The virologist Christoph Steininger is involved in several EU-wide research projects on the coronavirus. In an FWF-funded project on the clinically highly relevant CMV virus, his research group has just achieved a scientific breakthrough. Both research areas show how important purely curiosity-driven basic research can be for the development of drugs. Continue reading “Coronavirus: from molecule to drug”
A team of researchers from Vienna has developed methods of deciphering precisely how plants and medicinal substances affect the body’s own hormone balance. Initial analyses show that in high doses some natural substances promote the growth of breast cancer cells. Continue reading “Natural substances as a risk factor for breast cancer?”
Under certain circumstances, ant colonies can team up to form huge supercolonies extending across thousands of kilometres and displace native species, if they refrain from aggressive behaviour. A research group from Innsbruck is now investigating how this situation can arise. Continue reading “Non-aggressive behaviour facilitates ant invasion”
Fungi play an important role in the forest ecosystem, for instance as wood-decaying agents. Biotechnology specialist Daniel Kracher is investigating how exactly these processes work. In his host city of Manchester, the Schrödinger Fellow enjoyed the extremely open research culture and reciprocated by sharing samples of traditional Austrian cuisine. Continue reading “Sachertorte in Manchester”
A research group led by the physician Christian Dejaco is investigating circumstances under which patients may stop taking medication for rheumatoid arthritis without running the risk of the disease flaring up again. Continue reading “Ultrasound for better therapeutic effects in rheumatism”
Over the last 25 years, the microbiologist Michael Wagner has developed methods that make it possible to examine bacteria and archaea directly in medical or environmental samples without growing them. Today he watches them eat, sorts them by function, and in 2015 discovered “Comammox”, a new bacterial species that can help reduce the production of […] Continue reading “Exploring the miracle of life”
The Goffin cockatoos are an amazingly clever parrot species. Behaviorist Mark O’Hara wants to find out why. In order to better understand how the animals tick, the Schrödinger scholar has set off for Indonesia. Continue reading “The cockatoos of the forgotten islands”
In a European research project backed by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, researchers tested stakeholder approaches to scenarios of future land use in five European model regions. For Austria, the Mostviertel region was taken as an example for discussing and weighing the tensions arising between the poles of uncompensated benefits for the ecosystem, farming productivity […] Continue reading “Scenarios for future land use”
Some of the world’s most impoverished habitats are found in the Southwest of Australia. There, biologist and Schrödinger Fellow Christiana Staudinger has found the ideal setting to investigate how plants and soils adapt to such harsh conditions. Surprisingly, this region’s flora is also full of life and very diverse, as the young scholar reports from […] Continue reading “Plant species interactions in Perth”
While searching for biological markers for suicide risk, a Viennese research team has gained new insights into the relationship between environmental factors and genetics. Traumatic childhood experiences play an essential role and leave traces in the brain. Continue reading “The genetics of suicide risk”