Latest news from University of Vienna on Newswise en-us Copyright 2024 Newswise 115 31 / /images/newswise-logo-rss.gif /articles/how-a-salt-giant-radically-reshaped-mediterranean-marine-biodiversity/?sc=rsin /articles/how-a-salt-giant-radically-reshaped-mediterranean-marine-biodiversity/?sc=rsin Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:00:00 EST A new study paves the way to understanding biotic recovery after an ecological crisis in the Mediterranean Sea about 5.5 million years ago. University of Vienna /articles/scientific-consensus-can-strengthen-pro-climate-attitudes-in-society/?sc=rsin /articles/scientific-consensus-can-strengthen-pro-climate-attitudes-in-society/?sc=rsin Mon, 26 Aug 2024 06:00:33 EST Climate scientists have long agreed that humans are largely responsible for climate change. A new study, co-led by Bojana Većkalov from the University of Amsterdam and Sandra Geiger from the University of Vienna, finds that communicating the scientific consensus about climate change can clear up misperceptions and strengthen beliefs about the existence and the causes of climate change. The team surveyed over 10,000 people from 27 countries on 6 continents. The study has just been published in the renowned journal Nature Human Behaviour. University of Vienna /articles/molecular-compass-points-way-to-reduction-of-animal-testing/?sc=rsin /articles/molecular-compass-points-way-to-reduction-of-animal-testing/?sc=rsin Tue, 20 Aug 2024 06:00:08 EST In recent years, machine learning models have become increasingly popular for risk assessment of chemical compounds. However, they are often considered 'black boxes' due to their lack of transparency, leading to scepticism among toxicologists and regulatory authorities. To increase confidence in these models, researchers at the University of Vienna proposed to carefully identify the areas of chemical space where these models are weak. They developed an innovative software tool ('MolCompass') for this purpose and the results of this research approach have just been published in the prestigious Journal of Cheminformatics. University of Vienna /articles/searching-old-stem-cells-that-stay-young-forever/?sc=rsin /articles/searching-old-stem-cells-that-stay-young-forever/?sc=rsin Mon, 19 Aug 2024 05:00:44 EST The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna have now identified possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone for the first time. These stem cells are regulated by evolutionary highly conserved genes, which in humans are usually only active in the formation of egg and sperm cells, but give ancient animal phyla such as cnidarians a high degree of regenerative capacity to even escape ageing. The results are currently being published in Science Advances and could also provide insights into the human ageing process in the future. University of Vienna /articles/newly-discovered-ability-of-comammox-bacteria-could-help-reduce-nitrous-oxide-emissions-in-agriculture/?sc=rsin /articles/newly-discovered-ability-of-comammox-bacteria-could-help-reduce-nitrous-oxide-emissions-in-agriculture/?sc=rsin Wed, 14 Aug 2024 11:00:00 EST An international research team led by the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna has discovered that comammox bacteria, first identified by them in 2015, can grow using guanidine, a nitrogen-rich organic compound, as their sole energy and nitrogen source. University of Vienna /articles/visiting-an-art-exhibition-can-make-you-think-more-socially-and-openly-but-for-how-long/?sc=rsin /articles/visiting-an-art-exhibition-can-make-you-think-more-socially-and-openly-but-for-how-long/?sc=rsin Tue, 06 Aug 2024 06:00:02 EST A new study by an international team of collaborators led by researchers at the University of Vienna, and in collaboration with the Dom Museum Wien, aimed to address the questions of whether art exhibitions can make us more empathic or even change our attitudes and behaviors? The researchers were able to show that, indeed, looking through the exhibition reduced xenophobia and increased acceptance of immigration. Even more, by employing a new cellphone-based experience sampling method, they could track how long these changes last. The study was recently published in the American Psychological Association Journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. University of Vienna /articles/holiday-or-vacation-similar-language-leads-to-more-cooperation/?sc=rsin /articles/holiday-or-vacation-similar-language-leads-to-more-cooperation/?sc=rsin Tue, 30 Jul 2024 06:00:18 EST "Holiday" or "vacation", "to start" or "to begin", "my friend's cat" or "the cat of my friend" - in our language, there are different ways of expressing the same things and concepts. But can the choice of a particular variant determine whether we prefer to cooperate with certain people rather than with others? University of Vienna /articles/nonreciprocal-interactions-go-nonlinear/?sc=rsin /articles/nonreciprocal-interactions-go-nonlinear/?sc=rsin Thu, 25 Jul 2024 05:00:00 EST Using two optically trapped glass nanoparticles, researchers observed a novel collective Non-Hermitian and nonlinear dynamic driven by nonreciprocal interactions. This contribution expands traditional optical levitation with tweezer arrays by incorporating the so called non-conservative interactions. University of Vienna /articles/long-standing-marine-mystery-solved-how-algae-get-nitrogen-to-grow/?sc=rsin /articles/long-standing-marine-mystery-solved-how-algae-get-nitrogen-to-grow/?sc=rsin Thu, 27 Jun 2024 05:00:08 EST In a new study, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, the Alfred Wegener Institute and the University of Vienna shed light on an unexpected partnership: A marine diatom and a bacterium that can account for a large share of nitrogen fixation in vast regions of the ocean. This symbiosis likely plays a key role for global marine nitrogen fixation and productivity, and thus uptake of carbon dioxide. The newly-discovered bacterial symbiont is closely related to the nitrogen-fixing Rhizobia which live in partnership with many crop plants and may also open up new avenues for engineering nitrogen-fixing plants. The results were published in the current