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.
Mountain meadows are unique ecosystems. A research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now discovered that climate change reduces the humus content as well as the nitrogen stores in the grassland soils of the Alps and disturbs the soil structure. Organic fertilization, for example with liquid manure, can compensate this loss of soil organic matter to some extent.
Some truffles are particularly expensive and therefore often the target of food fraud. For example, high-priced Piedmont truffles (Tuber magnatum) are often difficult to distinguish from the cheaper spring truffles (T. borchii) on the basis of their appearance. Two scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich have now developed a new method of analysis. This allows both truffle species to be distinguished objectively and clearly using just two marker compounds. "The method is also fundamentally suitable for routine analyses," explains principal investigator Martin Steinhaus.
Boron deficiency has a devastating effect on oilseed rape and related plants. However, little is known about the underlying genetic mechanisms. A study shows that the response to persistent or short-term acute boron deficiency is similar to that to pests and infections. The results lay the foundation for breeding plants that can better cope with boron deficiency and for avoiding related yield losses.
Mitogenetic diversity of sheep did not decline in the Anatolian distribution area of wild sheep when sheep husbandry developed in the early Neolithic c. 10,000 years ago, as previously assumed. SNSB and LMU zooarchaeologist Prof. Joris Peters and collaborators could show that matrilineal diversity remained high during the first 1,000 years of human interference with sheep keeping and breeding in captivity, whilst only declining significantly in the course of the later Neolithic period. The results of their study are reported in the journal Science Advances.
When a tree is surrounded by many similar individuals, its mortality increases, which is probably caused by specialised pathogens or herbivores. This effect occurs in forests all over the world, but is more pronounced in rare tropical tree species, which could contribute to the astonishing tree species diversity of tropical forests. This was discovered by a team of 52 scientists led by Lisa Hülsmann, Professor of Ecosystem Analysis and Simulation at the University of Bayreuth, and Florian Hartig, Professor of Theoretical Ecology at the University of Regensburg. Their results have now been published in Nature.
Climate change poses a threat to yields and food security worldwide, with plant diseases as one of the main risks. An international team of researchers surrounding Prof. Senthold Asseng from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now shown that further spread of the fungal disease wheat blast could reduce global wheat production by 13% until 2050. The result is dramatic for global food security.