Traditional research into giftedness and expertise assumes that the key factors to develop outstanding achievements are early performance (e.g., in a school subject, sport, or in concerts) and corresponding abilities (e.g., intelligence, motor skills, musicality) along with many years of intensive training in a discipline. Accordingly, talent programs typically aim to select the top-performing youth and then seek to further accelerate their performance through intensive discipline-specific training. However, this is apparently not the ideal way to promote young talent, as a team led by Arne Güllich, professor of sports science at ����ֱ�� University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, has recently discovered.

The starting point: Until recently, research into giftedness and expertise has focused on young and sub-elite performers. For example, school and college students, young athletes and chess players, or musicians at conservatories. The conclusions drawn from this research have recently been called into question by evidence from adult world-class athletes. “Traditional research into giftedness and expertise did not sufficiently consider the question of how world-class performers at peak performance age developed in their early years,” Arne Güllich summarizes. His research intention in the current Review was, therefore, to investigate the development of these top performers. To this end, an international, interdisciplinary research team has been assembled, including Arne Güllich, Michael Barth, assistant professor of sports economics at the University of Innsbruck, D. Zach Hambrick, professor of psychology at Michigan State University, and Brooke N. Macnamara, professor of psychology at Purdue University. The results are now published in Science.

Pooling the findings from various disciplines 

The research team reanalyzed extensive data from many original studies. They examined the development of a total of 34,839 international top performers. These include Nobel Prize winners in the sciences, Olympic medalists, the world's best chess players, and the most renowned classical music composers. In this way, for the first time, the development of world-class performers across various disciplines was synthesized.

The best youths and later world-class performers are different people

A key finding: top performers undergo a different development pattern than previous research assumed. “And a common pattern emerges across the different disciplines,” Arne Güllich emphasizes. He identifies three key findings. The first is that the best at a young age and the best later in life are mostly different individuals. Second, those who reached the world-class level showed rather gradual performance development in their early years and were not yet among the best of their age group. And the third finding is that those who later achieved peak performance did not specialize in a single discipline at an early age, but engaged in various disciplines (e.g., different subjects of study, genres of music, sports, or professions).

Smarter learners with reduced risks 

How can these findings, which deviate from the prevailing opinion, be explained? “We propose three explanatory hypotheses for discussion,” says Güllich. The search-and-match hypothesis suggests that experiences with different disciplines improve one's chances of finding an optimal discipline for oneself over the years. The enhanced-learning-capital hypothesis implies that varied learning experiences in different disciplines enhance one’s learning capital, which improves the performer’s subsequent ongoing learning at the highest level in a discipline. And the limited-risks hypothesis suggests that multidisciplinary engagement mitigates risks of career-hampering factors, such as misbalanced work-rest ratios, burnout, being stuck in a discipline one ceases to enjoy, or injuries in psychomotor disciplines (sports, music). Arne Güllich: “Those who find an optimal discipline for themselves, develop enhanced potential for long-term learning, and have reduced risks of career-hampering factors, have improved chances of developing world-class performance.”

Foster the pursuit of various disciplines

Considering the latest findings, what can Arne Güllich recommend today? How should society promote young talented people to develop into future top performers? “Here’s what the evidence suggests: Don't specialize in just one discipline too early. Encourage young people and provide them opportunities to pursue different areas of interest. And promote them in two or three disciplines.” These may be disciplines that are not directly related to on another: language and mathematics, for example, or geography and philosophy. Or just think of Albert Einstein and his violin—one of the most important physicists, who was also passionate about music from an early age.

In light of these new findings, policymakers and program managers can promote change toward evidence-based policies and practices. Arne Güllich concludes: “This may enhance opportunities for the development of world-class performers—in science, sports, music, and other fields.”

The study:

Arne Güllich, Michael Barth, David Z. Hambrick & Brooke N. Macnamara “Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance”

Scientific contact:

Prof. Dr. Arne Güllich

����ֱ�� University Kaiserslautern-Landau 

E-Mail: guellich[@]rptu.de

Contact Press Matters:

Christine Pauli

University Communications Office

E-Mail: presse[@]rptu.de

Two superconductors separated by a wafer-thin insulating layer – that's how simple a Josephson junction looks. But despite its simple structure, it harbors a quantum mechanical effect that is now one of the most important tools of modern technology: Josephson contacts form the heart of many quantum computers and enable high-precision measurements – such as the measurement of very weak magnetic fields. This is used, among other things, in magnetoencephalography (MEG), i.e., in medical diagnostics for examining magnetic fields in the brain.

It is important to note that the processes that take place in a Josephson junction occur at the level of individual quanta and are difficult to observe directly in the superconductor. To make the microscopic processes experimentally accessible, researchers use a trick known as quantum simulation. In general terms, this involves transferring a complex quantum system to another, more easily observable system. This allows effects to be investigated that are virtually inaccessible in their conventional environment.

At ����ֱ��, an experimental research team led by Herwig Ott has now applied this principle to the Josephson effect. Instead of superconductors, they used an ultracold gas of atoms, a so-called Bose-Einstein condensate. The researchers separated two such condensates by means of a very thin optical barrier, which was generated with a focused laser beam and moved periodically. In this way, the researchers simulated what happens in a superconducting Josephson junction under microwave irradiation. The microwave radiation serves to generate an additional alternating current through the Josephson contact. 

Shapiro steps are a universal phenomenon

The result of the quantum simulation was impressive: the characteristic Shapiro steps appeared in the atomic system – quantized voltage plateaus that serve to calibrate the electrical voltage. They depend only on natural constants and the frequency of the modulation and form the basis on which the voltage standard for the “volt” is realized worldwide. “In our experiment, we were able to visualize the resulting excitations for the first time. The fact that this effect now appears in a completely different physical system – an ensemble of ultracold atoms – confirms that Shapiro steps are a universal phenomenon,” states Herwig Ott.

The study was conducted in collaboration with the theory groups of Ludwig Mathey from the University of Hamburg and Luigi Amico from the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi. The work provides a textbook example of quantum simulation, Herwig Ott summarizes the results: "A quantum mechanical effect from solid-state physics is transferred to a completely different system – and yet its essence remains the same. This builds bridges between the quantum worlds of electrons and atoms.“ 

Using atoms to understand the world of electrons

In the future, Ott and his team want to connect several such ”building blocks“ with each other ”to build real circuits for atoms". Instead of electrons, atoms would then flow through the circuit – a field of work known as “atomtronics”. “Such circuits are particularly well suited for observing coherent effects, i.e., wave-like effects,” says Erik Bernhart, who conducted the experiments as a doctoral student. In addition, the movement of atoms can be “seen” directly in atomic circuits, which is much more difficult with electrons in solids. “We also want to replicate other fundamental components known from electronics for our atoms and understand them precisely at the microscopic level.”

The study:

Erik Bernhart, Marvin Röhrle, Vijay Pal Singh, Ludwig Mathey, Luigi Amico, and Herwig Ott
“Observation of Shapiro steps in an ultracold atomic Josephson junction”
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads9061

Scientific contact::

Prof. Dr. Herwig Ott
Departement of Physics at
����ֱ�� University Kaiserslautern-Landau

T: +49 631 205 2817
E: herwig.ott@rptu.de

Contact Press Matters:

Julia Reichelt
University Communications Office

T: +49 631 205-5784
E: presse@rptu.de

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are ubiquitous. They unleash destructive power in the form of earthquake waves but are also at the heart of miniaturised frequency filters that are used billion of times for GHz-frequency mobile communication in smartphones.

The ����ֱ�� research team led by Professor Mathias Weiler is working on establishing the physical foundations for next-generation miniaturized sound-based microwave components. The key to this is the interconnection of established SAW technology with spin phenomena. Mathias Weiler explains: “Sound waves can propagate not only in air, but also in matter. In the process, the lattice atoms of the material oscillate”. Since the electrons of the lattice atoms have a quantum mechanical angular momentum, the spin, this can also be excited to oscillate. The sound waves then generate spin waves in magnetically ordered materials.

Sound waves and spin waves coexisting

The research team investigated such collective acoustic excitations of spins in the ferrimagnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet (YIG). YIG has an extremely long spin wave lifetime, making it an ideal object of study. The recently published work shows that hybrid excitations – so-called magnon-polarons – can form in a nanostructured surface acoustic wave resonator. Kevin Künstle, first author of the study, explains this as follows: “We have observed that the quantum mechanical coupling of spin and sound can lead to the formation of a novel chimera quasiparticle that is neither a sound wave nor a spin wave. Spin and sound can no longer be separated in this excitation, but coexist”.

Acoustic filters and ferrimagnetic insulators combined

In particular, the researchers could show that this chimeric wave oscillates periodically between its sound and spin states. The characteristic transition frequency of this oscillation – the so-called Rabi frequency – is significantly greater than all loss rates in the system. This is clear evidence that the system is in the strong coupling regime.

To explain these phenomena, colleagues from the ����ֱ�� working group led by Professor Akashdeep Kamra developed a theoretical model, which can quantitatively predict the observed coupling strength.

The quantitative understanding of the coupling phenomena and the control over the strength of the spin-sound coupling, that was also demonstrated in the work, opens up new perspectives for the technological use of hybrid states of sound and spin waves. “Our hybrid spin-sound excitations combine two pillars of microwave technology: acoustic filters and ferrimagnetic insulators,” adds Professor Weiler. “In the future, such systems could be used to expand the functionality of miniaturized microwave components. For example, agile frequency filters that can be adjusted during operation could be realized. This opens up new concepts for the implementation of 6G communication networks, the mobile communications technology of the future.”

This research is funded by the European Research Council through the ERC Consolidator Grant “MAWiCS – magnetoacoustic waves in complex spin systems” and by the German Research Foundation as part of the Collaborative Research Center “Spin+X.”

The current study:

K. Künstle, Y. Kunz, T. Moussa, K. Lasinger, K. Yamamoto, P. Pirro, J. F. Gregg, A. Kamra, and M. Weiler, Magnon-polaron control in a surface magnetoacoustic wave resonator, Nat Commun 16, 10116 (2025).

Scientific contact:

Kevin Künstle
T: +49 631 205-4616
E: kuenstle@rptu.de

Prof. Dr. Mathias Weiler
T: +49 631 205-4099
E: mweiler@rptu.de

Metal ions are important building blocks of life: Iron ions, for example, play a central role in so-called iron-sulfur clusters in proteins, i.e., protein molecules that are involved in various essential biological processes. These include metabolic pathways such as the mitochondrial respiratory chain and the citric acid cycle. Researchers at ����ֱ�� have now been able to show that a tiny metal building block is also crucial for protein production itself.

PD Dr. Daili Netz, from the Department of Chemistry at ����ֱ��, and doctoral student Nadine Duppe took a close look at the protein Mak16. It is important to note that Mak16 plays a key role in the production of ribosomes, i.e., the “protein factories” in our cells.

Daili Netz's team found that Mak16 – in the course of ribosome assembly – is only stable and works correctly with its important partner protein Rpf1 if it contains the iron-sulfur building block [4Fe-4S]. The [4Fe-4S] cluster has a structure in which four iron and four sulfur ions are arranged in an approximately cubic pattern, alternating at the corners of the “cube”. If this building block is missing, then – to put it simply – ribosome production breaks down and the cell can no longer produce new proteins.

If the cluster is missing, the ribosomes can not be assembled properly

“Mak16 carries an iron-sulfur building block in a pocket in the protein”, says Daili Netz, explaining the detailed structure of the compound. “This pocket consists of four amino acids, the cysteine residues, which hold the cluster in place and help it bind stably to the protein.”

To demonstrate how important this cluster is for its interaction with Rpf1, the research team specifically produced Mak16 in two variants: one in its “normal” form with an intact pocket and cluster, and one modified so that the pocket can no longer hold the cluster. Using immunoprecipitation, which can be thought of as a kind of “protein fishing”, the researchers were able to show that only Mak16 with an intact pocket and cluster can reliably hold the Rpf1 protein. “If the cluster is missing, the binding does not work at all, and no complex is formed”, explains Daili Netz – adding, with regard to the fact that ribosomes consist of proteins and ribosomal RNA (rRNA): "We also looked at whether the ribosomes are assembled correctly in yeast cells. And we could see that the production of rRNA and the maturation of ribosomes strongly depends on whether Mak16 carries the cluster. If the cluster is missing, the ribosomes can not be assembled properly."

Details about the iron-sulfur building block clarified

Under the direction of Professor Antonio Pierik, Department of Chemistry at ����ֱ��, the metallic nature of the cluster was demonstrated using electron spin resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, supplemented by Mössbauer analyses by Professor Volker Schünemann, Department of Physics at ����ֱ��, and his doctoral student Lukas Knauer. Mössbauer spectroscopy can be understood as a kind of super-precise iron scanner – because using this highly specialized method, the researchers were able to analyze, among other things, how the iron building blocks are bound in the protein structure. Antonio Pierik explains the background of these investigations: “With EPR spectroscopy, we can see the iron ions because they have unpaired electrons that produce a fingerprint in a magnetic field at very low temperatures. The sulfur ions themselves cannot be seen directly, but they influence the iron ions so strongly that their presence and arrangement can also be detected.” EPR and Mössbauer analyses show that Mak16 contains a [4Fe-4S] cluster that occurs in two stable states. Daili Netz: “This enabled us to understand how the metal ions are organized in the protein and how Mak16 can thereby fulfill its tasks in the cell.”

Another finding by the researchers is that the [4Fe-4S] cluster is very sensitive to oxidative stress. If the cluster disintegrates as a result, ribosome production stops. Thus, the cluster acts not only as an essential building block, but also as a sensor that signals to the cell when protein production should be reduced.

The work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). "Iron-sulfur clusters control central cellular processes such as metabolism, DNA synthesis and repair, signal transduction, and enzymatic functions, and help cells respond to stress. The fact that a single [4Fe-4S] cluster directly influences ribosome assembly gives us new insights into the mechanisms of protein production, expands our understanding of cell biology, and explains how disruptions in these processes can lead to problems in protein production or cellular stress responses", says Daili Netz, highlighting the special features of the current research results.

The current study:

Nadine Duppe, Lukas Knauer, Marc Hagebölling, Lena Langner, Martin Stümpfig, Volker Schünemann, Antonio J Pierik, Daili J Netz (2025): The function of Mak16 in ribosome biogenesis depends on its [4Fe-4S] cluster; PNAS;

Scientific contact :

PD Dr. Daili J.A. Netz

����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau

T.: +49 (0)631-205-2968

E.: dnetz[at]rhrk.uni-kl.de

Contact press matters:

Christine Pauli

University communications

presse[at]rptu.de

In the “Sustainable Technologies for Advanced Resilient and Energy-Efficient Networks” (SUSTAINET) project, an interdisciplinary and international team – with the participation of ����ֱ�� – is working on new concepts for secure, efficient and sustainable data transmission. One use case being investigated is the medical environment. The aim here is to design wireless networks in such a way that they support the ever-growing number of mobile devices in hospital operations in an energy-efficient, secure and reliable manner.

Christoph Lipps, Team Lead Cyber Resilience & Security, explains: “Together, we are working, among other things, on implementing artificial intelligence methods in so-called edge-based applications in order to automatically determine who wants to transfer which data, when, with what priority and according to which security requirements. This contributes to the dynamic control and secure (data) operation of communication networks.”

A particular focus is on the data protection-compliant handling of health data: in addition to classical cryptography, the team is researching innovative methods that use the physical properties of the radio channel to increase security and authenticity. In addition, they are developing methods that transmit data only when clinically relevant changes occur – saving energy and shortening response times. The result is a sustainable, resilient network infrastructure that is also equipped for future 5G and 6G systems.

The connected patient: Digital twins for personalised medicine

With the concept of the connected patient, ����ֱ�� is researching the next stage of digital healthcare. The goal is to develop medical digital twins – virtual representations of patients that are continuously fed with real-time data from wearable sensors and other sources. These digital counterparts enable doctors to monitor health status more precisely, detect changes at an early stage and tailor treatments to individual patients.

The central components here are intelligent, body-worn sensor systems and the integration of AI processes directly on the end devices – an approach that will be made possible by future 6G mobile networks. The network topology, which determines how the data flow is organised, corresponds to a ring layout: “In this setup, the sensors are connected in a closed loop, which enables efficient and reliable data transmission. Each sensor communicates directly with its neighbour, ensuring low latency and high fault tolerance,” says Jan Herbst, who is part of the research team.

In this way, ����ֱ�� is creating the technical infrastructure for medicine that not only reacts but also acts proactively and predictively.

Contribution to the 6G Platform Germany

Both research projects are carried out under the umbrella of the 6G Platform Germany, which is coordinated by Professor Hans D. Schotten, Head of the Chair for Radio Communication and Navigation at ����ֱ�� and Scientific Director at DFKI. The goal of the project is both to make scientific contributions to the conceptual design of 6G and to ensure the scientific and organisational support of the processes necessary for the successful implementation of the German-European 6G programme.

Study while working: Master of Science in Sports and Health Technology

In addition to the research projects mentioned above, ����ֱ�� is also presenting a forward-looking distance learning programme at MEDICA. The part-time master’s programme “Sports and Health Technology” combines content from sports science, health and computer science and is aimed at professionals who want to work at the interface between technology and healthcare.

“The interdisciplinary focus of the continuing education programme enables professionals to bridge different fields, develop innovative solutions and thus prepare them for the digital future,” explains programme manager and sports scientist Dr Eva Bartaguiz. Throughout their studies, distance learners engage with topics such as data processing, artificial intelligence, human–machine interaction, biomechanics, sports medicine, statistics and project management. They also learn how to conduct testing procedures and develop data-based training and therapy recommendations – all with an emphasis on practical applications, in particular the use of sensor-supported training equipment and diagnostic procedures.

The programme is designed to be completed alongside work, largely independent of location and time. The learning units can thus be flexibly integrated into everyday life.

Outlook

With its contributions at MEDICA 2025, ����ֱ�� is demonstrating how technological innovation and academic continuing education go hand in hand – for a data-secure, more resilient and patient-oriented future in healthcare.

