The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Boğazköy-Hattuša is located in the north of Turkey It was once the capital of the Hittite Empire a great power in the late Bronze Age around 1650 to 1200 BC The cuneiform tablets discovered there and in other Hittite sites represent one of the largest groups of texts from the ancient Near East They include thousands of sources in Hittite as well as numerous fragments in other Anatolian languages An innovative digital tool has been offering researchers and students online access to these historical sources since 2023: the Thesaurus Linguarum Hethaeorum Digitalis (TLHdig 0.1) which was launched on the Hethitologie-Portal Mainz platform (HPM) this thesaurus has become one of the digital tools that Hittitologists use every day This tool is now even more powerful: As TLHdig 0.2 it is comprising more than 98% of all published sources—approximately 22,000 XML text documents many of which consist of multiple rejoined fragments Currently the corpus consists of almost 400,000 transliterated lines will offer complete coverage of all published texts Researchers can browse and search texts in transliteration or cuneiform and apply various filters for more complex queries TLHdig is embedded within the infrastructure of Hethitologie-Portal Mainz and is integrated with various digital catalogue tools the TLHdig team has drawn on digital and analogue resources developed by several generations of Hittitologists including digital text edition projects on Hethitologie-Portal Mainz and the contributions of many individual scholars TLHdig features an online submission pipeline for scholars publishing new Hittite cuneiform texts Users can copy and paste their transliterations into the creator interface and follow the prompts to finalise their submissions users find support in a Step-by-step Manual TLHdig will continue to expand alongside the field ensuring it remains as up-to-date as possible and both the quantity and quality of the data increases continuously It thus serves as both a foundation for text editions and a valuable resource for a wide range of research questions and methodologies including the use of innovative AI approaches The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) funded the development of TLHdig The project was led by Professor Gerfrid Müller (Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature / University of Würzburg) Professor Doris Prechel (University of Mainz) Professor Elisabeth Rieken (University of Marburg) and Professor Daniel Schwemer (University of Würzburg) TLHdig on Hethitologie-Portal Mainz: https://www.hethport.uni-wuerzburg.de/TLHdig/ Contact via Email: tlhdig@uni-wuerzburg.de Türkçe versiyonu için buraya tıklayınız EUMETSAT annual conference to examine use of satellite data for addressing weather and climate challenges co-hosted by the German Meteorological Service “the Earth observation value chains for weather “Nine of the 10 natural events that caused the highest economic loss globally in 2023 were weather and climate related – storms floods or droughts,” EUMETSAT Director-General Phil Evans said as Europe’s meteorological satellite agency is to ensure that weather and climate experts have the data they need to accurately and promptly predict severe events to protect the communities they serve “We are seeing the impact of climate change in the increasing frequency of severe weather and climate-related events The challenge is to ensure we are well-placed to respond to the need for high-quality meteorological and climate data and that we deliver the data in the most accessible and usable way “The conference looks at this challenge through multiple lenses – existing and future Earth observation satellite systems the evaluation and usage of existing data and products the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning DWD President Prof Dr Sarah Jones said satellite data are indispensable for weather forecasting today “A good 80% of all data for forecasts comes from weather satellites,” Jones said “We are also increasingly working with satellite data in climate research “The DWD therefore is involved in the entire value chain: from determining which data we will need from future weather satellites to the operational integration of the data into our weather and climate models “This exchange with data users is particularly valuable for us.” Experts from throughout Europe and around the globe would contribute to the five-day event Find out more about EUMETSAT Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations Following an axe attack on a Bavarian commuter train on Monday (18 July) by an Afghan asylum seeker claiming allegiance to ISIS, Germany’s news media were awash with reports that the terrorist organisation had finally staged a successful attack. EURACTIV.com news editor Joel Schalit The Afghan teen (left corner, in Berliner Kurier) who carried out Monday's attack. [Joel Schalit/Flickr] In January 1939 the authorities forced the district rabbi of Würzburg who had meanwhile been detained in a concentration camp who was to be the last rabbi of the community in Würzburg before its destruction From the deportation album of the Jews of Mainfranken (part of Lower Franconia).The handwritten captions under the photographs is at times of an anti-Semitic nature. "The Jewish Mischpoche (family) arrives in herds at the evacuation point…""The Jewish scum is being loaded…""The later the hour the more handsome the guests…""On foot and by car the Jews stream in…" Courtesy of the Würzburg State Archives (Staatsarchiv Würzburg)Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/94-99 Jews from Würzburg were among those deported From the deportation album of the Jews of Mainfranken (part of Lower Franconia) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/111Courtesy of the Würzburg State Archives (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/112Courtesy of the Würzburg State Archives (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/110Courtesy of the Würzburg State Archives (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 1014/5/27Courtesy of the BPK photo archive (Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz) In September 1941 the Jews of Germany were made to wear the "yellow badge" on their clothes; all Jews from the age of six were to wear a yellow star on their outer garments In October 1941 Jews were prohibited from crossing the Reich borders and November 1941 was the first occasion on which Jews from Würzburg were deported to Riga At the beginning of 1942 the authorities dictated that all Jewish apartments in Würzburg be vacated Their owners were concentrated in the buildings of the Jewish cemetery under extremely crowded conditions and without any privacy: families were quartered in the mourning room and several families were also placed on the second floor Jews who had been sent to Würzburg from other communities in Franconia were concentrated in the Jewish hospital were conscripted to serve as force laborers in factories Strict regulations controlled the movement of Jews in the city among them Jews who had immigrated to the city or been deported to it from other communities in Germany A quarter of the emigrants from Würzburg resettled elsewhere Germany; the rest left the country According to a Gestapo report from Würzburg Before boarding the transports the deportees were required to hand in all their valuables They were only allowed to take a few belongings with them on the trains Before boarding the transports they were registered and meticulously searched for contraband objects and other goods which were not allowed to be taken from where about a third of them were transported to Theresienstadt and the rest – "to the East" the Gestapo officer in charge of the deportations from Würzburg assigned German policemen the task of documenting three of the transports Other photography of the deportation process was strictly forbidden 208 Jews were deported from Kitzingen to Izbica The Deportation of the Jews of KitzingenOn the 24th of March 1942 From Kitzingen and its environs toward the East In the two days which preceded the deportation the Jews of Kitzingen and Ochsenfurt were concentrated in the Fränkischer Hof hotel in Kitzingen They were sent by train to Nuremberg and from there to Izbica Some 1,000 Jews were deported in this transport 208 Jews from Kitzingen and its surroundings Kitzingen had held a large and organized Jewish community In 1933 there were 360 Jews living in the city who amounted to 3.3 percent of the population there remained only two Jews living in Kitzingen one of whom was married to a non-Jewish man This deportation from Kitzingen was photographed by German policemen and collected in album form for Michael Völkl documents two other transports from Würzburg to the East Also depicted is the deportation of Jews from small German towns and the complicity of different authorities in the process: the local police The photos are not always arranged chronologically The handwritten captions under several photos are of an antisemitic nature The deportation is referred to as an "evacuation" (Evakuierung) 10 September 1942, 177 Jews were deported from Würzburg to Theresienstadt This transport included some 1,000 Jews from Nuremberg The deportees were later transported from Theresienstadt to Treblinka and Auschwitz Only 51 people from this transport survived 562 Jews were deported from Würzburg to Theresienstadt 562 Jews were deported from Würzburg on the 23rd of September Some of the elderly Jews had been collected from across Lower Franconia and concentrated at the Platz’schen-Garten in Würzburg On the morning of September 23rd they were driven by busses to the train station From Theresienstadt to Treblinka and Auschwitz Only 41 people from this transport survived seven Jews were deported from Würzburg to Theresienstadt The last transport of Jews from Würzburg took place on the 17th of June and from there to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz On the 18th of June a transport carrying 36 Jews The transport to Auschwitz contained 73 Jews The community was officially liquidated on September 22 the remaining Jews brought a wooden crate containing 25 Torah scrolls to the Jewish cemetery The incident went unnoticed by the authorities as at the time there were many deaths and suicides among the Jews in Würzburg Following the final deportation 29 Jews remained in Würzburg of them 14 were originally residents of the city; the rest were Jews who had been brought in from surrounding communities Five of the Jews were the children of mixed marriages considered Jews according to Nazi racial law (Geltungsjuden); the others were Jews married to Germans The Yad Vashem website had recently undergone a major upgrade The page you are looking for has apparently been moved We are therefore redirecting you to what we hope will be a useful landing page For any questions/clarifications/problems, please contact: webmaster@yadvashem.org.il Fake e-mails are currently circulating that claim to come from the University of Würzburg recipients are promised jobs at the university The fraudsters ask the recipients to transfer a certain amount of money in advance in order to be allowed to come to Würzburg and work at the university Please note that these emails do not originate from the University of Würzburg The University never requests money transfers in connection with job offers If you have received such an e-mail, please ignore it and report the incident to the e-mail address job-scamming@uni-wuerzburg.de You can contact the same address if you have any doubts as to whether a letter you have received from the University of Würzburg is genuine Stay vigilant and protect yourself against fraud attempts District Rabbi of Wurzburg and the surrounding region to Beno-Pinchas Sachs in England.Yad Vashem Document Archives O.75/1323 The time has come to say thank you to those deserving people who have assisted our community You took care of the poor; their troubles became your troubles You were an advocate for the poor and oppressed and also acted as our community's treasurer for several years ensuring that our community wouldn’t collapse You used all your strength and energy to work for our community we must thank you: I therefore pronounce that from this day forward you will be given the title of "Haver LeTorah" and bestow all good things upon you; May He send his angels before you Hanover had been the chief rabbi of Wurzburg and the surrounding region In Wurzburg Sachs had sat on the boards of management of the Jewish hospital and old age home He then sailed aboard the final boat to leave Belgium on the 10th of May 1940 and reached England His parents were sent to the East where they perished; two of his nephews survived The meeting point of the stomach and esophagus is a region of the human body that is not well-suited to the modern lifestyle nicotine and severe obesity are often triggers for pathological changes to the mucosal membrane in this area An international research team has now gained new insights into the development of the cells and their regulation at the junction of the esophagus and stomach With the help of specially developed mini-organs and with techniques that make it possible to track and profile individual cells they have been able to follow the development of the gastro-esophageal junction from embryonic to adult stage in detail using animal experiments Their results reveal the complex communication at the cellular level and the specific pathways that these cells use to communicate They provide new insights into the development of the gastro-esophageal junction and thus have significant implications for the understanding prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases they present new starting points for medical research and the development of new therapies Cindrilla Chumduri is responsible for this study which has now been published in the journal Nature Communications the infection and cancer biologist was a research group leader at the Department of Microbiology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU); she is now an associate professor at Aarhus University (Denmark) Other participants came from Charité - Universitätsmedizin and the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin "This collaboration underlines the importance of different expertise to improve our understanding of the biology of the gastrointestinal tract," says Chumduri She herself has many years of experience in research with organoids she has used mini-organs she developed to study how cells in the cervix degenerate and turn cancerous - another region where different types of mucosal cells collide "The squamous epithelia of the esophagus and the columnar epithelia of the stomach meet at the gastroesophageal junction," explains Dr The area is known as a "hotspot for the development of metaplasia" - the replacement of one type of cell by another the number of cases of which has increased dramatically in the Western world over the past four decades "Barrett's esophagus is characterized by the replacement of the resident squamous epithelium of the esophagus by other cell types that are not normally found in this tissue," says the scientist it is still unclear why this region is so susceptible to this process In order to better understand this transformation it is therefore first necessary to decipher the normal development process in detail - from embryo to mature adult "This is the only way to determine the tissue changes that trigger the progression of the disease This has now been achieved: By using a novel approach that combines organoid and mouse models with advanced single-cell transcriptome analyses over time and space the research team has shed light on the complex developmental process of the gastroesophageal junction "We were able to provide unprecedented insight into the development of this region from the embryonic stage to adulthood in mice and identify the intricate composition of the cells involved and how they develop," explains Pon Ganish Prakash The work shows the sophisticated communication