https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg The "omics" technologies—genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics—are at the forefront of discovery in modern plant science and systems biology. In contrast to the rather static genome, however, the metabolome and the products measured in it are very dynamic. In science, metabolome refers to the totality of all small molecules, also known as metabolites, in a biological cell, tissue or organism. Their concentration generally fluctuates greatly, both spatially and temporally. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-method-enables-noninvasive-magnetic-resonance.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:13:50 EDT news646586023 Egyptian temples were not only colorful, but also gleamed in glistening gold. Columns, gates and obelisks have been covered in gold since the beginning of the Pharaonic Period. Researchers also know from textual sources that some of the buildings were gilded. In most cases, these were overlays of thicker metal foils made of gilded copper. Their traces can only be seen today as holes in the walls. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-temple-edfu-reveals-inscriptions-gold.html Archaeology Mon, 16 Sep 2024 15:31:58 EDT news645719508 Gravity is no longer a mystery to physicists—at least when it comes to large distances. Thanks to science, we can calculate the orbits of planets, predict tides, and send rockets into space with precision. However, the theoretical description of gravity reaches its limits at the level of the smallest particles, the so-called quantum level. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-theoretical-physicists-method-central-theory.html General Physics Quantum Physics Mon, 16 Sep 2024 09:15:04 EDT news645696902 An enormous canyon stretches across Mars: Valles Marineris is 3,000 kilometers long, 600 kilometers wide and on average 8 kilometers deep. Its Latin name goes back to the Mars orbiter Mariner, which discovered the valley in the early 1970s. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-orchestrating-swarm-robots-exploration-canyon.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 10 Sep 2024 14:11:04 EDT news645196261 Honeybees are social insects. Their colony only survives as a community, and healthy new generations are very important. It is therefore not surprising that honeybees invest significant care and resources into their offspring: nurse bees feed the young larvae with a food juice made from nectar and pollen which they produce in a gland in their head. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-pesticides-combination-unexpected-effects-honeybees.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 09 Sep 2024 12:30:36 EDT news645103831 Today's computers reach their physical limits when it comes to speed. Semiconductor components usually operate at a maximum usable frequency of a few gigahertz—which corresponds to several billion computing operations per second. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-electrically-modulated-antenna-faster-chips.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Sep 2024 11:52:04 EDT news645101521 Climate change is affecting ecosystems in many different ways. One of its consequences is increasingly longer and more intense periods of heat, which affect essential natural processes—such as pollination. A team of researchers from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) has now investigated in more detail how heat affects one particular player in these processes—the bumblebee. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-impair-bumblebees-ability-floral-scents.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 30 Aug 2024 10:00:02 EDT news644230797 Researchers from Würzburg and Berlin present a new molecule for visualizing the sphingomyelin metabolism. This offers prospects for innovative therapeutic approaches in infection research. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-scientists-chemical-tool-infection.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 29 Aug 2024 09:16:03 EDT news644141761 Using newly generated "optogenetic" tobacco plants, research teams from the University of Würzburg's Departments of Plant Physiology and Neurophysiology have investigated how plants process external signals. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-pathways-decoded-optogenetic-tobacco.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 28 Aug 2024 11:47:04 EDT news644064421 People who are infected with chlamydia can transmit these bacteria to other people during unprotected sex. The pathogens usually cause no symptoms, or only mild symptoms at first, such as itching in the vagina, penis or anus. If the infection is noticed, it can be easily treated with antibiotics. If this does not happen, the bacteria can cause serious problems, including infertility and cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-chlamydia-intestine-organoid-reveal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Gastroenterology Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:34:03 EDT news643628041 A superconductivity theory proposed by a Würzburg physics team has been validated in an international experiment that showed Cooper pairs display wave-like distribution in Kagome metals. The finding will enable new technological applications such as superconducting diodes. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-validation-superconductor-theory-cooper-pairs.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Fri, 23 Aug 2024 08:56:08 EDT news643622160 People trust medical advice less if they suspect that an artificial intelligence is involved in its creation. This is the key finding of a study by psychologists from the University of Würzburg. Their paper is published in the journal Nature Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-people-medical-advice-ai-involvement.html Psychology & Psychiatry Health informatics Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:36:54 EDT news641129811 Everyone lies—some more, some less. Children are no different. An international team of economists has now investigated the influence of the parental home and upbringing on a child's propensity to lie. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-children-social-environment.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Fri, 05 Jul 2024 12:29:04 EDT news639401342 What effect do economic sanctions have on the countries affected, such as Russia or Iran? What impact do they have on the sanctioning states? And is there possibly an ideal coalition of sanction partners? Economists from Würzburg, Kiel, Berlin and Bielefeld have analyzed these questions. They have now published their findings in Economic Policy. