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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

A spring without birdsong, a summer without humming insects – this ecological horror scenario could become reality if species loss continues at its current pace. In Germany, the bird population has collapsed by 65 percent since 1965, that of insects by 80 percent since 1980. According to the United Nations Diversity Report 2019, around one million species are at the verge of extinction worldwide. “We want to help counteract this dramatic…

The Universe is criss-crossed by a cosmic web consisting of large filamentary gas structures in which galaxies should form. The existence of this network confirms the most important predictions about how the structure of the Universe changes. An international research team, led by the University of Lyon, have now for the first time produced images of the network of filaments and corresponding maps of the young Universe. The University of…