 - Fraunhofer researchers have teamed up with their French colleagues at the Carnot-Institut Laboratoire d‘électronique des technologies de l‘information CEA-LETI to develop reusable substrates for III-V multi-junction solar cells – and on December 5, 2011, were ...

Science and Policy: Dialogue in Durban

12/06/2011 - Leading policy-makers and researchers met today in Durban to urge climate negotiators to acknowledge scientific findings and address the sustainability challenge. Amongst the participants of this dialogue were Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa and Co-Chair of the UN Secretary ...

Natural gas instead of crude oil

UniCat Cluster of Excellence and BASF establish joint lab on raw material change at the TU Berlin On December 8, 2011, the Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” (UniCat) and chemical company BASF SE signed a cooperation agreement establishing a new joint lab dedicated to the ...

Maternal care influences brain chemistry into adulthood

The effect of the messenger substance neuropeptide Y depends on the behaviour of the mother during infancy Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most abundant peptide hormone of the central nervous system. It is involved in various processes including stress management, the development of anxiety ...

BASF and three top European universities team up on functional materials research

Goal: innovation in multi-materials and systems BASF expands international research network BASF SE has set up a research initiative called Joint Research Network on Advanced Materials and Systems (JONAS) in collaboration with the universities of Strasbourg, France; Freiburg, Germany, and ETH ...

Global warming 'not slowing down'

12/06/2011 - A new analysis of the five leading global temperature data sets provides further evidence for climate change. Despite some differences between the measurement curves they indicate an almost identical, steady global warming trend over the past 30 years. The researchers factored out ...

Glass that cleans itself

Thanks to its spherical nanostructure, fluorinated silica coating repels water and oil very effectively Eyeglasses need never again to be cleaned, and dirty windscreens are a thing of the past! Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz and the Technical University ...

The magnetic field pattern of the Milky Way

New all-sky map shows complex structure of magnetic fields in unprecedented detail Like all galaxies, our Milky Way is awash with magnetic fields. For the first time, scientists have now measured the complex structure of such fields in detail. Using a novel image reconstruction technique, they ...

Oxidative stress: Less harmful than suspected?

Oxidative stress is considered to be involved in a multitude of pathogenic processes and is also implicated in the proces of aging. For the first time, scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have been able to directly observe oxidative changes in ...

Climate dents in humankind´s family tree: new correlations discovered

12/05/2011 - Climate changes in Earth’s history have influenced the fate of modern man´s ancestors, but until now it has not been clear why some evolutionary variations developed or disappeared. Scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Potsdam University have now ...

Flexible Rack Systems Sort Molecules

Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have developed a flexible and efficient new process for the separation of enantiomers. Enantiomer separation is indispensable for the production of many pharmaceuticals. In their process, the scientists use ...

Asteroid Vesta in 3D - seemingly close enough to touch

No asteroid or rocky planet looks quite like the asteroid Vesta, which the US Dawn spacecraft has been orbiting since July 2011; countless craters, furrows and slopes define the landscape of this celestial body. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has ...

'Siemens Research Center' Starting at RWTH

Siemens and RWTH want to achieve the first worldwide external "Siemens Research Center" together. Siemens is providing a total of 6 million Euros for the ambitious undertaking, which is planned for four years. January 1, 2012 is the start of the project, and it is expected that at least nine ...

BioStruct-X - A New Structural Biology Platform

Kick-Off Meeting at EMBL/DESY High-profile structural biology research has just become more accessible. BioStruct-X, a new EU-funded project, will be holding its kick-off meeting at DESYs worldwide unique free electron laser FLASH today and tomorrow. Managed by the European Molecular Biology ...

Cellzome founder wins EU women innovators award

Cellzome announces today that Dr. Gitte Neubauer, one of the scientific founders of Cellzome, has received the highly esteemed EU Women Innovators Award. The award recognizes her outstanding contribution in translating academic research into a commercial venture through the foundation of ...

LMU speech scientist wins major ERC grant

LMU phonetician and speech scientist Professor Jonathan Harrington (Institute of Phonetics and Speech Processing) has been selected to receive one of the coveted Advanced Investigators Grants awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). Harrington is the only representative of the humanities ...

DFG to Fund Eight New Collaborative Research Centres

Topics Range from Sustainable Manufacturing to the Preservation of Tropical Rainforests The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eight Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) as of 1 January 2012. This was agreed by the responsible Grants Committee at its ...

Physicists score a hat trick at the end of the year

Group led by Prof. Cornelia Denz has three publications in the Year's Best list in "Optics and Photonics News" Münster (upm), Mo, 05 Dez 2011 - Physicists at the University of Münster have scored a hat trick. The prestigious journal "Optics and Photonics News" has included in its list of the 30 ...

Unusual flow patterns in Phlegra Montes

Phlegra Montes is a mountainous massif on Mars that extends for several hundreds of kilometres from the northeastern part of the Elysium volcanic region (between 30 and 50 degrees north) to deep into the northern lowlands. The mountain range consists of numerous rolling hills and ridges, the ...

EU-funded project manufactures plant-derived anti-HIV antibody safe for humans

Brussels, 1 December 2011The EU-funded project Pharma-Planta has succeeded in producing an anti-HIV antibody in plants and has tested it in humans, with a positive result. This antibody could one day become an inexpensive component used to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The "Phase I" clinical ...

Plant seeds protect their genetic material against dehydration

When seeds from the thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana mature, their cell nuclei reduce in size and the chromatin condenses December 02, 2011 - Plant seeds represent a special biological system: They remain in a dormant state with a significantly reduced metabolism and are thus able to withstand ...

Mysterious cells of the immune system: Immunologists at the German Cancer Research Center question the role of mast cells in autoimmune diseases

Up to now, scientists have assumed that mast cells, a certain type of immune cells, play a central role in the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Current studies conducted at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, ...

'Look at that!' Ravens use gestures, too

Ravens gesture with their beaks to point out objects to each other Pointing and holding up objects in order to attract attention has so far only been observed in humans and our closest living relatives, the great apes. Simone Pika from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Thomas Bugnyar ...

Best Practice for Green City Planning

On December 1st, German and U.S. experts will discuss achievements and challenges in cities’ transitions towards sustainability at "Opportunities and Challenges of a Sustainable City in the 21st Century - A Comparative View of New York and Hamburg, 2011 European Green Capital” at the German ...

Prestigious Award for RWTH Environmental Researcher

Dr. Thomas Preuss of the Institute for Environmental Research at RWTH Aachen University has been awarded the 2011 Cefic LRI Innovative Science Award. The prize is awarded in varying fields every year by the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic). The prize, valued at €100,000, is awarded to ...

THEP group sets world record in one-loop computations

For the first time ever a physical observable depending on a one-loop eight-point function has been calculated 01.12.2011 -Professor Dr. Stefan Weinzierl of the Institute of Physics of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and his group recently published a numerical computation of jet rates ...

