Fertilisers and pest control are central elements of agriculture and have a direct impact on the composition of species found in crop fields. Supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a research group and helping hands from the University of Innsbruck are engaged in field research, using ecological and molecular methods to find out which […] Continue reading “Manure boosts beneficial predators in agriculture”
For almost three decades, Peter Holzer has been dealing with the question of how the bowels and the brain communicate with each other. The results are remarkable. Continue reading ““Never stop, always keep thinking things over””
The ability to recognize the thoughts, desires, and intentions of others is known in scientific circles as “Theory of Mind.” The psychologist and Schrödinger Fellow Matthias Schurz explores this human mind-reading phenomenon at Oxford University by investigating the workings of the brain. Continue reading “Oxford – venerable and cutting-edge”
In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a research team from the Medical University of Innsbruck was able to demonstrate that weight-loss surgery has a rejuvenating impact on the cells of the body. Continue reading “Turning back the clock in your cells”
In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a team of researchers from Graz investigated the role played by the body’s receptors for cannabinoids in the case of colon cancer. They have been able to show that some of these receptors can promote cancer. Continue reading “Doubts about the effectiveness of cannabis against cancer”
After undergoing bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, patients experience a loss of vaccine protection. In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the physician Christina Forstner is investigating how such patients respond to TBE vaccination and at what point this should be renewed. Continue reading “When to immunise if blood stem cells are being transplanted?”
A pilot study funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF has established a model to explore the impact of binge drinking on the bones of adolescents. According to the results, consuming alcohol may well influence bone formation in young people, resulting in long-term consequences. Continue reading “Does alcohol damage young bones?”
Music can have the effect of a “pacer” promoting coordinated, prosocial behaviour in human beings. Under a Lise-Meitner grant from the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the neurobiologist Dan Bowling is looking for evidence of the power of music. He wants to know, for instance, how music affects our bodies and whether singing in a choir […] Continue reading “Grooving together for more cohesion”
In the long term, climate change and land use are going to be detrimental to Africa’s tropical rain forests. International research teams including Austrian scientists have calculated the man-made impact on biodiversity in the Congo Basin. They predict that deforestation will rise by at least 55 percent. Continue reading “The future of rain forests in Congo”
At the neonatology ward of the Vienna General Hospital (Medical University Vienna), physicians compared two mixtures of intravenous lipids for nutrition. The researchers found no amelioration with respect to bile-flow complications in extremely low birth weight preterm babies in incubators, but they did discover more mature brain waves. Continue reading “Improved nutrition for extremely low birth weight preemies”