In a new study, neuroscientists examine how individual experiences influence the development of new neurons, leading to measurable changes in the brains of mice. How do organisms evolve into individuals that are distinguished from others by their own personal brain structure and behavior? Scientists in Dresden, Berlin, Münster, and Saarbrücken have now taken a decisive [...]

Using a climate model adapted to the special conditions on Mars, researchers believe they can reliably predict snowstorms on Mars far in advance, helping future missions choose better routes that avoid heavy snowfall. Snowstorms lashing down at the northern hemisphere of Mars during the icy cold winters may be predicted several weeks in advance, say [...]

In a newly published study, researchers analyzed modern human teeth, finding that material loss protects teeth against fatigue failure. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt together with dental technicians have digitally analyzed modern human teeth using an engineering approach, finite element method, to [...]

Researchers have developed a chemical compound, Anle138b, that prevents clumping of synunclein protein, slowing down the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease in mice. The earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease can be deceptively mild. The first thing that movie star Michael J. Fox noticed was twitching of the little finger of his left hand. For [...]

New research from the Max Planck Institute shows that silicon nanowires become doped with unexpectedly large amounts of aluminum during growth, increasing their conductivity and defying the laws of thermodynamics. Nanoelectronics has taken another step forward. An international team including researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle has discovered an effect [...]

2012 saw the greatest Arctic ice minimum ever recorded, allowing researchers to document the effects of ice retreat and biodiversity in the Arctic deep sea. The Arctic is one of the habitats undergoing the most radical transformation as a result of climate change. Nobody can predict the effects it will have on biodiversity in the [...]

New calculations give scientists a better understanding of turbulent processes in regimes that can be found in astrophysical phenomena. The American Nobel Prize Laureate for Physics Richard Feynman once described turbulence as “the most important unsolved problem of classical physics”, because a description of the phenomenon from first principles does not exist. This is still [...]

Scientists have developed an electrically conductive paper-like material from a vanadium pentoxide ceramic that is as hard as copper, yet flexible enough to be rolled up or folded. Scientists in Stuttgart are currently doing things to a ceramic, which would normally result in a pile of shards. They were the first to produce a paper-like [...]

A team of scientists have discovered titanium oxide and titanium dioxide in the extended atmosphere around the giant star VY Canis Majoris. An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and from the University of Cologne, successfully identified two titanium oxides in the extended atmosphere around a giant [...]

For the first time, researchers at the Max Planck Institute provide experimental proof that the extremely sensitive olfactory system of fruit flies is based on self-regulation of odorant receptors. Highly developed antennae containing different types of olfactory receptors allow insects to use minute amounts of odors for orientation towards resources like food, oviposition sites or [...]

In a soon to be published study, researchers from the Max Planck Institute show in mice that social stress reduces the volume of Homer-1 in the hippocampus, which results in impaired learning, and that it is possible to prevent the resulting cognitive deficit by administering additional volumes of Homer-1. Before examinations and in critical situations, [...]

While studying magnetite nanoparticles, researchers from the Max Planck Institute developed a new model for predicting how nanoparticles form. Nanoparticles are versatile harbingers of hope: They can serve as active medical agents or contrast media just as well as electronic storage media or reinforcement for structural materials. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids [...]