between different cell types within the gastroesophageal junction and the signaling pathways involved "This understanding opens up new avenues for research into gastrointestinal diseases," says Cindrilla Chumduri the precision of the single-cell analysis in their study opens new doors to understanding how pathological processes develop and to developing innovative treatments The work will therefore be a "cornerstone for understanding the development of such diseases" and will significantly influence the approach to the early detection and treatment of diseases in this important part of the digestive system Prof. Dr. Cindrilla Chumduri, Medical Biotechnology Section, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, cindrilla.chumduri@bce.au.dk Department of Microbiology, University of Würzburg, cindrilla.chumduri@uni-wuerzburg.de The Würzburg Gestapo ordered some 800 Jews from 19 different sub-districts and three different counties (a total of 80 different communities) to present themselves in Platz’schen-Garten, for the purpose of "evacuation". On the 25th of April, 78 Jews from Würzburg were ordered to present themselves as well. At about 3:00 PM the deportation train left Würzburg, carrying 852 Jews The train stopped at Bamberg to collect 103 Jews from the area who had not been deported in the previous transport on the 23rd of March On April the 28th the deportees reached Krasnystaw in the Lublin district of Poland Courtesy of the State Archives in Würzburg (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) A mocking caption in German appears under the photograph reading: “The most beautiful of all the beauties of the chosen people” Rosa Klein (née Kremer) was born in 1904 in the small town of Poppenlauer Her daughter Hanna was born in January 1941 which had housed a Jewish community from the early 16th century Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/97Courtesy of the State Archives in Würzburg (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/104Courtesy of the State Archives in Würzburg (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/53Courtesy of the State Archives in Würzburg (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/116Courtesy of the State Archives in Würzburg (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Yad Vashem Photo Archives 7900/102Courtesy of the State Archives in Würzburg (Staatsarchiv Würzburg) Gustav Petri from Aschaffenburg wrote to the Würzburg Gestapo: We have heard that some of the Jews will be taken from here and Siegfried Israel Solingen are working for us If we will have to part with these three Jews because many of our own workers have been drafted by the Wehrmacht the officer of the Würzburg Gestapo charged with implementing the deportations ordered on the 27th of March that this communication be filed under the heading of "Jewish Evacuation" with a note stating that the request could not be complied with from Würzburg were 128 Jews from Aschaffenburg Jews were thoroughly searched for valuables hidden on their person or in their luggage According to documents of the German police a total sum of 12,885 RM (Reichsmark) was confiscated from the Jews concentrated in Würzburg After the deportees reached Krasnystaw they were marched by foot to Krasniczin The local Jews were murdered on the very day the Jews of Würzburg arrived It seems that the surviving deportees were finally deported to Sobibor on the 6th of July This deportation of 852 Jews from Würzburg was documented by German policemen and the photos were collected in an album for Michael Völkl the Würzburg Gestapo officer charged with implementing the deportation View the full photo album in Yad Vashem's photo archives Anyone conducting research in the tropical rainforest does not necessarily have a winter jacket and warm socks with them this region of the world is considered to have a consistently pleasant temperature as Kim Lea Holzmann and Pedro Alonso-Alonso have found out for themselves Both are doing their doctoral theses at the University of Würzburg's Biocentre and both spent almost the whole of 2023 in the Amazon region in southern Peru to study biodiversity It happened on 13 June: a cold spell caused temperatures to plummet from an average of 23.9 to 10.5 degrees Celsius we had already experienced a day when it was only 18 degrees,’ says Kim Lea Holzmann But such severe and prolonged cold seemed strange to them They explained to the Würzburg team that cold spells lasting several days are not that rare in the Amazon Background: Cold Waves in the Amazon Rainforest Cold waves in which temperatures drop sharply for at least three consecutive days occur relatively frequently in the Amazon Basin A clear cycle for their occurrence is not yet known the cold waves are caused by cold air fronts travelling northwards from Antarctica parallel to the Andes and the Brazilian highlands The research team spontaneously decided to seize the opportunity: How would the wildlife react to the cold snap there have only been studies on how cold waves affect agriculture in the Amazon region We have now presented the first ever study on how they affect wild animal communities in the lowlands of the Amazon,’ says the doctoral student The results have been published in the journal Biology Letters the insects and mammals studied appear to have coped well with the cold wave- with one exception in the case of insects the cold tolerance of a quarter of the insects analysed was almost exhausted by the low temperatures measured Certain species could face problems if the cold waves become even more severe in the future This is quite conceivable in the light of climate change the research team was able to draw on data that it had already collected in 2022 for its biodiversity studies It had recorded the biomass of flying and ground-dwelling insects using various insect traps Twelve camera traps were also used to document the activity of jaguars The researchers then collected all this data again during the cold spell and again a few months after it ended the biomass and activity of all insects fell sharply Only in the group of dung beetles the biomass remained low They are apparently more sensitive to the cold than other insect groups The researchers also determined the cold tolerance of various insects by cooling them down in a thermostat until they lost mobility This showed that most insects can withstand even lower temperatures than those that occurred in June 2023 this is not the case for 25 per cent of the insects studied: ‘They go into torpor when the temperature is just 0.62 degrees Celsius below the during the cold wave measured 10.5 degrees,’ says Pedro Alonso-Alonso Insects are completely immobile during torpor - if this state lasts longer it is likely to have a negative impact on their ability to survive Mammals also did not appear in front of the camera traps as often in the cold they can keep their body temperature constant they need more energy during the cold phase which they presumably save by reducing their physical activity,’ says Kim Lea Holzmann the mammals observed returned to their usual routines but our subjective observations show that these animal groups were also less active than usual Cold waves in the Amazon rainforest and their ecological impact Kim Lea Holzmann, Chair of Zoology III (Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology), Biocentre, University of Würzburg, T +49 176 410 708 09, kim-lea.holzmann@uni-wuerzburg.de Website Kim Lea Holzmann https://kimleaholzmann.wordpress.com/ 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 can contain residues of various insecticides and other pesticides It is therefore very likely that bee larvae are exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals What impact do insecticides authorised in the EU have on the development of honeybees on their own and in combination with fungicides especially in concentrations found in the environment Researchers from the Biocenter of Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria Their findings have been published in the scientific journal Environmental Pollution The effects of pesticide combinations at low environmentally relevant doses have otherwise been rarely investigated this is urgently needed because the agents can interact and reinforce each other's effects," explains PhD student Sarah Manzer It is also possible that interactions occur at low concentrations only and not at high concentrations "There are large knowledge gaps which we have now been able to reduce with another piece of the puzzle," says the JMU researcher The researchers reared honeybees in the laboratory and mixed various pesticides into their food –in concentrations that occur in the environment and in ten times higher doses The JMU team fed the honeybee larvae with the last neonicotinoid still authorised in the EU acetamiprid – an insecticide used against the oilseed rape beetle and other sucking insects are now banned because they proofed to be harmful to bees The researchers also fed a mixture of the fungicides boscalid and dimoxystrobin to the honeybee larvae as well as a combination of the neonicotinoid and the two fungicides The higher concentration of the neonicotinoid alone led to a significantly higher mortality of the larvae: 90.4% survived in the control group and only 79.8% in the neonicotinoid group Sarah Manzer was also able to determine negative long-term effects: adult honeybees that had ingested the neonicotinoid as larvae died significantly earlier than the bees in the control group compared to 31 days of the control honeybees In the environmentally relevant concentration the neonicotinoid had no effect on survival rates If the larval food contained the two fungicides only no effect on the mortality of the insects was detected the bees were lighter after hatching from the pupal stage than those in the control group Further research will have to show whether this is relevant for their further development and behaviour The researchers were surprised when they fed the larvae with mixtures of the chemicals: the lower neonicotinoid dosage in combination with the fungicides led to a significantly increased mortality of the adult bees with a median age of 27 days compared to the age of 31 days for the bees in the control group The otherwise harmless amount of neonicotinoid thus becomes dangerous in combination with the fungicides as honeybees come into contact with many different pesticides due to their large flight radius," says Sarah Manzer And another unexpected effect occurred after feeding with the mixture: the higher neonicotinoid dosage – which had harmful effects on its own – showed no effect on bee mortality when combined with the fungicides The combined effects found by the researchers could have an impact on the entire bee colony as their next generation could be harmed solitary wild bees could be particularly affected due to the more direct pesticide effects whereas honeybees in their large colonies could buffer the effects of pesticides to a certain extent further experiments are crucial to gain an even better understanding of the effects of pesticide mixtures The study took place at the JMU Biocenter in cooperation between the groups of Professor Ricarda Scheiner (Zoology II) and Professor Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter (Zoology III) as part of the BayÖkotox project network This network was designed and supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection across several universities The objective of the project was to identify potential risks associated with the release of chemical products into the environment Sarah Manzer, Chair of Zoology II – Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, and Chair of Zoology III – Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, T +49 931 31-87885, sarah.manzer@uni-wuerzburg.de An international network of alumni could give momentum to finding a solution to these challenges by offering their knowledge and experience Next to the strengthening and renewal of valuable social contacts developing long-term exchange programs between the University and the international alumni will be one of the main goals Prof. Matjaz Potrc, Philosophy, Slovenia Alumni-Portal Kontakt zum Alumnibüro SPIEGEL writes about "Old fathers being a risk factor" "Late fathers have more sick children" is the headline in WELT It has been known for a long time: The children of old fathers have an increased risk of birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders scientists from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in collaboration with the German Primate Center in Göttingen and Cambridge University have now investigated and compared the effects of paternal age on the sperm of humans and a related primate species They have published the results in the journal Aging Cell which has even made its cover picture available for the study holder of the Chair of Human Genetics at JMU we focused on the epigenome of sperm," explains Thomas Haaf Epigenetics is a form of inheritance that does not obey the Mendelian rules which affect the DNA sequence itself and are irreversible epigenetic inheritance is based on reversible biochemical modifications of the DNA The epigenome is influenced by intrinsic factors for example during the development and differentiation of cells physical activity or smoking also have an effect on the epigenome "Previous studies have shown that a large number of sperm DNA methylation patterns change with increasing paternal age," explains Thomas Haaf This could have an impact on the next generation and is associated with an increased risk of disease The team from the Department of Human Genetics at Würzburg University compared sperm from humans and common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) This primate species belongs to the marmoset family and lives in north-eastern Brazil the animals only weigh a maximum of 300 to 350 grams; they live a maximum of 15 years they are of interest for another reason: "Until now mice have mainly been used in reproductive research to investigate common epigenetic signatures between fathers and their offspring," explains the scientist due to the major differences between humans and rodents it is difficult to transfer the results of the mouse model to humans the common marmoset is very well suited for the study of reproduction "Although Callithrix and humans diverged more than 40 million years ago their chromosome sets and genome sequences are surprisingly similar Due to their small size and compressed lifespan breeding and husbandry of Callithrix is also much easier and cheaper than for other primates," says Haaf he has now investigated the question of whether specific age-related processes in the epigenome of human sperm also occur in non-human primates One central finding of the recently published study is that although the vast majority of the more than 13,000 analyzed genes shows identical sperm DNA methylation patterns in Callithrix and humans around 300 genes are over- or under-methylated in a species-specific manner "Particularly striking among these are genes for glycosphingolipid biosynthesis which plays an important role in stem cell differentiation and early development," says Haaf The species-specific methylation patterns in the sperm epigenome are associated with expression differences in early embryonic stages and blastocyst tissues of Callithrix and humans "There is growing evidence that such species-specific differences in the sperm epigenome enable rapid adaptation to different environments within a few generations which can then be passed on epigenetically to the next generation," says the human geneticist Genetic evolution works over much longer periods of time compared to epigenomic evolution Another important result is the identification of 204 genes in Callithrix and 27 in humans whose methylation is dependent on paternal age not a single one of these genes is methylated in the same age-dependent manner in both species," says Haaf The paternal age effect is therefore also specific to the respective species these genes with age-dependent methylation