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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A new study led by researchers at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin shows that Berlin’s dragonfly populations have declined by more than half since 1963, whilst populations of frogs, toads and newts have fallen by over three-quarters since 1981. The study also involved Berlin-based experts Falk Petzold and Klaus-Detlef Kühnel, who coordinate the data series. The study, which was carried out as part of the project...
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The summers of recent years have been hot, but not unusual from a meteorological perspective. According to researchers at Leipzig University, though, the next extreme summer would far exceed anything we have experienced so far. To be prepared for this, it is important to understand what a ‘summer of the century’ might look like in the current climate. This is precisely what researchers at Leipzig University have...
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Aluminum is a key material for sustainable mobility and resource-efficient products, yet its production requires substantial amounts of energy. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU have now demonstrated how production scrap, aluminum chips, and end-of-life aluminum foam components can be systematically reintegrated into the manufacturing process. Their findings open up...
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Researchers at HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU) have contributed to extend the 15- Minutes-City concept into suburban areas. In collaboration with 18 partners (including associate partners) across seven countries, the FORTHCOMING (FOsteRing THe City Of proximity through MaaS INteGration") project has successfully concluded in June 2026, advancing evidence-based strategies for proximity planning and sustainable...
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Three factors—spectacular images, a high death toll and strong personal ties—make it more likely that the media in one country will report on a natural disaster in another, according to a study by the University of Bonn, the University of Warwick and Imperial College London, which has now been published in the journal “Nature Human Behaviour.” The data also shows that droughts and flooding—two of the biggest effects...
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Ny-Ålesund/Leipzig. Salt and sugar from the sea can rise as far as the free troposphere, thereby influenc-ing both cloud formation and the Arctic climate. This is the finding of balloon measurements carried out by a team of researchers on Spitsbergen in autumn 2021 and spring 2022. With the Arctic becoming in-creasingly ice-free, more and more of these cloud-forming ingredients from seawater could enter the...
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80 percent of people in Germany are concerned about climate change. 54 percent wish to see more government spending on climate protection, and 56 percent support further measures for the energy, transport, and heating transitions. These findings are the result of this year's survey by the Social Sustainability Barometer of Transformation, a project of the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Research Institute for...
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Researchers at the University of Stuttgart and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research have developed tiny rolls that can be unrolled and rolled up in a controlled manner using a magnet. The model for this was the proboscis of butterflies. These smart materials enable the development of more efficient drive technologies for micro- and soft robotics, a field of research of great economic importance. The...
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New study from ESMT suggests negotiation is far more frequent than existing research assumed. More than 30 percent of everyday social interactions involved at least one negotiation process, and it is not just confined to the workplace.
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- Joint press release from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry - Researchers have developed a method to reconstruct past seawater temperatures from rhodoliths.
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A new study by the German Primate Center reveals that female Guinea baboons are less dependent on their primary males for access to meat than anticipated
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Fraunhofer SCAI has added planning for pallet and truck loading, as well as cost calculation, to its PackAssistant packaging software. The new version extends packaging planning to include additional stages of the transport chain. Companies can now compare multiple solutions in terms of their packing and logistics costs.
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A Congolese-German research team involving the University of Bayreuth has examined how the AFC/M23 rebel movement governs the eastern Congolese city of Goma. The researchers show how, since taking control of the city in January 2025, the movement has gradually established administrative, security, taxation, and public-service structures—effectively creating a “de facto state.” The study provides important insights...
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