Bridging Science and Design for a Better Understanding of Spatial Cognition

The physical space in which humans live and work has far-reaching implications for the nature and quality of everyday life and experiences. As Winston Churchill once said, “we shape our buildings; thereafter our buildings shape us.” Understanding the space surrounding us has been a challenge for ...

Passport for an interloper

Ant colonies are very attractive targets for parasites and predators, as they offer the successful invader secure living quarters and an abundant source of food. To protect their nests from interlopers, ants use chemical odorants to distinguish nestmates from potential intruders. However, ...

Climate Research Project with Unmanned Drone

Optical spectrometer from Heidelberg University's Institute of Environmental Physics for NASA Global Hawk missions Physicists at Heidelberg University will be contributing an innovative optical spectrometer to the first-ever climatic and atmospheric research project to make use of an unmanned ...

€13 million for a new joint laboratory at the TU Berlin for raw-material change

Ceremonial signing of the contract on 8th December / Invitation to press conference with guided tour of a laboratory The Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” (UniCat) and the worldwide largest chemical company BASF SE launch a joint laboratory, the “UniCat-BASF Joint Lab”. A ...

'Poland and Germany in Modern Europe'

A new German-Polish doctoral program on “Poland and Germany in Modern Europe” will be officially inaugurated in Wrocław on 4 December. This is the first such international graduate program devoted to themes drawn from the areas of the humanities, cultural and social studies to be established ...

Language test as a smartphone app

The app enables scientists to collect large volumes of data on language processing in the brain Dok or dog - which of these is a real word, and which is not? Researchers use lexical decision tasks like this to find out what happens in the brain when people read words. Up to now, such experiments ...

DESY engages in Belle II

Cooperation agreement with KEK at new Super B-factory On 18 November, the laying of the foundation stone for the SuperKEKB accelerator took place at the Japanese accelerator laboratory KEK in Tsukuba. This accelerator with the corresponding particle detector Belle II will become a so-called ...

Second Round of German-USA Collaborations approved

Within the second round of the funding measure "German-USA Collaborations in Computational Neuroscience", six projects will receive a total funding of approximately 2.6 million € by BMBF, NSF and NIH (November 2011). In 2009, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research ...

Experts from German chemical societies: UN Climate Summit not without chemistry!

The UN Climate Conference that is scheduled to start on November 28 in Durban is under intense pressure to succeed; since the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, it is imperative to supersede it with an internationally binding follow-up agreement. The joint committee of German chemical societies ...

Stiftung Mercator and PIK initiate new institute with EUR 17m budget

11/28/2011 - Today Stiftung Mercator and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) announced the foundation of a joint institute for research and policy advice in Berlin. The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) will address interdisciplinary ...

Water as a lubricant

Earthquake: Alternation between creep and quakes in the San Andreas Fault Geophysicists from Potsdam have established a mode of action that can explain the irregular distribution of strong earthquakes at the San Andreas Fault in California. As the science magazine "Nature" reports in its latest ...

From the banks of the Kiel Fjord all the way to Mars

NASA and DLR place their trust in technology developed in Kiel, Germany On Saturday, November 26 at 16:02, the mission to mars started. On this day, America´s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on a high-thrust Atlas V rocket for a ...

A mystery solved – How cortisone operates within the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Despite its side-effects cortisone gets used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis since 1948. Researcher of the Leibniz Institute for Research Age in Jena discovered important details in the mechanism of action that are useful for the separation of the desired therapy and its side-effects. ...

The stars no longer twinkle

Adaptive optics technology at the Very Large Telescope has revolutionized the astronomical observation techniques Ten years ago today, NACO became operational: the first adaptive optics system of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). Adaptive Optics allows astronomers to remove the stars' ...

Scale Objective: Redesigned Scale Objective Lens from Carl Zeiss for Brain Research

Imaging to depth of 5.6 mm in brain tissue now possible JENA/Germany, 28.11.2011. - The completely redesigned plan-apochromatic 20x/1.0 VIS-IR objective lens from Carl Zeiss now makes it possible to acquire 3D images of nerve cells down to depths of 5.6 mm in intact tissue using a confocal laser ...

Wastewater treatment plants produce more than just clean water

Drinking water is essential for sustaining human life. However, only 0.0001 per cent of the 1.4 billion cubic kilometres of water on the earth is easy accessible for use as drinking water. It is therefore a precious commodity, and wastewater needs to be purified before it re-enters the water ...

Dogs – the latest way to detect lung cancer

Dogs can reliably sniff out lung cancer, according to a study carried out by a group of doctors from Stuttgart. The study shows that a dog can accurately detect cancer-specific components by sniffing human breath. The project was started on the initiative of Dr. Rainer Ehmann, a lung specialist ...

When inflexibility is counterproductive

Excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation of sunlight can result in skin damage and may even induce skin cancers. Irradiation with UV light causes mutations in the DNA, which can interfere with or even inhibit the read-out of genetic information and hence affect the cell function. The ...

Ants that can rest on their pants

Shrewd investments in the slave trade Protomognathus americanus has got it all “worked” out. This ant, just 3 mm long, lives in colonies made up of only a few conspecifics. Often, a whole colony fits in a hollow acorn. There’s not all that much housework to do, one might think. Nevertheless, ...

When errors improve performance

Model describes how experiences influence our perception During estimation processes we unconsciously make use of recent experiences. Scientists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München and the Bernstein Center Munich asked test subjects to estimate distances in a virtual reality ...

New Projects Confirm Germany’s Role in Energy Storage Segment

International Renewable Energy Storage Conference 11/25/2011Berlin - Two new developments confirm Germany’s position as a top location to implement energy storage technology: Canadian fuel cell maker Ballard announced the opening of its new European headquarters in Germany this week. And last ...

Curiosity - a heavyweight Mars explorer

Researchers at DLR and Kiel University will conduct the first investigations about radiation levels on the Martian surfacen The US 'Curiosity' rover began its journey to Mars at 16:02 CET on 26 November on board an Atlas V 541 / Centaur launcher that lifted off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape ...

'A beacon in our scientific landscape'

The Minister-President of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer, opens the Diabetes Research Department at the Helmholtz Zentrum München – Leading role in German diabetes research – Strategic alliance with Munich’s Technical University Neuherberg, 16.11.2010. The Minister-President of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer, ...

Nobel Prize winner Roald Hoffmann is to give the fourth Gerhard Ertl Lecture

Address to be given on 8th December at the TU Berlin / Invitation The US chemist Prof. Roald Hoffmann, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize, will give this year's Gerhard Ertl Lecture in recognition of his life's work. The subject of his lecture, entitled “The Chemical Imagination at Work in Very ...

