News

World’s oldest python found
16.12.2020 · Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

The almost completely preserved snakes were discovered in the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Messel Pit” and are about 47 million years old. The fossils suggest that the constrictors’ origin lies in Europe.

Rapid shift to carbon-neutrality
16.12.2020 · Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

In an unprecedented science-backed statement, Europe’s truck manufacturers have concluded that by 2040 all new trucks sold need to be fossil free in order to reach carbon-neutrality by 2050.

Living lab could fix contact-tracing app
16.12.2020 · ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

The “Corona-Warn-App” does not currently meet its objective. A lab could serve to systematically test the measures to promote the app’s dissemination, optimise its use and measure its success.

Regenerative wonder
16.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute

Flatworms consist of 25 percent stem cells and are almost immortal. Researchers want to use this knowledge to clarify the unknown causes for the development of diseases during ageing.

Novel microscope for cancer diagnostics
15.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology

The novel microscopy technology should help to track down the cellular origins of cancer diseases. The European Commission is funding the project with more than €5 million over 42 months.

Recommendations against the spread of COVID-19
15.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research

From an aerosol experts' point of view, a variety of measures are necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in hospitals and nursing homes.

Glyphosate in the sea
15.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research

A new reliable method allows measuring glyphosate in the seawater and for the first time detecting it in the Baltic Sea. The disputed herbicide is suspected to be carcinogenic among other things.

Recommendations for handling child influences
14.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut

Children are more and more active as influencers on social platforms. Researchers compiled a list for action on how parents should deal responsibly with pictures and videos of children on the Internet.

On the trail of 1.8 billion stars
10.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam

The ESA Gaia mission has now published the first part of its third data release (EDR3). It provides the most precise measurements of positions and motions of 1.8 billion objects across the sky.

Chemistry in motion: Leibniz researcher receives Consolidator Grant
10.12.2020 · Max-Born-Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie

Jochen Mikosch receives 2.0 million Euro over a funding period of 5 years to perform basic research on time-resolved structural dynamics of chemical reactions.

Protecting cheetahs and calves at the same time
09.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research

New insights into the wild cat's spatial behaviour suggest that moving the breeding herds with young calves out of the hotspots of cheetah activity might reduce livestock losses by more than 80 percent.

Do not disturb!
07.12.2020 · Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors

At work, we are interrupted and distracted from time to time. Scientists are focusing on how such interferences affect the performance of the working memory.

Movement planning in the brain
07.12.2020 · Deutsches Primatenzentrum - Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung

Neurobiologists developed a model that for the first time can completely represent the neuronal processes from seeing to grasping an object.

Biological diversity evokes happiness
03.12.2020 · Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

An additional ten percent of bird species in the immediate vicinity increases life satisfaction of Europeans at least as much as higher income.

Poverty and ethics
02.12.2020 · WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Whether income influences ethical behavior is a topic of much debate. A new study shows that poverty itself does not cause unethical behavior.

With 35,000 eyes in the sky
02.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam

Astronomers have completed the world's largest fibre spectrograph that will help understand how and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up over time.

Genetic sex marker in sturgeon
02.12.2020 · Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries

Sturgeon cannot be sexed by any external features, and the species have no differentiated sex chromosomes that can be distinguished. After all, scientists have discovered a molecular marker for sex determination.

Coral reefs in crisis
01.12.2020 · Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research

An international team of researchers has now presented a new common scientific framework to help research into coral bleaching and thus accelerate scientific knowledge.

Working from home
01.12.2020 · ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

German companies had hardly any problems implementing working from home. A survey showed that 44 percent of the managers saw no deterioration in work results and 18 percent worked even better.

Transparent barley plant
26.11.2020 · Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research

With the complete sequencing of 20 different genotypes, the scientists completed the first step in decoding the genetic information of the entire species "barley" - the barley pan-genome.