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-economists-reveal-sanctions.html Economics & Business Political science Thu, 20 Jun 2024 14:19:04 EDT news638111942 A low vitamin B6 level has negative effects on brain performance. A research team from Würzburg University Medicine has now found a way to delay the degradation of the vitamin. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-vitamin-b6-compound-delay-degradation.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:37:17 EDT news637501034 Some cancer drugs cause severe side effects because they are not working accurately enough. A team at the University of Würzburg led by biochemist Caroline Kisker has now discovered why. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-enzyme-reveals-cancer-drugs-severe.html Biochemistry Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:13:05 EDT news636883982 Researchers have discovered how the protein XPD detects severe DNA damage and controls its repair. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-dna-mechanism-elucidated-cryo-electron.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 28 May 2024 10:49:03 EDT news636112141 When members of a group successfully coordinate their movements with one another, this leads to a stronger sense of togetherness. This was shown by a recent study by the Universities of Würzburg and Regensburg. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-movement-strong-togetherness.html Social Sciences Thu, 16 May 2024 16:33:34 EDT news635096012 Researchers at the University of Würzburg have discovered a new function of the oncoprotein MYCN: It not only helps cancer cells to grow stronger, but also makes them more resistant to drugs. The study is published in Molecular Cell. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-function-oncoproteins.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 08 May 2024 09:35:24 EDT news634379720 Artificial intelligence may soon help to identify lies and deception. However, a research team from the Universities of Marburg and Würzburg warns against premature use. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-05-beware-ai-based-deception-scientific.html Machine learning & AI Thu, 02 May 2024 14:12:04 EDT news633877921 Bumblebees appear to be quite resistant to common pesticides. This is shown by a new study, the results of which have now been published by scientists from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in the journal Environment International. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-bumblebees-dont-pesticide-cocktails-highlights.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 15 Apr 2024 16:34:03 EDT news632417641 Researchers at the University of Würzburg have developed a method that can improve the performance of quantum resistance standards. It's based on a quantum phenomenon called Quantum Anomalous Hall effect. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-quantum-hall-resistor-method.html Quantum Physics Mon, 15 Apr 2024 10:38:03 EDT news632396281 The transition from the esophagus to the stomach is a delicate region from a medical point of view, often associated with pathological disorders leading to cancer. An international research team has now gained new insights into this region that will pave the way for new prevention and treatment options. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04-lays-basis-perspectives-gastrointestinal-diseases.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Gastroenterology Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:12:03 EDT news632056321 Physicists at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have made a discovery that could boost the understanding of the role of entanglement in high-temperature copper oxide superconductors. The low-energy quasiparticles of these enigmatic quantum materials, so-called Zhang-Rice singlets, were found to be remarkably resilient against extreme disorder. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-quantum-entanglement-quasiparticles-stealth-mode.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:00:07 EDT news631875602 An international team including researchers from the University of Würzburg has succeeded in creating a special state of superconductivity. This discovery could advance the development of quantum computers. The results are published in Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-stable-superconductor-magnetism.html Superconductivity Thu, 04 Apr 2024 09:43:02 EDT news631442581 Experimental and theoretical physicists from the Würzburg Institute for Topological Insulators have observed a re-entrant quantum Hall effect in a mercury telluride device and have identified it as a signature of parity anomaly. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-physicists-parity-anomaly-topological-insulator.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:03:05 EDT news630666181 Students working on their Bachelor's or Master's thesis usually have supervisors at their side who guide, accompany and possibly also correct them during this time. If students have the impression that their supervisor is passionate and motivated, this also increases their own motivation. Grade pressure, on the other hand, has no direct influence on student motivation during this time. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-thesis.html Education Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:44:04 EDT news630168242 Prof. Dr. Grit Hein's latest assessments of empathic abilities once again challenge the old adage, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." It seems that not only children but also adults can adopt empathic responses from close caregivers in addition to their genetic predispositions. Adults, too, are malleable and can learn to be more or less compassionate through observing others. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-empathy-socially-transmitted.html Psychology & Psychiatry Neuroscience Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:10:06 EST news627826201 They are only a few centimeters tall and their brains have a comparatively simple structure with less than 1 million neurons. Nevertheless, desert ants of the Cataglyphis genus possess abilities that distinguish them from many other creatures: The animals are able to orient themselves to the Earth's magnetic field. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-ants-earth-magnetic-field-calibrates.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 13 Feb 2024 09:01:18 EST news627037273 Pollination, the transfer of pollen grains from the male to the female organs, is an essential part of reproduction for the majority of plants. For many of these plants, this transfer is carried out by insects in search of food—this is known as insect pollination. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-air-pollution-pollination.html Ecology Wed, 07 Feb 2024 12:32:03 EST news626531521