Category: Biology and Medicine

Projects

Global warming disrupts the relationship between plants and pollinators

How would the floral scent of crops change if the temperatures were to rise by five degrees? And what would be the consequences for the relationship between plants and pollinating insects? An international team in Salzburg has simulated a scenario of global warming on three crops with three pollinators. Even though it will not be […] Continue reading “Global warming disrupts the relationship between plants and pollinators”

Portrait

When food is the enemy

By Margit Schwarz-Stiglbauer

In Austria, eight in one hundred children and adolescents are being treated for an eating disorder. That, however, is only a quarter of all those who are actually affected, and they are getting younger and younger. Child and adolescent psychiatrist Andreas Karwautz has three decades of experience at the special outpatient clinic for eating disorders […] Continue reading “When food is the enemy”

Interview & Opinion

Why the smallest organisms play the biggest role

Interview: Isabella Ferenci

Microbiologist Christa Schleper has dedicated her research career to archaea – the tiny unicellular organisms that counted among the first life forms on Earth. The 2022 Wittgenstein Award winner has discovered numerous microorganisms, and specialises in studying the impact of archaea on the nitrogen cycle. Her findings lay the groundwork for determining the impact of […] Continue reading “Why the smallest organisms play the biggest role”

Projects

Precision research into Mediterranean history

Opened 150 years ago, the Suez Canal created an artificial connection between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean – and had an unanticipated impact on biodiversity. A Vienna-based research team investigating the historical development of the Mediterranean ecosystem found a massive decline in the diversity of native species. Tropical immigrants are probably not to blame, […] Continue reading “Precision research into Mediterranean history”