Rewriting the story
Whether playing the trombone at home alone or with an entire symphony, music speaks to Paul Rivera like nothing else. He feels music on a visceral level, within his very being. (more…)
Technology
Spiel mit dem Feuer: wie Eiszeitjäger das Landschaftsbild Europas prägten
Bereits vor 20.000 Jahren haben Jäger und Sammler möglicherweise gezielt Feuer eingesetzt und damit zur Entstehung des lichten Charakters der eiszeitlichen europäischen Landschaft beigetragen. Das legt eine kürzlich im Fachjournal “PLOS ONE” veröffentlichte Studie nahe, zu deren Autoren auch eine Senckenberg-Wissenschaftlerin gehört. Es wäre einer der frühesten Hinweise auf einen großflächigen Eingriff des Menschen in die natürliche Vegetation seiner Umgebung. Der Befund erklärt, warum Analysen von Sedimenten belegen, dass in der Eiszeit in Europa eine offene Steppenlandschaft vorherrschte, während Vegetationsmodelle ergeben, dass Teile Europas damals dichter bewaldet gewesen sein müssten. (more…)
Chilling climate revelations from the last ice age
Study shows major changes in ice and temperatures could cause abrupt effects farther away
About 14,000 years ago, the southwest United States was lush and green, home to saber-toothed cats and mammoths. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest was mostly grassland. (more…)
IBM: Your Computer Can Help Scientists Search for New Childhood Cancer Treatments
Researchers in Japan, Hong Kong and U.S. launch crowdsourced research effort using IBM’s World Community Grid
TOKYO, Japan; HONG KONG, China & HARTFORD, United States – 31 Jan 2017: Medical researchers and IBM (NYSE: IBM) are asking for the public’s help in finding prospective treatments for childhood cancers. (more…)
Findings Show How AIDS Spread Across North America
A new technique that allowed researchers to analyze genetic material from serum samples of HIV patients taken before AIDS was known provides a glimpse into the beginnings of the epidemic.
Researchers at the University of Arizona and the University of Cambridge in the U.K. have reconstructed the origins of the AIDS pandemic in unprecedented detail. (more…)
Soja für den Rest der Welt
Argentinien ist einer der größten Sojaproduzenten der Welt, ein großer Teil wird im Nordwesten des Landes angebaut. Die Umwelt in der Provinz Salta wurde dadurch massiv verändert, Proteste gibt es dennoch nicht. Die Bevölkerung nimmt das weitgehend hin – warum, hat der Geograph Robert Hafner erforscht. (more…)
Fighting World Hunger: Researchers Use Nuclear Methods to Study Pest Resistance in Corn Plants
Expertise, resources found at Mizzou allow researchers to study pest-resistance in corn that could help sustain projected 9 billion global population
COLUMBIA, Mo. – According to estimates, the current global population is more than 7.4 billion people and is growing at a rate of 88 million people per year. Developing corn varieties that are resistant to pests is vital to sustain the estimated 9 billion global population by 2050. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri, using advanced nuclear methods, have determined the mechanisms corn plants use to combat the western corn rootworm, a major pest threatening the growth of the vital food source. Scientists believe that using the knowledge gained from these cutting-edge studies could help crop breeders in developing new resistant lines of corn and make significant strides toward solving global food shortages. (more…)
New Technique Could Boost Online Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the Open University of Catalonia have developed a technique for creating complex predictive tools that can be used to make effective decisions about word-of-mouth marketing for online products and services. (more…)