Hydrogen exists as a gaseous compound of two hydrogen atoms (H2). Under normal laboratory conditions, H2 occurs in the variants "ortho hydrogen" and "para hydrogen". Until now, it has been unclear how these variants behave under very high pressure. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have now found the answer. Both ortho- and para-hydrogen become unstable under high pressure and cease to exist as distinguishable states. The research results presented in Nature Communication extend our physical understanding of fundamental quantum mechanical processes.
"If you eat mussels, you eat microplastics." This was already known to a limited extent about mussels from individual ocean regions. A new study by the University of Bayreuth, led by Prof. Dr. Christian Laforsch, reveals that this claim holds true globally. The Bayreuth team investigated the microplastic load of four mussel species which are particularly often sold as food in supermarkets from twelve countries around the world. The scientists now present their research results in the journal "Environmental Pollution".
The environment is polluted by microplastics worldwide. The tiny particles enter food chains, and thereby the digestive systems of animals and humans; moreover, they can be inhaled. Instead of being excreted, small microplastics can be incorporated into the body tissue. A research team at the University of Bayreuth has now discovered that microplastic particles find their way into living cells more easily if they were exposed to natural aquatic environments, i.e. fresh water and seawater. Biomolecules occurring in the water are deposited on the microplastic surfaces, which promote the internalization of the particles into cells. The researchers present their results in "Science Advances".
In the course of evolution, birds have adapted to the unique conditions of remote oceanic islands by losing their ability to fly. With the arrival of human on islands, most flightless birds have been driven to extinction. An international research group including Bayreuth ecologist Prof. Dr. Manuel Steinbauer has for the first time comprehensively investigated the extent of this bird extinction. The study, published in "Science Advances", shows that a false picture of evolutionary dynamics in the bird kingdom arises when flightless bird species that have been wiped out by humankind are ignored.
The living cells of all organisms contain a cytoskeleton that stabilises their internal structure and external shape. This also applies to magnetotactic bacteria. They produce magnetic nanoparticles which are concatenated into intracellular chains and enable them to orient themselves to the Earth's magnetic field. Microbiologists at the University of Bayreuth have now discovered a protein in the cytoskeleton of these bacteria which plays a central role in these structuring processes. The protein CcfM influences both the formation of the cellular "compass needles" and the helical shape of the bacteria. The researchers have published their discovery in the journal PNAS.
The University of Bayreuth is a good place for start-ups: It has a large number of particularly good opportunities that foster a start-up dynamic and entrepreneurship culture. This is confirmed by the “HOCHSPRUNG Award”, presented today by the Entrepreneurship Network of Bavarian Higher Education Institutions, in which a special “Enabler” prize was awarded for the activities of Bayreuth’s Office of Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Othmar Moser, Professor of Exercise Physiology & Metabolism at the University of Bayreuth, has developed guidelines for glucose management around exercise. The recommendations published in the journals "Diabetologia" and "Pediatric Diabetes" aim to protect people with diabetes type 1 from hypo- and hyperglycaemia.
Dr.-Ing. Thomas Ritter receives Bayernwerk AG’s Kulturpreis Bayern for his dissertation at Functional Materials engineering research group at the University of Bayreuth. He was nominated for the prize by his doctoral supervisor, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Moos, who describes the prizewinner not only as a “highly skilled and very interdisciplinary thinking engineer”, but also as an outstanding team player. Consequently, according to Chair Prof. Moos, the prize is just as much an award for the entire team of the sensor technology working group.
Prof. Dr. Birte Höcker, biochemist at the University of Bayreuth, has been awarded an ERC Synergy Grant by the European Research Council (ERC), one of the most prestigious science prizes in the European Union. Together with Prof. Dr. Heiner Linke from the University of Lund and Prof. Dr. Paul Curmi from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, she will investigate the functioning of motor proteins over the next six years. Motor proteins are indispensable for all cellular processes that keep the human, animal, or plant organism alive. The project will be funded by the EU with €10 million over the next six years.
Chemists at the University of Bayreuth have developed a material that could well make an important contribution to climate protection and sustainable industrial production. With this material, the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) can be specifically separated from industrial waste gases, natural gas, or biogas, and thereby made available for recycling. The separation process is both energy efficient and cost-effective. In the journal "Cell Reports Physical Science" the researchers present the structure and function of the material.
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