patterns are primarily associated with the development of the nervous system The scientists therefore suspect that epigenetic evolution has optimized these genes for human brain development and cognitive abilities that distinguish humans from primates It is therefore not surprising that these genes and paternal age play a role in neurodevelopmental disorders Age-related and species-specific methylation changes in the protein-coding marmoset sperm epigenome. Marcus Dittrich, Laura Bernhardt, Christopher A. Penfold, Thorsten E. Boroviak, Charis Drummer, Rüdiger Behr, Tobias Müller, Thomas Haaf. Aging Cell, https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.14200 Prof. Dr. Thomas Haaf, University of Würzburg, institute for Human Genetics, T: +49 931 31-88738, thomas.haaf@uni-wuerzburg.de and increased coagulation tendency can promote the formation of thrombi in blood vessels These clots obstruct the flow of blood to vital organs which may lead to life-threatening infarction preventing and treating thrombosis is crucial to avoid severe complications Head of the Chair of Experimental Biomedicine I at the University Hospital Würzburg in Germany (UKW) and Research Group Leader at the Rudolf Virchow Center (RVZ) of the University of Würzburg (JMU) has published a study with his team in the European Heart Journal on a new and low-side-effect antithrombotic agent that could be used broadly in therapeutic applications Bernhard Nieswandt has been focusing on platelets since the beginning of his scientific career and has been a pioneer in this field he was the first to describe the function of the receptor glycoprotein VI which is found exclusively in platelets and their precursor cells in the bone marrow This surface receptor is primarily responsible for the binding of collagen on the injured vessel wall with about 250 million in each milliliter of blood to fulfil their central role in hemostasis and curbing bleeding after injuries excessive activation of GPVI can lead to the formation of pathological thrombi and thus to vascular occlusions and acute life-threatening events such as heart attacks or strokes platelets play a pivotal role in inflammatory reactions that can damage vital organs with GPVI being of fundamental importance here as well "The Würzburg Platelet Group’s research of the past 25 years has impressively shown that GPVI is a promising target for anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory therapies laying the foundation for the development and clinical testing of GPVI inhibitors," explains Bernhard Nieswandt The biologist discovered a mechanism by which GPVI can be both inhibited and turned off has already been developed up to clinical phase III trials by a French research group based on fundamental research from Würzburg University Medicine: "Recently published first clinical data with this GPVI inhibitor in stroke patients are very promising and indicate that this therapeutic approach can work in humans," says Bernhard Nieswandt His team has also developed a GPVI-blocking antibody that far exceeds the effectiveness of previous agents "Our antibody is 50 times more potent than the previously described GPVI inhibitors and is likely to have higher clinical efficacy and a wider range of applications," Bernhard Nieswandt is convinced The GPVI inhibitor EMA601 was developed by the Bavarian biotech company EMFRET Analytics EMA601 was functionally investigated by researchers from UKW he analysed antibody fragments from mice as well as humanised antibodies in vitro and in vivo and is the first author of the publication The scientist presented his findings as a late-breakthrough presentation at the ISTH Congress (Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis) in Bangkok (Thailand) in June Stefano Navarro's conclusion: "EMA601 is a conceptually novel and promising agent for the treatment and secondary prophylaxis of blood clots to prevent infarctions but also for suppressing inflammatory processes caused by platelets that can damage vital organs." Bernhard Nieswandt explains the clinical background: "Using the example of a stroke secondary prophylaxis means that after successful removal of the embolus that has migrated to the brain and disrupted the blood supply the source of the embolus still needs to be treated antithrombotically But even if blood flow has been restored to the heart or brain after an infarction can still drive inflammation and promote tissue damage." The term thrombo-inflammation was coined in Würzburg for these inflammatory processes Another significant advantage of the antibody EMA601 is that it does not seem to impair normal blood coagulation whereas conventional antithrombotic agents currently in clinical use are associated with an increased bleeding tendency our colleagues still see a considerable number of patients whose heart attack was well-treated cardiologically but who then suddenly experience a brain hemorrhage the GPVI inhibitor could also be a significant advancement." Stefano Navarro, Ivan Talucci, Vanessa Göb, Stefanie Hartmann, Sarah Beck, Valerie Orth, Guido Stoll, Hans M Maric, David Stegner, Bernhard Nieswandt, The humanized platelet glycoprotein VI Fab inhibitor EMA601 protects from arterial thrombosis and ischaemic stroke in mice, European Heart Journal, 2024; ehae482, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae482 Researchers at the University of Würzburg have developed a headset that astronauts can use to train for various missions It has now been tested at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne sensor replacements or the installation of new equipment – space station missions require extensive crew training training often takes place in giant water tanks These contain full-scale replicas of shuttles and space stations The problem is: Such tanks are extremely expensive and there are only a few of them in the world A team of researchers from the University of Würzburg (JMU) has now developed a flexible and cost-effective alternative (we reported [Link: https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-and-events/news/detail/news/wuerzburg-computer-scientists-dive-down/]): It uses a waterproof virtual reality headset that allows training in any conventional swimming pool It was developed at the Chair of Computer Science XVII (Robotics) under the direction of Andreas Nüchter and at the Chair of Computer Science IX (Human Computer Interaction) under the direction of Marc Latoschik Good to know: Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that makes it possible to immerse oneself in a computer-generated immersive environment through a headset (usually glasses) there are just simple plastic blocks in the water captured by the VR goggles and displayed in virtual reality as components of a space station Since the headset was first developed in January 2024 researchers have made significant progress in tracking technology enabling them to further improve the stability and response time of the system “This is crucial to ensure a seamless and immersive training experience especially during longer training sessions“ “A faster and more stable system also minimizes discomfort during use After presenting the system for the first time at the European Space Agency's (ESA) AR/VR conference in December 2023 the Würzburg research team has now traveled to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne the new system was put through its paces in the water tanks of the Neutral Buoyancy Facility the testers completed a set procedure in which they performed structured orientation and navigation tasks in the virtual environment Test Astronauts Come to a Positive Conclusion The result: The testers found the new system easy to use ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer mentioned that the simulation of weightlessness with the underwater VR headset was very similar to that on the ISS “It is an important step towards establishing underwater VR as an effective tool for astronaut training and supporting the preparation for future space missions.“ dateFormat['de_DE'])+ ' - '+item['institution']+' Weitere Pressemitteilungen dieser Einrichtung The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve World Heritage partnerships for conservation Ensuring that World Heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value is an increasingly challenging mission in today’s complex world where sites are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled urban development Our Partners Donate Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information This magnificent Baroque palace – one of the largest and most beautiful in Germany and surrounded by wonderful gardens – was created under the patronage of the prince-bishops Lothar Franz and Friedrich Carl von Schönborn It was built and decorated in the 18th century by an international team of architects Fruit du mécénat de deux princes-évêques successifs Lothar Franz et Friedrich Carl von Schönborn l'un des plus vastes et des plus beaux d'Allemagne fut construit et décoré au XVIIIe siècle par une équipe internationale d'architectes de sculpteurs et de stucateurs sous la direction de Balthasar Neumann إن الموقع ثمرة رعاية أميرين- مطرانين متتاليين هما لوثار فرانتس وفريدريش كارل فون شونبورن إن هذا القصر الباروكي الفخم هو أحد أوسع قصور ألمانيا وأجملها تحيط به حدائق رائعة وقد تمّ بناؤه وتزيينه في القرن الثامن عشر على يد فريق دولي من المهندسين المعمارييين والرسّامين (من بينهم تيبولو) ونحاتين وجصّاصين بإشراف بالتازار نيومان 这座金壁辉煌的巴洛克式宫殿是德国最大和最漂亮的宫殿之一，是由两位大主教卢塔·弗朗茨(Lothar Franz)和弗里德里希·卡尔·冯·肖恩伯(Friedrich Carl von Schönborn)出资修建的，周围有美丽的花园环绕。18世纪，巴尔塔扎·诺伊曼(Balthasar Neumann)领导的一个由建筑师、画家（包括提耶波罗）、雕刻家和泥水匠组成的国际团队修造并装饰了这一著名的宫殿。 Этот величественный дворец в стиле барокко является одним из крупнейших и красивейших в Германии дворец был создан по повелению князей-епископов Лотаря-Франца и Фридриха-Карла фон Шëнборн Este suntuoso palacio barroco es uno de los más grandes y hermosos de Alemania y se construyó gracias al mecenazgo de dos obispos-príncipes sucesivos Lothar Franz y Friedrich Carl von Schönbom Está rodeado de magníficos jardines y fue ornamentado en el siglo XVIII por un grupo de arquitectos pintores (entre los que figuraba Tiépolo) y estucadores de varios países the sumptuous Würzburg Residence was built and decorated in the 18th century by an international corps of architects and stucco workers under the patronage of two successive Prince-Bishops Johann Philipp Franz and Friedrich Karl von Schönborn The Residence was essentially constructed between 1720 and 1744 decorated on the interior from 1740 to 1770 and landscaped with magnificent gardens from 1765 to 1780 It testifies to the ostentation of the two Prince-Bishops and as such illustrates the historical situation of one of the most brilliant courts of Europe during the 18th century The most renowned architects of the period - the Viennese and the Parisians Robert de Cotte and Germain Boffrand - drew up the plans They were supervised by the official architect of the Prince Bishop Sculptors and stucco-workers came from Italy The Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo frescoed the staircase and the walls of the Imperial Hall The residence gives consummate testimony to the imposing courtly and cultural life of the feudalistic era of the 18th century but at the same time its varied use today is an example of modern utilisation and preservation as a monument of ahistorical structure Criterion (i): The Würzburg Residence is at once the most homogeneous and extraordinary of the Baroque palaces It is an autonomous work of art in European Baroque style illustrated by its structure and décor elements The Residence represents a unique artistic realisation as a result of its ambitious programme and the international character of its workshop Perhaps no monument from the same period is able to claim such a concurrence of talent Criterion (iv): The Residence is a document of European culture The structure is a joint achievement of the most significant European architects and painters of the 18th century from France (particularly Paris) Though heavily affected by an aerial bombing on the 16 March 1945 the Residence of Würzburg has undergone careful and exemplary restorations since 1945 contains all elements necessary for Outstanding Universal Value adverse effects of development and/or neglect The authenticity of Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square is truthfully and credibly expressed through the main attributes of the property The laws and regulations of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Free State of Bavaria guarantee the consistent protection of the Würzburg Residence and its surroundings: The Würzburg Residence together with the Court Gardens and Residence Square is officially listed as a historic monument and lies within the monument ensemble “Old City of Würzburg” located to the east behind the Court Gardens is also protected as an individual monument or in the Old City ensemble are subject to existing legal regulations such as the requirement for conservation-sensitive authorisation or integration into the historic building fabric The management authority is the Bavarian Palaces Department The implementation of the Management Plan is guaranteed by a steering group including members of the Bavarian Palace Department; the Bavarian State Ministry of Sciences and the Arts; the Bavarian State Office for Preservation of Monuments and Historic Buildings The World Heritage site and its buffer zone are defined in such a way to ensure the lasting protection and sustained preservation of the visual and built integrity of the Würzburg Residence and its immediate surroundings all important visual connections and street axes from and to the Residence warrant protection The Free State of Bavaria and the City of Würzburg commit themselves to guaranteeing the comprehensive and permanent protection of the World Heritage property "Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square" They acknowledge a shared responsibility for the material and immaterial heritage they have been entrusted with The Bavarian Palaces Department is co-ordinating all structural and conservation issues relating to the World Heritage properties and consultations the impact of visitation and events has been regulated by the Bavarian Department of Palaces detailed provisions of the visitor’ and event management Of special interest are the chapters on “Potential risks and conservation measures” and on “Restoration and conservation measures” of the Management Plan It is a scenario that no museum director wants to experience: a collector couple has repeatedly provided the museum with valuable pieces on permanent loan over many decades Now - after the death of the couple - a descendant comes forward and demands the objects back He wants to turn his inheritance into money; he generously grants the museum a right of first refusal Jochen Griesbach-Scriba has experienced exactly that Griesbach-Scriba is Director of the Collection of Classical Antiquities at the Martin von Wagner Museum at the University of Würzburg He received the news a good year ago - not good news "It would be an enormous loss for the antiquities collection Many of these permanent loans are shown as key objects for cultural contexts in exhibitions and guided tours and there is only one other example of some of them in the world The problem is that the Martin von Wagner Museum does not have a budget for acquisitions Griesbach-Scriba cannot simply write a check and "pay off" the heir the antiquities collection has now launched a fundraising campaign The aim is to prevent the sale with the help of many supporters so that the loans can continue to be presented to the public in Würzburg the hurdle is high: Griesbach-Scriba estimates that the nearly 80 objects could fetch around one million euros if they were sold on the art market But even if the fundraising campaign only raises part of this sum Griesbach-Scriba will try to buy the objects that are high on his priority list first small sculptures and everyday objects made of marble and bronze make up the majority of the