What characterizes regional organic value chain networks in Berlin and Brandenburg? How can they be strengthened and developed to be fit for the future? These questions were at the heart of the research carried out as part of the RegBio2B collaborative project.
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Less data protection, more innovation? A new policy paper by Plattform Privatheit (Platform Privacy), which is coordinated by Fraunhofer ISI, shows why this simple equation falls short. Instead, the authors argue for a European approach that combines innovative capacity and competitive strength with data protection, self-determination and digital sovereignty. The policy paper’s findings are also part of the...
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Structural variants and so-called tandem repeats are individual differences in the human genome. They are increasingly linked to diseases, but analyzing and interpreting them poses challenges for researchers. In two new studies published in the journals "NAR Genomics & Bioinformatics" and "Genome Biology," Martin Vingron’s laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics is now presenting new...
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The biopolymer lignin – one of the most important carbon reservoirs in plants and soils – not only decays through fungi or bacteria but can also be chemically attacked by iron linked with reactive oxygen species, without the involvement of microorganisms. When this happens, the lignin is converted into methanol and subsequently into formaldehyde. That is shown by a study conducted at Heidelberg University’s...
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Physicists at Leipzig University and Charles University in Prague have developed a method for changing the swimming style of tiny artificial microswimmers in real time. They can make a single microscopic particle switch at will between modes of swimming inspired by bacteria and algae. The researchers have thus turned a property that was previously fixed during production into a programmable parameter. They believe...
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Whether on a windowpane at home or during the industrial cleaning of computer chips: Droplets sliding over solid surfaces become electrically charged. Yet the physical mechanism behind this charging remains a subject of debate to this day. This charging is usually attributed to the exchange of charged particles (ions) at the interface between the droplet and the surface. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for...
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Rydberg atoms are considered promising building blocks for quantum computers and their precursors, quantum simulators. Researchers at the 5th Institute of Physics of the University of Stuttgart have achieved record values for the lifetime, size, and storage time of circular Rydberg atoms, a special form of Rydberg atom in which electrons move in a stable circular orbit around the nucleus. The findings were published...
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Increasing efficiency requirements, rising production volumes, and growing cost pressure are creating new challenges for heat exchanger manufacturers. The key question is: which manufacturing technology can deliver superior component quality while remaining economically viable for large-scale production? Fraunhofer IWU offers tailored answers to this challenge. In addition to established processes such as cavity...
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Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology have discovered a detoxification strategy employed by fungi that involves binding a sugar to spruce defence compounds, thereby disarming them. This makes spruce trees more susceptible to attacks by bark beetles.
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A seven-day weather forecast in a high-income country is, on average, more accurate than a next-day forecast in a low-income country. This is the striking finding of a new study by Prof. Manuel Linsenmeier of Goethe University Frankfurt and Prof. Jeffrey Shrader of Columbia University, to be published in Nature Communications. Although weather forecasting has improved worldwide since the 1980s, a substantial gap in...
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According to research by the IfM Bonn, strengthening research collaboration between universities and businesses requires regional technology transfer networks in which technology transfer offices at universities and research institutions, as well as chambers of commerce and industry, trade associations, chambers of crafts, business-related networks and financial intermediaries, all play an active role. In this way,...
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A new ESMT Berlin study suggests that many widely held assumptions about social misjudgments may stem from flawed study designs. Previous research compared predictions about others' reactions with their self-reports, even though the two types of answers are subject to different social pressures. Across 13 experiments, the researchers showed that these pressures can create or even reverse apparent biases. The...
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Extremely short and intensive light flashes are in great demand to investigate atoms, molecules and new materials. Free-electron lasers (FELs) produce these flashes. But around the world, the beam time available at large-scale user facilities is in short supply and waiting times are long. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Synchrotron SOLEIL near Paris have taken a crucial step...
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When global crises combine with cuts in funding, the need for development cooperation to use existing resources more effectively and efficiently intensifies. The German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval) has examined the results of project evaluations to assess the efficiency of German development cooperation (DC). Despite the comparatively well developed evaluation system German DC has in relation to...
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Amber-preserved flowers from Southeast China show that lianas were already an established component of tropical rainforests 15 million years ago, during the Miocene. Researchers from China, France, Germany and Austria are using these exceptionally well-preserved fossils to reconstruct the biodiversity of a past ecosystem. The study has been published in the journal Annals of Botany.
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Towards the end of their lives, low-mass stars undergo an abrupt dip in their brightness, also known as the luminosity bump. Whereas the endpoint of this bump is well-understood, its onset has remained elusive. Now, in a paper published by The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Saskia Hekker, leader of the Theory and Observations of Stars group at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), finds that...
