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ePaper created 2014-12-22, 09:34:33 | version 1.34.00
“In the course of evolutionary history, periods of extreme climate change have repeatedly led to severe crises, and the changes we are currently experiencing in the climate have the potential to end the same way. Despite all the worries, though, studying the effects of climate change on life in general and its impact over geological time is extremely exciting. Our central focus is the physiology of organisms because it brings together disciplines such as climate physics, ecology, biogeochemistry, palaeobiology and ultimately also human biology.” PROFESSOR HANS-OTTO PÖRTNER directs the Integrative Ecophysiology Section of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research “We were able to show that the SORLA protein produced by nerve cells protects people against Alzheimer’s. It keeps the brain from producing too many A-beta protein fragments, which damage nerve cells. Because of genetic changes, Alzheimer’s patients have too little SORLA, which means that their nerve cells produce too much A-beta. We are now looking for drugs that stimulate the production of SORLA in human neurons. We hope that they will help us to protect people against Alzheimer’s.” PROFESSOR THOMAS WILLNOW heads the Molecular Cardiovascular Research Group at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch “Catalysts are not only used in cars, but are an important factor in the chemical industry because they are able to reduce reaction energy. Working at the PETRA III X-ray source, we have developed a technique that enables us to use extremely short- wave X-ray light and powerful large-scale detectors to investigate atomic processes on a catalyst surface in real time. With this method we can contribute to developing less expensive, optimised catalysts.” PROFESSOR ANDREAS STIERLE is a senior scientist at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY and directs the DESY Nanolab DIVERSITY