Press contact:

Klaus Dosch
Department of Technology, Innovation, and Sustainability
E: klaus.dosch(at)rptu.de
T: +49 (0)631 205-3001

PROGRAMME
Venture Dates on 4 November 2025 at the ����ֱ�� Landau Campus, Fortstraße 7 (Conference Room and Atrium)

12:00     Speed-Dating-Format: Startups meet investors (private event)

16:15      Public Venture Dates: Pitches of the top three startups, talks, networking, and more

18:30    Networking and closing reception
 

Members of the media are warmly invited to attend the Venture Dates. Please register by emailing kerstin.theilmann@rptu.de.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Dennis Steininger
����ֱ�� University Kaiserslautern-Landau
Chair of Entrepreneurship
T: 0631 205 2870
E: dennis.steininger[at]rptu.de

Press contact:
Kerstin Theilmann
Tel.: 06341 280-32219
E-Mail: kerstin.theilmann[at]rptu.de

For many years, the Deponte group has compared and characterized redox enzymes, including peroxidases, which enzymatically detoxify hydrogen peroxide or convert it into a signaling molecule. These enzymes require electrons, which they transfer from a reducing agent to hydrogen peroxide. Since 1998, one of the longstanding questions in the field has been which reducing agent peroxiredoxin 6-type peroxidases utilize.

During his PhD research in the Deponte lab, Lukas Lang showed that peroxiredoxin 6-type enzymes, unlike related peroxidases, do not react with common physiological reducing agents (published in 2023 in the journal ACS Catalysis). "The idea of testing hydrogen sulfide or sulfides, which are found in all living organisms, as reducing agents gained momentum when, in 2024, two other research groups independently discovered that peroxiredoxin 6-type peroxidases can react with hydrogen selenide," explains the biochemist from Kaiserslautern. 

Peroxide metabolism meets sulfide metabolism

Hydrogen selenide and hydrogen sulfide share similar chemical properties. However, not all organisms with this widespread peroxidase type have a selenium metabolism, whereas all living organisms have a sulfide metabolism. Hydrogen sulfide is not only a smelly and potentially toxic gas. It also serves as a signaling molecule and occurs in its deprotonated form as sulfide in, for example, iron-sulfur clusters of enzymes. Laura Leiskau and Lukas Lang, first authors of the study, therefore investigated, initially out of pure curiosity, whether peroxiredoxin 6-type enzymes react with hydrogen sulfide. 

"Our research showed that peroxiredoxin 6-type peroxidases in humans and the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum react extremely rapidly with hydrosulfide, the anion of hydrogen sulfide. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is reduced to water and hydrogen disulfide is formed as a potential source of persulfides. The latter are currently thought to have a protective function. Furthermore, we gained first insights into the intermediates of the unusual catalytic cycle of these enzymes," concludes doctoral student Laura Leiskau.

The Kaiserslautern working group has thus succeeded in demonstrating a possible novel enzymatic link between peroxide and sulfide metabolism, thereby contributing to a better understanding of persulfide biochemistry.

Enzymes from two model organisms deliver comparable results

To measure the rapid enzymatic reactions directly, Laura Leiskau used the so-called stopped-flow method for her research. In this method, the reaction partners, in this case the enzyme and its substrate, are mixed very quickly inside a spectrometer. If the different states of the enzyme under investigation have different fluorescence properties, possible changes during catalysis can be tracked in the range of thousandths of a second using a fluorescence detector. 

Commercial peroxide solutions and corresponding sulfide salts of high purity served as sources of hydrogen peroxide and hydrosulfide. The required amounts of peroxiredoxin 6-type enzymes from human and the malaria parasite were recombinantly produced in harmless strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli and subsequently purified. "Humans and malaria parasites are evolutionarily unrelated and belong to completely different groups of eukaryotes. Since the results were highly comparable, we assume that hydrosulfide also reacts very quickly with other peroxiredoxin 6-type peroxidases," explains Marcel Deponte.

The project was funded by the DFG (DE 1431/19-1 project number 508372800). Laura Leiskau, Lea Bambach, and Marcel Deponte are members of the Graduate School 2737 .

The current study:

Lukas Lang, Laura Leiskau, Lea Bambach, Marcel Deponte (2025): H₂S Is a Potential Universal Reducing Agent for Prx6-Type Peroxiredoxins; Advanced Science,

The groundbreaking study by the working group mentioned in the text:

Lang L, Wolf AC, Riedel M, Thibol L, Geissel F, Feld K, Zimmermann J, Morgan B, Manolikakes G, and Deponte M. (2023) Substrate promiscuity and hyperoxidation susceptibility as potential driving forces for the co-evolution of Prx5-type and Prx6-type 1-Cys peroxiredoxin mechanisms. ACS Catalysis 13:3627-43. 

Contact scientific staff:

Marcel Deponte
Comparative biochemistry

T: +49 631 205-3421
E: deponte[at]rptu.de

Contact Press Matters:

Julia Reichelt
Phone: +49 631 205-5784
E-Mail: presse[at]rptu.de

Computer chips, imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging, laser printers, transistors, and navigation systems: many milestones in our modern everyday world would not have been possible without the discoveries of quantum physics. What is remarkable is that it was only about a hundred years ago that physicists discovered that the world at the smallest scales cannot be explained by the laws of classical physics. Atoms and their components, protons, neutrons, and electrons – but also light particles – sometimes exhibit physical behaviors that are unknown in the macroscopic world. To this day, the quantum world therefore holds unclear and surprising phenomena that – once understood and controllable – could revolutionize future technologies.

Researchers at ����ֱ�� are at the forefront when it comes to expanding this fundamental knowledge in the field of quantum physics. Among other things, they are working on the question of how individual atoms can be controlled in a targeted manner. To do this, they use ultracold gases, among other things, to study atoms and their quantum mechanical behavior.

In a recent study, the researchers discovered how the interactions between atoms in an ultracold gas can be precisely controlled by “driving” them periodically over time. Professor Artur Widera, who researches and teaches quantum physics at ����ֱ��, explains: “Normally, so-called Feshbach scattering resonances are used in such systems.” This means that an external magnetic field can cause the atoms to interact in ways ranging from barely measurable to extremely strong attraction or repulsion.

What is new about the approach taken by the ����ֱ�� researchers is that they use a temporally oscillating magnetic field to generate additional Floquet scattering resonances. These Floquet scattering resonances occur in addition to Feshbach scattering resonances, but their properties can be controlled over a very wide range by the strength and frequency of the magnetic field oscillation used. This means that the interaction of quantum mechanical systems can now be adjusted in situations where the experiment was previously fixed at a single value.

Another recently published paper provides the corresponding theoretical foundation: In it, the ����ֱ�� researchers prove that the observed resonances are based on dynamically generated bound states. “These states exist only thanks to temporal modulation and can dramatically change the scattering behavior of the atoms,” says Professor Sebastian Eggert, who researches and teaches the fundamentals of solid-state and many-body systems at ����ֱ��.

Tailoring resonances and interactions

In summary, both experimental and theoretical work show that resonances and interactions can be tailored using the new tool. Artur Widera: “We can control quantum gases in experiments to achieve previously unattainable states. And we can do this for as long as we want.” Researchers can now specifically control whether particles repel each other or not: “At the push of a button, our neutral particles can suddenly interact in a completely different way; if they had a charge, we could adjust the charge continuously, so to speak. Matter suddenly takes on different interaction properties. With the new tool, all this is possible”, emphasizes Widera.

The new development opens numerous perspectives for quantum physics – both in terms of basic research and with a view to possible applications: Not only could exotic states of matter that we do not yet know about be explored in this way, for example. Solid-state systems can be simulated, and states of matter can be changed in a simulation at the touch of a button. This tool could also open completely new perspectives in the development of new materials.

Current studies:

Understanding Floquet Resonances in Ultracold Quantum Gas Scattering, July 2025, Physical Review Letters 135(3):033402, DOI:10.1103/47xs-223h

Floquet engineering of Feshbach resonances in ultracold gases, October 2025, Science Advances 11(40), DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adw3856

Scientific contacts:

Prof. Dr. Artur Widera

Individual Quantum Systems

Department of Physics

Email: widera[at]physik.uni-kl.de

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Eggert

Fundamentals of Solid State and Many-Body Systems

Department of Physics

Email: eggert[at]physik.uni-kl.de

Contact Press Matters:

Christine Pauli

E-Mail: presse[at]rptu.de

Chemicals are used for a wide variety of purposes today, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, intermediates in industrial production, chemicals in consumer products, and plastic additives. For their study, the scientists compiled knowledge on all these groups of substances and identified the main problem areas in terms of human health and the environment. "Pesticides are characterized by very high toxicity. This makes it necessary to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the active ingredients and concentrations that actually remain in the environment. We now know that, for example, many pesticides are found in water bodies at concentrations that exceed the levels considered safe for ecosystems," explains environmental scientist Ralf Schulz from Landau, one of the two authors of the study.

PFAS are increasingly accumulating in the environment
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are generally less toxic. However, it is their extremely long half-lives that are problematic – some of these substances do not degrade in the environment even over decades. As a result, more and more PFAS are present and, over time, accumulate to such an extent that they reach alarming concentrations. The introduction of PFAS in the 1950s was actually intended to replace another problematic group of chemicals. Today, we know that PFAS can cause a variety of health problems in humans. In many cases, their use could be eliminated entirely, or the desired effects of PFAS could be replaced by alternative, less problematic chemicals. 

Complex challenges with global implications

“The biggest challenge we face is the increasing number of chemicals and the associated difficulty of adequately assessing their risks,” says Ralf Schulz, describing the complex situation. The researchers therefore propose a transition aimed at reducing the number of chemicals produced and used in order to ensure regulatory control over their potential impact on humans and the environment. Substances that are both persistent and toxic should be restricted as a matter of principle. However, exceptions would be made for a few applications, such as PFAS in certain medical devices, for which there is currently no adequate alternative. In addition, the necessary innovations in the chemical industry require political impetus to create the appropriate framework conditions. Last but not least, it is essential to focus on and assess chemical pollution, similar to climate change, at a global level and through international organizations, as it is a global environmental change phenomenon.

The study:

Scheringer, M., Schulz, R. (2025) The State of the World’s Chemical Pollution. Annual Reviews of Environment and Resources 50, 381-408,

Contact scientific staff:

Prof. Dr. Ralf Schulz
iES Landau, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften
Phone: +49 6341 280-31327
E-Mail: r.schulz[at]rptu.de

Contact Press Matters:

Julia Reichelt
Phone: +49 631 205-5784
E-Mail: presse[at]rptu.de

Every healthy human cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, which must be duplicated and distributed evenly between two daughter cells during a process known as cell division. However, if something goes wrong, one daughter cell receives an extra chromosome, while the other daughter cell is missing a chromosome. This condition of an unbalanced chromosome count is called aneuploidy and is particularly common in cancer cells and in cells from patients with Down syndrome. 

"Even a single extra chromosome causes many problems for the cell. These include the production of unnecessary proteins from the extra chromosomes, which disrupt the cell's mechanism for maintaining a healthy protein balance. However, it is not yet clear how all this manifests itself at the molecular level," explains Professor Zuzana Storchová from the Department of Molecular Genetics at ����ֱ��. 

In a recent study, researchers led by Prof. Dr. Zuzana Storchová, head of the Department of Molecular Genetics, and Dr. Prince Saforo Amponsah have deciphered the associated processes in cell lines in more detail. Cell lines derived from the nearly diploid colorectal cancer cell line HCT116 were modified in the laboratory to have one or two additional copies of chromosomes. The researchers were able to show that cells with additional chromosomes accumulate membrane-less structures called protein aggregates in their cytoplasm. These protein aggregates mainly contain a protein called sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1, also known as p62) – a known receptor that has already been identified in the recycling of proteins and damaged cell organelles. “We observed that the concentration of this protein was higher in cells with extra chromosomes and that the amount increased with the size of the extra chromosome”, says Prince Saforo Amponsah.

The researchers also found that cells with extra chromosomes have altered mitochondrial structure and function. The reason: mitochondrial precursor proteins are sequestered in p62-positive aggregates, i.e., “confiscated” by them, so to speak, which in turn impairs their passage into the mitochondria. Since extra chromosomes are common in cancer, trisomy syndromes, and various other pathological conditions such as aging, our cell lines represent a physiologically relevant model system for investigating the effects of proteome imbalance in human cells," says Zuzana Storchová, describing the unique features of their research. “Our research reveals a previously unknown link between genomic abnormalities, proteotoxic stress, and mitochondrial homeostasis.” 

The conclusion: Although cancer cells have chromosomal abnormalities and exhibit proteome imbalance, they are interestingly able to tolerate proteotoxic stress that is often harmful to normal cells. “Our findings now suggest that cancer cells may alter their mitochondrial metabolism to achieve this,” says Prince Saforo Amponsah. This characteristic could contribute to increased drug resistance in aneuploid cancers. Prince Saforo Amponsah: “In the long term, we hope that our research will shed more light on this aspect and contribute to new therapeutic strategies for improving the health of cancer patients.” 

The research project “Mitochondrial adaptation to imbalanced nuclear and mitochondrial genome copy numbers” is part of the STRESSistance graduate school program RTG 2737 at ����ֱ�� from the German Research Foundation (project led by Zuzana Storchová). In addition, this project was supported by the Rhineland-Palatinate BioComp research initiative Dynamic Membrane Processes in Biological Systems (project led by Zuzana Storchová). First author and project leader Prince Saforo Amponsah was funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG), the so-called Walter Benjamin Program, as well as by research funds from the TU Nachwuchsring and the Joachim Herz Foundation. The project is a collaboration between research groups in Kaiserslautern and Munich: Involved are the groups Molecular Genetics (����ֱ��, led by Prof. Dr. Zuzana Storchová); Cell Biology (����ֱ��, led by Prof. Dr. Johannes M. Herrmann); and Systems Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases (LMU-München led by Prof. Dr. Christian Behrends).

About the study: 

Amponsah, P.S., Bökenkamp, JE., Kurpa, O. et al. Aneuploidy-induced proteostasis disruption impairs mitochondrial functions and mediates aggregation of mitochondrial precursor proteins through SQSTM1/p62. Nat Commun 16, 5328 (2025).

Scientific contacts: 

Prof. Dr. Zuzana Storchová
Department of Molecular Genetics
Faculty of Biology, ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern

T +49 (0) 631 205 3250
E zuzana.storchova@rptu.de 

Dr. Prince Saforo Amponsah
Department of Molecular Genetics
Faculty of Biology, ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern

T +49 (0) 631 205 4385
E amponsah@rptu.de 

“We analyzed a very extensive US database for the presence of chemicals in the US surface waters and compared it with the toxicity data of these chemicals for aquatic organisms, such as plants, insects or fish”, says Ralf Schulz, environmental scientist from Landau and senior author of the article. “This way, we could assess how the dataset reflects chemical risks of the last six decades.” 

According to the article, the major problem for comprehensive risk evaluations today is the insufficient chemical coverage of monitoring. Only less than 1% of the 300,000 chemicals, which the US Environmental Protection Agency lists as potentially environmentally relevant, has been in fact monitored.

 The article reveals interesting patterns by linking 64 million monitoring records for 1,900 chemicals, 300,000 sites and the time span from 1958 to 2019 with toxicity thresholds indicating risks for aquatic organisms. For example, it shows increased numbers of threshold exceedances throughout the US in 1970s for a relatively small number of chemicals, including heavy metals, such as copper, lead and zinc. But it also shows that the subsequent measures for emission control led to a decline of threshold exceedances of these inorganic chemicals.

In the 2000s, another peak of threshold exceedances can be observed, but this time spread out over a much larger number of mainly organic chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals and pesticides. The number of the exceedances has dropped since then, too. However, because the monitoring of these chemicals was stopped, it is not possible to state whether the environmental risks of these chemicals decreased as well. “If you stop monitoring a problematic chemical, you lose the capability to track its actual presence in the environment. Without the monitoring information, it becomes very hard to understand how potential risks are developing”, comments Sascha Bub, environmental scientist and lead author of the article.

The article also presents the evaluation of 37 million records of analytical limits from the US database. Analytical limits describe the lowest concentration at which a chemical can be found in the environment. For inorganic and most organic chemicals, the analytical limits are low enough to detect them at all concentrations that affect aquatic organisms. However, for some pesticides, and especially some insecticides, typical analytical limits are not sufficient to cover all concentrations that are associated with risks, because their analytical limits are close to their toxicity thresholds. As a result, some concentration ranges that are associated with risks for aquatic organisms cannot be captured, and potential effects on the ecosystem remain undetected. One group of insecticides, pyrethroids, which play an important role in today’s agricultural practice and belong to the most toxic chemicals for aquatic organisms, has conspicuous analytical limits that are almost entirely above the toxicity thresholds. The actual environmental risk of pyrethroids can, therefore, only be assessed to a very limited extent.

According to the authors of the article, their results can presumably be transferred to many other regions of the world. However, the data for the conduction of similar analyses is most often missing. Sascha Bub emphasizes: “Our results illustrate the importance of analyzing the environmental data on large temporal and spatial scales. We need such analyses to be able to guide the monitoring and assessment of the rapidly increasing number of chemicals in use.”

Special Notes to Reporters: 
More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science press package at .

The study:
Bub, S., Petschick, L.L., Stehle, S., Wolfram, J., Schulz, R. (2025): Limitations of chemical monitoring hinder aquatic risk evaluations on the macroscale. Science,

Contact scientific staff:
Ralf Schulz, Prof. Dr. 
iES Landau, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften
Tel.: +49 6341 280-31327
E-Mail: r.schulz[at]rptu.de

Contact Press Matters:
Kerstin Theilmann
Tel.: +49 6341 280-32219
E-Mail: kerstin.theilmann[at]rptu.de

Quantum effects such as entanglement, interference, and quantum statistics could make machines more efficient or powerful. “However, the special laws of quantum physics can also hinder the performance of machines,” says Professor Artur Widera, who heads the Individual Quantum Systems department at the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��). He will now receive €2.5 million in funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for five years for his research work as part of an ERC Advanced Grant. The funding line is aimed at established top researchers with an outstanding track record who want to open up new areas of research.

