Simply looking at visual art, visiting a museum, or having art in your hospital room can enhance well-being, particularly repeated engagement, which can increase the meaning we feel in life, according to a new international study led by researchers from the University of Vienna.
Whether for cooking, heating, as a light source or for making tools – it is assumed that fire was essential for the survival of people in the Ice Age. However, it is puzzling that hardly any well-preserved evidence of fireplaces from the coldest period of the Ice Age in Europe has been found so far.
Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise of our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important as they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. However, until know little has been known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals. A recent study from Wiener Kinderstudien Lab at the University of Vienna demonstrates for the first time that babies as young as 3 months can perceive their own heartbeat. In addition, the team, headed by researchers from the University of Vienna, together with colleagues from the University of Potsdam and Royal Holloway University of London, also investigated for the first-time infants’ perception of their own breathing and found developments during the first two years of life. The results are now published in the prestigious journal eLife.
A recent investigation led by voice scientist Christian T. Herbst from the University of Vienna and colleagues from Anglia Ruskin University provides new insights into the vocal capabilities of New World monkeys, the group of all original primates of the American continent: They can produce "voice breaks" similar to human yodeling, but support a much wider range of frequencies.
The increase of microbes resistant to antibiotics is a growing problem. These include, for example, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium which causes gonorrhea. Researchers from the universities in Konstanz and Vienna discover a new class of antibiotic that selectively targets Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These substances trigger a self-destruction program, which also operates in multi-resistant variants of the pathogen. This type of treatment could be used in an adapted form against other pathogens, so the scientists have made a real breakthrough in the fight against superbugs. The results have been published in the renowned journal Nature Microbiology.
An FFG-funded consortium of Austrian research groups from the University of Vienna, MedUni Vienna and Technikum Wien together with company partner DOC Medikus GmbH has developed an innovative bioanalytical test system for radiopharmaceutical drug candidates for cancer diagnosis and therapy. It does not require any animal testing at all and enables automated, fast and highly precise analyses. The new method was presented in detail in the renowned Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Scientists at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Vienna, have unveiled an innovative approach for synthesizing azaparacyclophanes (APCs), a class of highly advanced ring-shaped molecular structures with immense potential in material science. Their innovative Catalyst-Transfer Macrocyclization (CTM) method, currently published in JACS Au, streamlines the production of these complex macrocycles, paving the way for more efficient and scalable applications in organic electronics, optoelectronics, and supramolecular chemistry – such as displays, flexible solar cells and transistors.
In a new study, an international team of neuroscientists led by the University of Vienna has shown that experiencing nature can alleviate acute physical pain. Surprisingly, simply watching nature videos was enough to relieve pain. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers found that acute pain was rated as less intense and unpleasant when watching nature videos – along with a reduction in brain activity associated with pain. The results suggest that nature-based therapies can be used as promising complementary approaches to pain management. The study was recently published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.
We commonly consider spiritual practices sources of peace and inspiration. A recent study led by researchers of the University of Vienna shows that they can also be experienced differently: Many persons feel bored during these practices – and this can have far-reaching consequences.
During the first COVID-19 lockdown, researchers of the University of Vienna assessed the influence of stress, mood, and social interactions on "unhealthy" eating habits in nearly 800 participants across Austria, Italy, and Germany.
An international research team led by the University of Vienna has discovered that the Solar System traversed the Orion star-forming complex, a component of the Radcliffe Wave galactic structure, approximately 14 million years ago. This journey through a dense region of space could have compressed the heliosphere, the protective bubble surrounding our solar system, and increased the influx of interstellar dust, potentially influencing Earth's climate and leaving traces in geological records. The findings, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, offer a fascinating interdisciplinary link between astrophysics, paleoclimatology, and geology.
Where lies the origin of the Indo-European language family? Ron Pinhasi and his team in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna contribute a new piece to this puzzle in collaboration with David Reich's ancient DNA laboratory at Harvard University. They analyzed ancient DNA from 435 individuals from archaeological sites across Eurasia between 6.400–2.000 BCE. They found out that a newly recognized Caucasus-Lower Volga population can be connected to all Indo-European-speaking populations. The new study is published in Nature.
An international team of researchers, led by physicists from the University of Vienna, has achieved a breakthrough in data processing by employing an "inverse-design" approach. This method allows algorithms to configure a system based on desired functions, bypassing manual design and complex simulations. The result is a smart "universal" device that uses spin waves ("magnons") to perform multiple data processing tasks with exceptional energy efficiency. Published in Nature Electronics, this innovation marks a transformative advance in unconventional computing, with significant potential for next-generation telecommunications, computing, and neuromorphic systems.
Sharks and rays have populated the world's oceans for around 450 million years, but more than a third of the species living today are severely threatened by overfishing and the loss of their habitat. An international research team led by palaeobiologist Manuel A. Staggl from the University of Vienna has now investigated whether and how global warming influences the diversity of sharks based on climate fluctuations between 200 and 66 million years ago. According to the study, higher temperatures and more shallow water areas have a positive effect, while higher CO2 levels have a clearly negative effect. The study was recently published in the scientific journal "Biology".
In an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study, an international team led by the University of Vienna and the Danish Technical University/Umea University examined the social risks for Arctic regions associated with thawing permafrost. They identified five key risks related to infrastructure, transport and supply, water quality, food security and health. The scientists found that the thawing permafrost posed an increased risk of exposure to infectious diseases and release of contaminants, and interruptions of supply routes. The study has been published in the renowned journal Communications Earth and Environment.
An interdisciplinary research team led by anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna, together with experts from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, has analysed a skull that was found in the ruins of Ephesos (Turkey) in 1929. It was long speculated that it could be the remains of Arsinoë IV, the sister of the famous Cleopatra.
Non-native species introduced by humans are among the main causes of global species decline – they were partly responsible for 60 percent of the species that have become extinct worldwide in recent decades. In Central Europe, non-native mammals include species such as the Norway rat, the mouflon and the mink. Now a study led by biologists from the University of Vienna and La Sapienza University in Rome shows that some of these species introduced by humans are themselves endangered in their native range. The study has been published in the current issue of the journal Conservation Letters.
An international team of researchers led by Pere Gelabert and Ron Pinhasi of the University of Vienna and David Reich of Harvard University has produced the most complete set of Early Neolithic genetic data from Central Europe to date. The results of this study, just published in Nature Human Behaviour, reveal that the culture responsible for the expansion of agriculture in Central Europe 8,000 years ago showed no signs of population stratification.
A research team at the University of Vienna, led by medicinal chemist Markus Muttenthaler, has developed a new class of oral peptide therapeutic leads for treating chronic abdominal pain. This groundbreaking innovation offers a safe, non-opioid-based solution for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which affect millions of people worldwide. The research results were recently published in the international edition of the renowned journal Angewandte Chemie.
In a groundbreaking new study, conducted within the framework of the FWF-funded Cluster of Excellence "Microbiomes drive Planetary Health", scientists from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with the University of Southampton, Aalborg University and Boston University, have revealed that the widely prescribed Parkinson's disease drug entacapone significantly disrupts the human gut microbiome by inducing iron deficiency. The study, published in Nature Microbiology, provides new insights into the often-overlooked impact of human-targeted drugs on the microbial communities that play a critical role in human health.
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