Every week, scilog features an exemplary project funded by the FWF. The presentations shed light on scientific questions and report on recent insights gained in basic research. The projects not only reflect the great variety of scientific disciplines, but also the range of support options offered by the Austrian Science Fund.
In agriculture, fungicides are used to combat fungal infections, and in medicine, antimycotics – both of which have their drawbacks. The microbiologist Florentine Marx-Ladurner is working on a new, more natural active substance. The antifungal compounds she is developing in her laboratory in Innsbruck are based on proteins that originate from moulds. Continue reading “A new way of combating fungal infections”
A research project devoted to the Polish city of Lublin shows how odours and the way they are perceived provide new insights into everyday history and beyond. Social and political change is often, quite literally, “in the air”. Continue reading “How a smell may evolve into a stink”
An interdisciplinary team of young researchers is investigating how large amounts of data can be used to simulate economic problems and sustainability issues. The project is being funded under a new programme of the Austrian Science Fund FWF. Continue reading “Shining a light into the data jungle”
Elderly care, construction, transport or the meat industry: many economic sectors in Western and Central Europe are characterised by labour migration from Eastern EU member states. Migrant workers benefit from the newly created job opportunities, but also suffer from the concomitant erosion of social standards. A research project at the universities of Salzburg and Bremen […] Continue reading “EU labour migration without social dumping”
In the context of an international collaborative project, space researcher Günter Kargl is conducting laboratory experiments in order to better understand the composition and behaviour of comets. One goal is the development of global standards for comet research. Continue reading “Bringing the cradle of the solar system to the laboratory”
Volatile organic hydrocarbons from road traffic, agriculture, refrigerants and solvents can turn into particles which lead to cloud formation. In Finland, Lukas Pichelstorfer is working on simulation models in order to understand how gases released by human activities react in the atmosphere and how this affects climate and air quality. Continue reading “Calculating a gap in atmospheric chemistry”
The image of ancient Egypt is strongly influenced by tombs of members of royalty and the elite. The relevance of tombs of the common people has long been underestimated. Research conducted at the “Necropolis of Helwan”, the largest ancient cemetery of its time, illustrates the importance of the individual and provides both insights into the […] Continue reading “Ancient cemetery without pomp and glory provides new insights”
The philosopher Gerhard Thonhauser investigates the behaviour of spectators at sports events to help him better understand group dynamics. He challenges prejudices, including claims that crowds are irrational or that emotion must be divorced from reason. This also entails consequences for politics. Continue reading “When a crowd makes smart decisions in the heat of the moment”
The collective memory of the Second World War also concerns the resistance and its protagonists. For the first time, the International Federation of Resistance Fighters has now been in the focus of research as a non-state player. New insights have been brought to light about the transformation of the notion of resistance and the formerly […] Continue reading “Changing memories of resistance”
In politically sensitive regions of the West Balkans, the mineralogist and crystallographer Tamara Đorđević investigates mining waste contaminated with arsenic and other toxins. In order to understand how these ticking time bombs affect the environment, she examines their crystal structure with cross-disciplinary expertise from crystallography and chemistry. Continue reading “New materials discovered in toxic mining waste”