“We want to find out how quantum properties change the performance of microscopic machines, or more precisely, what the properties of microscopic machines in the quantum world look like and how they can be described,” says Widera, describing the research projects that will be funded. In addition, he and his team want to understand the fundamental mechanisms for the operation of machines from a technological perspective and tailor them to experimental implementations. “And we want to build machines, both single-atom machines and multi-particle machines, that operate according to the laws of quantum physics and both generate work and run autonomously.”

Operation of a single-atom machine demonstrated

In recent years, Artur Widera has been able to realize fundamental quantum mechanisms for the operation of such machines: “A classical machine works, for example, by periodically heating and cooling the working medium, such as fuel. We were able to replace this classical mechanism with fundamentally quantum mechanical mechanisms.”
Widera and his team have already been able to operate a single-atom machine in which the fuel is not in the form of thermal energy but in the form of spin polarization of a quantum bath. Widera and his team use ultra-cold atoms, which make it possible to control both individual atoms and quantum many-body systems very well.

In such systems, a machine can be operated by changing the volume of the container (the cylinder in a classic motor) for the working medium (a quantum gas or single atom) and periodically applying energy changes, as in a classic motor. “To study quantum effects, the bath can be prepared in a wide variety of quantum mechanical states and their influence on the performance of such a motor can be investigated.” In order to extract work from the machine, the excitation energy must be converted from atomic form into photonic and then into mechanical forms. “To ultimately ensure autonomous operation, feedback mechanisms must be developed and incorporated, but these must not destroy the actual quantum state.”

Fascinated by quantum systems

Widera describes the research project as virtually compelling. This is because increasing miniaturization—just think of computers, which are getting smaller and smaller—inevitably raises the question of “what the smallest machine can look like, what the absolute limit of efficiency is,” and whether quantum effects can be used to build a better machine.
How will this field of research develop over the next 5-10 years? Researchers may succeed in “activating” quantum matter, opening up new ways in which quantum materials can self-organize or take on new phases of matter. As a non-physicist, one could imagine this as similar to a flock of birds: quantum particles that gather and move in the same direction. Artur Widera: “The vision is to build independently operating quantum motors whose special properties and applications we want to explore.” The physicist, who has been a professor in Kaiserslautern since 2010, is more than enthusiastic about his field of research: “Seeing the behavior of quantum systems still fascinates me completely.”
 

Questions answered by:
Prof. Dr. Artur Widera
T +49 631 205-4130
E widera@rptu.de

����ֱ�� contact:
Julia Reichelt
T 0631 205-5784
E julia.reichelt@rptu.de

A crane truck that independently picks up tree trunks. A semi-autonomous excavator that excavates a pit as if by magic. A drilling crawler operating on a steep slope that sets anchor points for slope stabilization without human intervention. A Unimog that paves its way through difficult terrain. A rescue robot that autonomously surveys the situation and locates victims in disaster areas. These are just five examples of developments that Professor Karsten Berns' research group at the Robotics Research Laboratory is working on. Mowing vehicles and agricultural machines are also part of the research objects.

Machines or vehicles like these are usually highly specialized and complex to operate. Systems that automate individual processes or the entire machine can provide support. "Automation or partial automation has the potential to relieve humans in tasks that require continuous high concentration and specialized know-how," explains Karsten Berns . "Additionally, autonomous machines could be an answer to the growing shortage of skilled workers."

What do autonomous vehicles have that others do not? Thanks to methods for environmental sensing, adaptive control architectures, and human-robot interaction approaches, they can independently perform a wide range of tasks. They are equipped with camera and sensor systems as well as powerful computing capabilities. “Stereo cameras and laser technology enable transport and work machines to recognize and capture their environment,” says Sascha Steffens. “Artificial intelligence, specifically deep learning methods, are used to classify the flood of measurements and help with their organization.”

Bringing expertise for sustainable AI innovations into businesses

Artificial intelligence also holds enormous potential in production. The necessary expertise is what the Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Production Systems at ����ֱ��, the Fraunhofer Institutes for Experimental Software Engineering IESE and for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) aim to bring to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Rhineland-Palatinate. Their project “KI4KMU-RLP,” funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture, and Viticulture of Rhineland-Palatinate, thus bridges the gap between research and industry. “The key issue is that SME often encounter difficulties when applying the latest AI technologies and therefore hesitate”, explains Marco Hussong, a scientific staff member at the FBK chair.

The research team’s offer: Manufacturing SMEs can now apply until June 15, 2025, to participate in an AI potential analysis, followed by the implementation of selected use cases. Each company will be supported by one of the four research partners all the way to the implementation of a demonstrator.

Marco Hussong is the contact person for interested companies: “Many companies already possess extensive digitally available production-related data, which can serve as a valuable foundation for the application of AI. These are exactly the types of SME we are looking for to participate in the research project.” Further criteria for participation include that the company is located in Rhineland-Palatinate.

6G Platform brings together research activities

In order to bring 6G technologies into application, various universities and research institutions in Germany are working closely together. They are researching topics such as 6G standards and processes, data security, highly reliable data transmission, network availability and new computer networks, for example. All of these efforts are anchored in a 6G platform coordinated at ����ֱ�� by Professor Hans Dieter Schotten and his team.

With the help of 6G technology, biosensors in personalized medicine, personal avatars for road traffic safety, or support in the workplace could be possible in the future. 6G will also likely play a key role in achieving climate goals.

“To bring together 6G research more effectively, we are working closely together within the platform,” says coordinator Professor Hans Dieter Schotten, who heads the Institute of Radio Communication and Navigation at ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Intelligent Networks research department at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Among other things, this involves ensuring that the technology works securely and reliably. Energy efficiency and sustainability are also key considerations in this context.

At the Hanover Fair, the 6G platform will present its research projects at two joint booths, alongside the newly established “Start-Up Incubators,” with their respective funded start-ups. One of the incubators, “Start.Smart.Connect Kaiserslautern” (SSC KL), is based at ����ֱ��.

How 6G can revolutionize preventive healthcare

The upcoming mobile communication standard 6G gives the potential to drive digitalization in healthcare. The aggregation of data from wearable sensors could help render preventive healthcare measures more efficient. What infrastructure is needed for this is being explored by researchers at ����ֱ�� and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).

At the core of this research is the human health: “With rapid advancements, especially in human-machine communication, the 6G technology opens up numerous groundbreaking applications in medicine,” explains Jan Herbst, member of the research team. “Focusing on effective preventive healthcare, we aim to enable doctors to monitor their patients’ health more efficiently and detect critical conditions and risks at an early stage.”

The researchers are developing a demonstrator integrating sensors, such as those used in fitness trackers, using mobile communications and proposing a unified communication standard, making biomedical data accessible. Additionally, they are providing the network protocol that serves as the foundation for data exchange and aggregation across all system units. The goal is to create a comprehensive, personalized picture of an individual’s health status.

The demonstrator is being developed within the Open6GHub and 6G Health research projects. The Open6GHub, coordinated by Professor Hans Dieter Schotten, who geads the Institute of Radio Communication and Navigation at ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Intelligent Networks research department at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). In addition to ����ֱ�� and DFKI, other universities and research institutes are involved.

Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz acts as a bridge-builder
The knowledge gained from research should not remain in a drawer. That’s why Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz, as part of the federal-state initiative “Innovative Hochschule,” strengthens the regional exchange of knowledge, ideas, and technologies with business and society. The alliance includes ����ֱ��, the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM), and the Leibniz Institute for Composite Materials Kaiserslautern (IVW). 

Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz is advancing the regional innovation system, particularly in the context of digitalization. Among the future topics the alliance partners are pushing forward are work, collaborative digital engineering, health, citizen science, and creativity.

Offene Digitalisierungsallianz Pfalz sees itself as an interface between science, business, and society. “We create platforms to bring knowledge, ideas, and technologies from research into business and society. In return, we gather current needs from business and society to expand our transfer offerings,” explains Transfer Manager Chantal Momber, describing the goals of the collaborative project.

Transfer offerings include events, with a focus on participatory formats. A recent example is the citizen science project “BewegungsForscher,” in which citizens, together with researchers from ����ֱ�� and IVW, are developing a novel foot drop orthosis. This is a medical aid that helps lift the foot and stabilizes the walking gait.

--

Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology and Innovation, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science. Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: Dosch(at)]rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

People often belong to more than one group about which there are clichés, so-called negative stereotypes. The associated prejudice is relevant in the labour market, for example: not getting the job because you are a woman, have a certain sexual orientation or come from a migrant family is precisely the suspicion that plagues many applicants when they are not considered for a job or promotion. Two studies conducted by a team led by social psychologist Melanie Steffens at ����ֱ�� investigated whether extraneous reasons such as group affiliation are taken into account when assessing a person in a professional context, or whether professional qualifications alone are decisive when filling a position. The experiments were funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

For a recent publication in "Collabra: Psychology", 212 study participants evaluated fictitious job applications from female surgeons. The study participants were randomly selected individuals - with and without management experience - and asked to decide which of the women they would hire and which they would not. The female applicants to be judged had light or dark skin, as shown in an application photo. They were in a relationship with a man or a woman, as indicated by additional information in the application documents. In addition, they described themselves in the application with four traits that were either exclusively competence-related or additionally warmth-related. Competency or action-oriented traits - which, according to numerous studies, the vast majority of people in Western cultures consider to be traditionally masculine - include, for example, assertiveness, dominance or ambition. Warmth-related or relationship-oriented traits - which research has shown to be considered traditionally feminine by the vast majority of people in Western cultures - include traits such as team orientation, helpfulness and empathy.

High qualifications outweigh negative stereotypes

"To our surprise, we found no evidence of discrimination in the study of female surgeons," says Steffens, summarising the results. Apparently, applying for a leadership position as a female surgeon is enough to overcome negative stereotypes. All women were judged positively, regardless of their social group or the characteristics they attributed to themselves. What was unique about the study was that the researchers had a large sample of different applications assessed. Each participant was asked to rate 32 applications. In most traditional studies with a similar research question, however, participants only rate one application. According to the researcher, discrimination may have been overestimated because it could be greater in individual cases than on average. 

In an earlier study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 746 participants were asked to rate female job applicants with German and Turkish names. They were given either only positive information about the applicants or information that indicated a job-related weakness. According to the research, the majority of people in Western cultures classify this weakness as either "traditionally masculine" or "traditionally feminine". Melanie Steffens: "Traditionally masculine was, for example, that female candidates in a previous project had made decisions without consulting the team.” In other words, they behaved in a power-oriented way. On the other hand, it was a traditionally feminine weakness if a female candidate did not dare to express her opinion in team meetings. The participants in the study were then asked to decide which of four women (with a German or Turkish name, each with a positive assessment, and with a German or Turkish name with a weakness) they would exclude from a fictitious team and which they would promote.

The result: German and Turkish women were equally likely to be promoted if no weaknesses were mentioned – Turkish women even tended to be promoted a bit more. However, a typically feminine weakness led to the Turkish woman being excluded more often than the German woman. "Our interpretation is that a negative female stereotype is more easily activated for Turkish women than for Germans". The opposite result occurred for typically masculine weaknesses: here the German woman was excluded more often than the Turkish woman. Apparently, Turkish women are more allowed than German women to transgress prescribed stereotypes for 'career women'.

Even small amounts of additional information can activate stereotypes

Melanie Steffens concludes: "Excellent qualifications are a good prerequisite for being judged fairly. However, even small amounts of additional information can activate stereotypes and patterns of discrimination". If someone belongs to several groups at the same time (Turkish-female, female-Black-lesbian), this can have complex effects that are difficult to predict in everyday life. The findings are not only important for working people: "Similar processes can also be expected when applying for university places or internships." The social psychologist recommends to counteract discrimination in the world of work, applicants should focus on their good qualifications; those making the decision should ignore social group affiliations as much as possible and be aware that humans tend to weight information differently depending on the person.

The studies:

Ball, E., Niedlich, C., & Steffens, M. C. (2024). Whose misbehavior is inexcusable – and which one? Job-related discrimination against ethnic minority and majority women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology (advance online publication). 

Ball, E., Pylypiw, P., Prestele, E., & Steffens, M. C. How do intersections of sexual orientation and race affect impressions of women in a counter-stereotypical job context? A comprehensive test manipulating individuating competence information. Collabra: Psychology. 

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Melanie Steffens
Tel.: +49 6341 280-31214
E-Mail: melanie.steffens[at]rptu.de

Press Contact:
Kerstin Theilmann
Tel.: +49 6341 280-32219
E-Mail: kerstin.theilmann[at]rptu.de

The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, covers the Upper Rhine Valley in Germany. The area, which extends for about 300 kilometers between Bingen and Basel, is a traditional agricultural landscape where, in addition to cereals, also vegetables, wine and fruit are grown due to favourable climatic conditions. Since the 1970s, synthetic chemical pesticides have been used extensively in conventional agriculture to control pests, weeds and fungal diseases. This often involves combining different active ingredients and multiple applications per year. As a consequence of these large-scale applications, so-called non-target areas – i.e. areas that are not directly sprayed, such as adjacent hedges, field margins, meadows or dry grasslands – are increasingly suffering from chronic pesticide contamination.

Environmental sampling over a 180-kilometer stretch

The research team carried out extensive sampling during the spraying season in June and July 2022: Along six 30-kilometer-long transects – defined measurement paths that ran from remote areas in the mountain ranges of the Palatinate Forest and the Black Forest to the Upper Rhine Valley – topsoil, vegetation, streams and puddles were sampled at 78 locations. The systematic recording and presentation of pesticides on such a large scale is a new approach developed at the Institute for Environmental Sciences in Landau. With the help of state-of-the-art analytical techniques that can detect even low concentrations, the study included 93 common pesticides.

Contamination from the lowlands to the highlands

The research team detected a total of 63 pesticides, and almost all of the measurement sites were contaminated. Residues were found in 97 percent of the soil and vegetation samples, often in complex mixtures of several active ingredients. According to the researchers, it is particularly worrying that even remote areas are not free of pesticides. The active ingredients were also detected several hundred meters from agricultural land. On average, five pesticides were measured in topsoil, with individual samples showing up to 26 different active ingredients. On average, the vegetation was contaminated with six pesticides, and in some cases with as many as 21 substances. “Our results are clear: pesticides spread far beyond fields. This is more than just an agricultural problem – it is a reality that affects us all. We can encounter pesticides while taking a walk, in playgrounds or in our own gardens,” explains Ken Mauser, lead author of the study. People at particular risk include those with direct contact with pesticides, such as farmers themselves, as well as sensitive groups such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. Just recently, “parkinsons caused by pesticides” was recognized as an occupational disease in viticulture in Germany. One of the most frequently found pesticides was the fungicide fluopyram, which was detected in over 90 percent of all samples. Fluopyram is classified as a PFAS, a so-called “forever chemical”, and the breakdown products can contaminate groundwater. According to the environmental scientists, the widespread distribution of the fungicide in the landscape seems extremely worrying due to its potential contamination of drinking water resources.

“Cocktail effect” danger from pesticide mixtures

The study shows that pesticides were often not found individually but rather as mixtures of multiple pesticides. A total of 140 different combinations of at least two active ingredients were detected. “Pesticide cocktails are particularly problematic because interactions can occur and effects can be amplified. In the current authorization procedure, each pesticide is assessed individually. This is not enough to grasp the complex risks of the realistic exposure to mixtures,” emphasizes ecotoxicologist Carsten Brühl. ”Colleagues from Heidelberg were able to show that pesticide mixtures in similar concentrations to those detected in this study reduce the egg laying of insects by over 50 percent in the laboratory. It can therefore be assumed that these mixtures definitely have an impact on the environment, especially if they are also present chronically, i.e. throughout the year, as we were able to show in another study."

Landscape modeling – pesticide dispersal and protected areas

A key component of the study was the modeling of pesticide contamination in the landscape. Using detailed geostatistical analyses, the researchers predicted the distribution of pesticide residues throughout the study area. The prediction maps show that the contamination extends beyond the sprayed areas and that even remote areas are not protected from pesticide contamination. According to the model, intensively used wine-growing regions such as the Southern Palatinate and the Kaiserstuhl are contaminated by 10 to 20 pesticides in the soil and vegetation. The areas outside the agricultural area, such as flower strips, hedges, adjacent grassland, but also designated nature reserves or national parks, are considered to be refuges for protected animal and plant species. However, the study shows that such areas in the agricultural landscape and even the remote mountain range of the Black Forest National Park or the Palatinate Forest-North Vosges UNESCO Biosphere Reserve are contaminated. A total of four different pesticides were detected in the Black Forest National Park, and three substances were also found on the Feldberg (1,494 meters a.s.l.). In their modeling, the researchers also made calculations for the “Kleine Kalmit”, a nature conservation area near Landau in the Palatinate. Up to 15 different pesticides were predicted in the soil and vegetation – a finding that was confirmed by measurements of a previous study. Pesticide contamination thus not only endangers protected species, but also undermines efforts to protect biodiversity. “Protected areas near conventional agriculture show increased pesticide contamination. Sustainable and pesticide-free managed fields in adjacent areas could serve as a buffer zone and help to reduce the pesticide contamination of the reserves,” explains Ken Mauser.

Pesticide reduction urgently needed

The study shows that pesticides do not only remain on agricultural land, but contaminate the entire landscape. In particular, the “cocktail effect” and the contamination of protected areas are worrying, according to the researchers. In view of their findings, the scientists call for a strict reduction in pesticide use to protect people and the environment, as well as monitoring of pesticide contamination in landscapes. This is also in line with the goals of the COP 15 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, which aims to halve global pesticide use by 2030. “Our approach of using landscape modeling to assess pesticide pollution can serve as a basis for future evaluations of the reduction efforts,” notes Carsten Brühl.

In addition, large-scale pilot projects are needed to create pesticide-free cultural landscapes on a scale of 10 x 10 kilometers. According to the researchers, this is the only way to truly measure the positive effects of sustainable farming systems on biodiversity. Currently, pesticide-free agriculture, even when established in small areas, has no chance of realizing its potential in a landscape contaminated by pesticides. “Now it is up to politicians to develop and promote large-scale and effective pesticide-free approaches and to resolutely push ahead with the transformation to sustainable agriculture”.

