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Research team led by Göttingen University investigates farmland birds in an Indian megacity Urbanization is one of the most drastic forms of land-use change, and its negative consequences on biodiversity have been studied extensively in temperate countries such as Germany. However, less research has been conducted in tropical regions from the Global South, where most of the ongoing and future urbanization hotspots are located, and little is known about its effects on agricultural biodiversity and associated ecosystems.

International research team conducted a genomic scan of thousands of pepper samples from around the world Pepper has flexible features like easily preserved and transportable in dried form, needed in moderate quantity to enrich dishes, easy to produce and wide scale. Genetic data stored in genebanks confirm that pepper has been spread along with the very earliest intercontinental traders, being among the first examples of a globally traded, mass-market, consumer-discretionary good.

Research team led by the University of Göttingen calls for paradigm shift Is organic farming the only alternative to conventional agriculture to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes? An international research team led by the University of Göttingen questions this.

Göttingen research team creates phylogenetic tree of leaf insects An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has studied the evolution of the walking leaves. Walking leaves belong to the stick insects and ghost insects that, unlike their approximately 3,000 branch-like relatives, do not imitate twigs.

International research team shows that protein from microbes uses a fraction of the resources of conventional farming Microbes have played a key role in our food and drinks - from cheese to beer - for millennia but their impact on our nutrition may soon become even more important. The world is facing growing food challenges as the human population continues to increase alongside its demand for resource intensive animal products.

Göttingen researchers create new kind of environmentally friendly bioplastic with hydroplastic polymers Plastics offer many benefits to society and are widely used in our daily life: they are lightweight, cheap and adaptable. However, the production, processing and disposal of plastics are simply not sustainable, and pose a major global threat to the environment and human health.

Ten years of data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory combined with numerical models reveal the deep low musical notes of the Sun   (mps) A team of solar physicists led by Professor Laurent Gizon of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) and the University of Göttingen in Germany has reported the discovery of global oscillations of the Sun with very long periods, comparable to the 27-day solar rotation period.

Göttingen researchers investigate effect of non-human conversation partners in customer services   More and more companies are using chatbots in customer services. Due to advances in artificial intelligence and natural language processing, chatbots are often indistinguishable from humans when it comes to communication.

Discovery from Unicorn Cave in Lower Saxony sheds new light on ancestors' cognitive abilities Since the discovery of the first fossil remains in the 19 th century, the image of the Neanderthal has been one of a primitive hominin. People have known for a long time that Neanderthals were able to effectively fashion tools and weapons.

Göttingen researchers investigate special properties of protein structures   The cells that make up our bodies are constantly exposed to a wide variety of mechanical stresses. For example, the heart and lungs have to withstand lifelong expansion and contraction, our skin has to be as resistant to tearing as possible whilst retaining its elasticity, and immune cells are very squashy so that they can move through the body.

researchers investigate the spread of weighing systems across Western Eurasia 4,000 years ago Knowing the weight of a commodity provides an objective way to value goods in the marketplace. But did a self-regulating market even exist in the Bronze Age? And what can weight systems tell us about this? A team of researchers from the University of Göttingen researched this by investigating the dissemination of weight systems throughout Western Eurasia.

Research team investigates influence of different mass-flowering crops on pollinators Mass-flowering crops such as oilseed rape or faba bean (also known as broad bean) provide valuable sources of food for bees, which, in turn, contribute to the pollination of both the crops and nearby wild plants when they visit.

University of Göttingen research team investigate microtubules Just as the skeleton and muscles move the human body and hold its shape, all the cells of the body are stabilised and moved by a cellular skeleton. Unlike our skeleton, this cellular skeleton is a very dynamic structure, constantly changing and renewing itself.

Research led by Göttingen University shows constructing microscope improves children's understanding Microscopy is an essential tool in many fields of science and medicine. However, many groups have limited access to this technology due to its cost and fragility. Now, researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Münster have succeeded in building a high-resolution microscope using nothing more than children's plastic building bricks and affordable parts from a mobile phone.

Research team led by the University of Göttingen investigates surface magnetisation The surface of a material often has properties that are very different from the properties within the material. For example, a non-conducting crystal, which actually exhibits no magnetism, can show magnetisation restricted to its surface because of the way the atoms are arranged there.

Researchers led by G öttingen University examine the long-term results of an experiment from more than 40 years ago   The fairy circles of the Namib are one of nature's greatest mysteries. Millions of these circular barren patches extend over vast areas along the margins of the desert in Namibia. In 1979, G.K. Theron published the first research about their origin.

Holographic 'movie' of bubbles and high-pressure shockwave created by research team led by Göttingen University Everyone is familiar with tiny gas bubbles gently rising up in sparkling water. But the bubbles that were created by intense focused lasers in this experiment were ten times smaller and contained water vapour at a pressure around a hundred thousand times higher.

Research team led by the University of Göttingen develops new strategy for labelling peptides Biomolecules regulate the biological functions inside every living cell. If scientists can understand the molecular mechanisms of such functions, then it is possible to detect severe dysfunction which can lead to illness.

Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen, Cologne and Århus calculate the water temperatures of the first oceans For decades, there has been controversy about the water temperatures of the first oceans on Earth. At that time, radiation from the Sun was much weaker and the oceans could have been very cold, perhaps even frozen.

Team from University of Göttingen and the Hereon present new research strategies   A new class of membranes has the potential to deliver highly interesting applications both in biotechnology and in water purification. The theoretical understanding of these polymer membranes is, however, still incomplete.