Press archive

For the first time it is now possible to get a comprehensive overview of which alien species are present in Europe, their impacts and consequences for the environment and society. More than 11,000 alien species have been documented by DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe), a unique three year research project with more than 100 European scientists, funded by the European Union that provides new knowledge on biological invasions in Europe.

11,000 alien species invade Europe

Supercomputer calculates the mass of the nucleon - An international team of scientists has for the first time computed the masses of one of the most important constituents of matter - protons and neutrons. The tool which contributed the most to this calculation: JUGENE, a supercomputer at the Jülich research cerntre in Germany. The elaborate simulations confirm a fundamental theory of physics, quantum chromodynamics.

Science: what is the origin of the visible mass of the universe?

On 20 November 1998, a Russian Proton rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a historic mission: It was carrying the first module of the International Space Station ISS, named Zarya (Russian for "Dawn"). This cargo and control module, which weighs about 20 tonnes and is almost 13 metres long, provides electrical power, propulsion, flight path guidance and storage space. The launch of the module, also known as FGB (the Russian acronym for "Functional Cargo Block"), heralded a new era in space exploration, as, for the first time ever, lasting cooperation in space was achieved between Russia, the US, Europe, Canada and Japan.

Ten years in space: The International Space Station

For the first time in a clinical study, researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, have tested a new technology enabling them to transfer genetic material directly into a tumor by means of high pressure. As Assistant Professors Wolfgang Walther, together with Professor Peter M. Schlag report in Clinical Cancer Research (Vol. 14, Nr. 22, pp. 7545-7553)*, their results show that jet injection delivers genes into the tumor tissue safely and in a targeted manner. The application was well tolerated by all 17 patients enrolled in this study. No adverse events were experienced.

“Jet Injection” for Gene Therapy – First Clinical Trial Evaluates Feasibility

Six Helmholtz Research Centres have launched the most extensive investigation ever into the long-term effects of climate change at the regional level. Called TERENO (TERrestrial ENvironmental Observatories), the joint collaboration project will establish four observa-tories in Germany for scientists to study how climate change affects both the local ecosystem and the local economy. The data gathered over the course of the project will be used to develop better prediction models and new methods of adapting to climate change. The Helmholtz Association is providing €12 million to fund the project.

Local effects of climate change

In future, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA for short) - better known as acrylic glass - could be made from natural raw materials such as sugars, alcohols or fatty acids. PMMA is manufactured by polymerising methyl methacrylate (MMA). In a bacterial strain, scientists at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have found an enzyme which could be used for the biotechnological production of a precursor of MMA. Compared with the previous chemical production process, a biotechnological process is far more environmentally friendly.

Acrylic glass made of sugar

The American immunologist Dr. William E. Paul has received the Max Delbrück Medal in Berlin. The jury honored the researcher for his work on a key regulator of the immune system, interleukin 4 (IL-4). Dr. Paul works at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Professor Andreas Radbruch, scientific director of the German Rheuma Research Center Berlin, held the laudatory address.

US Immunologist William E. Paul Receives the Max Delbrück Medal

On 11 November 2008, almost four years after the devastating tsunami catastrophe, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia inaugurated the InaTEWS tsunami early warning system (Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System) in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Germany has made a significant contribution to this system. The German Remote Sensing Data Center (Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum; DFD) of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has developed and put in place a Decision Support System (DSS) for InaTEWS, which will enable significantly improved tsunami early warning for the Indian Ocean.

DLR technology and expertise for a tsunami early warning system in Indonesia

The labors of the past few months have been rewarded: The Heidelberg team performed extremely well at the internationally renowned iGEM competition held by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA. The team, a first-time participant at iGEM, was awarded three special prizes and a gold medal for their scientific work. For the past four months, the team of 16 undergraduate students under supervision of Professor Dr. Roland Eils and Dr. Victor Sourjik had been working on their project called “Ecolicence to Kill”. Their goal was to genetically reengineer bacteria to make them detect and specifically kill pathogens or cancer cells.

Heidelberg Team Sweeps Prizes

The newly implemented Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean, GITEWS, goes into operation today and with this, the system enters its final phase of optimisation. As foreseen, the system was officially handed over to the BMKG (Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia) by the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, slightly less than four years after the catastrophe of 2004.

A New Approach in Tsunami-Early Warning