News

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.

A microscope for everyone
26.11.2020 · Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology

Researchers have developed an optical toolbox to build microscopes that deliver high-resolution images comparable to commercial microscopes that cost a hundred to a thousand times more.

Where to put the poultry dung?
25.11.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy

A new modelling approach provides more robust results on the emission of climate-relevant gases from manure management and, thus, offers decision support for the climate-friendly use of poultry manure.

Intervention against aging?
24.11.2020 · Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute

Metformin is a common type 2 diabetes drug that is able to extend the life span of young non-diabetic animals. Recent findings suggest that aging sets a limit for the health span benefits.

Loyal couples in the rainforest
23.11.2020 · Deutsches Primatenzentrum - Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung

Coppery titi monkeys living in the Amazon lowland rainforest seem to be monogamous. Mate choice is so successful that a potential genetic advantage does not outweigh the social costs of infidelity.

Master of adaptation
23.11.2020 · Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries

The largest freshwater bacterium, Achromatium oxaliferum, is highly flexible in its requirements. It lives in places that differ extremely in environmental conditions such as hot springs and ice water.

Starved, stuffed, squandered
19.11.2020 · Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

Researchers assessed the consequences if the current nutrition transition continues. By 2050, more than 4 billion people could be overweight, while 500 million people continue to be underweight.

New rodent genus discovered
17.11.2020 · Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig

A recent scientific study carried out in two Ecuadorian protected areas led to the discovery of a new genus of rice rats containing at least three new species with a unique tooth pattern.

Bird diversity in cities
17.11.2020 · Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research

The more prey is available, the more diverse the urban bird communities are. A team of scientists collaborated to analyse breeding bird data gathered by citizen scientists.