News
Rapeseed and the enemy in the soil
Crops have a high nutritional value, which makes them attractive to harmful microorganisms. In fact, most pathogens can only attack specific plants and there has been much research to try to discover how fungi locate their host plants.It was thought that host plants stimulate fungal spores in soil to germinate by releasing specific sugars, amino acids and other compounds from their roots – known as “root exudates” – thereby unwittingly triggering their own infestation but new research qustions this. more…
Tree islands bring biodiversity to oil palm plantations
Islands of trees in oil palm plantations can significantly increase biodiversity within five years without reduc-ing productivity. This has been shown by an experiment, which has been running for over ten years in Indonesia as part of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) "EFForTS" at the University of Göttingen. An international team of researchers planted experimental islands of trees in plantations on the island of Sumatra to counteract the species loss caused by the intensive cultivation of oil palms. more…
The elusive minority: non-binary gender in prehistoric Europe
People tend to think that the idea that biological sex is linked with one’s role in society belongs in the past. But was it even the case in prehistory? Archaeologists have investigated the representation of gender in Neolithic and Bronze Age graves (around 5500 BC to 1200 BC), in order to understand if the idea of gender in prehistoric Europe was really as “binary” as might be expected. more…
“Hightech” materials from nature
Most biological cells have a fixed place in an organism. However, cells can become mobile and move through the body, for example, during wound healing or when tumour cells divide uncontrollably and migrate through the body. Mobile and stationary cells differ in various ways, including their cytoskeleton. Researchers have succeeded in precisely measuring and describing the mechanical properties of the two filaments. In the process, they discovered parallels with non-biological materials. more…
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Award for leadership and improving well-being
Dr Muhammad Jawad Noon, Research Fellow in Development Economics in the Faculty of Business and Economics, has received the "Dr Judy Wasserheit Young Leader Award 2023" from the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH). This award is to honour his leadership and the impact he has had early in his career in improving the well-being of people, particularly in settings with low resources. more…
Fallow land promotes bird diversity
In recent decades, many of Germany’s animal populations in agricultural landscapes have experienced sharp declines, both in terms of the number of species and the number of individuals. Fallow land is considered an effective measure to slow this decline. Researchers investigated the correlation between the proportion of fallow land and the abundance of farmland birds over a nine-year period. more…