Researchers decode a puzzling movement disorder

The team working with Prof. Oliver Brüstle extracts nerve cells from skin cells to study the cause of the disease Neurodegenerative diseases represent one of the greatest challenges of our aging society. However, investigation into these diseases is made particularly difficult due to the limited ...

Genetic defect disturbs salt handling and pushes up blood pressure levels

Scientists from Max Planck identify gene responsible for hypertension Hypertension is an endemic condition with far-reaching consequences. For instance, high blood pressure is the main cause of heart attacks and strokes. Other organs are also damaged by the chronic condition. Hypertension is ...

First Electrons light up at REGAE

One of DESY’s smallest scientific accelerators reached an important milestone: last week, REGAE (Relativistic Electron Gun for Atomic Exploration) accelerated its first electrons, thus starting operation officially. REGAE is a joint project of the CFEL partners Max Planck Society, University of ...

The ABCC9 of sleep

Legend has it that Napoleon never needed more than four hours of sleep at a stretch. Others only feel fully rested after 10 hours between the sheets. Clearly, individuals vary with respect to how much sleep they need. Indeed, sleep duration is influenced by many factors. Apart from seasonal and ...

Fighting Fat With Fat

Coordinated by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), a European research consortium is searching for ways to use brown fat tissue for combating widespread diseases such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Gross overweight or obesity is spreading like a pandemic. In 2006, WHO ...

Scheduling for Durban - and beyond

11/24/2011 – At the moment, hardly anyone expects a breakthrough of the climate summit in Durban. Even before the negotiators from around the world come together in South Africa at the end of November, some observers already turn away bored. Especially for this reason, scientists from the ...

Playing music alters the processing of multiple sensory stimuli in the brain

Piano practicing finetunes the brain circuitries that temporally bind signals from our senses Over the years pianists develop a particularly acute sense of the temporal correlation between the movements of the piano keys and the sound of the notes played. However, they are no better than ...

alpha ventus achieves positive interim results - offshore power yield higher than expected

Germany's first offshore wind farm alpha ventus is generating more power than expected.While the first half of 2011 was disappointing for onshore wind farms, the constant and strong winds on the open sea over the last nine months have produced more than 190 gigawatt hours of electricity. The ...

Enhanced treatment of brain tumors

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University Hospitals have tested a combination of radiation treatment and a substance that blocks the transforming growth factor beta (TGF- β) for treating glioblastoma. In the mouse model, this combination therapy was found ...

Mapheus-3 – spherules, metals and microgravity

DLR scientists launch sounding rocket with material physics experiments First, it is launched into space at 5400 kilometres per hour, then come three and a half minutes of weightlessness, and finally it lands using a parachute. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für ...

BASF creates new global business unit to advance battery activities for electromobility

New Battery Materials unit will integrate BASF's cathode materials, electrolytes and next-generation lithium battery initiatives Ralf Meixner will lead Battery Materials In recognition of the significant growth opportunity associated with the global battery marketplace, BASF is creating a new ...

Jenoptik opens up new application in laser material processing.

Jenoptik’s Lasers & Material Processing division has won its first orders for laser processing systems used in the manufacture of energy saving high-tech glass, so-called smart windows. Jenoptik will be supplying US-American plants with laser processing systems for high-tech glass. With these ...

New class of drugs for the reversible inhibition of proteasomes

As the “recycling plant” of the cell, the proteasome regulates vitally important functions. When it is inhibited, the cell chokes on its own waste. Cancer cells, in particular, are very sensitive because they need the proteasome for their uncontrolled growth. Biochemists at the Technische ...

150 international young researchers from 43 countries to meet in Hamburg Fellows’ meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Hamburg from 23 to 25 November

Fellows’ meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Hamburg from 23 to 25 November 150 young researchers from 43 countries will be guests in Hamburg from 23 to 25 November 2011 for the network meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The fellows of the ...

EUR 250,000 award for researchers in the humanities and social sciences presented for the first time Anneliese Maier Research Award goes to seven researchers.

Anneliese Maier Research Award goes to seven researchers. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is awarding the very first Anneliese Maier Research Award to seven humanities scholars and social scientists. The new collaboration award is designed to promote the internationalisation of the ...

Heidelberg receives three ERC Starting Grants and six ERC Advanced Grants for outstanding investigators

In the framework of this year’s round of the European Research Council’s (ERC) competition for outstanding researchers, Heidelberg University has totted up a remarkable score. In the field of project-related research funding, three young researchers have been awarded one of the coveted Starting ...

A winning formula for climate change conferences?

The likelihood of damage caused by climate change in the medium term could bring poor and rich countries to effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions A global agreement on effective climate change mitigation could be closer to realisation - if the findings of Max Planck scientists are ...

Center for Adaptive Robotics launched

Robots should become “more intelligent” and more adaptable so that they can be of even greater assistance to humans. To achieve this aim, the University of Würzburg has founded the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Adaptive Robotics. Whether in industrial manufacturing, tumor radiation ...

Three-Dimensional Characterization of Catalyst Nanoparticles

Catalysts will forever be a part of modern technology. They are crucial to industrial chemical processes, are fundamental to low-emission cars and will be essential for energy production inside next generation fuel cells. In a cooperative between Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Federal ...

CureVac, Sanofi Pasteur and In-Cell-Art collaborate on a $33.1 million project

15.11.11.- CureVac GmbH today announced the signing of several agreements with Sanofi Pasteur S.A., the vaccines division of Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY). Under these agreements, CureVac and Sanofi Pasteur will further develop and apply CureVac’s proprietary RNActive® technology platform ...

Are Natural Halogenated Hyrdocarbons Harmful to the Ozone Layer?

Over 20 years ago, the industrial production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) was prohibited in order to protect the ozone layer. However, research findings by environmental physicists from Heidelberg University suggest that the ozone layer may also be damaged by natural chlorinated, brominated and ...

The car's veins

Water-assisted injection molding of fluid-conveying tubes made from Ultramid at Teklas Teklas, a Turkish supplier to the automotive industry, has actively pushed the development of water-assisted injection molding technology (WIT) for manufacturing hollow plastic parts. The company has recently ...

Flying over the three-dimensional Moon

DLR Planetary researchers generate a new model of the Moon Although the Moon is so far the only celestial body other than Earth on which a human being has ever walked, the topography of its surface has not been studied comprehensively. This is why NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has ...

Regeneration after a stroke requires intact communication channels between the two halves of the brain

Recovery depends on the exchange of information between the brain hemispheres The structure of the corpus callosum, a thick band of nerve fibres that connects the two halves of the brain with each other and in this way enables the rapid exchange of information between the left and right ...

Mutants with heterozygote disadvantage can prevent spread of transgenic animals

Max Planck researchers simulate the conditions for the safest possible release of genetically modified organisms Genetically modified animals are designed to contain the spread of pathogens. One prerequisite for the release of such organisms into the environment is that the new gene variant does ...

