Only one in three fertilizations leads to a successful pregnancy. Many embryos fail to progress beyond early development. Cell biologists at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen (Germany), together with researchers at the Institute of Farm Animal Genetics in Mariensee and other international colleagues, have now developed a new model system for studying early embryonic development. With the help of this system,…

The importance of pollinators to ensure successful harvests and thus global food security is widely acknowledged. However, the specific pollinators for even major crops – such as cocoa – haven’t yet been identified and there remain many questions about sustainability, conservation and plantation management to enhance their populations and, thereby, pollination services. Now an international research team based in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia and…

”Of course, as a European, I am delighted – and honored – to be part of the illustrious circle of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,” Jäckle says. The research of the developmental biologist has provided groundbreaking insights into the early development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. In particular, Jäckle’s work contributed to a detailed understanding of how this development is regulated at the molecular level and how the fly…

Many drug addicts take not only one substance but rather several. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine in Göttingen have investigated the role that genes and the environment play in the development of such multiple substance consumption or polytoxicomania. Their results show that, in addition to genetic factors, the accumulation of several unfavourable environmental factors causes people to slip into such an extreme…

For the third time during the pandemic, researchers at the University of Göttingen have surveyed consumers in Germany. Participants filled in questionnaires about their shopping, eating and cooking behaviour, as well as their perception of the resilience of food systems during the coronavirus pandemic. The results confirm the main findings of the first two surveys: sustainability is increasingly important to many people when buying food, and they…

The research group leader at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry receives 2.4 million euros of funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for the next five years. With the help of this funding, the physical chemist and her team want to combine two methods: nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. By doing this, the researchers aim to develop more sensitive techniques with…

Understanding spoken words, developing normal speech - cochlear implants enable people with profound hearing impairment to gain a great deal in terms of quality of life. However, background noises are problematic, they significantly compromise the comprehension of speech of people with cochlear implants. The team led by Tobias Moser from the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab at the University Medical Center Göttingen and from…

Among the most exciting discoveries made by ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft are small, bright regions in the hot solar corona that had previously eluded other spacecraft. The tiny flares are found in measurement data from the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) taken during the instrument's commissioning in space last year. At the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), the EUI team including researchers from the Max Planck…

The marine worm Ramisyllis multicaudata, which lives within the internal canals of a sponge, is one of only two such species possessing a branching body, with one head and multiple posterior ends. An international research team led by the Universities of Göttingen and Madrid is the first to describe the internal anatomy of this intriguing animal. The researchers discovered that the complex body of this worm spreads extensively in the canals of…

With a rating that was overall outstanding, the German Council of Science and Humanities has recommended that funding be given for the planned Human Cognition and Behavior (HuCaB) research building at Göttingen University. The new building will be home to an interdisciplinary centre for research into human social cognition. In addition, the funding will enable the purchase of several large pieces of equipment. This includes a…