News - Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

The latecomer

Wendelstein 7-X is the world’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion device of the stellarator type. Its objective is to test whether a new source of energy could emerge for humanity from fusing light atomic nuclei.

Solar fuels

The quest for the perfect energy storage system

Our sun delivers huge amounts of energy to us every day. But we are only making use of a small percentage of it. If Kathrin Aziz-Lange had her way, this situation would soon be changed.

HELMHOLTZ Extreme

The loudest workstation

The explosion is up to 263 decibels loud that Thomas Jordan creates at his work-station. Compared to this, a jet taking off with its 110 decibels sounds almost like a whisper.

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Portrait

A photographer who loves icy conditions

It was love at first sight. One trip to the Arctic was all it took for photographer Esther Horvath to realize that this was where she wanted to spend her future career. So, she packed her suitcase, bid the Big Apple farewell, and set out for the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany.

Knowledge transfer

On either side of the Mediterranean

The exchange of knowledge between Europe and Africa has previously been a one-way street – from north to south. A geoscience project now shows that traffic in the opposite direction also makes good sense.

Climate Engineering

Tweaking our climate

From droughts, to forest fires, to megastorms, the extreme weather we’ve seen in 2018 is becoming an increasing source of concern around the world. People are worried that climate change will be virtually unstoppable without drastic steps such as "climate engineering." But can the Earth really be cooled using artificial means?

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Nutrition

Interval fasting—does it really live up to the hype?

Therapeutic fasting traditionally involves going without food for several days. In the case of intermittent fasting, on the other hand, taking regular breaks from eating is sufficient. But is this approach really effective in terms of the participants’ weight and metabolism?

Award

Detecting and treating prostate cancer

Four scientists from Heidelberg have developed a more reliable method to diagnose prostate cancer and even fight it in a targeted manner. They have now been awarded the Erwin Schrödinger Prize 2018 for their interdisciplinary research.

Deep Learning

Machines – and how they make decisions

Helmholtz researcher Fabian Theis teaches machines to learn so they can support the work of doctors and scientists. Theis spoke about the benefits offered by big data and machine learning at the Symposium for Individualized Infection Medicine in Hanover, Germany.

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Year of Space

From the ISS to Mercury

Alexander Gerst in command of the ISS, a mole landing on Mars, and a launch toward Mercury: These are just three major events in space exploration we have to look forward to in 2018. What follows is an overview of some of this year’s highlights, which are increasingly being shaped by private initiatives.

Helmholtz Extreme

Growing fresh food in the Antarctic

Scientists are working to grow fresh vegetables in a greenhouse surrounded by perennial ice. The experiment will supply the winter crew at Neumayer Station with fresh food, but it is primarily designed to provide experience and data for future Mars missions.

Interview

How dirty is diesel really?

Most people think diesel engines are significant contributors to air pollution. But modern models produce hardly any particulates or nitrogen oxides. We spoke with Thomas Koch about a technology that has fallen into such disrepute.

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Neutrinos

The superstars of particle physics

Researchers are working to unravel the mystery of neutrinos – and, nearly 60 years after their discovery, are gradually getting to the bottom of one of the greatest riddles in the natural sciences.

IceCube Neutrino Observatory

Astrophysics in the Antarctic

Temperatures fall as low as negative 100 degrees during the winter. Darkness prevails for six months. Work at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station demands a lot from the researchers there. Emanuel Jacobi lived and worked there for a year, learning a lot about himself along the way.

Portrait

Making the invisible visible

Understanding the structures of molecules is an important part of developing new medicines. X-ray flashes can provide valuable assistance in this process, and this is an area in which physicist Henry Chapman and his team have already achieved the first pioneering breakthroughs.

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Public transport

Researching ways to make train stations safer

Platforms at train stations are often very crowded – especially during rush hour. Researcher Maik Boltes and his team want to improve situations like these by seeking effective ways to manage crowds of people.

New Center

“We research every aspect of information security”

Helmholtz has a new member. We spoke to Michael Backes, the director of the Helmholtz Center for Information Security, about computer viruses, autonomous driving, patient data—and how to attract employees from Silicon Valley to the state of Saarland in southwestern Germany.

Brain research

“Show me your brain, and I’ll tell you who you are”

Could job interviews be replaced by a simple brain scan? This just might be possible someday thanks to the methods neuroscientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich are developing. But it’s more likely that they will enable early diagnosis of depression and dementia.

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Point of View

Should science fund journalism?

Science journalism is at crisis point: Editorial offices and departments are being scaled back, budgets are being cut. But should the scientific community finance the coverage of its own work? Two points of view.

Doctoral Prize

Who are the best doctoral candidates at Helmholtz?

At the Helmholtz Horizons event in Berlin, six young researchers were recognized for their outstanding scientific achievements. In these brief interviews, they discuss the focal points of their research and their plans for the future.

Portrait

Driven by curiosity

Israel has been home to astounding scientific achievements. Physicist Daniel Zajfman, one of the country’s most noteworthy researchers, believes this success is due in part to a willingness to think outside the box and cross boundaries.

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Interview

"The language of science knows no borders"

The first large-scale particle accelerator in the Middle East has been assembled in Jordan. Researchers from Israel, Iran, and the Palestinian territories work together there. We spoke to Rolf Heuer, former General Director of CERN and chairman of the project’s supervisory board.

"Israel Has Incredible Momentum"

The Helmholtz Association has opened a new international office in Tel Aviv. With this step, Germany’s largest research organization is seeking to take its cooperation with Israeli researchers and start-ups to a new level.

Helmholtz Juniors

On the Future of Science

The business practices of 'predatory publishers' drew a great deal of attention in the media. We asked seven young Helmholtz researchers about their ideas on how to cope with these issues.

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