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Dementia is on the rise in Germany. In the absence of treatment options, the focus is shifting to preventing dementia. In particular, a healthy lifestyle is considered beneficial for brain health. A study by the Faculty of Medicine now shows that opportunities for a healthy lifestyle are unequally distributed: being socially disadvantaged is associated with a higher risk of dementia.

Meta-analysis of scientific literature shows decline of interactions with nature due to growing urbanisation, but systematic studies are rare Humans are living further and further away from nature, leading to a decline in the number of our interactions with nature. This is the finding of a meta-study conducted by a Franco-German research team at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University and the Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (SETE - CNRS).

Technically, it would be possible for future space missions to detect DNA, lipids and other bacterial components on icy moons with an ocean beneath the ice in our solar system - assuming these building blocks of life exist beyond Earth. This is the conclusion reached by an international team of scientists including Professor Abel's research group at Leipzig University.

News from Abdominal fat poses a serious health risk. Also known as visceral fat, it is closely linked to the onset of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. Now an international research team including the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University have discovered that a certain Mediterranean diet can help banish unwelcome belly fat.

Basic researchers at Leipzig University have solved a puzzle in the evolution of bacterial enzymes. By reconstructing a candidate for a special RNA polymerase as it existed about two billion years ago, they were able to explain a hitherto puzzling property of the corresponding modern enzymes. Unlike their ancestors, they do not work continuously and are thus significantly more effective - these pauses in activity constitute evolutionary progress.

Modern solar cells work with thin layers of semiconductors that convert sunlight into electrical energy. The key to increasing their efficiency even further lies in the composition and structure of the material. Due to the way the material is manufactured, it can have defects that have a disruptive effect.

Over the last few decades, the number of obesity sufferers has continued to increase and is now one of the leading causes of death worldwide - 650 million adults are classified as obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as the accumulation of excess fat in the body, which poses risks to healthy living.

INaturalist app users play a significant role in helping researchers create global maps of plant traits <p><strong>Leipzig. Missing knowledge in the global distribution of plant traits could be filled with data from species identification apps. Researchers from Leipzig University, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and other institutions were able to demonstrate this based on data from the popular iNaturalist app.

<p><strong>Halle, Leipzig, Seville. Current protected areas only poorly cover the places most relevant for conserving soil ecological values. This is the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Nature. To assess global hotspots for preserving soil ecological values, an international team of scientists measured different dimensions of soil biodiversity (local species richness and uniqueness) and ecosystem services (like water regulation or carbon storage).

The ancient Egyptians, as described in the Ebers Papyrus, already knew that palpation -feeling for hardened lumps - can help diagnose breast cancer. Palpation is still an important element in early screening for breast cancer. On the other hand, measurements on individual cancer cells show that they are softer than the healthy epithelial cells from which they stem, which probably makes them better able to metastasise in dense human tissue.

An international research team led by Leipzig University has used satellite data to demonstrate that concentrations of pollutant particles have decreased significantly since the year 2000. This is necessary due to their impact on health. But it is also of great significance for another reason, since it has reduced the particles- cooling effect on the climate.

Study by Leipzig University Medical Center: Forearm fractures most common after falls from bunk beds They are in vogue with many families: bunk beds in all shapes and colors, with stairs, ladders or even slides. A study by Leipzig University Medical Center has shown that accidents involving such beds frequently lead to bone fractures in children.

Our personality as adults is not determined by whether we grow up with sisters or brothers. This is the finding of an international study by researchers from Leipzig University, the University of Zurich and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The results have now been published in the renowned journal -Psychological Science-.

Effectiveness of biodiversity conservation in national parks is associated with socioeconomic conditions How effective is biodiversity conservation of European and African national parks? This seems to be strongly associated with societal and economic conditions. But even under the most favourable conditions, conservation efforts cannot completely halt emerging threats to biodiversity if conditions outside of the parks do not improve.

Although there has been significant progress in the treatment of rare forms of blood cancer in recent years and new drugs have been approved in Germany, the prognosis for many affected individuals remains unfavourable. Research teams at Leipzig University's Faculty of Medicine are working in several preclinical and translational projects to gain a better understanding of these diseases.

In the 1860s, the chemists, Lothar Meyer and Dmitri Mendeleev, independently presented the first periodic system. Since then, the well-known tabular arrangement of the elements has been the guiding principle of chemistry. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences and the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics at the University of Leipzig provides computational approaches based on extensive data sets from the Reaxys chemistry database that explain the development of the first periodic systems.

New experts survey considerably extends the global biodiversity knowledge by underrepresented species groups and regions On average, 30 per cent of all species worldwide have been threatened with extinction or have already become extinct over the last 500 years. This was the result of estimates by 3,331 experts working on biodiversity in 187 countries.

What factors influence the life expectancy of patients with advanced gastric cancer? Scientists at Leipzig University Hospital have discovered that the body's inflammatory response is accompanied by reduced muscle quality in patients and ultimately constitutes the decisive factor for the prognosis. Their results have been published in the -Annals of Oncology-.

Researchers at Leipzig University have partnered with Syrian refugees and an agency for e-mental health services to develop and scientifically test an app to help users deal with post-traumatic stress and related mental strain. The app - Sanadak - has now been published in Arabic and German and can be downloaded free of charge.

The causes of intelligence impairment or epilepsy remain unexplained in more than 50 per cent of cases. Together with international colleagues, researchers at Leipzig University Hospital have discovered two genes with mutations that cause neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Their findings have now been published in scientific journals.