loans supplemented by a handful of paintings and precious objects kept in the painting gallery of the Martin von Wagner Museum The exact place of discovery is unknown in most cases the majority probably originate from what is now Italy The fact that the ceramics in particular were made in Greece reveals a lot about the transfer of goods and ideas in the Mediterranean region in the period from the 7th century BC to the 4th century BC One such piece of Greek pottery is also at the top of Jochen Griesbach-Scriba's list: a bowl made around 540 BC it resembles a fruit bowl standing decoratively in the middle of the table the inside of which was painted all around with a series of warships "These drinking bowls went from mouth to mouth at the Greek symposium," explains Griesbach-Scriba It wasn't until the last sip that a surprise appeared: a so-called "Gorgoneion" - the head of Gorgo probably better known here as Medusa - appeared at the bottom of the bowl she turns anyone who looks into her eyes to stone Griesbach-Scriba estimates the value of this drinking bowl alone at 40,000 euros Selling the antique objects to private collectors would not only mean a painful loss for the Martin von Wagner Museum The public would also lose valuable insights into life and thought in antiquity "If such pieces end up in a private collection no one benefits from them anymore," says Griesbach-Scriba Only museums can guarantee that anyone interested can see them - three-dimensionally and in real life Around 10,000 visitors to the Collection of Classical Antiquities took advantage of this opportunity last year - many of them from abroad They combined their visit to Würzburg with insights into the ancient world that can only be gained in a few places Jochen Griesbach-Scriba hopes that this will continue to be the case in the future - thanks to the generous support of numerous donors Anyone wishing to support the purchase of the permanent loans with a donation can do so by transferring it to the following account: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg Wilaiwan Petsophonsakul is participating this year Jubilee Celebration at the University of Würzburg (for all Alumni who left the University 15 25 or 50 years ago) – she is traveling from Chiang Mai in Thailand to Würzburg and we would like to present our longest-distance Jubilee 2024 with a little portray My journey to Würzburg began with a strong desire to pursue graduate studies abroad securing a place in a PhD program often involved navigating a competitive landscape While programs in English-speaking countries were popular choices I felt venturing outside these traditional paths and learning a new language would offer a unique perspective and potentially less competition meticulously crafting and sending out over 40 application letters to various institutes in Germany My research interests aligned particularly well with the work of Professor Annelise Schimpl at the University of Würzburg's Institute for Virology and Immunobiology A crucial step for DAAD scholarship recipients like myself was demonstrating German language proficiency I participated in a rigorous six-month program at the Goethe Institute in Freiburg culminating in the PNDS (Prüfung zum Nachweis Deutscher Sprachkenntnisse) exam – a test that caused no small amount of anxiety for many DAAD scholars (myself included!) Passing this exam was essential for starting my PhD program on schedule I was met with a warm and supportive atmosphere including Professors Eberhard Wecker (Director of the Institute) and Professor Schimpl My fellow students also played a crucial role in enriching my experience I was fortunate to develop close friendships with Andreas Jung Their support during that time proved invaluable They helped me navigate not only academic challenges but also everyday life in a new country The first year at the institute involved balancing bureaucratic hurdles with learning new laboratory techniques my husband sought admission to the Facharztausbildung a specialist training program in neurosurgery at the Neurochirurgische Klinik und Poliklinik des Universitätsklinikums provided invaluable support in overcoming obstacles we faced Working in the laboratory at the Institute for Virology and Immunobiology exposed me to a different scientific and cultural environment compared to my department at Chiang Mai University Professor Schimpl's group included a vibrant mix of Master's and PhD students I continued research as a postdoctoral researcher funded by the Sonderforschungbereich (SFB) grant when my husband completed his Fachartzausbildung Both my husband and I are Thai government officers we returned to Thailand with the commitment to utilize the knowledge and expertise gained abroad to contribute to the advancement of our fields within the country Choosing a single dearest memory from Würzburg feels like picking a favorite thread from a vibrant tapestry It's the overall atmosphere that truly comes to mind One endearing memory that exemplifies this atmosphere is the pre-lab ritual I shared with my colleague we'd steal a quiet half hour to delve into the latest scientific breakthroughs in "Nature" Journal These discussions were intellectually stimulating fostering a shared passion for research and discovery Food also played a significant role in fostering friendships I was surprised by the tradition of birthday cakes This exchange sparked a wonderful cultural exchange – cooking together at each other's homes we organized vibrant Thai festivals in Würzburg – a testament to the welcoming community We also explored the charm of nearby villages during the Wine Fest enjoying the local specialties like Bratwurst and Kuchen But the heart of my memory lies in the wonderful friendships I made Some were fellow students and colleagues at the institute while others were serendipitous encounters who kindly helped me figure out how to buy a bus ticket Another unexpected connection came through Eugen Kriener a physician at the Würzburg Public Health Board These chance encounters blossomed into warm friendships and the warmth of the people – all these threads are intricately woven into my fondest memories My research focused on a critical area of immunology: the intricate mechanisms of the cellular immune system particularly the activation of T lymphocytes (T cells) specifically the role of co-stimulatory signals in T cell activation T cells are specialized white blood cells that play a central role in cell-mediated immunity directly targeting and eliminating infected or cancerous cells While it's well-established that T cell activation requires antigen recognition (the enemy) my research explored the additional requirement for co-stimulatory signals These signals act as a crucial secondary stimulus ensuring a robust and specific immune response Understanding this two-step activation process is vital for developing effective immunotherapies Knowledge of co-stimulatory signals helps us design more potent vaccines that effectively activate T cells against pathogens or tumors the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues This highlights the importance of regulating T cell activation Future research may explore ways to modulate co-stimulatory signals potentially offering therapeutic strategies for autoimmune disorders My journey in immunology began in Thailand where I ignited a passion for the field while teaching immunology to medical and paramedical students This fascination led me to Professor Annelise Schimpl's renowned research lab in Germany Professor Schimpl's pioneering work on T cell activation along with the stimulating research environment fostered by her group and Professor Thomas Hünig's (director of the institute) group Her brilliance and dedication were truly motivating I encountered practical limitations in replicating the same highly specialized research this led to a rewarding shift towards applied research focused on rabies immunity a significant public health concern in my community This shift aligned perfectly with my involvement in "Lanna Dog Welfare," an organization I co-founded to address stray dog management and rabies control in Chiang Mai I collaborated with international NGOs and local government agencies to apply scientific principles to rabies control strategies Immunology provided the foundation for research that directly addressed a local problem We evaluated rabies vaccines in both dogs and humans proved instrumental in this work.  This dedication to rabies control was further recognized by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARLAC) with the prestigious World Rabies Day Award in 2018 This award serves as a powerful motivator for our organization to continue the fight against rabies My passion for rabies control research has endured for over two decades It's a journey that began with intellectual curiosity and evolved into a pursuit with real-world impact on my community I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to study in Germany and a diverse way of life broadened my perspective and fostered my international thinking This foundation has been instrumental in facilitating my ongoing collaboration with colleagues around the world I am thankful for the diverse experiences that have shaped my career path and from basic science to applied research my journey has allowed me to make a meaningful contribution to the field of immunology You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Enter the official Derthona Basket website There are many ways to describe tomorrow's challenge between Bertram Derthona Tortona and FIT/One Würzburg for the sixth and final day of Group I of the Champions League Top 16 at the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris in Casale Monferrato the game will be experienced with the same thrilling state of mind by Derthona and the Germans: whoever wins advances to the quarterfinals whoever loses ends their seasonal adventure in the main European club competition of FIBA ​​here Despite Walter De Raffaele's team's current two-point advantage in the standings the Bavarians would overtake them with a win in the direct clash in their favor in light of the +1 from the first leg while the victory of Bertram - very much on the rise with its 7 consecutive victories between the league and the cup - would guarantee them the precious second final place with the first already conquered a week ago by AEK Athens who will therefore have the advantage of the home field advantage belonging to the four winners of the Top 16 groups in the quarterfinal series that qualify for the Final Four for the 2024/25 title in the opening game of the group on January 28 Würzburg obtained it in a dramatic way by coming back from -4 with 21” to go with the decisive overtaking signed with just 4” left by two free throws by Jhivvan Jackson not only the star of that game with 34 points but also of the fresh victory last Sunday in the championship at home of a Euroleague team like Alba Berlin beaten 94-90 with 39 points by the Puerto Rican-Panamanian point guard Jackson is the top scorer of the entire Bundesliga with 19.8 points per game (and the 6th in the Champions League with very similar figures 19.7) and to his danger the team coached by Sasha Filipovski will be able to add compared to the absence in the first leg due to injury The recent success in the German capital has interrupted a streak of three defeats in the championship where Würzburg occupies the ninth place that would be worth the play-in with a record of just over 50% (12-11) as well as three defeats in a row in the Champions League two with AEK and the last one at home with Patras after two extra times (115-119) that made it completely irrelevant to make calculations on the +1 of the first leg with Tortona Würzburg will be followed by about sixty fans for what is a challenge never experienced before even for the club where Dirk Nowitzki grew up NURSERY Christian Vital remains doubtful due to the chest contusion suffered last week against AEK an injury that forced him to miss the league match against Pistoia three days ago A decision will be made on the eve of the match regarding the use of the American guard YOUTH SECTOR CELEBRATING The huge anticipation for a match that could write another page in the history of Derthona Basket is also demonstrated by the massive presence in the stands of the club's youth and mini-basketball sector Six buses to take over 250 young Lions to Casale Monferrato who in addition to supporting their "big brothers" to enter the top eight of the BCL will take to the parquet during the break for a presentation parade WHERE TO SEE IT ON TV The race will be broadcast live on DAZN the players and the staff live for games like this "To this we must also add the poisonous note of having lost in the first leg in that way we must find extra motivation from this too It is a challenge that should not be faced with hero-mode that is with everyone wanting to become the protagonist that is having a team that wants to tighten the belts in defense and make an extra pass in attack to always find an open man We find an opponent that has a lot of talent in attack with Jhivvan Jackson and Zac Seljaas who are two great scorers but they have also brought in Davion Mintz who took the place of Tyrese Williams they will have to be defused in their strong points the ability to impact under the backboards of their big men given that Klassen and Steinbach did us a lot of harm between offensive rebounds and balls get dirty Therefore we will have to be very good at playing a game of great attention on defense with the whole quintet helping each other on the rebound and then in the one-on-ones of Jackson and Seljaas also imposing a pace that is more congenial to us" ©Derthona Basket SSRL Privacy Policy Cookies Policy credits dpsonline* The University of Würzburg supports its researchers in making their research more widely available. As part of this support, it covers part of the article processing charges (APCs) via its Open Access Publishing Fund and it has now entered an institutional membership agreement with Frontiers whereby eligible authors may publish in any Frontiers journal with a simplified process and a discount on APCs Eligible authors are corresponding authors affiliated to the University of Würzburg (including the University Hospital) who have no other funding to cover APCs Eligible authors will benefit from a streamlined invoicing process managed directly between Frontiers and the Open Access Team at the University of Würzburg Library relieving authors of responsibilities of handling invoices issued by Frontiers (the author will still be billed by the Library for part of the APC plus taxes) the University of Würzburg and the eligible authors will benefit from a 5% discount on APCs for articles covered by this agreement The Library will also receive regular data reports on Frontiers articles with corresponding authors from the University planning reliability and potential for other process efficiency gains This agreement will further encourage University of Würzburg authors to publish open access increasing uptake of open access for fellow researchers and the public at large to the results of mostly publicly funded research To submit your article under this institutional agreement please select ‘University of Würzburg’ as institutional payer in the invoice section when submitting your article Frontiers will then verify your eligibility with the University of Würzburg Library’s Open Access Team the APC will be paid by the Library upon acceptance the author will be billed by the Library for part of the APC plus taxes For information on whether your article is eligible under this agreement, how much the Library will cover, or if you require any further details, please visit the University Library’s Open Access Publishing page or contact openaccess@bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de For information on Frontiers’ institutional agreements please visit our institutional membership page or contact institutions@frontiersin.org to discuss the possibilities for your organisation. