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International research team finds that islands are home to around one in three of world's plant species From Tasmania to Madagascar to New Guinea, islands make up just over five per cent of Earth's land. Yet, a study led by Macquarie University, Australia, and Göttingen University, Germany, reveals that islands are home to over 31 per cent of the world's plant species.

Citizen scientists enable Göttingen researchers to analyse effectiveness of protected areas   Member states of the European Union are obliged to designate Special Protection Areas (SPAs) as part of the Natura 2000 network. These areas are designed to guarantee the preservation and restoration of bird populations.

Göttingen archaeology team uncovers representative room - colonnaded courtyards with fountains For more than 20 years, archaeologists from the University of Göttingen have been researching how people lived and traded in Sicily in the past. Now they have made another important discovery: In the province of Catania, they excavated the remains of a Roman house with a mosaic floor from the 2nd to 4th century AD.

Climate change not main driver of shift in distribution of European forest plants   The movement of plant species across Europe has mainly been attributed to climate change. However, a new study shows that other environmental factors play an important role. An international research team led by the University of Ghent, with the participation of the University of Göttingen, examined the biodiversity of forests in relation to climate change and the input of nitrogen and sulphur.

Researchers study marks on spearheads creating reference data to understand fighting in past   How can we tell whether and how a prehistoric weapon was used? How can we better understand the dexterity and combat skills involved in Bronze Age spear fighting? A research team including Göttingen University present a new approach to answering these questions: they simulated the actual fight step-by-step to get new insights into fighting styles and the formation of marks on the weapons.

International research team led by Göttingen University identifies new model to explain amethyst formation Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz which has been used as a gemstone for many centuries and is a key economic resource in northern Uruguay. Geodes are hollow rock formations often with quartz crystals, such as amethyst, inside.

International research team led by the University of Göttingen develops new model Amethyst is a type of purple quartz that has been used as a gemstone for many centuries and is an important economic resource in northern Uruguay. Geodes are hollow rock formations that often contain quartz crystals. Amethyst geodes in Uruguay are found in cooled lava flows that originate from the break-up of the supercontinent Gondwana around 134 million years ago.

Press release: Battlefield in the Tollensetal valley: arrowheads point to early supra-regional violent conflicts Research team discovers Bronze Age evidence of fighters from the south In the Tollensetal valley in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, researchers have been investigating the remains of Europe's oldest battlefield since 2008.

Research team led by Göttingen University discovers evidence of warriors travelling from the South   In the Tollense valley in Northern Germany, researchers have been investigating the remains of Europe's oldest battlefield since 2008. At various sites along the river, they have discovered human skeletal remains of around 150 individuals - mainly young men - and remains of weapons from the Bronze Age.

International research team find highest speciation in Asteraceae family on oceanic islands Asteraceae, a family of flowering plants which includes daisies, sunflowers and asters, are the most diverse group of flowering plants in the world. This plant family comprises around 34,000 species, some of which are well-known, such as artichokes, chamomile, dahlias and lettuce.

Researchers at Göttingen University find climate traffic light system prevents consumer deception A research team led by the University of Göttingen found that the label 'climate neutral' makes food appear significantly more climate-friendly than it actually is. Even when information about how the damage to the climate is being offset was explained, this did not stop consumers having the wrong perception about the product.

University of Göttingen involved in the development of a new high-resolution astro camera The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has taken an important step towards its 40-meter class telescope, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which is currently under construction: the high-resolution camera, Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations (MICADO), has passed the final design review.

Researchers confirm positive effects of organic farming and flower strips for bee colonies   Honey bees are valued both for their honey and their ability to pollinate crops. However, populations are suffering from the loss of areas of wild flowers in intensive farming, pesticide applications and from the influence of pathogens, so it is all the more important to understand what keeps them healthy.

Research team including Göttingen University develops high-resolution fluorescence microscope What does the inside of a cell really look like? In the past, standard microscopes were limited in how well they could answer this question. Now, researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Oxford, in collaboration with the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), have succeeded in developing a microscope with resolutions better than five nanometres (five billionths of a metre).

Research team led by Göttingen University expands the applications of oxygen isotope measurements   Measuring temperatures from Earth's past is important for understanding the development of its climate. Ancient ocean temperatures are most commonly reconstructed by analysing the ratio of different oxygen atoms in the calcium carbonate remains of fossils.

Research team at the University of Göttingen develops method for recognizing cell properties Can you tell whether an avocado is hard or soft by looking at it? You would have to recognize how the plant cells behave behind the skin. The same applies to all other cells on our planet: Despite more than 100 years of intensive research, many of their properties remain hidden inside the cell.

Research team at the University of Göttingen develops method for recognizing cell properties   Checking whether an avocado is hard or soft by looking at it? This would require recognizing how the plant cells behave behind the skin. The same applies to all'other cells on our planet: Despite more than 100 years of intensive research, many of their properties remain hidden inside the cell.

Researchers including Göttingen University show that modern behaviour explains prehistoric economies   What if the 'Market Economy' always existed? Archaeologists from the Universities of Göttingen in Germany and Salento in Italy tried to answer this question by researching how much Bronze Age people used to spend to sustain their daily lives.

Researchers at the University of Göttingen investigate consumer acceptance   Companies and institutes are currently working on biotechnological processes for the production of dairy products without the use of cows: In so-called precision fermentation, egg and milk proteins are produced with the help of bacteria, yeasts or other fungi.