The study:
Ken M. Mauser, Jakob Wolfram, Jürg Spaak, Carolina Honert & Carsten A. Brühl 2025 Current-use pesticides in vegetation, topsoil and water reveal contaminated landscapes of the Upper Rhine Valley, Germany. Communications Earth & Environment. 

Further study mentioned in the press release:
Carolina Honert, Ken Mauser, Ursel Jäger, Carsten A. Brühl. 2025. Exposure of insects to current use pesticide residues in soil and vegetation along spatial and temporal distribution in agricultural sites. Scientific Reports.

Technical contact: 
iES Landau, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften Landau

Prof. Dr. Carsten A. Brühl
+ 49 (0)6341 280-31310
carsten.bruehl[at]rptu.de

Ken Mauser
+ 49 (0)6341 280-31855
ken.mauser[at]rptu.de

Press contact:
Kerstin Theilmann
+49 6341 280-32219
kerstin.theilmann[at]rptu.de

For two decades, the issue of gender (in)equality has been receiving increasing attention – both in academic circles and in public initiatives. “Often, attempts are made to make women ‘fit’ for the professional world,” explains Anja Danner-Schröder, head of the Management Studies department at ����ֱ�� University Kaiserslautern-Landau. “They are encouraged to become more self-confident, market themselves better, and even plan their births strategically to meet the demands of the labor market. But that’s exactly where the problem lies: these initiatives assume that women need to be ‘fixed,’ instead of questioning the system!”

Gender inequality is not an inevitable reality but rather a pattern of behavior that is sustained through collective and repeated actions. This is where we need to start: “We must finally break with and change the everyday actions that perpetuate inequality, and that requires work and courage from everyone involved,” explains the scientist.

Dismantling established narratives

The podcast The Fix, hosted by Michelle Penelope King and analyzed in the study, takes a step further. In conversations with researchers, politicians, actresses, founders, and executives, King challenges the narrative that gender inequality can be resolved by “fixing” women. Instead, she shifts the focus to how the system needs to change in order to achieve true equality.

Through more than 200 episodes, The Fix demonstrates how deeply rooted structures and everyday practices contribute to the reproduction of inequality. For example, in the airline industry, the proportion of female pilots is only five percent because inflexible work schedules slow down women with caregiving responsibilities. In companies, women, despite their best efforts, still feel they must try to “be one of the guys.”

Another example of systemic inequality is that women and marginalized groups often adapt their behavior to avoid being stereotyped. They try to “make everyone feel good about their success” or “not unsettle others with their authority.” These micro-adjustments accumulate into a stressful everyday life. “In research, this is described as 'death by a million cuts,’” says Anja Danner-Schröder, “an emblem of how many small disadvantages can have a large impact.”

The podcast also shows how things can work differently: the example of Iceland, where paternity leave is the norm and parenting is seen as a cross-gender task, illustrates what systemic change can look like. Another example from the podcast shows that alliances with male colleagues can be important. Instead of merely standing by when women face discrimination at work, male colleagues can already achieve a lot by taking small actions, such as addressing problematic comments.

The path to success runs through the system

In other words, gender equality cannot be the sole responsibility of women. It requires the involvement of all actors who shape and determine the systems in the workplace. “We argue that there needs to be a shift in our understanding of what gender inequality is. It is equally important to gain a deeper understanding of what gender inequality does and how it operates. A practice-based perspective is needed that focuses on everyday actions,” says Anja Danner-Schröder.

In her view, this process of system correction requires not only questioning and changing one’s own actions but also taking a stand and raising awareness by questioning visible and hidden practices, establishing new practices, and developing them further. Ultimately, it is the systemic approach that brings sustainable success. Those who have the courage to challenge established patterns not only open themselves up to new opportunities but also create an environment in which all participants can achieve long-term success.

The study “����ֱ�� Review: The Fix Podcast – Immersing Ourselves in the Practice of Gender (In)Equality” is a joint project by ����ֱ�� Professor Anja Danner-Schröder, Corinna Frey-Heger from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherlands, and Kathrin Sele from Aalto University School of Business, Finland.

It can be viewed at: 

Questions can be directed to:
apl. Prof. Dr. habil. Anja Danner-Schröder
Lehrgebiet Management Studies / ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern
Phone: +49 631 205-5011
E-Mail: anja.dannerschroeder@rptu.de

Living organisms need nitrogen as a central building block for protein formation, for example. However, although our atmosphere contains plenty of nitrogen, neither humans nor the vast majority of plants can absorb it directly from the air. Just like today, early life on Earth was therefore dependent on nitrogen fixation by microbes. In other words, on their conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen compounds that living organisms can absorb and utilize.

The details of the processes that took place on Earth billions of years ago are far from known: What were the sources of nitrogen on early Earth? How were they used? And what did this mean for the further development of life? ����ֱ�� researcher Dr. Michelle Gehringer is working on precisely these questions. She is a geomicrobiologist - and studies the interactions between microorganisms and geochemical processes. 

Nitrogen fixation stable under changing environmental conditions

Under her leadership, a measurement method was recently verified that shows that biological nitrogen fixation remains stable under changing atmospheric compositions. To understand the researcher's approach, it is important to know that nitrogen has two stable isotopes, two different states so to speak, ¹⁵N und ¹⁴N. Michelle Gehringer explains: “Nitrogen gas is a mixture of the light atom ¹⁴N and the heavier atom ¹⁵N. When modern microbes use nitrogen in their metabolism, they use these two isotopes in a certain ratio to each other. We measure this by burning nitrogen-containing biomass and collecting the nitrogen gas produced during combustion.” 

Michelle Gehringer explains: “Until now, it was always assumed that microbes have the same ¹⁵N /¹⁴N ratio, even though they live under completely different environmental conditions, without oxygen and with a much higher carbon dioxide content. However, no one has yet tested whether this is actually true.” However, since environmental conditions influence metabolic rates, they could presumably also influence the ¹⁵N /¹⁴N ratio.

The researchers led by Gehringer cultivated cyanobacteria under environmental conditions similar to those of the early Earth, i.e. without oxygen and with a very high carbon dioxide content. “We found that the ¹⁵N /¹⁴N ratios of the cyanobacteria remain stable. Our results therefore support the assumption that this ratio was the same throughout the Earth's history.”

Nitrogen also absorbed in the form of dissolved ammonium

Building on this, Michelle Gehringer and other researchers – under the leadership of her fellow scientist Dr. Ashley Martin from Northumbria University, UK, and Dr. Eva Stüeken from the University of St Andrews, UK – investigated the nitrogen cycle in ancient stromatolites, i.e. sedimentary rocks of organic origin. The ancient rocks, which were around 2.7 billion years old, contain the dead remains of various microorganisms and can provide the researchers with information about their ecosystems and environmental niches in past times. Michelle Gehringer: “We gained access to pristine, unweathered rock, which we ground into a fine powder and analyzed for nitrogen isotopes.”

With the help of the ¹⁵N /¹⁴N ratio measurements, the researchers discovered that in contrast to modern stromatolites, the organic material of ancient stromatolites was not solely dependent on the biological fixation of nitrogen gas by cyanobacteria. To be more precise, the results of the study point to the additional uptake of nitrogen in the form of dissolved ammonium. “And the most plausible source for this is hydrothermal activity on the sea floor,” says Gehringer.

The researchers also looked at sedimentary rocks in a volcanic basin that is also around 2.7 billion years old. Ammonium from hydrothermal sources also proved to be relevant in this system.

So would life on Mars also be possible?

“Until now, it was assumed that life on the early Earth, before the atmosphere was enriched with oxygen, was limited by a lack of biologically available nitrogen.” The current studies now prove an additional role of ammonium from deep-sea hydrothermal vents: “With the help of hydrothermal vents, nitrogen did not limit the spread of life on early Earth. Rather, life was able to flourish in both deep and shallow-water marine environments.” And according to Gehringer, this enabled the development of a great diversity of microorganisms that we still see today.

What could these findings mean for life on other planets? “Hydrothermal activity has been documented on Mars and probably also takes place on the icy moons in the outer solar system.” It is conceivable that processes similar to those on the early Earth took place or are still taking place there.

The studies:

Wannicke N, Stüeken EE, Bauersachs T, Gehringer MM. 2024. Exploring the influence of atmospheric CO₂ and O₂ levels on the utility of nitrogen isotopes as proxy for biological N₂ fixation (2024). Appl Environ Microbiol 90:e00574-24. 

Martin, A. N., Stüeken, E. E., Gehringer, M. M., Markowska, M., Vonhof, H. B., Weyer, S., & Hofmann, A. (Accepted/In press 2025). Anomalous δ15N values in the Neoarchean associated with an abundant supply of hydrothermal ammonium. Nature Communications. 

Martin, A. N., Stüeken, E. E., Michaud, J. A. S., Münker, C., Weyer, S., van Hees, E. H. P., & Gehringer, M. M. (2024). Mechanisms of nitrogen isotope fractionation at an ancient black smoker in the 2.7 Ga Abitibi greenstone belt, Canada. Geology, 52(3), 181-186. 

Fragen beantwortet:

Dr. Michelle Gehringer
Department of Biology, Division of Microbiology

P: +49 631 205 2347
E: michelle.gehringer[at]rptu.de

“Often, the most effective solutions do not emerge on the big stages of the highest levels of state and economic management, but rather in everyday work and life situations – in our conversations, decisions, and small actions,” says Professor Anja Danner-Schröder, Head of the Department of Management Studies at ����ֱ��, explaining the background of the study. For instance, seemingly insignificant actions – such as name tags at conferences – can perpetuate social inequality by making hierarchies visible in the form of titles and institutions.

With this study, the scientist calls for more attention to be paid to these often-overlooked everyday practices and interpersonal interactions to initiate sustainable change. The research focused on three central aspects: How do our everyday actions contribute to the major challenges of our time? What are the consequences of this? And what positive impact can our everyday behavior have as part of the solution? Anja Danner-Schröder convened a panel of experts to address these questions. The findings are summarized in the joint publication “Tackling Grand Challenges: Insights and Contributions from Practice Theories.” Here’s an overview of the key insights:

Actions are both stable and transformative.
Change does not happen in opposition to stability—rather, the two are interconnected. For example, businesses striving for innovation often rely on structured processes to support creativity. Likewise, workers learning to use new technologies bring their own experiences and routines, shaping how those technologies are adopted. The study shows that meaningful change happens when people work within existing structures while also adapting and reshaping them.

Everything is connected.
No problem exists in isolation. The study highlights how actions and decisions create ripple effects, linking people, ideas, and even different global challenges. For instance, extreme weather events like flooding in Australia do not just impact local communities—they influence emergency response strategies worldwide and inspire new ways of working together, even among people who have never met. Similarly, healthcare technologies do not just affect doctors and patients but can reshape entire systems of care and decision-making.

Emotions matter in decision-making.
While problem-solving is often seen as a rational process, the study highlights the crucial role of emotions. Feelings like frustration, urgency, or hope can act as powerful forces, pushing individuals and organizations to reflect, adapt, and take action. Whether in responding to crises or driving social movements, emotions shape how people engage with challenges and influence change.

We are all part of the solution.
One of the study’s key messages is that researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and everyday citizens all play a role in shaping the world. The lines between experts and practitioners, between those studying challenges and those experiencing them, are blurred. Change does not come from a single source—it emerges through collective actions, relationships, and shared experiences.


For more information or to access the full study, please visit:

Danner-Schröder, A., Mahringer, C., Sele, K., Jarzabkowski, P., Rouleau, L., Feldman, M., Pentland, B., Huysman, M., Sergeeva, A. V., Gherardi, S., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Gehman, J. (2025). Tackling Grand Challenges: Insights and Contributions From Practice Theories. Journal of Management Inquiry.

Questions can be directed to:
apl. Prof. Dr. habil. Anja Danner-Schröder
Lehrgebiet Management Studies / ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern
Phone: +49 631 205-5011
E-Mail: anja.dannerschroeder@rptu.de

The nucleus of every human cell contains chromosomes - 23 pairs, to be exact. These carry our genetic material, known as the genome, and are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and proteins. DNA stores genetic information and is therefore central to the inheritance of traits. Chromosomal changes can have serious consequences for the affected cells, including the development of cancer. How such changes can occur and what exactly the consequences are, is the focus of the research of Professor Zuzana Storchová, Head of the Molecular Genetics Department at ����ֱ��. She is doing this with the help of a team of researchers, including PhD student Jan-Eric Bökenkamp, who explains: "We study the genetic characteristics of cancer cells and their molecular properties both experimentally and through computational analysis."

Around 90 percent of tumours consist of aneuploid cells

In a recent article published in the EMBO Journal, the researchers took a closer look at a common genetic feature of cancer cells, known as aneuploidy. “When a cell is aneuploid, it has an altered set of chromosomes,” explains Storchová. A well-known example of aneuploidy is found in people with Down-Syndrome, who have an extra copy of chromosome 21, known as trisomy 21. "What is less well known is that about 90 per cent of tumours in cancer patients also consist of aneuploid cells, and in most cases more than one chromosome is affected at the same time”. Since aneuploidy slows down the growth of healthy cells and often leads to cell death, a key question in cancer research is: why and how are cancer cells with this genetic burden able not only to survive but also to proliferate?

In the laboratory, Storchová and her team of researchers therefore genetically engineered cells to carry an extra copy of a chromosome, i.e. to be aneuploid. Bökenkamp: "We allowed the stressed cells to proliferate over a longer period of time and found that they grew significantly better after several weeks”. The researchers carried out many different experiments to understand the molecular mechanisms that enable aneuploid cells to adapt in this way. For this, they used modern methods of biotechnology and bioinformatics, such as next-generation DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry.

First laboratory to study the adaptation of cancer cells to extra chromosomes

Storchová emphasises the special nature of their research: "Our study is unique in that we are the first laboratory to have developed and analysed a model system to study the adaptation of human cancer cells to the persistent presence of certain extra chromosomes." The researchers also analysed public observational data from thousands of tumours with aneuploid cells from cancer patients in US-based databases "to compare them with the experimental data from our aneuploid model cells and to support the clinical relevance of our findings," Bökenkamp adds.

Three ways how cancer cells adapt to the presence of extra chromosomes

In summary, the researchers have identified three ways in which cancer cells adapt to the presence of extra chromosomes: First, they increase the stability of their genome by increasing the number of DNA replication and DNA repair factors and reduce the degradation of gene products. Second, they increase the activity of the cell growth and division factor FOXM1. Thirdly, they lose certain parts of the extra DNA that encode tumour suppressor genes, while retaining the parts that encode growth-promoting genes.

The researchers conclude that these findings could be used to develop new therapeutic approaches and drugs. Approaches that specifically inhibit the very molecular processes that enable cancer cells to grow and multiply despite extensive genomic alterations. Especially FOXM1 is a promising target, as its potential for cancer drugs has been the subject of research for several years.
 

The study:
Jan-Eric Bökenkamp, Kristina Keuper, Stefan Redel, Karen Barthel, Leah Johnson, Amelie Becker, Angela Wieland, Markus Räschle, Zuzana Storchová (2025). Proteogenomic analysis reveals adaptive strategies for alleviating the consequences of aneuploidy in cancer. EMBO Journal;  https://doi.org/10.1038/s44318-025-00372-w

Questions can be directed to:

Prof. Dr. Zuzana Storchová
Division of Molecular Genetic
E: zuzana.storchova@rptu.de

Jan-Eric Bökenkamp
Division of Molecular Genetic
E-Mail janeric.b97@gmail.com

The election is linked to the restructuring of the responsibilities of the members of the Executive Board. The previous dual responsibility for teaching and research by Vice Presidents from both ����ֱ�� campuses will be replaced by new cross-campus priorities for which only one member of the Executive Board will be responsible. The new priorities are "Career Development, Diversity and Equality" and "International Affairs, Sustainability and Physical Development". “Research” and “Teaching” will remain, each of which includes other topics such as “Innovation” and “Studies”.

"With the election of the new vice presidents, the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau is taking an important step towards the strategic development of the university and thus strengthening future-oriented fields of action. I congratulate the newly elected members of the university management and am pleased that the University Senate shares my conviction that they are the right people for this responsible task," said University President Malte Drescher.

The elected Vice Presidents, their responsibilities and terms of office:

• Oliver Frör, Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, will serve as Vice President for International Affairs, Sustainability and Physical Development from March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2029.
• Mandy Schiefner-Rohs from the Department of Social Sciences will serve as Vice President for Education from September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2029.
• Melanie Steffens, Department of Psychology, will serve as Vice President for Career Development, Diversity, and Equity, with a term of office from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2029.
• Werner Thiel, Department of Chemistry, has been re-elected Vice President for Research to serve a term from March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2029.

Former Vice Presidents Klaus Schwenk (formerly Research), Gabriele E. Schaumann, and Stefan Löhrke (both formerly Teaching) did not stand for re-election.

Introducing the new Vice Presidents:

Professor Oliver Frör (CV in German) (born 1972) studied geoecology at the University of Bayreuth. He received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany in 1999. He then worked as a consultant for the New York State Department of Economic Development and taught at Siena College, Loudonville, NY. In 2007, he received his Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Hohenheim, Germany. He stayed there as a research associate until 2011. Since 2012, Frör has been Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Koblenz-Landau. From 2017 to 2022, he served as Vice Dean for Research, Young Academics and Internationalization at the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences. Since 2023 he is Dean of the Department.

Professor Mandy Schiefner-Rohs (CV in German) (born 1980) studied educational science, art history and computer science at Saarland University and received her Ph.D. from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich in 2011. She worked as a research assistant at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and at the University of Zurich, where she later became deputy head of the Department of University Didactics. After a postdoctoral period at the University of Duisburg-Essen, she was appointed Professor of Education with a focus on school development at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern in 2013. In 2019, she was appointed University Professor of Education with a focus on school pedagogy. From 2020 to 2023, she will serve as Vice Dean of the Department of Social Sciences.