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Bystanders cornered the Somali suspect using cafe chairs until he was shot by police I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Three people were killed and several wounded in a knife attack in the centre of the German town of Wuerzburg on Friday, according to police who overpowered and arrested the suspected attacker, a 24-year-old Somali man. Videos posted on social media showed the suspect holding a knife being cornered by witnesses armed with cafe chairs. They said there was no indication that there were any other attackers, and that the situation was under control. Bavaria’s top security official Joachim Herrmann said the injured include a young boy, whose father was probably among the dead. He said the suspect was in psychiatric treatment before the attack and had been known to police. Julia Runze, who said she had witnessed the attack, told RTL: “He had a really big knife with him and was attacking people. And then many people tried to throw chairs or umbrellas or cellphones at him and stop him. “The police then approached him and I think a shot was fired, you could hear that clearly.” “Three people were killed,” Lower Franconia police wrote on Twitter. “Others were injured, some seriously. The man, who lives in Wuerzburg, was hit with a police bullet, but his life is not in danger.” Wuerzburg, which is south-east of Frankfurt. was the scene of an Isis-inspired terror attack in July 2016 in which a teenager attacked train passengers with an axe to avenge the killing of a friend in Afghanistan. The 17-year-old refugee was shot dead by police as he fled. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies injures ‘several’ in German town of Wuerzburg","description":"Bystanders cornered the Somali suspect using cafe chairs until he was shot by police your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt German police say three people have been killed and others injured in a knife attack in the southern city of Würzburg Police spokeswoman Kerstin Kunick said officers were alerted at around 17:00 CEST on Friday to a knife attack on Barbarossa Square in the city centre Police said the attacker was arrested after officers used firearms They've identified the suspect as a 24-year-old Somali He was wounded by a police bullet but his injuries are not life-threatening The man was in psychiatric treatment before the attack and had been known to police Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said Police said on Twitter that there is no danger to the population and they not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident Videos on social media show an armed man walking barefoot through the centre of Würzburg Images show the attacker being surrounded and chased by numerous pedestrians who could be seen throwing chairs and other projectiles Police declined to immediately provide further information and urged social media users to refrain from speculation The region's prime minister Markus Söder described the news as "horrific and shocking" on Twitter "We mourn with the victims and their families We fear and hope with the injured," Söder said "A big thank you and respect for the courageous intervention of many citizens who resolutely confronted the alleged attacker And to all the rescue workers for their efforts at the scene." Würzburg is a city of about 130,000 people in Bavaria Producing fertilisers and other nitrogen compounds more sustainably: Würzburg chemistry professor Holger Braunschweig has laid the foundations for this goal He has now been awarded the prestigious Eni Prize for his achievements the Italian oil and energy company Eni has awarded a prize for outstanding research achievements worldwide that aim to reduce the consumption of energy and raw materials and minimise environmental impact Chemistry Professor Holger Braunschweig from Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg is one of the 2024 prize winners What the JMU professor is being honoured for: He has developed new methods that have the potential to produce fertilisers pharmaceuticals and other nitrogen compounds more sustainably – without the use of heavy metals with lower energy consumption and fewer waste products The Würzburg chemist will receive the Eni Prize in the "Advanced Environmental Solutions" category He will be presented with the award on 15 October 2024 in Rome at a ceremony with the Italian President the Eni Prize is one of the most highly endowed industrial science prizes in the world Holger Braunschweig is free to use the prize money as he wishes we began investigating a special class of boron compounds which now enable the activation of nitrogen has now been recognised in this way," says the professor Holger Braunschweig's Outstanding Research including synthetic plant fertilisers based on ammonia or nitrate are produced by the industrial conversion of atmospheric nitrogen using the Haber-Bosch process This process consumes a huge amount of energy estimated at one to two per cent of global electricity generation due to the transition metals used as catalysts Holger Braunschweig's team discovered boron-containing molecules with unique properties similar to those of transition metals: they can bind and activate inert molecules such as atmospheric nitrogen The research group quickly realised that the novel boron molecules could open the way to a more sustainable alternative to the Haber-Bosch process In an article published in Science in 2018 the JMU research group showed that Holger Braunschweig's boron molecules facilitate nitrogen activation and reduction on boron a second article in Science presented the world's first coupling of two nitrogen molecules the JMU team then presented a simple synthesis of ammonia without transition metals and the full chemical identification of each intermediate in the process The scientific community immediately categorised these results as groundbreaking: The 2018 article was cited almost 800 times by other researchers in the five years following its publication The systems developed by Holger Braunschweig's team are still a long way from industrial application they provide a basis for producing nitrogen-containing molecules with fewer synthesis steps less (toxic) waste and lower energy consumption Braunschweig's concept also laid the foundation for a sharp increase in research in this field worldwide It should therefore only be a matter of time before the fruits of his research reach industry this issue continues to be a problem for the German authorities The existence of dangerous WWII relics in Germany is never far from popular consciousness close to the borders with Austria and the Czech Republic another report was sent through to the local police bomb squad out for a run through the forest surrounding the town of Passau reported seeing a suspected WWII hand grenade abandoned in a plastic bag a region that saw many clashes during WWII fearful of any possibility of casualties but well drilled in the discovery the team approached the bag with all due caution the team was relieved to discover that the suspect item was not an abandoned grenade dating from the Second World War but a far more recent product of a burgeoning adult toy industry Corroboration came in the discovery of condoms and specialist lubricant also found in the bag Passau police said that “an internet search confirmed the suspicion (that) there are actually sex toys in the form of hand grenades,” and that the “hand-grenade” was Video: Germany still detonating WWII bombs Passau is known locally as the “city of three rivers” and is where the Danube meets the Inn and the Ilz it was the site of three sub-camps of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp the largest complex of labor camps in Nazi Europe Most historians put the death toll at more than 300,000 people across the hundred or so sub-camps that operated throughout the region Adolf Hitler also spent his early years in the city with his family This is far from an isolated incident millions of tons of bombs were dropped across the country and city center redevelopments are regularly halted when an excavator uncovers unexploded WWII ordnance and equipment and weaponry from the era regularly come up for sale online and in local markets In 2017, a man from the town of Hennef, a few miles south of Cologne, Germany, caused 70 people to be evacuated from their homes when his collection of WWII grenades began going up in smoke The 51-year-old collector had bought a crate filled with unused grenades at a flea market stored in a garage next to the home he shared with his elderly parents but the conditions for storage were not ideal causing other deadly items in the collection to also detonate More from us: Hidden WW2 Bombs Still Causing Fatalities Today – Are They Classed as a WW2 Casualty When emergency services arrived at the scene the garage was ablaze with further explosions continuing flames leaping through a massive hole in the roof of the structure a specialist munitions clearance unit was called in to clear the near-demolished building and all remaining ordnance was taken away and disposed of The collector faced serious charges of endangerment and violating Germany’s strict weapons laws This case highlighted the fact that there remain a high number of functional guns and other items in the collections of people who do not recognize the dangers such a collection can pose Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has already given research a massive boost: One of its light sensors founded the success of optogenetics about 20 years ago the alga's light sensor is incorporated into cells or small living organisms such as threadworms certain physiological processes can be triggered or stopped by light This has already led to several new scientific findings for example on the function of nerve cells Now the green alga Chlamydomonas is once again setting an accent that have added an instrument to the toolbox of cell biology Georg Nagel and Shiqiang Gao from Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria have constructed a novel light sensor from two of the algae's rhodopsins It has enzymatic activity and can be switched by two different light colours UV or violet light leads to the production of cGMP an important signalling molecule in the cell stops the production of the signalling molecule The researchers present the new light sensor in the journal BMC Biology Nagel's research group at the JMU Institute of Physiology is continuing to characterise the properties of the various rhodopsins from Chlamydomonas The professor's team is cooperating closely with neuroscientists The goal is to explore the possible applications of the light sensors Georg Nagel is one of the pioneers of optogenetics He has received several high-ranking awards for his research in this field Dr Yuehui Tian did his doctorate under Nagel; he has been conducting research in China at Sun Yat-sen University Shiqiang Gao also received his doctorate from Nagel with whom he has been conducting research at JMU for over ten years The work described here was funded by the German Research Foundation and also from the Prix Louis Jeantet (2013) Scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD and the China Scholarship Council CSC were awarded to Yuehui Tian An engineered membrane-bound guanylyl cyclase with light-switchable activity https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-021-00978-6 Prof. Dr. Georg Nagel, Institute of Physiology – Department of Neurophysiology, University of Würzburg, T +49 931 318 6143, nagel@uni-wuerzburg.de, or Dr. Shiqiang Gao, gao.shiqiang@uni-wuerzburg.de Artemisinin is derived from the leaves and flowers of the annual mugwort (Artemisia annua) and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries The effectiveness was investigated by the Chinese researcher Tu Youyou and rewarded with the Nobel Prize Artemisinin and its semi-synthetic derivatives - collectively known as artemisinins - are used to treat the tropical infectious disease malaria these molecules also influence multiple cellular processes in humans artemisinins are able to activate the immune system against several types of cancer or to regulate the differentiation of pancreatic Ta cells which could potentially be useful in in the therapy of diabetes "Although this clinically-approved drug class is well established and has been used in some extent for centuries it was unclear which molecular mechanisms underlie the corresponding cellular activities such as target protein rfhumecognition and modulation," explains Dr The postdoctoral fellow in the research group of Prof Hermann Schindelin at the Rudolf Virchow Center is the first author of this article in the renowned journal "Neuron" and ensures with this research work a significant gain in knowledge (see also the related Preview by Ryan Hibbs in the same Issue of "Neuron") Comprehensive model for the regulation of inhibitory neurotransmission developed The structural biologist was the first to solve the crystal structures of two different artemisinin derivatives - artesunate and artemether - in a complex with gephyrin By binding to inhibitory glycine and GABAA receptors gephyrin acts as a central scaffold protein of inhibitory postsynapses in the mammalian central nervous system Gephyrin has only recently been identified as an artemisinin target protein The results clearly demonstrate how artemisinins target the universal receptor binding pocket in gephyrin and compete with the inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors for an overlapping binding site (see picture) These new findings could thus also serve as an effective tool to understand the physiology of the human brain a comprehensive model of the regulation of inhibitory neurotransmission by artemisinine this model clearly describes the interactions between proteins and drugs Important step for the development of drugs "Our data not only provide a solid foundation for understanding how artemisinins are recognized by a target molecule but will also help researchers to develop and optimize these agents into highly specific modulators of gephyrin These modulators may play an important role in the treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease schizophrenia and epilepsy," says Schindelin The data published in Neuron are the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration with other groups at the University of Würzburg the University Medical Center in Hamburg and the University of Copenhagen Open positions: PhD Student Positions in Protein Structure and Function (deadline: 28.02.2019) Vikram Kasaragod postdoctoral fellow in the research group of Prof Hermann Schindelin at the Rudolf Virchow Center of the University of Würzburg Prof. Dr. Hermann Schindelin is a Professor of Structural Biology and Biochemistry. Since 2006 he is head of a research group at the Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine of the University of Würzburg Dr. Vikram Kasaragod (Schindelin Group, Rudolf Virchow Center) vikram.kasaragod@virchow.uni-wuerzburg.de Prof. Dr. Hermann Schindelin (Rudolf Virchow Center) Tel. 0931 31 80382, hermann.schindelin@virchow.uni-wuerzburg.de Dr. Daniela Diefenbacher (Press Office, Rudolf Virchow Center) Tel. 0931 3188631, daniela.diefenbacher@uni-wuerzburg.de      In our digital world data security and secure communication are becoming more and more important Quantum communication is a promising approach to achieve these objectives: quantum states are used to transport information which eliminates unauthorized copying or reading due to fundamental physical laws To support the leap into quantum technology the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds the new joint project titled "Quanten-Link-Erweiterung" (English: quantum link extension short Q.Link.X) with 14.8 million euro over the next three years "Our goal is to develop physically secure networks based on optical fiber" says Professor Dieter Meschede who works at the Institute of Applied Physics in Bonn which makes the official statements on behalf of the joint project this paradigm shift in data and message encryption – away from algorithmic processes to quantum technology – is limited: When transferring quantum information in fiber with light particles (photons) transmission links are presently limited to less than 100 kilometers "We intend to use quantum repeaters to overcome this barrier without compromising security," says Dieter Meschede a repeater is an electronic device that processes or amplifies a signal processes and retransmits it to extend the signal range and bridge a longer distance The BMBF funded project aims to drive the development of such quantum repeaters Three different platforms are used for this purpose: quantum dots diamond color centers and a combination of atomic and ionic systems They will be used to implement transmission links of initially up to ten or 100 kilometers and compare the advantages of the respective systems with each other Q.Link.X studies and develops not just individual components of a quantum repeater but complete communication links," Meschede says These activities are set to prepare a technology that might be suitable to cover longer distances of several hundred to thousand kilometers using optical fiber Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria receives more than 1.2 million euro funding from the joint project Professor Sven Höfling and his team at the Chair for Applied Physics are working to build a quantum repeater segment based on semiconductor quantum dots in micropillars The JMU team designs and builds the micropillars and inserts them into the communication link Quantum information from a photon is stored in the quantum dots of the micropillars subsequently read and coded back into a photon "The interference of two photons from two remote quantum dots allows generating an entangled quantum state that exists simultaneously in both remote quantum dots," says Dr this state can be read out again at both quantum dots it should be possible to extend this state sequentially from repeater to repeater The involvement of industry partners and consultants from the beginning of the project facilitates the viability from an industrial an engineering point of view The results are to be exploited in Germany through patents and spin-offs of the consortium Q.Link.X has brought together 24 partners from university research institutes and industrial labs to study the key technology of quantum repeaters Project website Dr. Tobias Huber, Chair for Applied Physics, University of Würzburg, T +49 931 31-84117, tobias.huber@physik.uni-wuerzburg.de Prof. Dr. Sven Höfling, Chair for Applied Physics, University of Würzburg, +4993131-83613, sven.hoefling@physik.uni-wuerzburg.de Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer It develops in the bone marrow and can spread throughout the body most patients relapse and there is still no cure The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) is the largest nonprofit in the world solely focused on advancing scientific and clinical progress in the treatment of multiple myeloma the Foundation announced the recipients of three MMRF Myeloma Accelerator Challenge (MAC) Program Grants totaling 21 million dollars and focusing on two critical areas of unmet need in multiple myeloma The three programmes aim to connect multiple centres and advance compelling hypotheses that are ready for rapid testing in clinical trials The University Hospital of Würzburg (UKW) is part of one of these three-year projects each of which will receive 7 million dollars we have been accepted into the Champions League of myeloma researchers," comments  a delighted Professor Hermann Einsele Director of the Department of Internal Medicine II of the University Hospital Würzburg (UKW) and spokesperson of the newly founded National Centre for Tumour Diseases (NCT) WERA He is joined on the Würzburg team by Prof Dr Martin Kortüm Together with the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam the University Hospital in Amsterdam and the universities in Turin and Salamanca they are working to develop a systems biology approach to optimise treatment for high-risk patients with Multiple Myeloma High-risk patients often relapse early and show inferior survival compared to standard-risk patients The European team will define new criteria and new risk factors that allow to early identify high-risk patients with a poor response to current therapy under the leadership of Prof By combining the analysis of different aspects of the disease researchers will compile an integrated definition of high-risk multiple myeloma a key step towards new treatments specifically designed for these patients An American research group will use cutting-edge technologies to analyse a large cohort of patient samples at the genomic and immune level to understand the critical events that drive high-risk multiple myeloma The studies have the potential to identify new vulnerabilities that will be further studied using CRISPR gene editing in the laboratory another American team is working to improve the identification of high-risk smoldering myeloma (HR SMM) asymptomatic stage that can progress to active multiple myeloma These MAC Grants are a critical new part of this investment and we are excited that the programs selected will bring together multiple centers to work in highly collaborative networks Our strategic plan identifies specific research areas that need more attention and only through multi-center collaboration can we rapidly create a large set of patients and samples suitable for new research methods” President and CEO of the MMRF adds: "The pace of research needs to accelerate if we are to address the significant unmet needs in multiple myeloma and the way forward will take collaboration and funding Bringing together diverse teams through our MAC Grants that normally have many barriers to working together will bring greater focus and scale to these research priorities yielding more timely and impactful insights for patients.” Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer after leukaemia in which various malignant tumour foci occur in the bone marrow The term is derived from the Latin "multiple" for multiple and the Greek "myelos" for marrow around 7,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in Germany alone The risk of developing the disease increases significantly with age malignant plasma cells proliferate and replace normal immune effector cells responsible for producing antibodies In addition osteoclasts are stimulated with induce bone destruction deposition of light chains and full antibodies can lead to damage of nervs heart and kidneys and a reduction of the red blood cells can lead to fatigue and loss of appetite Especially high risk patients tend to relapse early even following intensive and initially very successful therapy with a better understanding of the evolution of these malignant plasma cells diagnosis and treatment will be further improved This image was long awaited: It provides a glimpse of the massive object located at the centre of our galaxy - the Milky Way - and provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole It also presents valuable clues about the workings of such giants which are thought to be at the centre of most galaxies the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration using observations from a worldwide network of radio telescopes scientists had seen stars orbiting around an invisible compact and very massive object in the centre of the Milky Way This strongly suggested that this object - known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* pronounced "sadge-ay-star") - is a black hole The image now published provides the first direct visual evidence of this Black holes themselves are not visible because no light emanates from them the glowing gas surrounding them bears a telltale signature: a dark central region (called a “shadow”) surrounded by a bright ring-like structure The new view captures light bent by the powerful gravity of the black hole which is four million times more massive than our Sun “We were stunned by how well the size of the ring agreed with predictions from Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity," said EHT Project Scientist Geoffrey Bower from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics "These unprecedented observations have greatly improved our understanding of what happens at the very centre of our galaxy and offer new insights on how these giant black holes interact with their surroundings.” The EHT team's results are being published today in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters Because the black hole is about 27,000 light-years away from Earth it appears to us to have about the same size in the sky as a donut on the Moon which linked together eight existing radio observatories across the planet to form a single “Earth-sized” virtual telescope The EHT observed Sgr A* on multiple nights similar to using a long exposure time on a camera The breakthrough follows the EHT collaboration’s 2019 release of the first image of a black hole at the centre of the more distant Messier 87 galaxy The two black holes look remarkably similar even though our galaxy’s black hole is more than a thousand times smaller and less massive than M87* [Black holes are the only objects we know of where mass scales with size A black hole a thousand times smaller than another is also a thousand times less massive.] "We have two completely different types of galaxies and two very different black hole masses but close to the edge of these black holes they look amazingly similar,” says Sera Markoff Co-Chair of the EHT Science Council and a professor of theoretical astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam the Netherlands. "This tells us that General Relativity governs these objects up close and any differences we see further away must be due to differences in the material that surrounds the black holes.” This achievement was considerably more difficult than for M87* from Steward Observatory and Department of Astronomy and the Data Science Institute of the University of Arizona explains: “The gas in the vicinity of the black holes moves at the same speed — nearly as fast as light — around both Sgr A* and M87* But where gas takes days to weeks to orbit the larger M87* in the much smaller Sgr A* it completes an orbit in mere minutes This means the brightness and pattern of the gas around Sgr A* was changing rapidly as the EHT Collaboration was observing it — a bit like trying to take a clear picture of a puppy quickly chasing its tail.” The researchers had to develop sophisticated new tools that accounted for the gas movement around Sgr A* The image of the Sgr A* black hole is an average of the different images the team extracted finally revealing the giant lurking at the centre of our galaxy for the first time The effort was made possible through the ingenuity of more than 300 researchers from 80 institutes around the world that together make up the EHT Collaboration In addition to developing complex tools to overcome the challenges of imaging Sgr A* using supercomputers to combine and analyse their data all while compiling an unprecedented library of simulated black holes to compare with the observations “The numerical simulations put even higher demands on the capabilities of supercomputers They tell us about the dynamics of matter and the propagation of light in the curved space-time of the black hole shaping the observed image,” explains JMU researcher and EHT SgrA* Theory Working Group Coordinator Dr who had leading contributions to the modelling of the EHT data Fromm is also a member of the research group "Relativistic Jets in Active Galaxies" Scientists are particularly excited to finally have images of two black holes of very different sizes which offers the opportunity to understand how they compare and contrast They have also begun to use the new data to test theories and models of how gas behaves around supermassive black holes This process is not yet fully understood but is thought to play a key role in shaping the formation and evolution of galaxies “Now we can study the differences between these two supermassive black holes to gain valuable new clues about how this important process works,” said EHT scientist Keiichi Asada from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics “We have images for two black holes — one at the large end and one at the small end of supermassive black holes in the Universe — so we can go a lot further in testing how gravity behaves in these extreme environments than ever before.” Progress on the EHT continues: a major observation campaign in March 2022 included more telescopes than ever before The ongoing expansion of the EHT network and significant technological upgrades will allow scientists to share even more impressive images as well as movies of black holes in the near future “At the faculty of physics and astronomy at JMU Würzburg we put a focus in research and teaching on the physics of relativistic jets of outflowing plasma in the immediate vicinity of supermassive black holes.” says JMU Professor Matthias Kadler and adds: “Even Bachelor and Master students at JMU are getting involved with new data from the EHT and other radio-interferometric arrays as part of their education and thesis projects.” The individual telescopes involved in the EHT in April 2017 were: the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) the Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano (LMT) the UArizona Submillimeter Telescope (SMT) the EHT has added the Greenland Telescope (GLT) the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) and the UArizona 12-meter Telescope on Kitt Peak to its network.  The EHT consortium consists of 13 stakeholder institutes; the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics EHT website Chair of Astronomy at JMU Press release “New DFG Research Group” The Astrophysical Journal Letters Dr. Christian Fromm, Chair of Astronomy, T: +49 931 31-81981, christian.fromm@physik.uni-wuerzburg.de Prof. Dr. Matthias Kadler, Chair of Astronomy, T: +49 931 31-85138, matthias.kadler@astro.uni-wuerzburg.de making it accessible to plants as a nutrient fungi produce vast quantities of chemicals and food every day fungi produce very complex active ingredients that could have potential for medical applications there are fungi that damage crops or make people sick infections caused by the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus can be fatal – especially people with a severely weakened immune system for example after stem cell or organ transplantation far less is known about fungi than about other organisms "New findings in fungal biology also require that as many researchers as possible have access to state-of-the-art analytical methods," says Dr Ulrich Terpitz from the Biocenter at Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria Terpitz's team has developed such a method in collaboration with three other research groups: For the first time fungi can now be visualised using expansion microscopy (ExM) This method makes cellular structures visible with a resolution of less than 60 nanometres – using a conventional confocal fluorescence microscope "Although this is less than can be achieved with high-tech super-resolution fluorescence microscopes access to such facilities is often limited standard fluorescence microscopes are widely used and expansion microscopy can be carried out in any biological laboratory," said Terpitz The JMU working groups of Professor Markus Sauer (Biocenter) and Dr Johannes Wagener (Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology) and the group "Molecular Genetics of Fungal Pathogenicity" headed by Professor Antonio Di Pietro from the University of Cordoba in Spain contributed to the development The ExM procedure is quite simple: the stained fungus sample is embedded in a polyacrylamide hydrogel and the fluorescent dyes are anchored in the hydrogel the polymer expands like a gummy bear in a glass of water It also expands the fluorescent dyes in a uniform manner there is a problem to be solved first: Fungi have a cell wall that must be removed before