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Research team with participation from Göttingen University use secrets trapped in grains of sand to reveal rock journey and formation On a remote island in Papua New Guinea, an international research team including the University of Göttingen has made an important geological discovery from a garnet-rich sand.

Physicists from Göttingen University develop method in which beams are simultaneously generated and guided by "sandwich structure- X-rays are usually difficult to direct and guide. X-ray physicists at the University of Göttingen have developed a new method with which the X-rays can be emitted more precisely in one direction.

Physicists from Göttingen first to succeed in filming a phase transition with extremely high spatial and temporal resolution Laser beams can be used to change the properties of materials in an extremely precise way. This principle is already widely used in technologies such as rewritable DVDs. However, the underlying processes generally take place at such unimaginably fast speeds and at such a small scale that they have so far eluded direct observation.

Research team led by Göttingen University investigates molecular basis of eye size variation in insects The fascinating compound eyes of insects consist of hundreds of individual eyes known as -facets-. In the course of evolution, an enormous variety of eye sizes and shapes has emerged, often representing adaptations to different environmental conditions.

The yield and quality of many crops benefit from pollination, but it isn-t just honey bees that do this work: bumble bees also have a role. However, placing honey bee or bumble bee colonies next to the field does not guarantee that they will visit the desired plants since there may be other plant species flowering at the same time that prove more attractive.

Research team with participation of the University of Göttingen analyses ways to ensure food supply Ensuring global food security is a key challenge, especially because of the challenges of climate change and increasing demand from a population expected to reach almost ten billion. A high diversity of crops can help ensure food security in agriculture.

Luminous carbon nanotubes detect pathogens - and are quick and easy to use. Researchers from Bochum, Göttingen, Duisburg and Cologne have developed a new method for detecting bacteria and infections. They use fluorescent nanosensors to track down pathogens faster and more easily than with established methods.

Research team with the University of Göttingen finds effect of odour on helpfulness in rats Despite their reputation, rats are surprisingly sociable and actually regularly help each other out with tasks. Researchers at the Universities of Göttingen, Bern and St Andrews have now shown that a rat just has to smell the scent of another rat that is engaged in helpful behaviour to increase his or her own helpfulness.

Physicists from the University of Göttingen use computer simulation to investigate aging in living glassy systems Aging is a process that affects not only living beings. Many materials, like plastics and glasses, also age - ie they change slowly over time as their particles try to pack better - and there are already computer models to describe this.

Chemists at the University of Göttingen and Goethe University Frankfurt characterise key compound for catalytic nitrogen atom transfer Catalysts with a metal-nitrogen bond can transfer nitrogen to organic molecules. In this process short-lived molecular species are formed, whose properties critically determine the course of the reaction and product formation.

International research team including Göttingen University call for a Europe-wide phosphate directive The aim of the EU Nitrates Directive is to reduce nitrates leaking into the environment in order to prevent pollution of water supplies. The widely accepted view is that this will also help protect threatened plant species which can be damaged by high levels of nutrients like nitrates in the soil and water.

Researchers at the University of Göttingen compare the development of beetle brains with that of flies In the human brain, hundreds of billions of nerve cells are interconnected in the most complicated way, and only when these interconnections are correctly made, can the brain function properly. This is no different for insects, even though their brains consist of -only- one hundred thousand to one million nerve cells.

Research team led by University of Göttingen investigates agroforestry systems in Madagascar The cultivation of vanilla in Madagascar provides a good income for small-holder farmers, but without trees and bushes the plantations can lack biodiversity. Agricultural ecologists from the University of Göttingen, in cooperation with colleagues from the University in Antananarivo (Madagascar), have investigated the interaction between prey and their predators in these cultivated areas.

Research team including agroecologists from Göttingen University study conditions in Peruvian cocoa agroforestry systems Worldwide demand for food from the tropics that meets higher environmental and social standards has risen sharply in recent years. Consumers often have to make ethically questionable decisions: products may be available to the global market through child labour, starvation wages or environmental destruction.

International research team including University of Göttingen explains advantages of molecular breeding methods More than two billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient malnutrition due to deficiencies in minerals and vitamins. Poor people in developing countries are most affected, as their diets are typically dominated by starchy staple foods, which are inexpensive sources of calories but contain low amounts of micronutrients.

Scientists from the University of Göttingen call for meaningful support for smallholder farmers in Indonesia The growing global demand for palm oil has led to a rapid spread of oil palm monoculture plantations in South East Asia. This is often associated with the loss of natural habitat and biodiversity.

Scientists at the University of Göttingen develop drug for antibody tumour therapy Chemists at the University of Göttingen have developed new cytotoxic drugs which could revolutionise antibody-based tumour therapy approaches. The research team succeeded in modifying the natural product Duocarmycin into -prodrug- formats - which means that it only develops its effect once inside the tumour cell, thus reducing the likelihood of potential side effects on passage through the body.

Researchers at Göttingen University discover new disease affecting maize Protecting crops against pests and diseases is essential to ensure a secure food supply. Around 95 percent of food comes from conventional agriculture, which uses chemical pesticides to keep crops healthy. Increasingly, however, organic pesticides are also being sought as an alternative.

Agroecologists from Göttingen University compare pesticides, fertilisers, manual pollination and farming costs in Indonesia Cocoa is in great demand on the world market, but there are many different ways to increase production. A research team from the University of Göttingen has now investigated the relative importance of the use of pesticides, fertilisers and manual pollination in a well replicated field trial in Indonesian agroforestry systems.

University of Göttingen research team investigates influence on meat quality Current practices of the poultry industry have raised ethical and ecological concerns: ethical concerns include the culling of day-old male chicks of egg-laying breeds; ecological concerns include the import of large quantities of soybeans for feedstuff.