Professor Melanie Steffens (CV in German) (born 1969) studied psychology at the University of Bonn and received her Ph.D. from the University of Trier in 1998. She was a Visiting Fellow at Yale University in 2001, and habilitated at the University of Trier in 2004. From 2004 to 2013 she was a professor at the University of Jena.Since 2013 she is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Landau.From 2017 to 2020 she was Dean of the Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on group-related attitudes, social diversity, and discrimination, with an emphasis on gender. She served as Associate Editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology (2021-2023) and has been a member of the DFG Psychology Review Board since 2024.

Professor Werner R. Thiel (CV in German) (born in 1961) studied chemistry at the Technical University of Munich, where he received his doctorate in 1990.From 1990 to 1991 he was a Feodor Lynen Fellow at the Université de Bordeaux I. In 1997 he habilitated at the Technische Universität München.From 2000, he was Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the Technical University of Chemnitz, before taking up a professorship at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern in 2004. From 2006 to 2016 he was head of the Center for Teacher Training and from 2008 to 2020 he was spokesman for the State Research Focus NanoKat. From 2017 to 2020, he was Dean of the Department of Chemistry, and then Vice President for Research and Technology at the TU Kaiserslautern until 2022. Since 2023, he has been Vice President for Research at the ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau. 

The international team of researchers - led by ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Göttingen (HAWK) and the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research in Hungary - conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 59 studies. The results are alarming: the addition of nutrients significantly promotes the growth of tropical tree seedlings. On average, shoot biomass increased by 26 per cent and growth rates by 14 per cent. In particular, the combination of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) had the most pronounced effects, increasing growth rates by up to 27 per cent. The effects were particularly strong in seasonally dry regions, where growth increased by up to 70 percent.

Growing threat from human activities

"Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are essential nutrients for plant growth. But many tropical soils are nutrient-poor," says Daisy Cárate Tandalla, a plant ecologist at ����ֱ��. The additional nutrient input therefore disproportionately benefits fast-growing, competitive species and can permanently alter the composition of forests and their ability to store carbon.

The researchers emphasise that nutrient inputs from agriculture and fossil fuels far exceed natural deposition and reach even remote tropical forests. "These additional nutrients favour fast-growing, competitive tree species, which can drastically reduce forest biodiversity and weaken their resilience to climate change," warns Péter Batáry of the HUN-RUN Centre.

Diverse research on a global problem

The analysis highlights how tropical trees respond differently to nutrient inputs, depending on factors such as climate, soil and experimental methodology. "Our results show the complexity of the interactions and underline the critical importance of sustainable nutrient management," says Jürgen Homeier of HAWK.

The study calls for a global view of the impact of human activities on tropical ecosystems. This is the only way to protect the functions of tropical forests as a cornerstone of the global climate system in the long term.

The study:
Cárate Tandalla, D., Homeier, J. & Batáry, P. Responses of Tropical Tree Seedlings to Nutrient Addition: A Meta-analysis to understand future changes in Tropical Forest Dynamics. Curr. For. Rep. 11, 3 (2025).

Contact:
iES, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften
Daisy Cárate Tandalla
E-Mail: dcarate.tandalla[at]rptu.de

In Germany, crops are grown on more than 30 percent of the country's land area. Since the 1970s, synthetic chemical pesticides have been used extensively in conventional agriculture to control pests, weeds and fungal diseases. They are applied by spraying over large areas several times a year and in combination with different active ingredients. Until now, however, there has been no data on the contamination of crop land. The study, which was funded by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment as part of the Insect Protection Action Programme, recorded the presence of pesticide active ingredients over the course of a year.
 

Globally the first study with year-round measurements

From February 2021 to February 2022, the ����ֱ�� research team conducted the first study with monthly sampling. Topsoil and vegetation samples were taken from three arable, three vegetable and three wine-growing fields in south-west-Germany, as well as from adjacent meadows, at a distance of one, five and twenty metres from the field. The samples were analysed for 93 common pesticides using modern analytical technology that can detect even the smallest concentrations.

The results show that low levels of pesticides are present in the soil and vegetation throughout the year. On average, ten pesticides were found in the soil. In one sample, the team measured 28 substances. The researchers also found pesticide mixtures in the vegetation, but with seasonal variations. The average number of pesticides in the vegetation was seven, with a maximum of 25 substances in individual samples.

"We were able to show that complex mixtures of pesticides are present at low concentrations throughout the year. The effects of this chronic exposure to mixtures on the environment are largely unknown," says Carolina Honert from ����ֱ��.
 

Pesticides: a permanent presence in soil and vegetation

Synthetic chemical pesticides are designed to be highly targeted. "However, many of these substances interfere with fundamental biological processes such as nerve conduction, cell division or protein synthesis, which makes them non-specific and also harms many so-called non-target species such as butterflies or earthworms," explains Carsten Brühl, ecotoxicologist at ����ֱ��. This non-specific mode of action is the reason for the existing risk assessment for the approval of pesticides. However, in the European approval process, substances are considered individually, and mixtures are not assessed. Researchers say this is inadequate because studies show a link between pesticides and the decline of biodiversity. In particular, they play a prominent role in the decline of insects in the cultural landscape.
 

Soil fertility affected

"The fact that there are no data on the contamination of farmland after more than 50 years of pesticide use is all the more surprising given that pesticides have been shown to have a negative impact on soil organisms such as earthworms or springtails, but also on microorganisms and thus on soil fertility, which of course needs to be preserved for future generations," says Brühl. Organisms such as insects live in and out of fields all year round, as eggs in the soil, as larvae or caterpillars in the vegetation and as adult insects in both habitats. "It is therefore important to know the extent to which soils and plants are contaminated with pesticides throughout the year," says Brühl. And it is not only arable soils that are affected. Pesticides can also be found in the soil and plants of surrounding meadows because they are blown there by the wind.
 

Pesticide authorisation does not reflect reality

Current EU-wide authorisation practice tests individual substances, but not the effects of the actual mixtures found in the environment, which can contain up to 28 different pesticides in arable soils. The current study also detected pesticides that had not been applied in the year of the study. According to the researchers, this indicates that degradation rates in the environment are longer than assumed in the risk assessment for authorisation. There is also long-range transport. "In another study (Brühl et al. 2023), we investigated the transport of pesticides from apple cultivation in an Alpine valley and were able to detect them even in summit regions and protected areas," says Brühl. “We have to assume that landscapes with agricultural land are chronically contaminated with pesticides.”
 

Global pesticide reduction targets must be met

"The complex mixtures found, which were present in more than 300 different combinations, cannot be covered by a risk assessment," says Brühl. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the legislator to manage the real toxicity of mixtures. The researchers therefore advocate the rapid implementation of a significant reduction in pesticide use and risk by 50 percent, as defined in the global targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework for 2030. Alternative cropping systems already exist in many forms; they just need to be demonstrated on a large scale and promoted and implemented widely.

"We need to act now," says Brühl. "Although biodiversity loss is being pushed into the background by policy makers because actually it is less attractive in elections, the problem persists and will negatively impact our livelihoods."

The study: 

Carolina Honert, Ken Mauser, Ursel Jäger, Carsten A. Brühl. 2025. Exposure of insects to current use pesticide residues in soil and vegetation along spatial and temporal distribution in agricultural sites. Scientific Reports.

Further study mentioned in the report:

Carsten A. Brühl, Nina Engelhard, Nikita Bakanov, Jakob Wolfram, Koen Hertoge & Johann G. Zaller 2023. Widespread contamination of soils and vegetation with current use pesticide residues along altitudinal gradients in a European Alpine valley. Communications Earth & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01220-1

Contact
iES Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences
Prof. Dr. Carsten Brühl
+49 (0)6341 280-31310
carsten.bruehl[at]rptu.de
 

Carolina Honert
+49 (0)6341 280-31871
carolina.honert[at]rptu.de
 

Press contact
Kerstin Theilmann
+49 (0)6341 280-32219
kerstin.theilmann@rptu.de

Phages are viruses that exclusively attack bacteria. The goal of numerous scientists is to learn more about these tiny replicative units, measuring between 20 and 300 nm (a hair is 80 000 nm thick). “If we understand the details of how phages ultimately infect and kill bacteria, then in the future we might be able to use them specifically against harmful bacteria,” explains Professor Nicole Frankenberg-Dinkel from the ����ֱ��. The Microbiology team is investigating the various strategies phages use to turn bacteria into “factories” for their replication, that is, the production of hundreds of new phages. “We are particularly interested in aquatic habitats, particularly oceans and lakes, because phages occur in high numbers, and they play an important ecological role in nutrient recycling.”

The long-term goal of the bacteriophage research field is not only to apply phage therapy to combat 'bad' bacteria responsible for diseases, but also – sticking with aquatic habitats – to address the ecological role of phages in the global nutrient cycles. Phages play a crucial ecological role in aquatic environments by controlling bacterial populations, maintaining microbial diversity, and influencing nutrient cycling through processes like the viral shunt. They also drive microbial evolution by promoting horizontal gene transfer – transmission from one organism to another rather than, as is typically the case, from generation to generation – and exerting selective pressure on bacteria.

In a recent study, Frankenberg-Dinkel's team – in collaboration with researchers from Israel, the Netherlands, Tübingen and Stechlin/Potsdam – analyzed phage genetic material from environmental samples using bioinformatics: “Normally, this genetic material mainly contains the blueprint information for producing new phage particles. The phages then use the bacteria as factories.” However, the researchers also found so-called ‘auxiliary metabolic genes’ in the phage genetic material. These auxiliary genes originally come from bacteria and were once hijacked by the phages. They are not required for the assembly of new phage particles, but instead serve to 'reprogram' the host—namely, the bacteria—during a phage infection.

“In our study, we have discovered a previously unknown auxiliary metabolic gene in the phages,” says Frankenberg-Dinkel, explaining her latest results. ‘We were able to show that this gene codes for an active protein that is important for the biosynthesis of the ’pigments of life'.” Tetrapyrroles are referred to as the pigments of life. The most important representatives of these chemical compounds are heme, a component of hemoglobin in blood for oxygen transport, and chlorophyll, the green leaf pigment essential for photosynthesis. Nicole Frankenberg-Dinkel: “Our results suggest that tetrapyrroles play an important role during a phage infection. They seem to be so important that phages carry this additional genetic material because it is somehow beneficial to them."

"The importance of tetrapyrroles for phage infection was not previously known to this extent. Tetrapyrroles are essential for energy production in cells,” Frankenberg-Dinkel further explains. 'We suspect that there is an increased energy demand when bacteria have to produce phage particles. Therefore, more tetrapyrroles may be needed.” The researchers were able to demonstrate that the auxiliary metabolic gene is present in phages identified in both salt and fresh water."

According to Frankenberg-Dinkel, the current study results reveal another interesting finding: there are two ways to produce the first precursor of tetrapyrroles, one of which is the so-called Shemin pathway. And it is precisely this pathway – or rather the genetic makeup required for it – that the researchers have identified in the phages. “The Shemin pathway is only found in one group of bacteria, and otherwise only in birds and mammals. This means that the phages must have acquired this gene from a particular group of bacteria. Perhaps because the Shemin pathway is more efficient than the alternative C5 pathway, as it only requires one enzyme instead of two.”

Phage biology is a resurgent field of research. Frankenberg-Dinkel's work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of a research priority program (SPP 2330: New Concepts in Prokaryotic Virus-host Interactions). “In this program, we are working together with many other researchers in the field of microbial viruses,” the professor explains. Some discoveries in phage biology, such as the CRISPR/Cas system (which won a Nobel Prize), have already progressed to the point where they are being applied.

The study:

Helen Wegner, Sheila Roitman, Anne Kupczok, Vanessa Braun, Jason Nicholas Woodhouse, Hans-Peter Grossart, Susanne Zehner, Oded Béjà, Nicole Frankenberg-Dinkel (2024). Identification of Shemin pathway genes for tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in bacteriophage sequences from aquatic environments Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52726-3.
.

Contact for questions:

Prof. Dr. Nicole Frankenberg-Dinkel
Department of Microbiology / ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern

P:  +49 631 205 2353
E: nicole.frankenberg[at]rptu.de

Cells are the smallest units of life. They contain various distinct and specialized structures, so-called organelles, which perform vital functions. To be properly maintained and able to organize essential workflows and metabolic processes, they need proteins as building materials and machines. With the help of a sophisticated production and logistic systems, cells are therefore able to synthesize the required proteins and transport them to their destination.

“We know a lot about the basic mechanisms that take place during protein biosynthesis and protein transport in cells,” says Bykov. “However, many of the scientific findings to date have been described in vitro, in an artificial environment outside the cell. As a result, the complex interplay that determines the fate of proteins has not yet been fully elucidated.”

Which protein eventually goes to which destination? What influence do the different stages in the life cycle of proteins have on their location in the cell? How are protein production and protein transport connected? Bykov wants to clarify these and further research questions. Yeast, whose cells are comparatively simply organized, serves as a model organism. “We will use genetic tools to mark proteins in order to trace their path or suppress the production of certain proteins in order to draw conclusions about their function – all this in living yeast cells,” explains the cell biologist.

As part of the funding from the European Research Council, in addition to the ERC Starting Grant, he also received half a million in funding for a state-of-the-art high-throughput fluorescence microscope. Using this technique, he will be able to examine the intracellular structures, proteins, and mRNAs in thousands of yeast strains simultaneously. The project aims to combine several cutting-edge approaches. “Another method that we are using as part of a collaboration with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg is cryogenic electron tomography,” adds Bykov. “This is an imaging technique that makes the smallest biological structures in frozen cells visible in three dimensions. We want to take a closer look at what happens with ribosomes – the molecular machines that perform protein biosynthesis.”

Ultimately, shedding more light on the complex interplay of synthesis, transport and function of proteins is the basis for gaining a better understanding of ageing processes and the occurrence of degenerative diseases.

As part of the ERC Starting Grant, Bykov will receive funding over a period of five years. Starting grants support individual researchers that are starting or consolidating their own independent research team or programme, and who can demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of their scientific proposal. The funding is part of the EU’s programme Horizon Europe. The official title of Yury Bykov's research project is „3-dimensional Organization and Functions of Translation in Organelle Proximity (3DTOP)“.

Contact for questions:

Yury Bykov
Division of Quantitative Cellular Biology / ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern

Phone: +49 (0)631-205-2885
Email: 
Web: bio.rptu.de/fgs/quantitative-zellbiologie

Permaculture uses natural cycles and ecosystems as blueprint. Food is produced in an agricultural ecosystem that is as self-regulating, natural and diverse as possible. For example, livestock farming is integrated into the cultivation of crops or the diversity of beneficial organisms is promoted in order to avoid the use of mineral fertilizers or pesticides. In a recent study, published in the journal “Communications Earth & Environment”, researchers from ����ֱ�� and BOKU have now for the first time comprehensively investigated the effects of this planning and management concept on the environment. "Although permaculture projects have been established all over the world since the 1970s, there has been surprisingly little accompanying scientific research," explains environmental scientist Julius Reiff from ����ֱ�� the background to the study. "We wanted to close this gap and investigate whether permaculture actually has the repeatedly-assumed positive effects on the agricultural ecosystem in practice."

Permaculture: clear benefits for biodiversity and soil quality

The research team examined a total of nine farms in Germany and Luxembourg. The scientists examined various indicators of biodiversity and soil quality on the permaculture areas of these farms and on reference areas of the otherwise predominant agriculture nearby. To this end, soil samples from the plots were analyzed in the laboratory for their organic carbon content, micro- and macronutrients and the activity of soil microorganisms. The biodiversity of earthworms, birds and plants was determined as a measure of biodiversity.

According to the study, the soil quality and biodiversity on the permaculture plots was distinctly higher compared to the surrounding conventional agricultural land as well as compared to the literature values for conventional agriculture. The carbon and humus content of the permaculture soils was roughly comparable to the values in grassland in Germany. Grassland is considered an important reference, as it typically has the highest humus content of agricultural or forestry areas in Germany.

A high humus content in the soil is important for nutrient and water storage - a key factor in times of climate change, for example to withstand periods of drought. Although no mineral fertilizers were used on the permaculture areas, their soils had a higher soil nutrient content. This is also beneficial for human health: "The higher nutrient levels in the soil suggest that these are also higher in the crops produced," says Julius Reiff.

In addition to the soil quality, biodiversity also benefits: the researchers found three times more bird species on the permaculture areas than on the reference areas of the region's predominant agriculture. They also identified three times more earthworms and a higher biomass of soil microorganisms, which are essential for decomposition and nutrient conversion in the soil. Compared to conventional agriculture, the researchers found three times the number of plant species on the permaculture areas. This is a good indicator of the overall biodiversity of an ecosystem and at the same time the food base for important species groups such as pollinators or the natural antagonists of pests.

A greater diversity of species is also created by the cultivation of mixed crops and usually also in combination with woody plants (agroforestry) in permaculture. This diversity of plants and structures is attractive to a wide variety of animal groups. The absence of pesticides is also beneficial for biodiversity.

According to the researchers, higher carbon stocks in the soil of permaculture areas can be explained on the one hand by a higher input of carbon-containing organic matter and on the other hand by the effect of mulching. This is because permaculture areas are fertilized almost exclusively with manure or compost; reduced tillage and a layer of mulch prevent the top layer of soil from being eroded by heavy rainfall, for example. This means that the loss of carbon from the soil is lower in permaculture areas than in conventional cultivation.

The observed improvements could represent a real turnaround

The research team draws a promising overall conclusion: "Permaculture appears to be a much more ecologically sustainable alternative to industrial agriculture", Julius Reiff is certain. At the same time, the yields from permaculture are comparable to those of industrial agriculture, as the researchers' not yet published data shows. "In view of the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, the observed improvements would represent a real turnaround when applied to larger areas", emphasizes ecosystem analysis expert Martin Entling from ����ֱ��. The phosphorus content that the team found in permaculture soils also gives cause for hope: "I hadn't expected such high amounts of phosphorus. Plants need phosphorus from the soil in order to grow. In intensive agriculture, phosphorus is abundantly applied and becoming a scarce commodity and a major challenge for agriculture worldwide. Another add-on for permaculture", attests geoecologist Hermann Jungkunst from the ����ֱ��. Soil expert Johann Zaller from BOKU admits: "I would not have expected permaculture to promote earthworms and other soil organisms to this extent. Given the importance of soil life for mitigating climate extremes and for the health and yield of crops, the results are very promising."

