5/25/12
Rewiring in the brain is life-long May 24, 2012 Despite a long-held scientific belief that much of the wiring of the brain is fixed by the time of adolescence, a new study shows that changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring of the brain, even as one ages. In addition, the study ...
5/25/12
Russian and German partners develop new IT approaches European XFEL, DESY, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow will cooperate to develop IT solutions for large scientific facilities. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on collaboration to find new data management and ...
5/25/12
The Helmholtz Association builds a new platform for the further development of detector technologies and detector systems. Nine Helmholtz institutes, together with DESY, are participating in this project, which also includes the bundling of competences of eleven universities and seven research ...
5/24/12
Soil erosion in tropical coastal areas accelerates coral death May 23, 2012 Most people are fascinated by the colourful and exotic coral reefs, which form habitats with probably the largest biodiversity. But human civilisation is the top danger to these fragile ecosystems through climate change, ...
5/24/12
Herbivores evaluate their host’s readiness for defence May 23, 2012 A few minutes after an herbivore attack, plants produce jasmonic acid, a hormone which activates the plants’ defences to insect attacks, with the result that toxic substances like nicotine or digestion inhibitors accumulate in ...
5/24/12
The stubby arms of Tyrannosaurus rexobviously weren’t designed for hand-to-hand combat. However, the abelisaurids of the Southern hemisphere were even less well equipped in that department–and upper limb reduction began very early in their evolution. When Tyrannosaurus and its relatives roamed ...
5/24/12
Black fire beetles of the genus Melanophila possess unusual infrared sensors. It seems that they use these to detect forest fires, even from great distances, since their wood-eating larvae can only develop in freshly burned trees. Scientists have been wondering for a long time how sensitive ...
5/23/12
Action mechanism of one of the oldest drugs known to man elucidated May 21, 2012 Castor oil is known primarily as an effective laxative; however, it was also used in ancient times with pregnant women to induce labour. Only now have scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung ...
5/23/12
Göttingen scientists reconstruct a radical change during the evolution of the brain May 22, 2012 In the course of its evolution, the architecture of the mouse brain may have barely changed. Similar to the tiny ancestors of modern mammals that lived about 80 million years ago, nerve cells in the ...
5/23/12
Max Planck scientists discover brain cells in monkeys that may be linked to self-awareness and empathy in humans May 21, 2012 The anterior insular cortex is a small brain region that plays a crucial role in human self-awareness and in related neuropsychiatric disorders. A unique cell type - the ...