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Just a few atomic layers at the surface can strongly influence how effectively a material binds pollutants from water or how efficiently a photocatalyst responds to light. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP use X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the chemical states and interactions at the surfaces and interfaces of bio-based carbon materials and...
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Berlin, September 9, 2026. The service life of lithium-ion batteries is limited by complex aging processes, the causes of which are often difficult to distinguish from one another. Researchers at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) have now shown that the distribution of two lithium isotopes within the cells acts like a fingerprint directly linked to the degradation processes. This...
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Together with partners from research and industry, the Fraunhofer Insti-tute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has modified the structure of battery electrodes so that the battery cells can store 10 to 15 percent more energy at the same weight. They achieved this by more than tripling the coating thickness of the battery electrodes—for example, in lithium-ion batteries—which simultaneously reduces the number of current...
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Caps on senior public-sector pay can drive highly able managers to private firms and reduce managerial quality, according to a new Research Insight published by the ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
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School-based prevention programs are designed to help protect adolescents from gaming disorder and problematic online habits. But how effective are these interventions when it comes to promoting responsible use of video games and the Internet? A research team led by Prof. Dr. Katajun Lindenberg of the Institute of Psychology at Heidelberg University investigated this question as part of a statewide study. The...
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Researchers from University of Jena, Dresden and Wrocław win Ig Nobel Prize
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A biological methane filter on the seafloor can form much faster than scientists previously believed. An international research team including a University of Bremen researcher observed this over six years at a newly formed methane seep in the deep sea. Earlier models assumed this process would take several decades. The study appears in the internationally renowned journal National Science Review.
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Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed Synthetic Transfer Vehicles (STVs), an entirely new class of RNA transporters. To do so, they combined naturally occurring protein building blocks with synthetic protein structures designed using generative AI. Systematic screening identified STV-C8 as the most efficient candidate: In cell culture, it transports RNA far more...
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Researchers at the Institute of Geography of Heidelberg University and HeiGIT (Heidelberg Institute of Geoinformation Technology) have used artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to create an open-access dataset that maps and classifies more than nine million kilometers of roads worldwide. The dataset also captures changes in road conditions over time, providing valuable information for humanitarian...
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HTWK Leipzig, DBI and MITNETZ GAS are testing the suitability of existing gas networks for hydrogen transport in the hydrogen village of Bitterfeld-Wolfen How will gas pipelines and their components behave when hydrogen flows through them in future? The “H₂INFRA – H₂ Infrastructure” research project is providing important insights into this. Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK Leipzig), DBI Gas- und...
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The temporal structure of speech rhythms resembles that of the communication signals of numerous animal species. This is shown by a recent study conducted by a research team from the Leibniz Centre for General Linguistics (ZAS) in Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, the University of Regensburg and the Institute for Advanced Studies at Aix-Marseille University. For the study, speech recordings from 48 languages...
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Researchers show: Overfermentation can also cause undesirable flavors Fermented cocoa occasionally exhibits off-flavors that can compromise the quality of chocolate and other cocoa products. But what causes these undesirable flavors? Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich have now shown that overfermentation of cocoa beans can cause smoky, leathery, and...
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Catheter ablation is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat atrial fibrillation, the world’s most common heart rhythm disorder. During the procedure, a catheter is guided through the femoral vein to the left atrium. Small areas of heart tissue are then ablated to disrupt the faulty electrical signals causing the irregular heartbeat. An international study led by Leipzig University, the Deutsches Herzzentrum...
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Würzburg physicist Dr. Kajetan Fijalkowski conducts research into the high-precision measurement of electrical resistance. He has investigated the quantum anomalous Hall effect at a new level of precision, demonstrating that this effect can be used to determine electrical resistance with high accuracy — even without an external magnetic field. This could allow electrical units such as the ohm, volt, and ampere to be...
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A recent study by the University of Bayreuth examines the material requirements of wind energy expansion in Germany and identifies ways in which resource consumption can be reduced in future. The study focuses on the material flows associated with wind turbines and on how materials can be saved through resource-efficient repowering and the reuse of existing infrastructure. The findings were published in the journal...
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A study on biodiversity awareness shows that farmers and foresters in Germany are highly aware of the importance of biodiversity and are strongly motivated to take action to protect it. However, they lack suitable framework conditions and resources to enable biodiversity-friendly practices. The findings of the study, led by ISOE on behalf of the BMFTR Research Initiative for the Conservation of Biodiversity (FEdA),...