Shenzhou-8: Safe touch-down with German SIMBOX experiments

Successful conclusion of the first German-Chinese project in manned space flight On 17 November at 19:38 local time (12:38 CET), the Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou-8, carrying the German SIMBOX experiment, landed on schedule in the Gobi desert in Inner Mongolia, completing a successful 17-day ...

Enzymatic synthesis of pyrrolysine, the mysterious 22nd amino acid

With few exceptions, all known proteins are using only twenty amino acids. 25 years ago scientists discovered a 21st amino acid, selenocysteine and ten years ago a 22nd, the pyrrolysine. However, how the cell produces the unusual building block remained a mystery. Now researchers at the ...

The Higgs particle is running out of places to hide

Largest hunt so far with the Large Hadron Collider LHC Scientists working at the world’s largest particle accelerator LHC near Geneva have presented the so far most extensive search for the Higgs particle, the last missing piece of the Standard Model of particle physics. It is the first combined ...

New excellence network launches in Africa Inaugural conference in Addis Ababa with researchers from Africa and Germany

Inaugural conference in Addis Ababa with researchers from Africa and Germany The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is launching the African-German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES) in conjunction with researchers from various African countries. AGNES is designed to give more visibility to ...

Innovations from the world of research at Bayer

Personalized medicine against cancer / Creating new active crop protection ingredients with biotechnology / Electric mobility: materials for the cars of the future Leverkusen, November 2011 - The battle against cancer, safeguarding the food supply and enhanced energy efficiency in daily life are ...

Technology Parks and Centers in Germany

The German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) is proud to announce the launch of its new webpage, Technology Parks & Centers, on http://germaninnovation.org/research-and-innovation/technology-parks-and-centers The GCRI’s web presence is an information platform for North Americans who are ...

How the fly flies

Max Planck scientists discover gene switch responsible for flight muscle formation Flies are real flight artists, although they only have small wings compared to their body size. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, recently identified the ...

2005 YU55 resembles a collection of rocks hurtling through space

The Herschel Space Observatory catches a glimpse of the minor planet during its rendezvous with Earth It is the closest, fastest and smallest object so far seen by Herschel. In fact, such observations were not even foreseen due to technical constraints. The asteroid 2005 YU55 is moving on the ...

RWTH Professor Receives NRW Innovation Award

This year's NRW Innovation Award in the category of "innovation" goes to the Director the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) and RWTH Chair of Laser Technology, Professor Reinhart Poprawe, and his team of laser researchers. The team members include Dr. Andres Gasser, Dr. Ingomar ...

Zeppelin NT Flies for European Climate Research Jülich researchers measure air quality over Europe

Jülich researchers measure air quality over Europe Jülich/Friedrichshafen, 17 November 2011 - The test programme began in Friedrichshafen this week: Jülich climatologists are testing and optimizing the measuring equipment in preparation for the largest research application ever of a Zeppelin NT, ...

Research on the origin of life

Highly endowed award for Professor Dieter Braun LMU-biophysicist Professor Dieter Braun was awarded the Klung-Wilhelmy-Weberbank prize for the year 2011. Worth a total of 100.000 Euro, it is the highest endowed award for junior chemists and physicists in Germany. The foundation board awards the ...

ERC Grants for Four Top Researchers from the MDC

Four researchers of the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) Berlin-Buch will receive a total of eight million euros in research funding from the European Research Council (ERC) in Strasbourg. The two neurobiologists Professor Gary Lewin (MDC) and Professor Thomas Jentsch (MDC/Leibniz-Institut für ...

Global warming’s impact may be detected in genes

– Marine researchers from Kiel and Muenster publish study on the reaction of seagrasses to heat waves – 15.11.2011/Kiel. Climate change imposes stress on organisms. The global change is characterized by both the change in mean variables and the increase in extreme events and both are affecting ...

European Parliament: towards a low carbon economy

11/11/2011 - To support its discussions about pathways towards a competitive low carbon economy, the European Parliament (EP) recently organised a workshop in Brussels. Daniel Klingenfeld from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research contributed the scientific view. Other experts were ...

Business €288.5 million for the 2nd High-Tech Start-Up Fund

Till five years ago, scientists above all could find it very difficult to obtain funding to turn ideas into businesses. Today, the High-Tech Start-Up Fund (HTGF) initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Economics in 2005, has grown into an important contact point for those people with ideas ...

Stellar midwives

Magnetic fields play a key role in channeling matter to form denser clouds and produce new suns Stars and their planets are born when giant clouds of interstellar gas and dust collapse. What exactly happens in such cosmic delivery rooms? What are the processes that lead to this collapse? ...

Business BASF applies for approval for another biotech potato

Scientists from BASF Plant Science GmbH in Limburgerhof have bred a genetically modified (GM) potato that is resistant against the pest Phytophthora infestans. The fungus triggers the disease known as late blight or potato blight. It is hoped that the new potato could reduce harvest losses. At ...

Booster for Next-Generation Supercomputers Kick-off for the European exascale project DEEP

Kick-off for the European exascale project DEEP Jülich, 15 November 2011 - Today supercomputers are an indispensable tool in almost all fields of research. However, present concepts cannot be extended indefinitely without causing an unreasonable increase in effort and costs. For this reason, ...

Punishment of egoistic behaviour is not rewarded

People do not like to be observed when they cause harm to others The heated debate surrounding the German "state Trojan" software for the online monitoring of telecommunication between citizens shows that the concealed observation of our private decisions provokes public disapproval. However, as ...

Compostable, tear-resistant and waterproof: Ecovio bio-waste bags

Biodegradable plastic passes the test under real-world conditions Leftover lettuce, old bunches of flowers, potato peelings, coffee grounds: the average kitchen generates lots of organic waste. This can be turned into nutrient-rich compost in an industrial composting plant, but only if it is ...

An excavation is no camping trip

The Greeks were not always in such dire financial straits as today. But whether it is necessary to look as far back as these Bonn archeologists did in order to see a huge, flourishing Greek commercial area? They have just discovered a very large commercial area from the ancient Greek era during ...

New Helmholtz-Russia research group on the hunt for cosmic radiation

With innovative technologies, a German-Russian research group is in Siberia on the hunt for high enery cosmic gamma rays as well as for so-called cosmic rays. The latter are forming a continuous shower of high-energy atomic nuclei from outer space, its origin still being mysterious to a large ...

Perfect micro rings woven from muscle fibers

Supplied with sufficient energy, a freight train would ride the rails as far as they go. But nature also knows systems whose dynamics suddenly turn into a kind of endless loop. Like in a hamster wheel, a train caught up in such a system would continue running, but without moving forward. ...

