News from the Göttingen Campus

Camostat and nafamostat promising candidates
While the first vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have now been approved in Europe and other countries, drugs for specific and efficient treatment of COVID-19 have as yet only limited availability – but are urgently needed. Because of the typical long drug development timelines, the approach of iCAIR® researchers is based on drug repurposing – the use of drugs that have already been approved for other therapeutic purposes. To begin with, researchers…
Research team led by the University of Göttingen discovers crater floor sagging from bowl-shaped volcanic ash layer
The almost 15-million-year-old Nördlinger Ries is an asteroid impact crater filled with lake sediments. Its structure is comparable to the craters currently being explored on Mars. In addition to various other deposits on the rim of the basin, the crater fill is mainly formed by stratified clay deposits. Unexpectedly, a research team led by the University of Göttingen has now discovered a volcanic ash layer in the asteroid crater. In addition,…
A team of researchers, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, has identified several candidates for drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus using the PETRA III X-ray light source at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY)
A team of researchers, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, has identified several candidates for drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus using the PETRA III X-ray light source at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY). Among them are two promising compounds that are currently being investigated in preclinical studies. This drug screening – probably the largest of its kind – also…
Cell culture studies show that mutated viruses are less susceptible to inhibition by antibodies from recovered or vaccinated individuals
Testing and vaccination - these are the pillars on which humanity is trying to get a grip on the Coronavirus pandemic. Although it is taking longer than many had expected, it is believed that it is only a matter of time before we are all vaccinated and thus protected. However, time is also working for the virus, which has now mutated several times, with variants B.1.1.7 from the United Kingdom, B.1.351 from South Africa and P.1 from Brazil…
Researchers at the University of Göttingen demonstrate advantages of human-machine teams for truck transportation
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more common in many branches of industry and online retailing. Traditional lines of work, such as transport logistics and driving, are developing in a similar direction although mainly out of public view. Scientists at the University of Göttingen have now investigated how efficient the use of AI can be in the commercial management of trucks. Their answer: the best option is an intelligent…
On March 26, the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) honored Patrick Cramer, Director at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry, with the Otto Warburg Medal. Virologist Christian Drosten of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin received the Eduard Buchner Prize. At the virtual event, both researchers presented their latest corona research results.
The question is considered one of the great mysteries of biology: How is the activity of genes controlled? The cell only copies active genes in the form of long RNA molecules, which then serve as building instructions for proteins. This copying process – called transcription – is carried out by biological nanomachines known as RNA polymerases. These are the focus of Cramer´s research in the Department of Molecular Biology.   “With his findings,…
Voluntary service for students and employees - around 23,000 tests since November
The University of Göttingen is still in a phase of limited attendance onsite and events attended in person are only permitted in exceptional cases. In order to ensure their safety, students and employees can regularly and voluntarily be tested for SARS-CoV-2 in the Mensa Italia and at the North Campus using a PCR test. Since the Campus Covid Screen (CCS) project started its pilot and then moved into regular operation in November 2020, a total of…
Astrophysicists at the Universities of Göttingen and Auckland simulate microscopic clusters from the Big Bang
The very first moments of the Universe can be reconstructed mathematically even though they cannot be observed directly. Physicists from the Universities of Göttingen and Auckland (New Zealand) have greatly improved the ability of complex computer simulations to describe this early epoch. They discovered that a complex network of structures can form in the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. The behaviour of these objects mimics the…
International research team including Göttingen University investigates babies’ preference for type of speech and language
A unique study of hundreds of babies across four continents shows that all babies respond more to infant-directed speech – baby talk – than they do to the type of speech directed at an adult. In fact, babies prefer baby talk in any language, but particularly when it’s in a language they’re hearing at home. An international research team including the University of Göttingen – the “ManyBabies” – also revealed that babies as young as six months can…
A comet impact on Jupiter 27 years ago makes it possible for the first time to directly measure the winds in the gas giant's stratosphere.
Violent storms rage in the middle atmosphere above Jupiter's poles: With wind speeds of up to 1450 kilometers per hour, they exceed even the strongest terrestrial tornadoes by a factor of three. This is the result of observations performed by an international team of scientists, including three researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany. The winds could indicate giant vortices over Jupiter's poles. To…