How can the loss of species and habitats in agricultural landscapes be stopped? Up to now, measures have mostly been implemented by individual farms. In contrast, agri-environmental measures that are planned across farms at landscape level offer greater potential for creating suitable habitats for different species as a mosaic in the landscape. However, successful landscape level approaches also require cooperation between farms and other…

Astrocytes appear to play a more important role in the evolution of the brain than previously thought. A team of researchers led by Aleksandra Pękowska from the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw has discovered new genes and mechanisms that contribute to this process. The study, in which Rüdiger Behr from the German Primate Center was also involved, was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Astrocytes are star-shaped cells in…

Researchers from the University of Bayreuth and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation in Göttingen have investigated the movement patterns of unicellular, hydrogen-producing green algae under different light intensities. Their findings will contribute to optimising the use of these microorganisms in biotechnological applications, such as the production of renewable energy sources. The team has published its results in the…

Sustainability certificates such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Cocoa Life promise to improve the livelihoods of small-scale cocoa producers while preserving the biodiversity on their plantations. Together with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, researchers from the University of Göttingen have investigated whether sustainability certificates actually achieve both these goals. To find out, they carried out an analysis within…

Results from rhesus macaques provide solid ground for a first-in-human investigation of heart repair with stem cell-derived engineered heart muscle. The study is a milestone for the clinical application of the 'heart patch' as an innovative treatment option for patients with advanced heart failure. This is how the heart patch worksImplantation of a tissue engineered heart patch, called engineered heart muscle (EHM), is developed to repair the…

The organic material found in a few areas on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is probably of exogenic origin. Impacting asteroids from the outer asteroid belt may have brought it with them. In the journal AGU Advances, a group of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany presents the most comprehensive analysis to date of this mysterious material and its geological context. To this end, the team for…

The Moon is apparently quite reluctant to reveal its age. Attempts to uncover its secret have yielded estimates that lie several hundred million years apart: While some researchers suggest that our cosmic companion was formed 4.35 billion years ago, others date its birth to 4.51 billion years ago. One of the most striking inconsistencies is of a stony nature: almost all lunar rock samples point to the younger age. But a few rare crystals of…

How can milk production be made more sustainable? And how does feeding concentrates influence sustainability? Researchers at the University of Göttingen and the Kassel Institute for Rural Development have investigated protein utilisation on dairy farms and shown that grass-based and low-concentrate feeding of dairy cows ultimately produces more protein for human consumption. It also reduces the environmental impact by minimising excess nutrients…

ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, has awarded Viola Priesemann with the 2024 Madame de Staël Prize for European Values in recognition of her remarkable scientific achievements in the field of physics, her exceptional leadership and her profound commitment to fostering international scientific collaboration in response to the challenges generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. "Global challenges like the outbreak…

The University of Göttingen is one of the 15 best universities in Germany according to the DFG Funding Atlas 2024. From 2020 to 2022, it acquired a total of 232.5 million euros in research funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG). The life sciences were once again particularly successful, taking fifth place in Germany. The subjects with the highest DFG ratings at the University of Göttingen include Agricultural Sciences, Forest Sciences,…