When genes mutate, it can lead to the development of diseases. But there are exceptions. If the gene RIM1S is altered in nerve cells, it can also have a positive effect, leading to higher intelligence.
Using smart sensor and measurement techniques to make farming more efficient and sustainable is the goal of a team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich.
Research projects at HSWT are investigating the climate-protection potential of peatlands—and are at the heart of environmental protection efforts in Bavaria’s rural landscape.
Engineers at TH Rosenheim are addressing the challenges facing wood technology with a new logistics concept, dynamic partnerships and sustainable future industry models.
Researchers at the Bayreuth Centre for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER) at the University of Bayreuth have found the first indication that young plants of certain tropical tree species obtain part of their carbon through fungi. This mechanism could enable these plants to compensate for the low carbon uptake through photosynthesis in the shaded understorey, giving them a growth advantage over other plants. The researchers have published their findings in the journal Functional Ecology.
Rice is the basis of life for many people. An international research team involving researchers from Würzburg wants to make the plant, which originates from Asia, more resilient to heat and drought.
Exporting agricultural products from tropical regions to China, the USA, the Middle East, and Europe is three times more harmful to biodiversity than previously assumed. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the ETH Zurich have shown this by tracking how agricultural exports from 1995 to 2022 affected land use changes in the producing countries. Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Madagascar are particularly affected by species loss.
Forest ecosystems of the future will have to cope with very different conditions to those of today. For this reason, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) indicate that a strategic approach to forest management is crucial. To this end the research team has developed iLand: a simulation model that can compute long-term developments of large forest landscapes, right down to the individual tree – including disturbances from bark beetles to wildfires.
Der Information Service Provider Clarivate annually measures which researchers are most frequently cited by their peers. Dr. Martin Löder from the Special Research Area (SFB) Microplastics has been listed for the third time. This list is considered proof of the research quality of scientists worldwide.
Assumptions that may seem self-evident are not always accurate when it comes to the evolution of vertebrate brains. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have now demonstrated this by examining the largest neuron in the brains of blind Mexican cavefish. Their findings have been published in the prestigious journal PNAS.