Permaculture as a role model? Politics and the education system are challenged

In order for permaculture to be introduced into agricultural practice on a larger scale, the researchers recommend that financial incentives such as taxes and subsidies should be restructured in such a way that sustainable farming methods are given preference over conventional methods. The education system for farmers also needs to be revised so that more sustainable approaches such as permaculture, agroecology and pesticide-free regenerative agriculture are taught. Furthermore, flagship projects could serve as living case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of these sustainable farming methods.

The researchers conclude that permaculture seems to make it possible to reconcile agriculture, environmental protection and nature conservation. This is a very hopeful finding in view of the dramatic environmental impact of conventional agriculture.

The study:

Julius Reiff, Hermann F. Jungkunst, Ken M. Mauser, Sophie Kampel, Sophie Regending, Verena Rösch, Johann G. Zaller, Martin H. Entling. 2024. Permaculture enhances carbon stocks, soil quality and biodiversity in Central Europe. Communications Earth & Environment,

Contact:

Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
iES Landau, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften
Julius Reiff (Permaculture/agroecology) Prof. Dr. Hermann Jungkunst (Carbon and Soil), Prof. Dr. Martin Entling (Biodiversity)
+49 (0)6341 280-31188 / -31475 / -31537
julius.reiff[at]rptu.de / hermann.jungkunst[at]rptu.de / martin.entling[at]rptu.de

BOKU University
Prof.  Dr. Johann Zaller
Institut für Zoologie
+43 1 47654-83318
johann.zaller[at]boku.ac.at

Press Contact:

Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
Kerstin Theilmann
+49 6341 280-32219
kerstin.theilmann[at]rptu.de

BOKU University
Bettina Fernsebner-Kokert
+43 (0) 664 885 86 53
bettina.fernsebner[at]boku.ac.at

In three studies with a total of over 3,200 participants in Germany and the USA, the research team investigated the experiences of exclusion of sexual minorities. The first study comprised a nationally representative sample in Germany with 2,609 participants. The researchers asked about experiences of social exclusion among sexual minorities and heterosexual people. In the second study, the research team followed 467 people in their everyday lives for 14 days and asked them to document their experiences of exclusion using a smartphone app. The third study used 10,760 judgments about the likelihood of exclusion from different people based on perceptions of their sexual orientation and gender role conformity. A total of 141 respondents were presented with photos, videos, or voices of lesbian, gay, and heterosexual people. On a seven-point scale, the respondents had to rate the likelihood that these people would be ostracized.

“Sexual minorities experience many forms of violence and discrimination,” explains Christiane Büttner, social psychologist at the University of Basel, commenting on the results of previous studies. “However, unlike overt discrimination, which is visible and can be challenged, exclusion can be subtle and therefore difficult to recognize and prove.” This is precisely what makes it difficult for those affected to address the situation or even demand support. Exclusion can be more painful than other forms of discrimination because it attacks the basic needs for belonging and self-esteem. This is because people are social beings and strive to belong - they find security and affirmation in social groups. In terms of evolutionary psychology, belonging is essential for psychological well-being. If this need remains unfulfilled in the long term, feelings of isolation, hopelessness and reduced self-esteem arise. Even serious psychological problems such as anxiety disorders, depression and suicidal tendencies can be the result of social exclusion. “The consequences can be devastating, especially if those who are excluded are aware that they are being excluded because of an unchangeable, stable characteristic, such as their sexual orientation,” emphasizes Selma Rudert, social psychologist at ����ֱ��.

Subtle forms of discrimination little studied so far

Previous studies have mainly focused on more obvious forms of discrimination against sexual minorities. These include direct verbal abuse, for example. “Subtler forms have been studied less so far. We wanted to close a gap here,” says Büttner, explaining the background to the current publication.

The result: lesbian, gay and bisexual people experience exclusion more frequently than heterosexual people. According to the researchers, each person experiences an average of two to three experiences of exclusion within a 14-day period, with members of sexual minorities experiencing one more exclusion situation on average. LGB people experience exclusion in various areas of daily life, the researchers outline the overall picture: for example, they are excluded from social activities at work or ignored and marginalized by classmates or teaching staff at school or university. They may also not be invited to events and their contributions are ignored in discussions.

Deviating from traditional gender roles increases vulnerability to exclusion

The third study showed that more frequent exclusion is linked to gender role non-conformity. “People who are perceived as deviating from gender norms - regardless of whether they actually do or what their actual sexual orientation is - are more likely to be ostracized,” explains Sven Kachel, psychologist at ����ֱ��. “Even if the respondents did not know the sexual orientation of the people being judged, they rated those people they perceived as less gender-conforming as more likely to be ostracized.” This means that even a heterosexual man, for example, who is perceived as less masculine, runs the risk of experiencing exclusion as a subtle form of discrimination. Violations of traditional gender norms are thus sanctioned and these norms remain in place. According to the researchers, this has serious consequences, as adherence to gender norms affects the psychological well-being of a significant proportion of the population.

Raising awareness

Overall, the results suggest that more proactive measures are needed to raise awareness of exclusion as a subtle form of discrimination in all areas of society, according to the researchers. One approach: as part of Pride Month, attention is drawn to the concerns of the LGBTQ+ community with the help of various campaigns.

“Organizations and educational institutions should also establish specific programs and trainings to raise awareness and promote an inclusive environment,” recommend the authors of the study. At a societal level, campaigns to promote diversity and inclusion could help to break down stereotypes and prejudices.

The study

Büttner, C. M., Rudert, S.C., & Kachel S. (2024). Ostracism experiences of sexual minorities: Investigating targets' experiences and perceptions by others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,1461672241240675. Advance online publication.

Contact

Universität Basel
Christiane M. Büttner
E-Mail: c.buettner[at]unibas.ch
Tel.: +41 61 207 03 37

Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
Prof. Dr. Selma Rudert
E-Mail: selma.rudert[at]rptu.de
Tel.: +49 6341 280-31212

Dr. Sven Kachel
E-Mail: sven.kachel[at]rptu.de
Tel.: +49 6341 280-31237

Press Contact

Universität Basel
E-Mail: kommunikation[at]unibas.ch
Tel.: +41 61 207 30 17

Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
Kerstin Theilmann
E-Mail: kerstin.theilmann[at]rptu.de
Tel.: +49 6341 280-32219

Phosphorus is an important raw material for fertiliser production and therefore also for food production. It is included by the European Commission in a list of 30 critical raw materials with a high supply risk and high economic importance.

Municipal wastewater, into which large quantities of phosphorus from private households and industry are discharged, offers potential for recovery. This is motivation for research within  the research training group “WERA” (Wertstoff Abwasser – valuable wastewater) at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, which is funded by the German Research Foundation.

WERA focuses on several goals: “We are working on possible solutions to reduce the phosphorus concentration in municipal wastewater from the inlet to the outlet by a factor of around 100,” explains Professor Dr Sergiy Antonyuk, spokesperson for the research training group and head of the Institute of Particle Process Engineering at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau. “At the same time, our aim is to process the removed phosphorus in  in such a way that it can be made available again as a resource for industry in line with the recycling principle.”

A third aspect concerns the environment. Professor Dr Heidrun Steinmetz, deputy spokesperson of the research training group and head of the Department Resource Efficient Wastewater Technologies at University Kaiserslautern-Landau, explains: “The phosphorus concentration in the outlet of wastewater treatment plants also needs to be further reduced in order to protect our waters from algae formation. There are already pilot projects implementing this idea for individual sewage treatment plants but not in combination with P recovery. However, there are considerable gaps in our knowledge. which processes are promising under which conditions. This is what we hope to find a solution for.”

As part of the research programme, the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau combines expertise from the natural sciences and engineering. Among other things, the programme involves the investigation of tailor-made adsorber materials on which phosphorus compounds can accumulate. Another research task consists of investigating basic mechanisms of crystallisation and precipitation. These are separation processes that can be used to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge in the form of plant-available fertilisers.

“In addition, we will use and further develop innovative methods of characterisation, measurement techniques and simulation methods to describe the influences of boundary conditions in the real wastewater system on the efficiency of phosphorus recovery with crystallisation and adsorption processes and the product quality,” Steinmetz and Antonyuk add. “We perform the investigation using an experimental wastewater treatment and recycling plant installed as a pilot project on the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau in Kaiserslautern. Our ultimate goal is to transfer the developed materials and processes to other raw materials and adapt them to recover nitrogen, potassium or organic carbons, for example.”

Questions can be directed to:
Professor Dr-Ing. Sergiy Antonyuk
Institute of Particle Process Engineering
University Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
Phone: +49 631 205-3524
E-mail: sergiy.antonyuk[at]mv.rptu.de
--
Research Training Groups of Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Research Training Groups are established by universities to promote early career researchers. They are funded by the DFG for a period of up to nine years. Their key emphasis is on the qualification of doctoral researchers within the framework of a focused research programme and a structured training strategy. Research Training Groups with an interdisciplinary approach are warmly welcomed. The aim is to prepare doctoral researchers for the complexities of the job market in science and academics and simultaneously to encourage early scientific independence.

More information can be found at:

Tablets combine the active substance with fillers and binders (e.g. microcrystalline cellulose and lactose) into a dosage form. This is usually a so-called agglomerate, i.e. a mixture of bound fine particles of the active ingredient and filler components. Professor Dr Sergiy Antonyuk's research team from the Institute of Partcile Process Engineering at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��) is working on this research topic. The team is analysing the mechanical properties of such a structure. “This is important for the strength of tablets, for example. We are interested in finding out where potential fracture points are located, as well as when and why a fracture occurs,” explains Antonyuk.

To do so, the researchers use a computed tomography (CT) scanner to capture the material structures in high resolution. To investigate the fracture behaviour of particle agglomerates, the working group uses a second measuring device that is operated in the tomograph during the CT measurement. “We use what is known as an in-situ compression/tension unit to directly load the samples with a certain force and check at which position a fracture or crack occurs. We investigate how the composition and microstructure influence the strength. The distribution of the components in the agglomerate and how the individual particles stick to each other in contacts also play a role here,” the professor continues.

This is important for the storage and transport of tablets, for example. Antonyuk: “The fracture processes reduce the product quality and cause the dust formation. This means that a tablet produced with a press agglomeration process must have a high strength. At the same time, however, it must not be pressed overly so that it can dissolve in water, for example, based on a high porosity needed for a quick dissolution.” Based on the CT results, the researchers are working on optimising the internal structure of such agglomerates.

CT technology is also suitable for catalysts and filters

The device can also be used to analyse chemical catalysts. Researchers are focussing on the question of whether and at which positions catalyst particles can break. “In many industrial processes, they are exposed to high loads in reactors and can lose their function over time due to breakage processes or increase the flow resistance,” explains Antonyuk. One of the things the engineers are investigating is the extent to which mechanical stress impairs the function of catalytic converters and when they need to be replaced.

The working group also uses the system to analyse certain filter materials. These are used in industry, for example, to separate solids from fluids. “We look at the exact arrangement of such composite filters, which consist of several materials,” Antonyuk continues. They are structured as follows: A membrane is applied to a fabric, which adheres to it via adhesive dots. “It's like a water-repellent functional jacket, but in reverse,” he explains. “The water penetrates through the filter material, but the membrane prevents air from passing through.” This type of mechanical dehumidification is used in industry for the recovery of solid recyclable materials. The advantage of this process is that it saves energy compared to other methods. The team is focussing on the adhesive dots. Antonyuk: “We investigate the distribution of the adhesive dots over the surface to find out how this affects the filtration process and the mechanical stability of the filter material during operation of a filter system.”

The device can also be used to analyse the efficiency or protective effect of medical and FFP face masks. “We first test the filter efficiency for different wearing scenarios with a test aerosol, a mixture of gas or fine liquid, on a test head,” explains the professor. The CT images can then be used to generate a 3D model of the entire test head with mask and to analyse the microstructure of the face masks. This data is used to calculate the flow during the breathing process. The aim is to optimise the filter efficiency and ageing of the face masks.

Technical details of the computed tomography scanner

The TomoScope L computed tomography (CT) scanner from Werth Messtechnik GmbH can be used very flexibly to examine different sample sizes (< 300 millimetres) and material densities thanks to its 400 millimetres, high-resolution 4K area detector and two X-ray tubes. The measuring device enables this flexibility thanks to a microfocus tube with 240 kilovolts and a nanofocus tube with 160 kilovolts, which can be used depending on the sample properties. The maximum proven structural resolution of the measuring device is one micrometre with a minimum voxel size of 500 nanometres. 

The acquisition of the CT system was funded as part of a large-scale research equipment programme of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [German Research Foundation, DFG]. The institute has opened its laboratory for this device since 2021.  Dr Kai Nikolaus from the Institute of Particle Process Engineering is in charge of the laboratory. The CT system can also be used to precisely analyse the shapes and size distributions of particles in the lower micrometre range, surface structures of components and even biological structures from human connective tissue cells.

At Achema, Antonyuk and his team are presenting various computed tomography results, providing an insight into the microstructures and fracture processes of different materials.

Questions can be directed to:
Professor Dr-Ing. Sergiy Antonyuk
Department of Mechanical Process Engineering 
University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
E-mail:     sergiy.antonyuk[at]mv.rptu.de
Phone: +49 631 205-3524

+++ 
Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology, Innovation and Sustainability, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the University Kaiserslautern-Landau at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science. Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: klaus.dosch[at]rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

People who suffer from depression usually have a negative self-view. However, it is not so much the negative self-view per se that is characteristic of depression, because also mentally healthy people occasionally have negative self-related thoughts such as "I can't do this". What is special about depression, as Tobias Kube has shown in studies, is that people’s negative perception is resistant to change - even if they have positive experiences or receive positive feedback.

Over the next six years, the "" will continue to investigate these difficulties in processing new positive experiences in depression. Specifically, the researchers want to find answers to the questions of which factors are involved, for example which mental processes play a role or what influence emotional aspects have. The research group will also shed light for the first time on the extent to which difficulties in processing new positive experiences are a risk factor for a poorer response to psychotherapy. To this end, the researchers will closely observe the course of therapy of 160 patients with depression over a longer period of time. If the research group's hypothesis was confirmed, this would have important implications for psychotherapeutic treatment: it could be important to specifically help people with depression at the beginning of therapy to learn to integrate new positive experiences so that they can also benefit from the subsequent content of the therapy in the long term.

Dr. Tobias Kube has been a research assistant in the "Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy of Adulthood" department since 2018. He studied psychology at the Philipps University of Marburg (2010 to 2015), obtained his doctorate there in 2018 and was awarded the doctoral prize for the best doctoral thesis in the "Life Sciences and Medicine" section. In 2019, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston (USA) for six months. 

The Emmy Noether Program of the German Research Foundation gives particularly qualified young scientists the opportunity to qualify for a university professorship by independently leading a junior research group over a period of six years.

Contact:

Department of Psychology
Clinical Psychology and Psychology of Adulthood
Dr. Tobias Kube
E-mail: tobias.kube[at]rptu.de

Markus Heidt uses a case study to explain how companies can benefit from precise demand forecasts: “Imagine you need a more spacious car because your family is growing. You research the brand you trust, find the right vehicle and then find out from the manufacturer that the delivery time is more than 12 months. This is frustrating and leads you to buy the car from another manufacturer who can deliver more quickly. From the manufacturer's point of view, this means that a customer is lost because production cannot keep up with demand".

With their data-driven software, the two founders aim to fill this gap and provide a tool to support demand and supply planning. With Crateflow, the two founders are developing a solution that provides accurate demand forecasts, enabling companies to adjust their inventory and production strategies effectively. This maximises both customer satisfaction and resource efficiency.

How does the Crateflow solution work? Prediction models that the founders customise to specific user scenarios serve as the infrastructure. The software initially requires company-related data as input, for example from an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. The software also receives supply chain-relevant information, such as raw material prices, container freight rates or current world events, via external interfaces. Crateflow uses a wide range of AI methods to analyse and link all this data into precise forecasts. “The basic version will still require companies to export data from their ERP system. Our long-term vision is to create a platform that companies can access directly," says Markus Heidt.

The solution from Crateflow has special technical features: Taking into account external features as well as the integration of disruptions in real time allows companies to develop proactive strategies for supply chain management. Forecasting intervals also come into play, which enables supply chain planning experts to better understand the scope and uncertainty of the AI model. At any point in time, it is clear how confident the AI model is in a prediction. Crateflow does not provide a black box, but transparent and explainable data.

At the Hannover Messe, the founders will be presenting their latest achievements to interested companies and demonstrating the benefits of Crateflow based on initial results. “We are looking forward to the dialogue, especially when it comes to possible use cases and thus requirements for our software,” states Daniel Antonatus.

Background on the start-up project

Since February 2024, Markus Heidt and Daniel Antonatus, both with extensive work experience and degrees from the University Kaiserslautern-Landau and the former TU Kaiserslautern respectively, have been supported by the EXIST start-up grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the European Social Fund. The start-up office at University Kaiserslautern-Landau and Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences is also providing consultancy for the team on their path to self-employment. The Chair of Entrepreneurship at University Kaiserslautern-Landau, headed by Prof. Dr Dennis Steininger, is also supporting the founders with specialist expertise and providing them with premises. The Digital Hub Worms complements this support with additional resources and expertise that are available to the founders.

Questions can be directed to:

Markus Heidt
Phone: +49 17620203286
E-mail: markus.heidt@crateflow.ai
--
Daniel Antonatus
Phone: +49 17661333036
E-mail: daniel.antonatus@crateflow.ai

--
Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology and Innovation, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science. Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: dosch[at]rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

“To bring together 6G research more effectively, we are working closely together within the platform,” says coordinator Professor Dr Hans Schotten, who heads the Institute of Radio Communication and Navigation at the University Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Intelligent Networks research department at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). “Our goals include improving cooperation with international partners, creating an innovation network for small and medium-sized companies and start-ups and training specialists who are familiar with the technology.”