expansion The researchers use cell wall dissolving enzymes for this purpose "The result is an easy-to-handle protocol for the ExM of fungi that can be used for different fungus species including the clinically relevant Aspergillus fumigatus," said Terpitz The researchers also applied their method to the pathogens of corn blight (Ustilago) and tomato wilt (Fusarium oxysporum) These results were developed within the framework of the transregional collaborative research centre 124 FungiNet (Jena/Würzburg) which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) the JMU researchers want to use expansion microscopy to show the immune system's reaction to invading fungi they will bring fungi in cell cultures into contact with immune cells U.; Expansion microscopy for cell biology analysis in fungi PD Dr. Ulrich Terpitz, Chair of Biotechnology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, ulrich.terpitz@uni-wuerzburg.de Website Dr. Ulrich Terpitz Website SFB Transregio 124 FungiNet A new telescope has been in operation on the Hubland Campus of Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg since January 2024 A team of students is using it to develop AI algorithms for small satellites in order to prevent collisions with space debris in orbit more efficiently than before The long-term goal is for the satellites to be able to recognise impending collisions independently using intelligent optical sensors and avoid them autonomously The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is funding the KI-SENS project with a good 500,000 euros The telescope is located on the roof of the Geography building on the Hubland Campus "It is able to follow the trajectory of even smaller objects particularly quickly and precisely," explains Hakan Kayal This is why the dome can also be opened completely – with slower telescopes it is only open a slit wide and rotates completely The remote control for the telescope is located in two places on campus: firstly in the mission control centre of Hakan Kayal's professorship where also other telescopes and satellite missions are controlled in the rooms of the student association WüSpace e.V in which Würzburg students of aerospace informatics are organised; 20 of them are working on the KI-SENS project What are the students doing with the new telescope They are using AI algorithms to teach it to recognise small moving objects in the sky and predict their trajectory so that it can track them we set up a conventional object detection system and a second one based on AI," explains Master student Maximilian Reigl The algorithms are then transferred to a satellite sensor a sensor prototype will be built and tested in a test laboratory The plan is to complete this work by the end of 2024 "If we prove that the AI sensor is highly likely to work in orbit the next step would be a real space test," says the aerospace informatics student we could end up with an innovation from Würzburg that means greater safety for satellites and manned space travel This is because the risk of collisions with space debris is high and continues to grow as the European Space Agency (ESA) emphasised in a report published in 2023 "The USA maintains a large and dense observation network with which it predicts and reacts to possible collisions with space debris on a daily basis ESA is currently building such a network," says Hakan Kayal the necessary evasive manoeuvres have been controlled manually by humans In the case of the International Space Station ISS increase fuel consumption and also increase the risk of colliding with other objects when leaving the flight path An intelligent sensor that can perform these manoeuvres autonomously would be a significant step forward The special thing about KI-SENS is that the work on the project is being driven forward largely independently by JMU students organised in the WüSpace association They are supported by Professor Kayal and project manager Tobias Herbst the students familiarise themselves with the process of a development project in space travel from A to Z The increased participation of students in small satellite programmes is very important to the Federal Ministry of Economics as a funder as Hakan Kayal explains: "The aim is to further increase the attractiveness of the subject in terms of recruiting young talent." The German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) is funding the KI-SENS project with funds from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK; funding reference 50RU2227) KI-SENS is not the only DLR-funded project at Hakan Kayal's professorship that is endeavouring to achieve greater autonomy in space travel with the help of artificial intelligence Another is the SONATE-2 space mission; this small satellite is expected to be launched into orbit by a rocket from the USA at the beginning of March 2024 KI-SENS project Student association WüSpace e.V. https://www.wuespace.de/ Prof. Dr. Hakan Kayal, Space Technology, Institute of Computer Science, University of Würzburg, T +49 931 31-86649, hakan.kayal@uni-wuerzburg.de Student association WüSpace e.V., kontakt@wuespace.de © SteffiS/WikiCommons Würzburg’s Alte Mainmühle has a scenic location with stunning views over the Main River and the century-old Marienberg Fortress an old mill-wheel is positioned at the restaurant’s waterfront The restaurant offers a great selection of local beers and Franconian wines accompanied by seasonal and rural cuisine The restaurant is nestled into the old city at the foot of Würzburg’s oldest bridge The enchanting balcony is ideally suited for a refreshing drink on a hot summer’s day while taking in the relaxing atmosphere © Eviyani Lubis/WikiCommons Backöfele has been around for 35 years and remains one of the most traditional and authentic German restaurants in Würzburg reflecting the regional Franconian specialities The interior possess a rustic charm with its wooden furniture and Franconian-styled accents when it was donated by the aristocrat Julius Echter and run as a local pub The Backöfele’s seasonal dishes will win over any visitor with their down-to-earth cuisine and it deserves a special place among Würzburg’s many historic sights import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_1"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(window.canRunAmazon) { const amazonService = new AmazonBidService(); promises.push(amazonService.fetchBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); The Osteria Trio Restaurant © Rotkraut/WikiCommons Reisers restaurant can be found on the Am Stein hill just outside of town and is the playground of star cook Bernhard Reiser It is part of the vineyard Am Stein and is directly situated at the edge of its fields While offering some brilliant views over Würzburg’s idyllic surroundings any time of the day the stylish lighting of the restaurant at night time is a truly magical sight to behold The ingenious head chef has created an exceptional menu skillfully combining regional cuisine with international influences To round off this truly sublime eating experience the wine menu offers a range of wines from the vineyard itself They are considered some of the best in the region import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_2"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); Bürgerspital Weinstuben Restaurant Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy © Takeaway/WikiCommons Part of the Court Rebstock, which looks back on 600 years of restaurant leadership, Kuno 1408 is considered one of the best gourmet restaurants in the region The Michelin-star chef Benedict Faust serves up seasonal and local cuisine in a modernized kitchen The creative combination of innovative techniques and traditional Franconian elements at heart result in an unparaled eating experience Kuno 1408 excels through unpretentious service in a cordial atmosphere proving that a skillful combination of tradition and modernity result in a winning concept import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_3"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); Ararat Restaurant Lena was born in rural Germany and showed a passion for philosophy and linguistics from an early age Her journeys would lead her from being a trainee in a Greek diving centre to an English teacher in Thailand to finally becoming a student of politics and languages at Royal Holloway In recent years Lena has focused on developing her personal and academic skills through her very own Ted Talk and internships in journalism and TV presenting Lena's multiple talents and curious personality have led her to seek out ever new challenges and travels Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in November See & Do Germany's Most Beautiful Abbeys and Monasteries See & Do A Guide to River Cruises in Germany: What to Know See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Summer See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September Art 10 Masterpieces You Can Only See in Munich See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in July Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in December See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in October See & Do The Best Weekend Trips From Heidelberg Design The Most Beautiful Churches in Berlin See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd Dendritic cells play a pivotal role in coordinating immune responses within the human body Their task is to recognise foreign structures and malignant cells subsequently stimulating their destruction A team of researchers at the University of Würzburg (JMU) led by systems immunologist Wolfgang Kastenmüller holder of the Chair of Systems Immunology I and Director at the Max Planck Research Group for Systems Immunology is investigating how dendritic cells develop and navigate through the body The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) have now provided funding totalling 436,000 euros for this work The German team's project partner is the French immunobiologist Marc Bajénoff from the Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) "The findings from our research are important for the treatment of cancer "Dendritic cells hold significant prognostic value for tumour diseases: The greater their presence within a tumour the better the prospects for those affected." This is especially true after immunotherapy "If we understand more precisely how we can restore networks of dendritic cells in tumours this will provide us with the basis for developing customised therapies." The research team recently discovered how dendritic cells can organise into three-dimensional networks within the human body: They align themselves along blood vessels and migrate sequentially along their outer walls – much like children walking in single file ensures that the cells do not lose each other and stay together as they travel through the body The project will be funded for three years It is a grant within the framework of the ANR-DFG funding program for German-French research projects Prof Dr Wolfgang Kastenmüller, holder of the Chair of Systems Immunology I, Phone: +49 931 31-81816, wolfgang.kastenmueller@uni-wuerzburg.de La decisión tiene efecto inmediato tras una votación en una reunión extraordinaria del European Aquatics Bureau el 24 de abril we are discussing the madness that occurred at the Ft Lauderdale Pro Swim Marchand has a few areas of improvement to work on if he hopes to return to his Paris form at the World Championships this summer in Singapore having tight battles in both the 200 and 400 IM but ultimately touching 2nd in both Angela Martinez Guillen won her first over individual World Cup title in her home country Italy swept the podium on the men’s side February 07th, 2016 Europe, International, News The First Division National German Champions in 2016 are the teams of SG Essen and SV Würzburg 05 The women’s team of the SG Essen claimed the national title for the 8th year in a row while the men’s squad of the SV Würzburg 05 won for the 1st time The atmosphere in the newly built “Sportbad am Thurmfeld” in Essen (Germany) was absolutely amazing Sometimes the starter had to wait until the teams and the crowd calmed down and it was impossible to hear the announcer’s lane assignments the team battle left swimmers in uncofmortable positions; for example breaststroke specialist Christian vom Lehn (SG Essen) had to swim the 1.500 m Freestyle (15.35,06) and the 400 m IM (4:17,82) – not his usual competition program Potsdamer SV) who said some months ago that he never will compete again internationally in the 400 m IM; today he finished for his team in a time of 4:16,55 in that event and in the 1500 m Freestyle in 15:25,39 Yannick had to scratch his starts at last weekend’s Euro Meet in Luxembourg because he had a cold and still hasn’t fully recovered Today’s top scorer was Sarah Köhler (SG Frankfurt) in the 800 m freestyle in a time 8:17,32 that went for 896 Points on her team’s account Franziska Hentke (SC Magdeburg) had the 200 IM and 400 IM on her schedule today – she touched the wall in 2:12,71 in the short and 4:36,93 minutes in the long IM event Dorothea Brandt sprinted to a 24,41  in the 50 freestyle for 862 points The men also showed some solid performances like Dimitri Colupaev (SV Würzburg 05) with 801 points and a time of  1:46,99 on the 200 m Freestyle Colupaev is a a graduate of the University of Southern California in the United States – he retired last year from international-level swimming but still races at these team championships Jan Philip Glania (SG Frankfurt) was the fastest man today in the 200 m backstroke in 1.53,24 building upon fast performances at the Euro Meet last weekend Alexandra Wenk of the Stadtwerke München finished fastest in the 100 m butterfly in 57,45 seconds Potsdamer SV) is gathering speed at the beginning of the Olympic season with a 51,45 in the 100 m backstroke Annika Bruhn came close to the 54 second mark in the 100 m Freestyle – finishing in 54,07 seconds But besides all the enthusiasm there was a dissonance at the end of the competition when some teams booed during the men’s victory ceremony because the team of the SV Würzburg 05 had some swimmers like American Tony Cox and Hungarian Maxim Lobanovszkij in their squad Both swam fast and collected important points for their team it is not normal that swimmers from all over the world live and train with German clubs only a handful swimmers from Austria or Switzerland have joined German swim clubs over the last few years But the discussion now is more about swimmers who only come to Germany for this prestigious German Team Championships and don’t train regularly with the teams Now the top swimmers return to their daily practice and preparations for the Olympic games the German National Team members will have the next training camp in March Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" More from Daniela KapserSee All Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our latest updates Many people are at their wits' end: for two years now the novel coronavirus has been turning the world upside down And you have to do something that was completely alien two years ago: wear a protective facemask on the bus One might therefore assume that people who are anxious about Covid feel some inhibitions when interacting with unmasked individuals "But precisely these people may go into an avoidance mode when they see a mask specifically if it is perceived as a reminder of the risk of infection," explains Dr Anand Krishna a psychologist from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria This was found in an international study with 147 participants aged between 18 and 35 and 150 participants aged 60 and over A large part of the respondents came from Great Britain the rest from numerous countries in Europe as well as from Australia The study team led by Krishna published the results in the journal Cognitive Research Another result of the Würzburg study: younger people are more cautious than older people This could be due to the fact that they consume more media "The fear of Covid-19 is primarily conveyed by the media," says the JMU psychologist