Diseased hearts to heal themselves in future

Oncostatin M regulates the reversion of heart muscle cells into precursor cells and is vitally important for the self-healing powers of the heart Cellular reversion processes arise in diseases of the heart muscle, for example myocardial infarction and cardiomyopathy, which limit the fatal ...

Genetic testing may save breast cancer patients unnecessary chemotherapy

The Interdisciplinary Breast Center at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen’s Klinikum rechts der Isar is now offering its patients a new genetic test: it divides patients having hormone-sensitive breast cancer into high and low risk groups. Low risk means that the probability of metastasis ...

Tiny, Tailored Magnets - CeNIDE Researchers Publish in 'Nature Communications'

Nanomagnets are used in many places nowadays, from medicine to data storage. Sometimes they have to be strong and and sometimes they have to be weak. Researchers from the Center for Nanointegration (CeNIDE) at University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have found out just how to produce these tiny ...

BASF to establish global headquarters for Dispersions & Pigments division in Hong Kong

Ludwigshafen , Germany November 14, 2010 BASF plans to establish the global headquarters of its Dispersions & Pigments division in Hong Kong. As of January 1, 2012, the division head and about 50 global positions, currently located in Ludwigshafen and Basel, will transition to Hong Kong. ...

Waste land in the 19th century

What connects apocalyptic poetry from the 19th century to the works of Quentin Tarantino? What does it have to do with films about the end of time, such as “I am Legend”? Professor of English Studies, Ralph Pordzik, from the University of Würzburg explains all in a new study. Man’s fears in ...

BASF is partner in the EU research project BIONEXGEN

17 project partners develop enzymes for industrial processesBASF participates in projects for the biocatalytic synthesis of amines and for the use of enzymes in the manufacturing of functional polymers BASF is participating in the EU-supported research project BIONEXGEN (Next Generation of ...

Good preparation is key – even for plant cells and symbiotic fungi

Laser capture microdissection provides an insight into the symbiotic programme of root cells Not only mineral oil and petroleum gas, also phosphorous is a scarce resource. According to well-respected scientists who gathered together for a conference in Cambridge this August, we will face ...

Renewable electricity: the cheapest energy source for Europe by 2050

On the basis of calculations for 36 countries in Europe and Northern Africa the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) concludes that a power supply completely based upon renewable sources by 2050 is achievable at average costs of 65 €/ Mwh. “Renewable electricity will become the ...

GammaProtect®: Cathodic corrosion protection for hot stamping

For long-lasting corrosion protection, manufacturers of automotive components use galvanized steel: A simple truth, but one that only applies to cold formed parts. In hot stamping, above all in the highly cost-effective direct or one-stage hot stamping process, the corrosion protection question ...

The Perfect Couple: Japanese Robots and German Autos

Berlin/Tokyo - Germany's automotive industry is driving sales of industrial robots to new highs. Robotic industry experts expect turnover to increase by over 40 percent in 2011 in some segments, breaking revenue records. Recent foreign investments, including Japan's Yaskawa Corporation, have ...

Beacons in space

Pulsars are fascinating celestial bodies with an interesting history November 03, 2011 Pulsars are among the most exotic objects in the universe. They resemble gigantic atomic nuclei and rotate around their own axis at an incredible speed. These cosmic beacons mark the end of massive suns. ...

Germany: Disconnecting Economic Growth from Resource Consumption

Berlin/Tel Aviv – Carbon dioxide emissions skyrocketed in 2010, according to new data. This is due largely to fossil fuel burning in developing countries. But Germany shows that economic growth and consumption of natural resources can also be uncoupled. Germany is a leading exporter of ...

Immune surveillance against cancer

Early stage tumor suppression through immune surveillance: HZI researchers describe a new mechanism Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) cell carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In the majority of cases hepatocellular carcinoma develops after chronic liver damage due ...

IPP scientist wins Russian grant in the millions

Doing research in St. Petersburg with 3.5 million euros / Government grant from the Russian Federation In an open competition Professor Dr. Friedrich Wagner, Director (retd.) at Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching and Greifswald, has won, together with Russian colleagues from St. ...

CAU and DESY sign cooperation agreement

Joint laboratory is named after X-ray pioneer Ruprecht Haensel Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU) and DESY in Hamburg will cooperate more closely in the future. On Friday, 11 November, a cooperation agreement was signed in Hamburg on behalf of the University of Kiel (CAU) by President ...

Attention and awareness uncoupled

Brain imaging experiments uncouple two apparently intimately connected mental processes In everyday life, attention and awareness appear tightly interwoven. Attending to the scissors on the right side of your desk, you become aware of their attributes, for example the red handles. Vice versa, ...

Gene switch for odorant receptors

Tiny regulatory elements in the genome regulate the probability that olfactory sensory neurons choose a particular odorant receptor gene for expression The olfactory sensory neurons in the nasal mucosa perceive the myriad smells in the air with the aid of odorant receptors. Each sensory neuron ...

Protection against Epstein-Barr virus: new approach towards an effective vaccine

Neuherberg, 08.11.11. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Ludwig Maximilian University Hospital in Munich have developed a vaccine against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). If the clinical trial of the vaccine proves successful, immuno-compromised patients at an increased risk of ...

Science Multimillion epigenetics genome project begins

First the genome, and now the human epigenome is being placed under the microscope. Researchers from all over the world working under the umbrella of the 2010-founded International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) are investigating the small chemical markings on genetic material and surrounding ...

Are Natural Halogenated Hyrdocarbons Harmful to the Ozone Layer?

Field Measurement Campaign in Malaysia International field measurement campaign in Malaysia coordinated by Heidelberg University Over 20 years ago, the industrial production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) was prohibited in order to protect the ozone layer. However, research findings by ...

Glimpse under the Bonnet of Complex Molecules Individual atoms as contrast media for scanning tunnelling microscopes

Individual atoms as contrast media for scanning tunnelling microscopes Jülich, 5 October 2011 - Scanning tunnelling microscopes are among the most important and most widely used tools for visualizing structures at the atomic level. In the past, however, it was virtually impossible to use them to ...

Special funds for Egypt and Tunisia Humboldt Foundation to strengthen its network and support democratic change in Egypt and Tunisia with funds from the Federal Foreign Office

Humboldt Foundation to strengthen its network and support democratic change in Egypt and Tunisia with funds from the Federal Foreign Office The Humboldt Foundation wishes to support democratic change in Egypt and Tunisia, and to this end is aiming to strengthen and expand its network of ...

New approaches to the treatment of early-stage liver cancer

New approaches to the treatment of early-stage liver cancer Neuherberg, 10.11.2011. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have played a major role in two studies that could fundamentally change the medical treatment of liver cancer. Doctors are now able to determine the degree of ...

Scientific Collaboration between India and Germany Reaches New Dimension

Increasing Number of Research Collaborations with Outstanding Results / Study on Joint Publications: Germany in Second Place as Partner Country behind USA Research collaboration between India and Germany has intensified. This was highlighted by Professor Matthias Kleiner, President of the ...