Among other things, it is important that the technology functions safely and reliably. In this context, energy efficiency and sustainability are also important. Artificial intelligence, microelectronics, quantum technologies and digital twins, for example, are used to develop the new methods.

In Germany, there are four large 6G research networks, known as hubs (Open6GHub, 6G-RIC, 6GEM and 6G-Life), and 18 6G projects involving partners from industry. There are also three AI-NET projects, which focus on automated, resilient and secure networks, and seven projects that deal with the resilience, meaning the reliability, of such networks. All of this work is being brought together in the 6G platform. This “Platform for Future Communication Technologies and 6G” is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The project is coordinated by the University Kaiserslautern-Landau (Location Kaiserslautern).

In addition to the University Kaiserslautern-Landau and the DFKI, the technical universities in Berlin and Dresden, the University of Bremen, the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, the Barkhausen Institute, the Institute for Automation and Communication (ifak) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS are also involved.

The Kaiserslautern engineers will be presenting the 6G platform and the work of the participating research institutions at their own research stand at the Hannover Messe. Their offer is also aimed at interested companies and institutes.

Questions can be directed to:
Michael Karrenbauer
Institute of Radio Communication and Navigation / University Kaiserslautern-Landau (Location Kaiserslautern)
Phone: +49 631 205-2702
E-mail: michael.karrenbauer@rptu.de

“Modern companies need an adaptable manufacturing system to remain competitive. This is the only way they can manufacture customised products efficiently and react quickly to disturbances such as supply chain bottlenecks,” says Jan Mertes, research associate at the Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Production Systems. Manufacturing can achieve this level of performance through digitalisation and a high level of interconnectivity between the various machines and devices. This interconnectivity enables new, intelligent solutions for production control, planning and system interaction.

Current, wireless solutions do not fulfil these requirements or are not compatible with other communication architectures due to their proprietary design. “The control of production machines places extremely high demands on latency in particular, which means the time it takes for signals to travel from the transmitter to the receiver,” says Daniel Lindenschmitt, research associate at the department for Wireless Communication and Navigation, who is researching 6G concepts together with Mertes. “It's not just about how long the delay is. The arrival time of the signal must also be predictable and therefore reliable. In other words, our research work is concerned with what is known as 'ultra-reliable and low-latency communication'. This vision should finally become true with the 6G mobile phone standard.”

Here's the idea: A network-in-network system

The two researchers are using wireless networks-in-networks (NiN) for their concept. This is a specialised architecture that meets the different requirement of various industrial applications by integrating subnetworks in holistic 6G architecture.

Lindenschmitt and Mertes are combining their results about NiN, also known as underlay networks, in a demonstrator: We developed a CNC milling machine that is controlled with a closed control loop – a highly complex application. “Until now, the hardware of control components has been connected to production machines and systems by wire. Our concept now enables the virtualisation of control components of the milling machine  due to the due to the low latency communication and reliability of signal transmission.”

At the Hannover Messe, the two researchers will present a simple example to illustrate the influence of different properties of networks on control technologies. They show an inverted pendulum whose control is integrated into a NiN-System. In order to remain in an upright position, reliable and extremely fast signal transmission is required. “This allows interested parties to directly experience the advantages of networks-in-networks concepts and what we want to achieve with our 6G research,” summarises Lindenschmitt.

Sub-project in the “Open6GHub”

The project is part of the “Open6GHub”, a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Professor Dr.-Ing. Hans D. Schotten, Head of the Institute of Wireless Communication and Navigation at the University Kaiserslautern-Landau and Head of the Intelligent Networks research department at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), coordinates the project. The Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Production Systems at the University Kaiserslautern-Landau, headed by Professor Dr.-Ing. Jan C. Aurich, is also contributing its expertise. In addition to ����ֱ�� and DFKI, other universities and research institutes are also involved in the Open6GHub project.

Within this research alliance, the partners want to contribute to the development of an overall 6G architecture and also launch end-to-end solutions in the following areas: Extended network topologies with highly agile so-called organic networking, security and resilience, Thz and photonic transmission methods, sensor functionalities integration in the networks and their intelligent utilisation and further processing and application-specific radio protocols.

The researchers are open to dialogue and cooperation: “We are looking for an early and interactive dialogue with the public and are equally ready for collaborations with industry and users,” says Schotten. “To achieve this, we will install open labs and open experimental fields. Last but not least, we want to promote an open innovation system by involving SMEs and start-ups and their results.”

Questions can be directed to:

Daniel Lindenschmitt
Institute for Wireless Communication and Navigation
����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern

Phone: +49 631 205-5211
E-mail: daniel.lindenschmitt[at]rptu.de

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Jan Mertes
Institute for Manufacturing, Technology and Production Systems
����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern

Phone: +49 631 205-4306
E-mail: jan.mertes[at]rptu.de

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Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology and Innovation, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science. Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: dosch[at]rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

In many parts of the world, there are slums where thousands of people live in close proximity to each other, with piles of rubbish and standing sewage directly next to them, where germs can multiply quickly. Almost half of the world's population still lives without a sewer connection and new urban areas are constantly being built without proper drainage. In this respect, the United Nations has set itself the goal of providing access to clean water and sanitation for all people in its Sustainable Development Goals. But this requires an appropriate infrastructure.

The planning of these types of sewer networks for wastewater, rainwater and combined sewage involves a great deal of effort and requires a high level of expertise. “Different criteria such as layout, the degree of decentralisation or centralisation, the sewer diameters and gradients, the installation depths and the pumping and storage systems all play a role,” says Timo Dilly, a member of the start-up team.

Dilly and his team at the University Kaiserslautern-Landau are currently developing a software programme called ZIGGURAT, which can be used to automatically plan urban drainage systems in a sustainable way. “The software is based, among other factors, on the combination of a large number of generally applicable technical rules for civil engineering planning and mathematical methods that can be used to generate sensible solution variants,” continues Dilly. “For this purpose, we have developed our own algorithms. All of this is based on the latest findings from our own research work in urban drainage and hydroinformatics.

Climate change also plays a role in the planning of such drainage systems, as Dilly explains: “The way we deal with rainwater needs to be completely reviewed in light of increasing weather extremes. What we need are solutions to store rainwater, alongside natural areas such as sufficient green spaces. This can help improve the urban climate in hot summer months.” In this context, blue-green infrastructure is also discussed, which is becoming increasingly important in the planning of new urban drainage systems and is also included in ZIGGURAT's plans. “These measures increase cities' resilience to extreme events, reduce costs and minimise negative effects on the environment,” emphasises the member of the start-up team.

In this respect, the software is also suitable for local cities and municipalities looking to adapt their drainage systems in the future.

In addition to Dilly, his colleagues Dr Amin E. Bakhshipour, Professor Dr Ulrich Dittmer and Ralf Habermehl from the Department of Urban Water Management at the ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern are involved in the new company called Sustainable Water Infrastructure Solutions GmbH. Marius Lauer, who specialises in business management, is supporting the team.

In future, the company intends to provide its software “ZIGGURAT” on an online platform where interested parties can create an account for a fee. In addition to the software, the team from Kaiserslautern also provides its expertise and offers support when it comes to planning, for example.

As the company strives to become self-employed, it is supported by an “EXIST start-up grant” provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the European Social Fund for “University-based Business Start-Ups”.

At the Hannover Messe, the start-up team will be presenting their software at the Rhineland-Palatinate joint stand “Research and Innovation Rhineland-Palatinate”.

More information at ziggurat.ai

Questions will be answered by:
Timo Dilly
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Solutions GmbH
E-mail: dilly@ziggurat.ai
Phone: +49 631 205-4643

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Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology, Innovation and Sustainability, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the University Kaiserslautern-Landau at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science. Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: dosch[at]rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

Expanding the partnership with Francis Marion University is part of a new strategy at University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��) at Landau: Dr. Christian Dorsch from the International Affairs Office explains that the intention is not to aim for quantity in international partnerships but instead intensify the cooperation with a smaller number of partners that are a good match for ����ֱ��. Francis Marion University (FMU) based in Florence in the US state of South Carolina has been an important partner of ����ֱ�� at Landau since 2012 and the partnership will now also be open to ����ֱ�� at Kaiserslautern. The two universities have some overlap in terms of both study programmes and research topics, which is why they are a perfect match and now want to significantly expand their partnership. In September 2023, representatives of ����ֱ�� at Landau travelled to South Carolina to renew the universities' exchange agreement. The President of FMU, Dr. Luther F. Carter, suggested that ����ֱ�� could be one of the three strategic international partnerships under consideration of the southern state university.

Representatives from Francis Marion University visited Southern Palatinate in March 2024. Christian Dorsch emphasises: “Not only do we fit together well professionally, we also all get on very well personally. We realised very quickly that FMU should be our main partner in the USA.” Another factor is that there is a state partnership between Rhineland-Palatinate and South Carolina, which provides good opportunities to define strategic projects and programmes and to acquire third-party funding for them. Both universities believe that there is a lot of potential for expanding the partnership.

Exchange in all subject areas

The focus will be on the exchange of students, teachers and researchers. To date, the exchange programme has mainly covered the subjects of English and art. “When the group from Landau visited us last September, we recognized that there was more we could do together,” explains Charles Jeffcoat, Professor of Art at FMU, who coordinates the exchange programme and study trips from Francis Marion University to Landau. “In the summer semester, we will welcome students in educational sciences, environmental sciences and psychology from Francis Marion University to Landau for the first time.” In future, there will also be exchanges between economics and political science. “There are similarities in all subject areas. I hope that we can fully expand the cooperation in every area,” says Co-President of University Kaiserslautern-Landau Prof. Dr. Gabriele E. Schaumann, who is also pleased that the collaboration offers many possibilities.

Like at University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, teacher training is also very important at Francis Marion University. Prospective teachers should therefore also benefit from the exchange programme: “Student teachers should have the opportunity to gain international experience- not only if they are studying a foreign language,” emphasises Dorsch. After all, classrooms are becoming increasingly heterogeneous, with children from very different cultural experiences and language backgrounds. This is why a planned short-term exchange programme for student teachers also includes visits to local schools.

Similar regions in Rhineland-Palatinate and South Carolina

In April 2024 ����ֱ�� will once again welcome FMU students, this time three, for the summer semester. In return, in August several students from Landau will travel to the USA to study at FMU for the fall term there. Both universities intend to provide more slots in this exchange programme in the future. Francis Marion University also utilises programmes such as Travel Study. In May 2024 twelve students and two lecturers will spend several days in Landau to study the topic of sustainability in Germany’s Southwest. FMU would also like to provide financial support for its lecturers to be able to work and research at University Kaiserslautern-Landau. “I taught cultural studies in Landau for four weeks ten years ago,” says Jeffcoat, whose wife is half German.

The strategic partnership between the two universities will not be limited to exchange, however. There is also potential for joint research, both in educational research and, above all, in the field of environmental sciences. Rhineland-Palatinate and the area surrounding Francis Marion University share many similarities. “Both are inland, both have the opportunities to conduct research on waters such as rivers or ponds,” says Dr. Mark Blackwell, Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Director of International Affairs at Francis Marion University. In the US, more funding is provided for coastal marine ecology than for inland water ecology. This is due to industry, imports and exports, Blackwell continues. Joint research with ����ֱ�� at Landau would therefore come in handy for FMU.

“We are struggling with similar things everywhere in the world”

Francis Marion University has a facility comparable to University Kaiserslautern-Landau's Eußerthal Ecosystem Research Site (EERES). “We have a lake about ten minutes away from campus where we go out by boat and take samples. The Fresh Water Ecology Centre around the lake offers great laboratories and seminar rooms,” says Jeffcoat. “Although this is different from Landau, where research is conducted in other waters, nevertheless the focus is the same.”

Jason Doll also welcomes the plan to conduct joint research in the future. He is a biology professor and coordinator for environmental sciences at Francis Marion University: “Climate change, water pollution, air pollution. We are struggling with similar things all over the world, which means we have overlapping expertise everywhere.” The biologist emphasises that the sustainability goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations are becoming increasingly important around the world. Doll sees the USA and Germany facing similar challenges in many environmental issues, such as declining vegetation or agriculture. “In Rhineland-Palatinate it's wine, in South Carolina it's cotton. The problems are similar.” Schaumann adds: “It's good that Francis Marion University is not a giant university, but a smaller one with good resources and interests similar to those of University of Kaiserslautern-Landau.”

Both universities are interested in helping in the development of their regions

Both universities also have a similar mindset in relation to their respective regions. The merger of Landau and Kaiserslautern to form University of Kaiserslautern-Landau is intended to strengthen the Palatinate region, and Francis Marion University also cares about its PeeDee region, says Dorsch: “We both do a lot for our regions. That’s important to us. When we talked about things like citizen science or outreach, I sensed a lot of interest from Francis Marion University. At the same time, we also want to learn from them because they have great programmes for their region.” Blackwell adds: “We have a lot of young people in our university who are very engaged and concerned with global and local ties. When representatives of ����ֱ�� at Landau visited us, they told us a lot about the ties between Germany, Europe and the USA. We not only exchange knowledge about our academic work, but also about community outreach and democracy. This is important.”

A close friendship has developed over the twelve years that the two universities have been working together. “It's like family,” says Jeffcoat, who was delighted to welcome some faculty members of ����ֱ�� at Landau, with whom he has been working for years, to FMU’s home city Florence for the first time in September.

Partnership between Rhineland-Palatinate and South Carolina

It is no coincidence that the two universities came together twelve years ago. The cooperation developed as a result of a partnership between Rhineland-Palatinate and South Carolina that has existed since 1997, the so-called “Sister State Agreement”. The cooperation initially started with discussions about the conversion of military properties to civilian use. Today, the cooperation is particularly strong in the fields of education and science. Numerous schools and universities as well as the State Institute of Education regularly cooperate with partners in South Carolina.

During their one-week visit, the seven representatives of Francis Marion University got to know both campuses of University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, visited the Atlantic Academy of Rhineland-Palatinate in Kaiserslautern, met the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Science and Health Clemens Hoch and visited the State Chancellery and the State Parliament in Mainz. “This demonstrates the importance of the partnership for Rhineland-Palatinate and we will continue to fill it with life,” emphasised Dorsch.

Such adhesions not only play a role in cells within a tissue, but also in processes in which cells have to move, for example during embryonic development or when cells have to migrate to close wounds. They are also important for the communication of cells with their environment. "This means that under certain conditions cells need very long-lasting adhesions, while under other conditions dynamic structures are required to enable locomotion," continues the professor. Accordingly, researchers distinguish between different types of adhesion structures: "Focal adhesions, also known as canonical adhesion, are the ones that have been best-studied." 

A specific protein complex in the cell membrane is responsible for this form of adhesion. It is structured as follows: Special proteins, the integrins, are anchored in the membrane. They have a part outside of the cell with which they bind to specific proteins of the extracellular matrix and thus adhere to the material cells are embedded in. The integrins are also firmly attached to structures inside the cell via a protein complex. This contains, for example, paxillin as a typical component of focal adhesions.

In addition, there are so-called reticular adhesions, adhesion networks and retraction fibres, all of which also contain integrins, but otherwise differ in their composition, for example, no paxillin is found in them. These three types of adhesions are also referred to as non-canonical adhesions. They have not yet been well studied.

"Until now, it was believed that focal adhesions arise completely anew, e.g. when cells move," continues Maritzen. In their current study, the team led by the Kaiserslautern professor and her colleague Dr. Fabian Lukas investigated the question of whether the different forms of adhesions can instead also convert into each other. Lukas, the first author of the current study, explains. "We hypothesised that the integrins remain intact as the basic scaffold while the associated molecular complexes are exchanged."
In their investigations, the research group has benefited from the fact that they have been working with a specific protein, Stonin1, for a long time. "This protein is found in non-canonical adhesions, but not in focal adhesions," explains Lukas, "and can therefore be used as an identification feature for these structures." 

To test their hypothesis, the researchers carried out a series of experiments. For this, they modified the genes for stonin1 and integrin ß5 with the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors, attaching the DNA sequence for a fluorescent protein to one end. This makes it possible to observe them in the cell using fluorescence microscopy. In addition, they labelled paxillin.
They then looked at the adhesion structures on membranes of living cells using a high-resolution microscope and followed their development, e.g. while a cell is dividing. For division, the cell has to form into a sphere, disassembling its focal adhesions in the process. "Such a cell cycle takes around 120 minutes. During this time, we have seen that the integrins remain unchanged," explains Lukas.

However, the situation was different for the proteins paxillin and stonin1. "We observed that paxillin disappears over time, while stonin1 appears. The adhesion structures are therefore still present in the cell, they just change their molecular composition," concludes Maritzen. 

During cell division, the cell uses reticular adhesions to attach to its environment. After division, the following can be observed: In the two daughter cells, the reticular adhesions become focal adhesions again. 

In a further experiment, they investigated what happens in cells that are in motion. "The cells leave behind membrane strands, so-called retraction fibres, when they migrate. Here, too, we saw that integrins remain in these structures as a stable scaffold. When the cell changes direction and moves back across the retraction fibres, stonin1 is replaced by paxillin over time, so that a retraction fibre becomes a focal adhesion," summarises Lukas.

The results show for the first time a close connection between the different forms of adhesions: Focal adhesions do not always arise from scratch, as previously assumed, but also through recycling of a stable integrin backbone in which only specific binding partners are exchanged.

Researchers from the ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern, the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie in Berlin, the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, the Freie Universität Berlin, Charité Universitätsmedizin and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda (Maryland) were involved in the study.

The study has been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications: "Canonical and non-canonical integrin-based adhesions dynamically interconvert".
DOI:

Questions can be adressed to: 
Professorin Dr. Tanja Maritzen
Nanophysiology
����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern
E-Mail: maritzen[at]rptu.de
Tel.: +49 (0)631 205-4908
 

Phase transitions in chemistry and physics are changes in the state of a substance, for example the change from a liquid to a gaseous phase, when an external parameter such as temperature or pressure is changed. "Magnets are a good example," says Professor Dr. Artur Widera, who heads the Individual Quantum Systems unit at University Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��). "Ferromagnets show spontaneous magnetization without an external magnetic field, i.e. they are inherently magnetic, but only below a certain critical temperature. When the temperature rises above this point, the system undergoes a continuous phase transition; above this temperature, the material is no longer magnetic."