by constantly presenting the mortality rates Older people may spend less time reading up on the latest Corona news in the media It might also be assumed that senior citizens tend to be more optimistic Policymakers are trying to convince people who are hesitant about masks of their usefulness as a protective measure they should focus on reducing the dread of masks for people with Covid 19 anxiety as they do so you can read signs: "Safety through distance" it could be propagated: "Safety through masks" the idea that masks promise safety should be communicated more publicly Krishna, A., Rodrigues, J., Mitschke, V. et al. Self-reported mask-related worrying reduces relative avoidance bias towards unmasked faces in individuals with low Covid19 anxiety syndrome. Cognitive Research 6, 75 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-021-00344-8 Dr Anand Krishna, Institute of Psychology, University of Würzburg, T +49 931 31-86674, krishna@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de In biology, many researchers specialize in very specific organisms: plants, insects, mammals, microorganisms – and everything in between. Chaitanya Gokhale's work is different, “encompassing dynamics of living systems”,  in a sense he hypothesizes about a wide variety of scenarios in his field motivated by field and experimental observations "The main focus is to understand fundamental processes about how living organisms interact with each other and their environment," he says which he is now continuing at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) Gokhale is at the Center for Computational Biology and Theoretical Biology (CCTB) Chaitanya Gokhale's theory driven approach often forms the basis for experimental research This ranges from biogeochemical processes that are the precursors to life to questions about human society: For instance he applies the developed theoretical approach to synthetically engineered yeast cells revealing the survival tactics of communities in harsh environments "An abstract analysis of such diverse topics uncovers the fundamental drivers of living systems affords one this luxury in breadth of topics but the key lies in acknowledging the uniqueness of each system while identifying the commonalities of living systems at different scales" says Gokhale He therefore sums up his research succinctly: 'From cells to societies’ Access to such detailed understanding across scales of sociobiological complexity can then be eventually leveraged in designing translational applications Converting the developed theories into applications in agriculture in an interdisciplinary manner is an active pursuit in Prof cooperation with scientists from a wide range of disciplines plays a major role the Würzburg focus on microbiology and social insects But Gokhale also sees a lot of potential outside the faculty: "Whether it's humanities and social sciences the broad range of courses and expertise at the University of Würzburg really suits my work." the new professor would like to offer students above all a somewhat different approach to natural science subjects: "In my field meet the quantitative subjects such as mathematics and physics I want to convey that these are not mutually exclusive but instead can complement each other excellently." Chaitanya Gokhale graduated from the university there with a bachelor's degree in zoology and biotechnology This was followed by a master's degree in bioinformatics with a focus on biophysics that he developed through a thesis at the National Center for Biological Sciences The biologist then moved to Schleswig-Holstein where he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön he also spent two years at Massey University in Auckland in addition to three more years in Plön and a stint at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig Gokhale leads a research group at the Max Planck Institute He has been involved in projects with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and was awarded the Otto Hahn Medal for his work in 2011 Prof. Dr. Chaitanya S. Gokhale, Center for Computational Biology and Theoretical Biology, E-Mail: chaitanya.gokhale@uni-wuerzburg.de circular holes were visible on the surface of Mars that were not there before geysers were discovered that hurl powerful fountains of steam towards space And on the images sent to Earth by the Mars rover Curiosity structures were found that look like fossilised worms Or because humans took a lot of time to sift through the images from Earth's neighbouring planets "Artificial intelligence technologies would make it much easier to detect previously unknown anomalies," says Hakan Kayal Professor of Space Technology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria Using artificial intelligence (AI) in astronautics science in this field is still in its infancy: "There are only a handful of projects on this." If an AI is used to detect unknown phenomena It has to be "fed" with what is known so that it can recognise the unknown "There are already satellites that are runned with AI Their AI is trained on Earth and then sent into orbit we have other plans: We want to train the AI on board of a small satellite under space conditions," says the JMU professor but feasible: "Miniaturised IT systems are becoming more and more powerful So a learning process in orbit can take several days." But why transfer the training of the AI to space Whereas it would be much easier to realise with mainframe computers on Earth That's because Hakan Kayal has a clear vision of the future He wants to use small satellites with AI not only to observe Earth but also for interplanetary missions – to discover new extraterrestrial phenomena perhaps even traces of extraterrestrial intelligences communication with the satellite becomes a bottleneck," says the professor "you can't keep sending data back and forth That's why the AI must be able to learn independently on the satellite And it must only report relevant discoveries to Earth." Kayal's team around project leader Oleksii Balagurin will implement this technology on the small satellite SONATE-2 and test it in orbit The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is funding the project with 2.6 million euros The project began on 1 March 2021; the satellite is to be launched into orbit in spring 2024 The mission there is designed to last one year The small satellite from Würzburg will be about the size of a shoebox (30x20x10 centimetres) Its cameras will take pictures in different spectral ranges and will have the Earth in view The image data will flow into the on board-AI which will automatically recognise and classify objects The technology will first be thoroughly tested around the Earth before it can possibly go on an interplanetary journey later Hakan Kayal already has this future mission called SONATE-X firmly in his research plan – the X stands for extraterrestrial SONATE-2 will have other innovative and highly autonomous features on board Compared to the predecessor satellite SONATE the sensor data processing system will be further miniaturised and made more energy-efficient there are new types of satellite bus components such as improved star sensors for autonomous attitude control The cameras will not only detect and record static objects transient phenomena such as lightnings or meteors The SONATE-2 team will consist of about ten people Students can also participate – as assistants or within bachelor's and master‘s theses Training the next generation in this cutting-edge technology has a place in the project In addition to its computer science programmes JMU offers a Bachelor's and Master's programme in Aerospace Informatics and a Master's programme in Satellite Technology The SONATE-2 project is financed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) based on a resolution of the German Bundestag (FKZ 50RU2100) The new nano satellite SONATE-2 builds on a successful predecessor project, the SONATE satellite – also developed and built by Kayal's team, also funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. More about the mission The UWE-4 small satellite has been orbiting Earth since the end of 2018 with the objective to control its orbit as first pico-satellite It is the newest member of the University Würzburg's Experimental satellite research program UWE which demonstrates since 2005 crucial key technologies for formation flying in orbit as only one out of the four miniature electric thrusters on board worked and later only temporarily a second one joined Alexander Kramer made very clever use of the control system actuators available the remaining one electric thruster and six magnetorquers for relative orientation with respect to the Earth's magnetic field to perform all the planned maneuvers," according to his supervisor Professor Klaus Schilling The satellite successfully performed three maneuvers that can be considered world premieres in the class of pico-satellites Pico-satellites are characterized by a mass of only about one kilogram and the size of a ten cm cube box Earth is orbited today by a significant amount of space debris This raises danger to operational satellites to be damaged in collisions Waste avoidance and removal became therefore also an important goal in space It is now mandatory for future satellites in low Earth orbits to insert into a graveyard orbit at end of their life A controlled lowering of the orbit altitude was therefore one of the maneuvers that UWE-4 successfully demonstrated in June 2020 thanks to its innovative electric propulsion system But UWE-4 could also lift its orbit by firing its electric thrusters with the appropriate orientation and duration This maneuver opens up interesting prospects for extending the life of still functional satellites satellites normally sink rapidly due to drag of the residual atmosphere The ISS space station must therefore also receive a constant refueling via supply spacecraft in order to be able to correct its descent by propulsion system activities the UWE-4 mission proved that orbit raise can be achieved for micro-satellites by an electric propulsion system with only a few grams of fuel operator Alexander Kramer received a warning from SpaceOps the space control center of the US Air Force: there was a danger that UWE-4 could collide with an Iridium telecommunication satellite He then controlled the orbit of UWE-4 to increase the safety distance between the two satellites This was the first time for a pico-satellite to avoid a suspected collision by its electric propulsion system "These are three technological breakthroughs that Alexander Kramer has demonstrated first time in orbit for pico-satellites with UWE-4," notes Professor Schilling Chair of Computer Science VII (Robotics and Telematics) at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria "This opens up significant application perspectives especially for cost-efficient future generations of miniature satellites.” satellite operators are not yet required to install a propulsion system," says Kramer This must change due to legal requirements to limit satellite lifetime to 25 years in orbit to avoid accumulation of space debris "Various space agencies are therefore already discussing the need for propulsion systems Our experiments with UWE-4 point out an innovative solution for this problem“ UWE-4 was developed by Schilling's JMU team with Dr Alexander Kramer and Dieter Ziegler as well as numerous computer science and SpaceMaster students the team around Professor Martin Tajmar has been realizing the miniaturized electric drive system NanoFEEP (Field Emission Electric Propulsion) in joint research for UWE-4 since 2015 How NanoFEEP works: a voltage is applied to a needle coated with the liquid fuel gallium This causes individual gallium ions to be released from the needle and ejected through a perforated cathode into space The ions are here accelerated to a speed of up to eight kilometers per second this causes the satellite to move in the opposite direction as described by the rocket equation UWE-4 is equipped with four engines with 0.25 grams of fuel each This enables it to correct disturbances in its orbit for more than a year UWE-4 will be placed in a targeted graveyard orbit by the ground control station at JMU at the end of 2020 it would orbit Earth for several more years before it burns up in the atmosphere The successor satellites from Würzburg are already completed: the four NetSat satellites of the Center for Telematics their objective is to demonstrate formation flight in three dimensions for the first time The satellites already left Würzburg and are on their way to the rocket launch site in Plesetsk in Russia Prof. Dr. Klaus Schilling, Chair of Computer Science VII (Robotics and Telematics), University of Würzburg, T +49 931 31-86647, schi@informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de Germany is getting a lot of rain in these days of March Farmers who want to cultivate their fields are therefore faced with an important question: How wet is it in the fields Can they be driven over with heavy equipment or is it better to wait and see In this case it would be ideal to send a drone with special sensors across the field And to quickly generate maps from the data obtained which the farmer can then use on his cell phone or laptop to assess the soil moisture on his fields on a small scale This is just one of the scenarios that the new AgriSens research network is working on the scientists involved have defined various applications in which digital technologies would be helpful These include planning irrigation or making harvest forecasts using satellite data The starting signal for the network was given by the German Minister of Agriculture 2020 in Berlin: She presented the funding decisions to the project managers This is because the ministry is supporting AgriSens with 3.7 million euros over the next three years 165,000 euros of this will go to the Remote Sensing Department of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria Christian Hüttich is the project manager: "We are working towards exploiting the full potential of the huge amounts of data coming from Earth observation satellites We want to create an infrastructure with which these data can be processed as quickly as possible so that they can be used by farmers" Some satellites send data to earth once a week It is important to steer this flood of information into the right orbit and combine it with data collected on the ground Structure and system must be brought into this process the JMU team is also breaking new ground: "For the first time we want to bring the remote sensing data into a cloud in which it is also available to all other project participants" The research association "AgriSens DEMMIN 4.0 (Remote Sensing Technologies for Digitisation in Crop Production)" is coordinated by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam Other participants are the German Aerospace Center DLR at the locations Neustrelitz Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg and the University of Applied Sciences Neubrandenburg Also on board are farms from the Demmin area in the region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and other partner farms in Germany GFZ and DLR maintain experimental fields where they develop and test new technologies together with farmers Daniel Spengler coordinates the AgriSens project at GFZ Potsdam: "Remote sensing data provide rich data treasures that can give farmers important information as a basis for decisions on measures such as fertilisation the hurdle to use these data is unfortunately far too high for many farmers This applies above all to access to the data its use in a wide range of software solutions and confusing market offerings We would like to offer low-threshold solutions here." For the JMU project: Dr. Christian Hüttich, Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, T +49 931 31-82583, christian.huettich@uni-wuerzburg.de Coordinator of the AgriSens project: Dr. Daniel Spengler, GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ Potsdam, T +49 331 288-1192, daniel.spengler@gfz-potsdam.de