In May, sports scientist Yolanda Demetriou took up the new BMK Endowed Chair for Active Mobility: Movement in Leisure and Everyday Life at the Institute of Sports Science at the University of Innsbruck. Together with numerous cooperation partners, she will develop new solutions for sustainable mobility at the interface of health, climate and economy

A correct representation of turbulence in the atmosphere is crucial for accurate weather forecasts and climate projections. However, the theory behind this is not only very old, but also not very representative, since it only applies to flat terrain. Innsbruck meteorologist Ivana Stiperski has now extended the theory on turbulence that has been in use since the 1950s. The researcher thus paves the way for the first time to a generally valid turbulence theory over complex terrain

A new genus of fungi and a previously unknown species of fungi have been named by Innsbruck mycologists after their place of discovery, Tyrol. Ursula Peintner and Martin Kirchmair from the Institute of Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck have named their new discoveries "Tyroliella" and "Penicillium tirolense". The molds were described in two scientific publications

Hostility due to heat: Effects caused by the climate crisis, such as higher temperatures and more nitrogen in the soil, lead to greater aggressiveness among ant colonies. This was shown by a team of researchers led by the Innsbruck ecologists Patrick Krapf, Birgit C. Schlick-Steiner and Florian M. Steiner of the Molecular Ecology Research Group using the example of the widespread ant Tetramorium alpestre at eight high alpine sites in Austria, Italy, France and Switzerland

Long-term measurements in the urban area of Innsbruck, Austria, show that the fraction of ozone near the surface tends to be overestimated in atmospheric models. Consequently, a fundamental assumption for air quality forecasting has to be reinterpreted for urban areas. Measurements by an international team led by atmospheric scientist Thomas Karl of the University of Innsbruck also show that direct nitrogen dioxide emissions are overestimated.

Quantum physicists at the University of Innsbruck, together with colleagues at the ETH Lausanne, have found a new way to generate a crystalline structure that emerges as a "coherent matter density wave" in an atomic gas. The findings help to better understand the fascinating behavior of quantum matter near absolute zero.

A team of scientists from Austria and France has discovered a new abiotic pathway for the formation of peptide chains from amino acids - an important chemical step in the origin of life. The current study provides strong evidence that this crucial step for the emergence of life can indeed take place even in the very inhospitable conditions of space.

Detailed knowledge about whales in European waters will be provided by the Biodiversa+ project "eWHALE", which started in January and is led by molecular ecologist Bettina Thalinger from the University of Innsbruck. The transnational research project brings together partners from science, industry and the public to establish a far-reaching, non-invasive cetacean and biodiversity monitoring system using water samples.

The quantum nature of objects visible to the naked eye is currently a much-discussed research question. A team led by Innsbruck physicist Gerhard Kirchmair has now demonstrated a new method in the laboratory that could make the quantum properties of macroscopic objects more accessible than before. With the method, the researchers were able to increase the efficiency of an established cooling method by a factor of 10.

A team of geologists from the University of Innsbruck examined the sediments of Carinthian lakes for traces of past earthquakes. The results show that the earthquake of 1348 caused the strongest shaking in the Carinthian region since the end of the last cold period. Earthquakes with potential building damage are rare there, but can occur in temporal clusters