News

Needle in a haystack
26.07.2021 · Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam

Planetary nebulae are known in the neighbourhood of the sun as colourful objects. Researchers succeeded now in detecting them in distant galaxies.

Hand holding wheat plant in a wheat field

With great power comes great responsibility
21.07.2021 · Leibniz-Institut für Agrarentwicklung in Transformationsökonomien

The US has lost its leadership role on the global wheat market to the EU and the Black Sea Region, which must now take greater responsibility for ensuring global food security and fighting hunger.

Financial hardship and voter turnout
19.07.2021 · WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Short-term financial difficulties prevent poor people in Germany from voting and participating in politics - such are the findings of a new study.

Covid-19 is driving people out of Germany's big cities
19.07.2021 · ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

The coronavirus pandemic could give a strong boost to the existing trend of migration from city centers. Smaller cities are the most frequently mentioned destinations for relocations.

Illustration with four powerful-looking elephants at a waterhole in the jungle, with zebras, a rhinoceros and apes in the foreground.

The rise and fall of elephants
07.07.2021 · Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science

The history of the proboscideans is one of glory and decline. A new study reveals how earth-historical events were mainly responsible for the evolution of more than 180 species.

TRiC knows the trick
06.07.2021 · Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute

Planarians are able to survive long periods of starvation by maintaining their stem cell pool and regenerative capacity.

Gender-neutral language in German Companies
06.07.2021 · ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

35 percent of companies in Germany use gender-neutral language for external communication, while only 25 percent adopt it for in-house purposes.

Three common marmosets at the DPZ, sitting on a tree trunk.

Monkeys also learn to communicate
05.07.2021 · German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research

A Behavioral study on common marmosets provides new insights into the evolution of language.

Close-up of a mushroom growing on the ground.

Endangered life belowground
24.06.2021 · Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

Current conservation practices in farmlands may be good for species living above the earth such as birds and bees, but are probably not helping life belowground.

A man is sitting alone in a room at a table, his face in his hand.

Social isolation increases the likelihood of selfish behaviour
24.06.2021 · Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

Social distancing as a counter-measure to the COVID-19 pandemic has far-reaching social consequences which have so far hardly been discussed from an economic perspective.

There's no cheating old age
22.06.2021 · German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research

The average life expectancy of people has increased over the last 150 years. Studies with humans and non-human primates indicates that it is not the rate at which humans age that slows down.

Asteroid caused brief bloom of algae
21.06.2021 · Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

The asteroid that likely caused dinosaur extinction 66 million years ago also caused a global algal bloom and a mass extinction in marine ecosystems.

Animated map showing all rivers in Europe

Dry Rivers
17.06.2021 · Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

60 percent of the world's streams dry up for at least one day a year - across all continents and climate zones. This can lead to impaired access to water for millions of people.

Animated graphic of the rotational motion in the universe

Rotation in the universe
15.06.2021 · Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam

Astronomers have found that long tendrils of galaxies spin on the scale of hundreds of millions of light years. A rotation on such enormous scales has never been seen before.

Close-up of the amber with the enclosed live birth

Fossilized Birth
09.06.2021 · Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

Researchers found a fossilized female land snail enclosed in a 99-million-year-old piece of amber together with her five young. This is the oldest record of a live birth in this class of animals.

Four organ donor cards placed on top of each other

Organ donation during Coronavirus Pandemic
03.06.2021 · ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

In Germany, the organ donation rate in 2020 was similar to that in 2019. In contrast, other European countries saw organ donation rates fall sharply.

Romanian hydroelectric power station on a small river surrounded by green trees

More harm than good
31.05.2021 · Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries

Around half of the hydropower plants in Romania are located in nature conservation areas. The small plants contribute only 3 percent of Romania's electricity generation, but threaten biodiversity.

Large sugar beet with long leaves, half buried in the ground

Sustainable cultivation of sugar beet
26.05.2021 · Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics

A new joint project aims to enable sustainable and pesticide-free cultivation of field crops. For this purpose, field robots and artificial intelligence are to be investigated.

Jellyfish chips and sea cucumber soup
26.05.2021 · Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research

Resources such as fertile land and mineral fertilizers are becoming scarce. Scientists investigate the extent to which the sea harbours unused food resources.

On the track of fast phase transformations
21.05.2021 · Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden

Researchers have succeeded in live-observing the phase transformations of a metallic glas.