Population explosion in dwarf galaxies

Unusually productive dwarf galaxies pose a riddle, but simultaneously appear to solve the riddle of the unusual distribution of Dark Matter In the early universe, small, young galaxies produced new stars at an extraordinary rate. For current models of galaxy formation, this high star production ...

Kiel’s world record in efficient data transmission

It can be a long way from theory to practice. A working group from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU) has now reduced the gap between feasible data transmission rates and theoretically possible rate to a world record level. This forms the basis for fifth-generation mobile ...

Does the ocean affect the ozone layer?

– Marine Scientists and the research vessel SONNE from Kiel are part of an international measuring campaign in the South China Sea – November 4, 2011/Kiel. Despite the existence of international treaties on the protection of the ozone layer it is only slowly recovering. As the role of natural ...

Where does tomorrow’s energy come from? Researchers explore new pathways

11/09/2011 - In just a few weeks´ time the European Union will present its scenarios for tomorrow’s energy, the “Energy Roadmap 2050” – and already there is some excitement about the question of price increases. Behind such estimates, however, there are scientific models: computer simulations of ...

The first 44 networks of Kompetenznetze Deutschland were awarded with the BRONZE-label of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative

148 regional innovation networks from eight European countries, of which 44 networks belong to the Initiative Kompetenznetze Deutschland, have been benchmarked within the project “NPGExcellence – Cluster Excellence in the Nordic Countries, Germany and Poland”. For their participation and the ...

Understanding People, Spaces, and Spatial Cognition

A panel discussion on developing and implementing cross-disciplinary perspectives in architecture, cognitive sciences, and computational systems on November 17, 2011, at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) New York. NEW YORK (November 10, 2011) – “We shape our buildings, ...

Exploring the Smallest Structures

RWTH Professor brings his research results with him from California to Aachen Thomas Taubner worked alongside Nobel Prize winners and other top researchers at Standford University in California. Thanks to a DAAD scholarship, the professor of metamaterials and nano-optics at the Department of ...

Europe invests in designing a new energy-efficient Exascalemachine

The Mont-Blanc project brings together a purely European consortium gathering industrial technology providers and supercomputing research centres Jülich / Garching / Barcelona, 26th October 2011. Energy efficiency is already a primary concern for the design of any computer system and it is ...

Russian spacecraft on its way to Phobos

Click here to watch the video On 8 November at 21:16 CET (02:16 on 9 November, local time) the Russian Phobos-Grunt (Phobos Soil) spacecraft began its journey to Mars on board a Zenit-2 rocket that lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is expected to land on the ...

Center for Wind Power Development Being Built

"Center for Wind Power Drives" being built RWTH's proposal for a research building "Center for Wind Power Drives (CWD) with a System Test Bench for On-Shore Wind Energy Plants" was approved by the Joint Science Conference of the federal and state governments (GWK). The cost of the building, ...

How do Geckos climb?

Fascinating Images Reveal Climbing Abilities of Geckos and Spiders Helium ion technology allows imaging of objects in their natural state JENA/Germany, PEABODY/Massachusetts/USA, 09.11.2011. Scientists from Lewis and Clark College, working collaboratively with the Joint School of Nanoscience and ...

Clear vision despite a heavy head

In one respect, handling a computer mouse is just like looking in the rearview mirror: well established movements help the brain to concentrate on the essentials. But just a simple gaze shift to a new target bears the possibility of an almost infinite number of combinations of eye and head ...

Quantum fishes

Besides the one in which we live, there may be many parallel universes out there. Indeed, in the context of string theory, this possibility arises quite naturally. Unlike the so-called Standard Model of Particle Physics, in which the basic building blocks of matter are assumed to be point-like ...

Using Viagra to Combat Malignant Melanoma

Many tumors cause chronic inflammations, which, in their turn, suppress specific attacks against the tumor by the immune system. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Medical Faculty Mannheim at Heidelberg University have now shown in mice with melanoma that sildenafil - the ...

Shoe strings and egg openers

Max Planck scientists discover photosynthesis helper protein in red algae Photosynthesis is one of the most important biological processes. However, it is less efficient in plants than it could be. Red algae, in contrast, use a slightly different mechanism and are thus more productive. ...

Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht intensifies cooperation with POSCO in South Korea

Economic lightweight materials for cars or aeroplanes, new technologies for regenerative energy systems – these are great challenges currently faced by industry and science. In order to better combine scientific research activities and practical experience, scientists of the Helmholtz-Zentrum ...

Economic Growth with Fewer Resources?

Berlin/Chicago – Carbon dioxide emissions skyrocketed in 2010, according to new data. This is due largely to fossil fuel burning in developing countries. But Germany shows that economic growth and consumption of natural resources can also be uncoupled. Germany is a leading exporter of ...

Individual CO2 emissions decline in old age

Ageing could influence climate change New demographic analysis reveals that the CO2 emissions of the average American increase until around the age of 65, and then start to decrease. For the United States this means that, although the ageing of the population will lead to a slight overall rise ...

Attention! End of traffic jam!

How a molecular traffic jam impacts cell division Interdisciplinary research between biology and physics aims to understand the cell and how it organizes internally. The mechanisms inside the cell are very complicated. NIM scientist Erwin Frey is working with his group on one particular issue ...

EU project launch: PAGE21 closes gap in our understanding of the climate system

Potsdam/Bremerhaven, 7 November 2011. Today researchers from eleven countries will meet in Potsdam to launch a new, four-year EU project. What happens when the vast amounts of carbon in Arctic soils are released to the atmosphere? This is the central question field-researchers, operators of long ...

Physicists discover a new kind of celestial bodies

Researchers at the University of Bonn discover exotic “dark clusters” in their calculations Theoretical physicists at the University of Bonn propose a new class of celestial bodies: “Dark Star Clusters”, consisting of many black holes and some stars orbiting around each other. So far, such a ...

Mask-bot: A robot with a human face

Robotics researchers in Munich have joined forces with Japanese scientists to develop an ingenious technical solution that gives robots a human face. By using a projector to beam the 3D image of a face onto the back of a plastic mask, and a computer to control voice and facial expressions, the ...

EASAC study on solar thermal power

Solar thermal power stations are a dependable solution for the energy turnaround – EASAC study submitted to German Science Minister Schavan As a dependable technology, solar thermal power stations can play an important role in transitioning the power grid to renewable energy sources. In contrast ...

Plasma in bags

Research News Nov 02, 2011 Using plasmas, sealed plastic bags can be modified at atmospheric pressure so that human cells can adhere to and reproduce on their walls. Cell culture bags of this kind are an important aid for research and clinical purposes and may eventually replace the Petri dishes ...

