News from the Göttingen Campus

Travellers for the city: Göttingen's messengers and envoys in the Middle Ages

Historian from the University of Göttingen presents monograph on city communication between 1400 and 1450
They maintained contact with the rest of the world, were constantly in danger, had to have an iron constitution and were paid by the mile: the Göttingen city messengers in the Middle Ages. Dr Dieter Neitzert from the Institute for Regional Historical Research at the University of Göttingen has studied them. In his recently published book "Göttinger Boten und Gesandte. Reichweite und Intensität städtischer Kommunikation zwischen 1400 und 1450" (Gö…

Uni

Climate factor clouds — MPIDS joins “EUREC4A”

The field campaign "EUREC4A" in the Caribean intends to answer one of climate sciences great mysteries
On 20 January 2020, the almost six-week field study EUREC4A (Elucidating the role of clouds-circulation coupling in climate) will start. It aims at validating theories on the role of clouds and convection for climate change through extensive measurements in the atmosphere and ocean. In addition, EUREC4A will study how fine-scale features in the ocean – eddies and fronts – interact with the atmosphere. The scale and coverage of the measurements…

DLR

What keeps couples together

She pampers him, he takes care of the offspring and drives away attackers
In mammals, pair bonds are very rare, one of the few exceptions being the red titi monkeys of South America. These relatively small tree dwellers live in pairs or small family groups and are characterized by the fact that the males take intensive care of their offspring. A team of researchers from the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research has now investigated how pair relationships work in titi monkeys. Their results…

DPZ

MINFLUX visualizes cells in molecular sharpness

Three years ago, Göttingen Nobel Laureate Stefan Hell and his team introduced MINFLUX nanoscopy. With this technique it was possible for the first time to separate fluorescing molecules with light that were only a few nanometers apart - this is as sharp as it can get. Now, the Max Planck researchers present the technique's latest development: MINFLUX now reaches this resolution in cells, with multicolor imaging and in 3D. Thus, MINFLUX nanoscopy can now be boradly applied in biological research. (in German)

MPI bpc

Merger of Milky Way with dwarf galaxy dated

A single star has provided information about the collision of the Milky Way with the dwarf galaxy Gaia-Enceladus. The event likely took place approximately 11.5 billion years ago.
The dwarf galaxy Gaia-Enceladus collided with the Milky Way probably approximately 11.5 billion years ago. A team of researchers including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany for the first time used a single star affected by the collision as a clue for dating. Using observational data from ground-based observatories and space telescopes, the scientists led by the University of Birmingham were able…

MPI mps

Claw disease tyloma is primarily genetic in cows

Team of scientists from Halle-Wittenberg and Göttingen identifies responsible gene
Scientists at the Universities of Halle-Wittenberg and Göttingen have succeeded in proving that a claw disease in cows is primarily genetic. Until now, the occurrence of interdigital hyperplasia has mostly been attributed to poor hygiene conditions in the barn. However, the team discovered a farm in which the disease occurred frequently and was able to identify the gene responsible. As a result, the disease may now be contained through selective…

Uni

100 million years in amber: researchers discover oldest fossilised slime mould

Team from Göttingen, Helsinki and New York gets new insights into the evolution of myxomycetes
Most people associate the idea of creatures trapped in amber with insects or spiders, which are preserved lifelike in fossil tree resin. An international research team of palaeontologists and biologists from the Universities of Göttingen and Helsinki, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York has now discovered the oldest slime mould identified to date. The fossil is about 100 million years old and is exquisitely preserved in amber…

Uni

The biplanes constructed by Lilienthal and the Wright brothers fly together for the first time

A meeting of the pioneers of aviation
For the first time, replicas of two of the most influential aircraft from the early days of aviation have flown together. Between 14 and 16 December 2019, Otto Lilienthal's 'Big Biplane' from 1895 and the Wright glider from 1902 were together during a demonstration at Kitty Hawk in the USA. Otto Lilienthal is considered to be the first human aviator, while in 1903 the Wright brothers made the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. "It is pleasing…

DLR

Together you're less alone

Pair living as stepping stone from solitary life to complex societies
Alone, as a pair or in groups - the diversity in social systems of primates is interesting because it may also provide insights into human social life. An evolutionary biologist from the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, together with a colleague from the University of Texas at San Antonio, investigated how different primate societies evolved and which factors may be responsible for transitions among them. The…

DPZ

Inge Lehmann Medal for Prof. Dr. Ulrich Christensen

Ulrich Christensen, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, receives one of the highest awards of the American Geophysical Union.
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) yesterday awarded the Inge Lehmann Medal to Prof. Dr. Ulrich R. Christensen, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). With this award, the AGU acknowledges Prof. Dr. Christensen’s outstanding contributions to the understanding of the dynamic processes in the Earth's mantle and core. His work has contributed decisively to a detailed and realistic picture of the processes in the…

Awards