How play can make you more innovative and productive at work
At first glance, the MIT programmers may have looked like just a bunch of gamers goofing off, as they fired spaceship torpedoes in a video game they built. (more…)
Blog
Researchers Develop Faster, Precise Silica Coating Process for Quantum Dot Nanorods
Materials researchers at North Carolina State University have fine-tuned a technique that enables them to apply precisely controlled silica coatings to quantum dot nanorods in a day – up to 21 times faster than previous methods. In addition to saving time, the advance means the quantum dots are less likely to degrade, preserving their advantageous optical properties. (more…)
‘Prostitution’ as a second job: Stories of ‘Laila’ and ‘Chandra‘ – garment workers from Bangladesh
Things went not so well for Laila, a divorced 28-year-old mother of one who is now a garment worker in a factory located in Savar area, the apparel industry hub of Bangladesh and not far away from the Dhaka city’s fringe. She was happily married to a man who was a masonry worker but since his income was never stable and sufficient enough for the family, it all started to go very erratic. (more…)
Die Klagen der Bauern im Callejón de Huaylas
In den peruanischen Anden hadern Kleinbauern mit dem Wetter, verändernde Niederschlagsmuster erschweren demnach den traditionellen Anbau. Gemeinsam mit Hamburger Sozialgeographen haben Innsbrucker Meteorologen diese subjektiven Beobachtungen mit Daten von Wetterstationen verglichen und kommen zu einem überraschenden Ergebnis. (more…)
Climate change alters the rules of sperm competition in the sea
The impact of climate change on global seawater conditions could change the rules of sperm competition for many important marine species, a pioneering new study has shown.
Researchers from the University of Exeter have shown that increasing ocean acidification, brought about by manmade carbon emissions, reduces sperm performance in a species of sea urchin, slowing down sperm in future ocean conditions. Interestingly, they found that different males were affected to different extents and that this could change the outcome when rival male ejaculates competed to fertilise a batch of eggs in the sea. (more…)
Die Flora Afrikas auf einen Klick
Der Online-Fotoführer „African Plants“ wächst kontinuierlich: Kürzlich hat die Senckenberg-Datenbank die 5000er-Marke der illustrierten Pflanzenarten geknackt. Damit bildet die öffentlich zugängliche Fotosammlung etwa 10 Prozent der bekannten Pflanzenarten im kontinentalen Afrika ab. Derzeit werden weitere Fotos aus dem schwer zugänglichen Zentralafrika ergänzt und stehen so Hobbybotanikern, Afrika-Reisenden und Wissenschaftlern gleichermaßen zur Verfügung. (more…)
Immune system, brain and behavior
Researchers find prenatal infection may create risk for later disorders
The Zika virus now active in numerous countries, and the severe birth defects associated with it, makes it clear that infection in pregnant women can have immediate and devastating effects on the developing baby. (more…)
Hirnregionen automatisch bestimmen
Biologen entwickeln neue Analysemethode von Hirnaufnahmen und zeigen deren Anwendbarkeit am Beispiel von Fruchtfliegen
Muster in der genetischen Aktivität von Nervenzellen erkennen und daraus Rückschlüsse auf den Aufbau des Gehirns ziehen: Wie das möglich ist, zeigt ein Team von Biologinnen und Biologen um Prof. Dr. Andrew Straw am Beispiel von Fruchtfliegen. Die Arbeiten zu der Studie, die in der Fachzeitschrift „Current Biology“ erschienen ist, fanden an der Universität Freiburg und am Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pathologie (IMP) in Wien/Österreich statt.
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