print edition of the renowned journal Nature. University of Vienna /articles/the-queen-of-the-night-does-not-whistle/?sc=rsin /articles/the-queen-of-the-night-does-not-whistle/?sc=rsin Tue, 18 Jun 2024 05:00:51 EST Opera singers have to use the extreme limits of their voice range. Many pedagogical and scientific sources suggest that the highest pitches reached in classical singing can only be produced with a so-called "whistle" voice register, in analogy to ultrasonic vocalizations of mice and rats. University of Vienna /articles/quantum-entanglement-measures-earth-rotation/?sc=rsin /articles/quantum-entanglement-measures-earth-rotation/?sc=rsin Fri, 14 Jun 2024 14:00:00 EST A team of researchers led by Philip Walther at the University of Vienna carried out a pioneering experiment where they measured the effect of the rotation of Earth on quantum entangled photons. University of Vienna /articles/galactic-bloodlines-many-nearby-star-clusters-originate-from-only-three-families/?sc=rsin /articles/galactic-bloodlines-many-nearby-star-clusters-originate-from-only-three-families/?sc=rsin Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:00:00 EST An international team of astronomers led by the University of Vienna has deciphered the formation history of young star clusters, some of which we can see with the naked eye at night. University of Vienna /articles/uptake-of-tire-wear-additives-by-vegetables-grown-for-human-consumption/?sc=rsin /articles/uptake-of-tire-wear-additives-by-vegetables-grown-for-human-consumption/?sc=rsin Wed, 05 Jun 2024 05:00:55 EST Car tires contain hundreds of chemical additives that can leach out of them. This is how they end up in crops and subsequently in the food chain. Researchers at the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have now detected these chemical residues in leafy vegetables for the first time. Although the concentrations were low, the evidence was clear, a finding that is also known for drug residues in plant-based foods. University of Vienna /articles/groundbreaking-progress-in-quantum-physics-how-quantum-field-theories-decay-and-fission/?sc=rsin /articles/groundbreaking-progress-in-quantum-physics-how-quantum-field-theories-decay-and-fission/?sc=rsin Mon, 03 Jun 2024 05:00:42 EST An international research team around Marcus Sperling, a researcher at the Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, has sparked interest in the scientific community with pioneering results in quantum physics: In their current study, the researchers reinterpret the Higgs mechanism, which gives elementary particles mass and triggers phase transitions, using the concept of "magnetic quivers." University of Vienna /articles/breaking-bonds-to-form-bonds-rethinking-the-chemistry-of-cations/?sc=rsin /articles/breaking-bonds-to-form-bonds-rethinking-the-chemistry-of-cations/?sc=rsin Thu, 16 May 2024 14:00:00 EST A team of chemists from the University of Vienna, led by Nuno Maulide, has achieved a significant breakthrough in the field of chemical synthesis, developing a novel method for manipulating carbon-hydrogen bonds. This groundbreaking discovery provides new insights into the molecular interactions of positively charged carbon atoms. University of Vienna /articles/nature-s-3d-printer-bristle-worms-form-bristles-piece-by-piece/?sc=rsin /articles/nature-s-3d-printer-bristle-worms-form-bristles-piece-by-piece/?sc=rsin Mon, 13 May 2024 05:00:00 EST A new interdisciplinary study led by molecular biologist Florian Raible from the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna provides exciting insights into the bristles of the marine annelid worm Platynereis dumerilii. Specialized cells, so-called chaetoblasts, control the formation of the bristles. Their mode of operation is astonishingly similar to that of a technical 3D printer. The project is a collaboration with researchers from the University of Helsinki, Vienna University of Technology and Masaryk University in Brno. University of Vienna /articles/unlocking-the-genetic-mysteries-behind-plant-adaptation-new-insights-into-the-evolution-of-a-water-saving-trait-in-the-pineapple-family-bromeliaceae/?sc=rsin /articles/unlocking-the-genetic-mysteries-behind-plant-adaptation-new-insights-into-the-evolution-of-a-water-saving-trait-in-the-pineapple-family-bromeliaceae/?sc=rsin Tue, 30 Apr 2024 07:00:00 EST Researchers at the University of Vienna, along with collaborators from France, Germany, Switzerland and the USA, have achieved a major breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants). This sheds light on the complex actions that cause plant adaptation and ecological diversity. The results of their study are now published in Plant Cell. University of Vienna /articles/how-can-forests-be-reforested-in-a-climate-friendly-way/?sc=rsin /articles/how-can-forests-be-reforested-in-a-climate-friendly-way/?sc=rsin Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:00:00 EST Europe's forests have already been severely affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists from the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Munich have now investigated which trees can be used for reforestation. University of Vienna /articles/giant-viruses-infect-deadly-parasite/?sc=rsin /articles/giant-viruses-infect-deadly-parasite/?sc=rsin Wed, 24 Apr 2024 05:00:37 EST The single-celled organism Naegleria fowleri ranks among the deadliest human parasites. Researchers around Matthias Horn and Patrick Arthofer from the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna, in an international collaboration, have discovered viruses that infect this harmful microbe. Named Naegleriavirus, these belong to the giant viruses, a group known for their unusually large particles and complex genomes. University of Vienna /articles/compact-quantum-light-processing/?sc=rsin /articles/compact-quantum-light-processing/?sc=rsin Fri, 19 Apr 2024 14:00:00 EST An international collaboration of researchers, led by Philip Walther at University of Vienna, have achieved a significant breakthrough in quantum technology, with the successful demonstration of quantum interference among several single photons using a novel resource-efficient platform. University of Vienna