Structure of a microbial hydrogen engine

Molecular hydrogen is discussed as promising renewable energy source and attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Many microorganisms exploit the beneficial properties of hydrogen already since more than two billion years.

IMPRS Ultrafast Imaging & Structural Dynamics - Apply now!

IMPRS-UFAST is a structured PhD programme which offers exciting training opportunities in the field of ultrafast imaging with a view to exploring structural changes of atoms, molecules, condensed, biological, or warm dense matter on femtosecond time scales. The interdisciplinary School offers ...

Return from virtual flight to Mars

520 days without sunlight, fresh air or direct contact with the outside world - the six test subjects on the Mars500 mission have had to forego plenty of things while 'travelling' to Mars and back to Earth in their virtual spacecraft. After a year and a half of isolation, the sealed hatch of the ...

Millisecond pulsar in spin mode

The gamma radiation of a rapidly rotating neutron star casts doubt on the models of the origin of such objects Astronomers have tracked down the first gamma-ray pulsar in a globular cluster of stars. It is around 27,000 light years away and thus also holds the distance record in this class of ...

Nine new gamma pulsars

Discoveries in Fermi telescope data thanks to method used in gravitational wave astronomy Pulsars are the lighthouses of the universe. These compact and fast-rotating neutron stars flash many times per second in the radio or gamma-ray band. Pure gamma-ray pulsars are extremely difficult to find ...

The future of systematic lightweight construction – Multi material design

Multi material design concept gains importance – third cross-network forum in Landshut – innovation through cooperation Driven by the continuing discussions about availability of resources and sustainability in mobility, the multi material design concept becomes more and more important. “Using ...

Robot speeds up glass development

Model by model, the electronics in a car are being moved closer to the engine block. This is why the materials used for the electronics must resist increasing heat – so the glass solder being used as glue must be continually optimized. For the first time ever, a robot takes on the task of ...

International scientists from USA and India study bioinspired materials in Saarbruecken

Two well-respected guest scientists from India and USA are spending a research period in Saarbruecken. During their research stay at INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Animangsu Ghatak and Anand Jagota are investigating various aspects of bioinspired materials and structures. Their ...

High-tech spider for hazardous missions

Spiders are very agile, and some can even jump. They owe this capability to their hydraulically operated limbs. Researchers have now designed a mobile robot modeled on the same principle that moves spider legs. Created using a 3-D printing process, this lightweight can explore terrain that is ...

A World of Ubiquitous Computing and Embedded Systems

The tremendous success of smartphones and the multitude of software applications available trigger a number of interesting research questions about the use of embedded sensors, signal processing methodologies, and the security of personal and technical data. In a very engaging keynote speech, ...

625 Years of Heidelberg University

Commemorative close of anniversary year Ruperto Carola hosted Federal President Christian Wulff on 22 October as the featured speaker for the 2011 Jahresfeier, the traditional annual celebration. The festive event in the New University marked the close of the 625th anniversary year of Germany's ...

Research alumni promote Germany

About 60 alumni of seven German research organisations met in New York on 20 and 21 October. The first international research alumni meeting held as part of a joint research marketing campaign by German science organisations took place on 20 and 21 October in New York. Its aim was to create an ...

Novel Magnetic-Resonance Technology Gives More Accurate Insights into the Structure of Matter

With support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) three German universities are to obtain innovative DNP-NMR equipment for use in the life sciences and materials sciences. As part of an ongoing major instrumentation initiative, a sum of almost five million ...

Research alumni promote Germany

The Aging Brain

While Prof. Kandel presented his research regarding the nature and mechanical processes of learning and memory, Prof. Staudinger spoke about the interrelationship between humans’ biological make-up and the socio-cultural context of society. Both experts agreed that physical fitness is essential ...

On the Trail of Biomarkers and Signalling Substances with Major Instrumentation

In the life sciences, imaging methods such as microscopy play a central role. The technique of imaging mass spectrometry is a new and analytic method in this field that promises many benefits. This is the reason why in October 2011 the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, ...

Polarstern launches 28th Antarctic season

On Friday, 28 October 2011 the research icebreaker Polarstern sets off on its 28th Antarctic expedition. Over 200 scientists and technicians from research institutions in 14 countries will take part in the five expedition legs. They will examine a wide variety of topics: oceanography and marine ...

Colder than space – first helium transfer line modules from Poland arrive at DESY

Many modern particle accelerators run at temperatures close to absolute zero. The accelerator of the European XFEL X-ray laser for example needs to be cooled down to minus 271 centigrade for revving up electrons to the speeds and energies needed. But before assembly, the main accelerator ...

Climate Change a core topic at the World Health Summit

What are the consequences of climate change for public health? The World Health Summit made this question, rather neglected in public debate, one of its core topics this week. This was a cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research ...

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe to fund young researchers

Computer scientists and mathematicians to work with ICAMS From January 1, 2012 ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG will be funding a group of young researchers from Ruhr University Bochum. The computer scientists and mathematicians will carry out research jointly with the Interdisciplinary Centre for ...

ProBioGen and Inhibrx Sign License Deal on GlymaxX® ADCC Technology for Therapeutic Antibodies Development

ProBioGen and Inhibrx signed a multi-program license deal on ADCC-enhanced therapeutic antibodies. ProBioGen's GlymaxX® ADCC enhancement technology and mammalian cell line development and manufacturing services will be used to advance therapeutic antibodies generated by Inhibrx's discovery ...

More heat waves: increase of extremes due to climate change

The Moscow heat wave last year was, with high probability, the result of climate change – contrary to what some have assumed. With a likelihood of 80 percent, it was not natural short-term climatic variability but the long-term warming trend that caused the temperature record in the region ...

Federal Cross of Merit Awarded to Prof. Dr. Dietmar Rothermund

Heidelberg scientist was honoured for the dissemination of knowledge on India in Germany Prof. Dr. Dietmar Rothermund has received the Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements at Heidelberg University's South Asia Institute (SAI), the dissemination of knowledge on India in Germany, and for ...

Gold surfaces repair themselves at room temperature

Scientists at the INM were able to show that on atomic scale gold surfaces smoothen out by themselves at room temperature. Micromechanical systems and electric switches are based on smallest sliding contacts. They only work without loss of energy or material, if the surfaces are very smooth and ...

Launch of first two Galileo IOV satellites

The successful launch of the first two Galileo In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites on 21 October 2011 marks the start of space segment construction for an independent European satellite navigation system. The Russian Soyuz launch vehicle with the two satellites on board lifted off from Europe's ...

Doctoral Scholarships of the Lüneburg Innovation Incubator - Sub-measure 1.4 of Leuphana Graduate School

As part of sub-measure 1.4 of the Lüneburg Innovation Incubator, Leuphana Graduate School will grant 10 doctoral scholarships to extraordinarily qualified candidates to promote young academics.

