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.
Even back in the Roman Empire, those in power were looking for ways to cope with the challenges of massive immigration. For the first time, a research project is now exploring the measures taken from a legal perspective. The results are expected to shed light on issues ranging from citizenship rights to successful or failed […] Continue reading “More equality, less isolation”
Exacting demands and unfinished tasks at work lead to work-related thoughts cropping up during free time. Those who want to prevent burnout have to learn to draw boundaries. As recent investigations in an Austrian-Slovenian research project show, the problem particularly affects people given to negative thought patterns. Continue reading “The work-related impact of negative thinking”
Research groups in Graz are exploring the effectiveness of daily training for people who have lost their sense of smell. The training is linked to microorganisms in the nose and to brain networks that process the incoming signals. The first positive news: the researchers were able to prove that olfactory training is fundamentally successful. Continue reading “Training can help recover from lost sense of smell”
A group of researchers from Graz is exploring the socio-economic effects of new technologies wreaking another wave of “creative destruction” on established economic structures and processes. The researchers examine the options open to policy makers in the face of major impending upheavals. For Austria they see both entrepreneurial potential in niches and the danger of […] Continue reading “The next industrial revolution is here. What does this mean for Austria?”
Despite all warnings, people continue to ruthlessly exploit land resources around the world, planting monocultures and setting up large-scale infrastructure. Social ecologist Anke Schaffartzik analyses the political and economic interests that precede these developments and their impact on society. The snapshots of global material and energy flows, but also the power gradient of which they […] Continue reading “Saving the world with Christmas cookies?”
The Covid-19 pandemic shows the importance of medical research in the treatment of lung diseases. The Medical University of Vienna is renowned the world over in the field of lung transplantation medicine. Currently, they are testing a new therapeutic approach designed to improve the situation of patients in the long term. Continue reading “New therapeutic approach designed to improve life with donor lungs”
Large companies that sell their products and services worldwide, but do not pay income taxes on revenues generated in countries other than their own, are the reason why many are calling for new tax regulations. For legal expert Daniel Blum, the unproductive back and forth of arguments is rooted in different schools of thought that […] Continue reading “No common denominator in international taxation discourse”
From the beginning to the end of his reign, Emperor Francis Joseph I had the final say on decisions, as documented by roughly a quarter of a million written submissions. A bi-national team of researchers has now developed a new methodology for a first-time assessment of this comprehensive body of material. In the process, surprising […] Continue reading “The Emperor’s desk: the decisions of Emperor Francis Joseph I”
For the first time, a digital map provides a collection of information from all over the world on the subject of torture and physical abuse. According to the grim findings, torture exists in almost every country in the world. On the other hand, there are also research projects and initiatives seeking to prevent excessive violence. […] Continue reading “Addressing a painful subject”