Pedunculate, sessile and downy oaks are to be found throughout Europe, both on arid sites and on sites with a good water supply. The international ACORN research project is investigating the (genetic) adjustments shown by trees in dry sites in order to secure seed sources that can tolerate global warming for the oak forests of the future.
Continue reading “Searching Europe for future-proof oak trees”
The principles of thermodynamics describe large systems. Can they be transferred to the microscopic level of quantum mechanics? Researchers at the Atomic and Subatomic Physics Institute of TU Wien are deliberating new perspectives on quantum systems. The process could lead to “thermal quantum machines” that work much more efficiently than their classical counterparts.
Continue reading “On the way to the “quantum steam engine””
More than 85 percent of deaths during the Spanish flu pandemic were not primarily due to the influenza virus, but to a secondary bacterial infection. Even a century later, such secondary infections can still be fatal. Researchers from Vienna, who explored a modern vaccine format, found that influenza shots help keep the bacteria at bay.
Continue reading “Dual pathogen attack”The magnitude of the damage caused by the earthquake in Turkey can also be attributed to structural corruption, says political scientist Naif Bezwan, who has been studying Turkish domestic and foreign policy for many years. As a guest contributor to scilog, he analyses the catastrophe that was “doubly inevitable” and takes a discerning look at the upcoming watershed elections.
Continue reading “Politics and policies in ruins”
Ariane Sadjed has always had a problem with the one-dimensional images of modern Iran that she encountered both inside and outside of academia. A cultural scientist, Sadjed has been conducting anthropological research on the topic of “being Jewish in Iran” for ten years. What has struck her quite often in the process is the discrepancy between the great meta-narratives about “the Jews” and the everyday lives of the people. The current wave of protests is another thing that affects her.
Continue reading “Looking beyond stereotypes”
Archaea are able to withstand the most adverse conditions such as extreme cold or heat. Among the first organisms found on the planet, they were the ancestors of complex creatures such as human beings. During her Schrödinger fellowship, microbiologist Isabelle Zink is cooperating with top researchers in Wageningen, the Netherlands, in order to find out more about these microorganisms, their immune systems and their functions.
Continue reading “Archaea research in the “Helix””