UniCat offers the Clara Immerwahr Award for the first time - Deadline for applications is November 15th 2011

The Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” (UniCat) is call-ing for applications for the Clara Immerwahr Award, which offers a prize found of 15.000 Euro for a research stay at UniCat.

Review: BIOTECHNICA 2011 was successful

28 exhibitors from the Baden-Württemberg biotechnology sector were present at the joint Baden-Württemberg booth at the recent BIOTECHNICA trade fair to present their products and services. The organizer, BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH, received positive feedback about the joint booth. “I am very ...

Konarka Technologies and Webasto begin their Cooperation for the Application of Organic Solar Cells in the Automobile Industry

Nuremberg/Stockdorf, Munich, 19 Oct. 2011. On the occasion of the eCarTech, the international trade fair for electric mobility, Konarka Technologies, the US manufacturer of organic solar cells, and the top 100 automobile supplier Webasto, officially announce their cooperation on integrating ...

Temporary use – magnesium implants biodegrade systematically

Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht coordinates new EU project In the course of the next four years, the first prototypes of biocompatible magnesium bone implants are to be tested and developed in the scope of the new EU project, “Tailored Biodegradable Magnesium Implant Materials”(MagnIM). This major ...

Russo-German exhibition about polar and marine research

–Thomas Rachel, Parliamentary State Secretary for the Federal Minister of Education and Research, opens touring exhibition in St. Petersburg Bremerhaven/Kiel/Skt.Petersburg, 14.October 2011. On the 14th of October Thomas Rachel, the German parliamentary State Secretary for the Federal Minister ...

New therapy for hepatitis B combats virus and stimulates immune system

Neuherberg, 11 October 2011. Scientists have developed a new treatment approach for chronic hepatitis-B infections that is set to improve the prospects of eliminating the infection and curing the disease. With the aid of modified short RNAs, researchers participating in a collaborative venture ...

New bacteria toxins against resistant insect pests

Scientists have developed Bt toxins for the management of Bt resistance in European corn borer and other crop pests. Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria (Bt toxins) are used in organic and conventional farming to manage pest insects. Sprayed as pesticides or produced in genetically ...

Earnings Growth is the main Component of Mid-Market Private Equity Returns

The findings of a new study led by Professor Christoph Kaserer of the Technical University of Munich and released at the EVCA Mid-Market Forum in Budapest, show that by far the most significant factor in delivering returns from European mid-market buyouts is earnings growth, accounting for up to ...

Humboldt Professorship awarded to TU München for Diabetes Research

The TUM has succeeded again in garnering one of the coveted and top-endowed Alexander von Humboldt Professorships. With Professor Matthias Tschöp from Cincinnati, the University gains an internationally renowned expert in metabolic diseases who will carry out research on insulin resistance at ...

Galileo – keeping time with atomic clocks

An equation with four unknowns – at least, that is how satellite navigation is summarised by Walter Päffgen, Managing Director of the German Aerospace Center's (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt - DLR) Space Applications Company (Gesellschaft für Raumfahrtanwendungen; GfR) and Head of ...

Simple nerve cells regulate swimming depth of marine plankton

Ciliary beating of Platynereis gives insights into an ancestral state of nervous system evolution As planktonic organisms the larvae of the marine annelid Platynereis swim freely in the open water. They move by activity of their cilia, thousands of tiny hair-like structures forming a band along ...

Autoimmune Diseases Affect Cancer Risk

In a recently published study, scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have calculated the interrelations between autoimmune diseases and cancer of the digestive tract. They discovered that many autoimmune diseases increase the cancer risk, while ...

Trend reports for ACHEMA 2012 start out with single-use technologies

What are the current developments in packaging and labeling? What is the status of process analytics? What are food biotechnologists working on at the moment? Answers to these questions provide the trend reports of DECHEMA. Experts from academia and industry and international specialized ...

Elegant chains

Münster scientists solve difficult chemical problem by means of nanotechnology / Report in "Science" journal Münster (upm), Mo, 17 Okt 2011 - How can you make short chains of inert, linear ("spaghetti-shaped") hydrocarbon molecules form one single long chain? Chemists have been aware of this ...

New Alexander von Humboldt professors selected

Germany’s highest valued international research award goes to four researchers from abroad. A biophysicist, a communications engineer, a medical scientist and a mathematician are the new Alexander von Humboldt professors. The International Award for Research in Germany, worth up to five million ...

Network Combats Environmental Problems in Mediterranean Region

France and Germany initiate Euro-Mediterranean partnership Berlin/Jülich, 13 October 2011 - In the presence of the research ministers of France and Germany - Laurent Wauquiez and Annette Schavan - research centres from both countries signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday. In this ...

Pesticides pollute European waterbodies more than previously thought

List of chemicals to be monitored should be updated immediately Leipzig. Pesticides are a bigger problem than had long been assumed. This is the conclusion of a study in which scientists analysed data on 500 organic substances in the basins of four major European rivers. It was revealed that 38 ...

Researchers put new spin on world´s water cycle

10/13/2011 - The final report of the Water and Global Change programme (WATCH), an extensive analysis of the world’s water resources, is made available today, significantly expanding the understanding of climate change and land use impacts on the global hydrological cycle. A total of 25 ...

Einstein's 'spooky action' improves precision measurements

Entangled atoms for interferometry Atoms, the building blocks of nature, can be used as extremely precise measurement devices. Since the 1960s, for example, our daily time is defined by the inner oscillation frequency of the cesium atom, and realized by so called atomic clocks. This inner ...

Children prefer cooperation

Humans like to work together in solving tasks - chimps don't Recent studies have shown that chimpanzees possess many of the cognitive prerequisites necessary for humanlike collaboration. Cognitive abilities, however, might not be all that differs between chimpanzees and humans when it comes to ...

Germany's Economic Strength Continues to Attract Foreign Direct Investment

"This year's 'Economic Overview' affords the prospective investor a clear, concise insight into the German economy. The data show that the country's stable and reliable business environment has contributed to economic growth and prosperity, confirming Germany's position as a central destination ...

New Network for Climate Protection in Cities

Initial Meeting at Freie Universität Berlin At a conference in Berlin scientists from Freie Universität Berlin and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam took the first steps in creating a network for research on climate protection in urban areas. Special emphasis ...

Dioxin-like Chemical Messenger Makes Brain Tumors More Aggressive

No. 53a | 06/10/2011 Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University Hospital have discovered a new metabolic pathway / Successful research alliance publishes results in Nature Joint Press Release of the German Cancer Research Center and Heidelberg University ...

SUNY and Seven German Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS7) Sign Agreement

Groundwork Laid for Transatlantic Teaching and Research Partnerships New York, NY (September 12, 2011) - UAS7, a strategic alliance of seven leading German universities of applied sciences, is pleased to announce a new agreement with The State University of New York (SUNY) signed on September ...