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Whether on a car, a garden fence, or a ship: a coat of paint protects against rust. But water takes its toll on any coating—from a rain shower to ocean waves. Until now, the damage was primarily attributed to mechanical wear on the surface or to interactions with acidic components in the droplets. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, led by Director Hans-Jürgen Butt, have now identified a...
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RESEARCH TICKER UNIVERSITY OF BONN: Major research gap in the physics of phase transitions closed EMBARGO 2026-08-26, 08.00 PM CEST
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In a new study, researchers from Bremen map how the Suess effect spreads in the North Atlantic The use of fossil fuels alters both the concentration and the carbon isotope composition of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Since surface water exchanges carbon dioxide with the atmosphere, this also alters the isotopic composition of the carbon dissolved in the ocean. In a study, a team from MARUM – Center for Marine...
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A research team from Tel Aviv University and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), led by Ayala Lampel and Carsten Werner, has developed a peptide-glycosaminoglycan hydrogel system that creates a programmable niche for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The system mimics key biochemical and mechanical cues of the bone marrow microenvironment, enabling researchers to investigate how...
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For decades, eastern Germans have been significantly under-represented in senior positions in business, the Bundeswehr, the judiciary and other sectors relative to their share of the population. As part of their Elitenmonitor project, a team of researchers from Leipzig University, Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences have now produced nuanced new data on this issue and...
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In a study recently published in Nature Communications, researchers from Berlin, Potsdam, and Jena present a new method for analyzing the epigenome. The machine-learning method identifies differentially methylated DNA regions without sample labels – a prerequisite for many existing algorithms. This makes it possible to identify previously hidden biological patterns as well as new subgroups of cells or diseases....
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Organic solar modules score points for their flexibility, transparency, and a particularly good environmental footprint. Wavelength-dependent transparency, in particular, is a major strength of organic photovoltaics. Researchers at the University of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have now succeeded in building 14.5 by 14.5- centimeter organic PV modules with an average...
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Scientists in Cologne are developing a method to track damage at the level of individual cells. The study opens up new avenues for research into age-related degenerative diseases / publication in ‘Cell Genomics’
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Researchers from BIFOLD / TU Berlin and Boston University have published a comprehensive tutorial on Cedalion, an open-source project that brings together analysis tools for multimodal neuroimaging, with a special focus on fNIRS and DOT data. The paper, which is accompanied by seven fully executable Jupyter notebooks, appeared on 13 August 2026 in the journal Neurophotonics. A hands-on community workshop follows on...
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Natural history artefacts from former colonial territories bear witness not only to scientific curiosity, but also to power dynamics and the use of force. What responsibilities does this entail for natural history museums today? The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin has been addressing this question for years through various initiatives and research projects. Examining its own history sheds light on past and present...
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Researchers from the MPIK in Heidelberg used an atomic gas as a time-dependent lens to shape and spectrally manipulate intense high-frequency laser pulses. This gas-based optical element could pave the way toward better XUV- and x-ray pulse control for applications such as chemical reaction steering, quantum computing, and advanced spectroscopy methods for fundamental science.
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Over the past 230,000 years, the growth and retreat of the Icelandic ice sheet have led to major changes in the seawater chemistry of the North Atlantic, caused by the interaction between volcanism and ice in Iceland. Scientists at the Institute of Environmental Physics at Heidelberg University have demonstrated this using sediment cores from the northeastern Atlantic – the Rockall Plateau. The researchers analyzed...
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A new study published in Communications Earth & Environment with contributions by researchers from the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) shows that higher seawater temperatures could significantly reduce the long-term ability of underwater plants to store carbon. Scientists from Spain and Germany investigated how higher water temperatures affect the dissolved organic carbon released by seagrasses and...
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Chemists at the LIKAT Technical Center in Rostock have succeeded for the first time in producing a new catalyst on a pilot scale. The first ten kilograms of the substance have now been delivered to research partners in Hamburg and Vienna. The catalyst, developed at LIKAT as part of an earlier collaborative project, is intended to produce CO₂-neutral fuels in Vienna and demonstrate its practical suitability for...
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A team from the Infrared/Submillimetre Group at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) has discovered a new star that comes closer to the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the heart of our Milky Way than any other known star. The newly identified object, named S301, swirls around the black hole in a highly elliptical orbit with a period of approximately 8.7 years. At its closest...
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Polymers used for light-based 3D printing are very stable due to their chemical structure, but they are typically hard to recycle. A research team led by Prof. Dr. Eva Blasco, a researcher at the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM) at Heidelberg University, has now designed a polymer material that can be disassembled into its individual components when needed. A chemical “key”...
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