In an experiment, a universal behavior at a phase transition can be specifically induced by changing a parameter such as pressure, magnetism or temperature. The special thing is that this behavior of a physical quantity "can be described by a few critical parameters," Widera continues, "which in turn are independent of the details of the system under consideration."

Can this universal behavior also be observed in the quantum world, i.e. at the atomic and subatomic level? In the current study, Widera's research team placed individual caesium atoms in a specific quantum state and immersed them in a gas of rubidium atoms. This combination of a single quantum system (caesium) interacting with the rubidium bath is also referred to in specialist circles as an open quantum system. Both the caesium atoms and the rubidium atoms were cooled down to almost absolute zero.

"In contrast to the usual observations, in our experiment the time was the parameter that should reach a critical point, or critical time," says Dr. Jens Nettersheim, research associate at Widera and co-author of the study. To achieve this, the researchers had to excite the quantum system with a great deal of energy. "What we have now observed is that the entropy first increases as the system develops over time," adds Ling-Na Wu, a theoretical physicist who accompanied the project and is the first author of the study. Researchers understand the term entropy as a measure of the disorder in a certain system and therefore also the possibility of particles arranging themselves in a system - as in this case the caesium and rubidium atoms. The greater the disorder in a system, the higher the entropy and vice versa. Wu: "This happens until the entropy reaches its maximum value, which then decreases again."

It is precisely at this point, the critical time, that the universal behavior of the quantum system sets in. André Eckardt, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Technische Universität (TU) Berlin, who led the theoretical work on this project, explains: "At this time, the following happens: Figuratively speaking, the system loses its memory of what happened earlier, or of the exact initial state. The subsequent dynamics are universal." In physics, this means that the behavior can be described with a formula and a parameter.  

The study shows that in open quantum systems there is universal behavior with regard to time. With this work, the physicists are contributing to a better understanding of the fundamental functioning of such systems. "It is still not entirely clear how such open quantum systems release energy, i.e. relax, and how exactly thermodynamic equilibrium is achieved," explains Widera. 

Many technical applications today only work thanks to the quantum technology that is built into them. In the future, it will play an increasingly important role, for example in quantum computers or quantum sensors. It is therefore important to understand what happens in such systems and how they interact with their environment. 

Widera's team carried out the experiments at ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern; the theoretical work for this study was provided by the working group led by Professor Dr. André Eckardt from the Institute for Theoretical Physics at TU Berlin, with Ling-Na Wu from Hainan University in China also involved.

The study has been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications: "Indication of critical scaling in time during the relaxation of an open quantum system"
DOI:

At ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern, the research work on the study was integrated into the Center for Optics and Materials Science, which is funded as part of the Rhineland-Palatinate Research Initiative. 

Questions can be addressed to:
Professor Dr. Artur Widera
Department of Individual Quantum Systems
����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern
Phone: 0631 205-4130
E-mail: widera(at)rptu.de

The Venosta Valley is located in South Tyrol, which is primarily associated with mountains and nature. In this region in the North of Italy, more than 7,000 apple growers produce ten percent of all European apples. Conventional apple cultivation relies primarily on synthetic pesticides, which are applied by fan assisted sprayers: insecticides to combat pests such as the codling moth and fungicides against fungal diseases that cause scab on the fruit. This results in a high level of drift into the environment, especially in windy conditions.

For a long time, even experts assumed that the synthetic pesticides essentially remained in the apple orchard where they were applied and could only be found in the immediate vicinity. However, this assumption is based on outdated and less sensitive measurement methods and the fact that pesticides away from the production areas were simply not recorded, explains environmental scientist Carsten Brühl from the ����ֱ�� in Landau. With today's modern analytical methods, up to one hundred pesticides can be measured simultaneously, even in low concentrations. In fact, studies show that pesticides spread well beyond agricultural land and affect insects in nature reserves (Brühl et al 2022, Scientific Reports) or can be found in the ambient air far away from agriculture (Zaller et al. 2022, Science of the Total Environment). In the Venosta Valley, a decline in butterflies on mountain meadows was observed several years ago. Experts suspected a connection with the use of pesticides in the valley, but there are hardly any studies on the question of how far current pesticides are actually transported and how long they remain in the soil and plants. This prompted Brühl and his colleague Johann Zaller from BOKU to investigate the distribution of pesticides in the environment in the Venosta Valley.

Measuring pesticide distribution on a landscape scale for the first time

"From an ecotoxicological perspective, the Venosta Valley is particularly interesting, as the valley is characterised by highly intensive cultivation with many pesticides and the mountains are home to sensitive alpine ecosystems, that are in some cases also strictly protected," explains Brühl. Together with his team and colleagues from BOKU and South Tyrol, he has analysed pesticide contamination at landscape level - along the entire valley up to high altitudes. Systematically recording and visualising the fate of pesticides on such a large scale is a first in environmental science. For their study, the researchers established a total of eleven so-called altitudinal transects along the entire valley axis, stretches that extend from the valley floor at 500 metres above sea level to the mountain peaks above 2,300 metres. The team took samples every 300 metres along these altitudinal transects. Plant material was collected and soil samples taken at a total of 53 locations.

The subsequent analysis showed that although the pesticides decrease overall at higher altitudes and with distance from the apple orchards, the researchers still detected several substances in mixtures in the soil and vegetation, even in the upper Venosta Valley with hardly any apple cultivation.  "We found the substances in remote mountain valleys, on the peaks and in national parks. They have no place there," emphasises Brühl. Due to the sometimes strong valley winds and the thermal updrafts in the Venosta Valley, the substances spread further than one might assume based on their chemical and physical properties. Even at the low concentrations measured, pesticides can lead to sublethal effects on organisms. For butterflies, for example, this could mean a reduction in egg laying, which then leads to a population reduction. There was only one place where the researchers found no pesticide substances in the vegetation - interestingly, there are also a lot of butterflies in that place.

Almost 30 pesticides detected

The researchers found a total of 27 different pesticides in the environment, but at the same time emphasise that they carried out their measurements at the beginning of May and that further products are used during the growing season up to the harvest. On average, almost 40 applications of pesticides are common during the season. This means that more complex mixtures with several substances and recurring higher concentrations are likely. In almost half of all soil and plant samples, the researchers were able to measure the insecticide methoxyfenozide, which has no longer been authorised in Germany since 2016 due to its harmfulness to the environment. Little is known about how chronic exposure to pesticides with mixtures in low concentrations affects the environment, and about the possible interaction of different substances. In the environmental risk assessment as part of the European authorisation procedure, mixtures are not evaluated, but the substances are considered individually. "This has nothing to do with the reality of applications in the field or in the orchard and their fate in the environment," says Brühl.

The researchers are concerned about how widespread the pesticide contamination was in the soil and plants and that even national parks, which were actually set up to protect endangered plants and animals, are exposed. "The concentrations we found were not high, but it has been proven that pesticides affect soil life even at very low concentrations," explains soil expert Johann Zaller from BOKU. In addition, the team always found a cocktail of different pesticides, the effects of which may be amplified. "The results also show that the technique of pesticide application in apple cultivation is in great need of improvement, otherwise so many pesticides would not be found away from the apple orchards," Zaller is convinced. It is also uneconomical if the pesticides are not applied specifically to the target organisms.

"We know from previous studies (Caroline Linhart et al 2021, Environmental Sciences Europe) that children's playgrounds near apple orchards are contaminated with pesticides. In some cases even throughout the year," says co-author and pesticide critic Koen Hertoge, who lives in the Venosta Valley. "The current results show a new dimension to the problem, as even remote areas are contaminated with pesticides. Measures to protect nature and the health of the population are absolutely necessary and the new provincial government is now called upon to act."

Promoting functional biodiversity as an alternative to pesticide use

Possible measures would be to reduce or even ban the use of pesticides, at least the substances detected in remote areas, the researchers conclude from their findings. In return, it is important to promote management practices that also encourage beneficial insect-pest interactions, the so-called functional biodiversity in the apple orchard and in the surrounding area. This means, for example, semi-natural and flower-rich grasslands that are distributed across the landscape and provide a habitat for the antagonists of apple pests. In addition, systematic monitoring should be introduced that includes measurements at various locations throughout the year in order to estimate the year-round pesticide input.

According to the researchers, the responsibility for reducing the use of pesticides lies not only with the apple growers, but also with the large supermarket chains: they could promote the acceptance of apples that do not look quite so perfect. This is quite realistic. The fact that people is also critical of the use of pesticides was demonstrated in 2014 by a referendum in the market town of Malles/Mals in the Upper Venosta Valley, where the majority voted against conventional apple cultivation.

Carsten Brühl concludes from the observed spread throughout the landscape: "We need regions where plants and animals are not contaminated with these bioactive substances. A reduction in pesticides - including large areas without the use of any synthetic pesticide - and the simultaneous expansion of organic farming is urgently needed to reduce landscape pollution. Our results show that it is urgent to act now, unfortunately we have no more time."

The study:

Carsten A. Brühl, Nina Engelhard, Nikita Bakanov, Jakob Wolfram, Koen Hertoge, Johann G. Zaller. 2024. Widespread contamination of soils and vegetation with Current Use Pesticide residues along altitudinal gradients in a European Alpine valley. Nature Communications Earth & Environment.

Further studies mentioned:

Carsten A. Brühl, Nikita Bakanov, Sebastian Köthe, Lisa Eichler, Martin Sorg, Thomas Hörren, Roland Mühlethaler, Gotthard Meinel, Gerlind U.C. Lehmann. Direct pesticide exposure of insects in nature conservation areas in Germany. Scientific Reports.

Johann G. Zaller, Maren Kruse-Paß, Ulrich Schlechtriemen, Edith Gruber, Maria Peer, Imran Nadeem, Herbert Formayer, Hans-Peter Hutter, Lukas Landler. Pesticides in ambient air, influenced by surrounding land use and weather, pose a potential threat to biodiversity and humans. Science of The Total Environment.

Caroline Linhart, Simona Panzacchi, Fiorella Belpoggi, Peter Clausing, Johann G. Zaller, Koen Hertoge. Year-round pesticide contamination of public sites near intensively managed agricultural areas in South Tyrol. Environmental Sciences Europe.

Contact:

Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
Prof. Dr. Carsten Brühl
iES Landau, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften
+49 (0)6341 280-31310
carsten.bruehl@rptu.de

Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU)
Prof.  Dr. Johann Zaller
Institut für Zoologie
+43 1 47654-83318
johann.zaller@boku.ac.at

Koen Hertoge
+39 345 816 05 16
koen.hertoge@gmail.com

Press Contact:

Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��)
Kerstin Theilmann
+49 6341 280-32219
kerstin.theilmann@rptu.de

Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU)
Bettina Fernsebner-Kokert
+43 (0) 664 885 86 531
bettina.fernsebner@boku.ac.at

In general, plants change their metabolic processes as a typical reaction to the onset of cold temperatures. This primarily affects the structures of biomembranes that enclose cells and the cell organelles within them, acting as a thin boundary layer. “When exposed to cold, the composition of the lipid bilayers that make up the cell membranes must be modified quickly and efficiently,” explains Annalisa John, who is working on her PhD in plant physiology and is the first author of the study. These adaptations are necessary to keep membranes fluid or mobile even at low environmental temperatures, which is an essential prerequisite for their functionality.

To adapt and remodel the composition of cell membranes, plants initiate the production of newly generated lipids. The synthesis takes place in two cell compartments, the chloroplasts and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). To do this, fatty acids – which represent the basic building blocks of lipid synthesis – must first be synthesized within the green chloroplasts, so that the fatty acids can then be transported out of the chloroplast via the transport protein Fatty Acid Export 1 (FAX1) in order to subsequently enter the ER. “Prior to these investigations, our research group had already observed that, in addition to other proteins, the abundance of FAX1 decreases significantly when Arabidopsis plants are exposed to cold temperatures,” says Annalisa John. “However, we didn't know whether this decrease was relevant for cold and frost adaptation and how the targeted decrease in the FAX1 protein abundance is controlled.”

The chloroplasts provide the answer

The junior scientist provided answers to these research questions as part of her PhD thesis. Plant mutants that continuously produce the FAX1 protein in large quantities (so-called FAX1 overexpressors) and are exposed to cold temperatures showed the following behaviour: They grew inefficiently and tended to age prematurely (Fig. 1A and B), showed defects in photosynthesis and produced large amounts of toxic substances – reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen superoxide.

In addition, the balanced lipid synthesis in the chloroplasts and in the ER was disturbed by the permanent fatty acid export via FAX1, which differs significantly from the situation in wild-type plants. While wild types particularly activate lipid synthesis in the chloroplasts during cold, the FAX1 overexpressors synthesize quite a lot of lipids in the ER. “We have also identified a protease responsible for degrading FAX1 exclusively during cold temperatures, known as the rhomboid-like protease 11 (RBL11 protease),” explains Annalisa John. “Like FAX1, RBL11 is located in the inner envelope of the chloroplasts. Plant mutants lacking the RBL11 protease showed the same symptoms as the FAX1 overexpressors. We now know that the degradation of FAX1 in the cold is highly important for adaptation to low environmental temperatures and we also know how the degradation occurs.”

Utilising existing research expertise

The research groups led by Prof. Timo Mühlhaus (Computational Systems Biology) and Prof. Michael Schroda (Molecular Biotechnology and Systems Biology) from ����ֱ�� provided support for the complex analyses. “We have already been collaborating with these groups and external research partners in the Trans-regional Collaborative Research Centre 175 ‘The Green Hub’, which is funded by the German Research Foundation,” says Professor Dr Ekkehard Neuhaus, who is responsible for the Department of Plant Physiology. “The aim of this coordinated research programme is to understand the diverse functions of chloroplasts in the adaptation of plants to changing environmental conditions. The findings from Ms John's PhD thesis will make an important contribution to the research programme. It may therefore be possible to specifically optimise the cold tolerance of sensitive crop plants so that they can survive spontaneous phases of low temperatures or even frost.”

Publication in the scientific journal “Plant Cell”

The entire study can be viewed in the renowned scientific journal “The Plant Cell”:

References to the published study:

Degradation of FATTY ACID EXPORT PROTEIN1 by RHOMBOID-LIKE PROTEASE11 contributes to cold tolerance in Arabidopsis

Annalisa John, Moritz Krämer, Martin Lehmann, Hans-Henning Kunz, Fayezeh Aarabi, Saleh Alseekh, Alisdair Fernie, Frederik Sommer, Michael Schroda, David Zimmer, Timo Mühlhaus, Helga Peisker, Katharina Gutbrod, Peter Dörmann, Jens Neunzig, Katrin Philippar, H Ekkehard Neuhaus

Plant Cell, koae011, 18 January 2024

DOI:

Contact for questions

Prof. Dr Ekkehard Neuhaus
Plant Physiology, ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau

T: +49 (0)631 205-2372
E: neuhaus[at]rptu.de

Predicting stock returns is similar to forecasting the weather, requiring a multitude of data points. These include, for instance, high-altitude temperatures and humidity, as well as air currents, cloud cover, and sunlight duration. Just as detailed meteorological data is crucial for accurate weather predictions, extensive financial data, and intelligent methods to combine this information are essential to determine if an investment is likely to be profitable.

Such data includes so-called capital market anomalies. "Over 400 of these, identified in recent years by leading financial journals, are considered predictive for stock returns," explains Professor Dr. Vitor Azevedo from the University Kaiserslautern-Landau, a co-author of the study. One example is the well-known "Price-Earnings Ratio" (PER) of a stock. So-called Value Strategies can use this metric to invest in (seemingly) affordable stocks with low PERs. Another example is the "Short-Term Reversal" effect, where stocks with the lowest returns in the previous month tend to outperform those with the highest returns in the following month.

However, which of these anomalies are relevant? How do they interrelate, and what is their impact when combined? In the study, Azevedo, Professor Dr. Sebastian Müller from the Technical University of Munich, and Sebastian Kaiser from Roland Berger aimed to determine if Artificial Intelligence could answer these questions. "Traditional methods like regression analyses have their limits in this context," notes Azevedo. "That is why we used Machine Learning methods capable of uncovering complex relationships within large datasets." This approach is often referred to as a nonlinear combination in expert circles.

For their analysis, the economists examined various ML approaches. They analyzed nearly 1.9 billion stock-month-anomaly observations from 1980 to 2019 across 68 countries. "We found that these AI models significantly outperform traditional methods. The machine learning models can predict stock returns with remarkable accuracy, achieving an average monthly return of up to 2.71 percent compared to about 1 percent for traditional methods," adds Professor Azevedo.

The study's findings highlight the potential of such technology for the financial market. Financial managers could use it in the future to develop new stock price models. The researchers from Kaiserslautern and Munich advise, among other things, careful data preparation to correctly incorporate outliers and missing values, especially when working with international data, as they write in their study. Additionally, they recommend reviewing ethical and regulatory concerns before deploying these AI techniques.

The study was published in the Journal of Asset Management under the title "Stock market anomalies and machine learning across the globe."
Vitor Azevedo, Georg Sebastian Kaiser, Sebastian Mueller

DOI:

For inquiries, contact:
Prof. Dr. Vitor Azevedo
Financial Management / University Kaiserslautern-Landau
Phone: 0631 205 4105
Email: vitor.azevedo@rptu.de
 

For their experiment, the physicists used a cloud of rubidium atoms that was cooled down in an ultra-high vacuum to about 100 microkelvin – 0.0001 degrees above absolute zero. Subsequently, they excited some of these atoms into a so-called Rydberg state using lasers. “In this process, the outermost electron in each case is brought into far-away orbits around the atomic body”, explains Professor Herwig Ott, who researches ultracold quantum gases and quantum atom optics at University of Kaiserslautern-Landau. “The orbital radius of the electron can be more than one micrometer, making the electron cloud larger than a small bacterium.” Such highly excited atoms are also formed in interstellar space and are chemically extremely reactive.

If a ground state atom is now located within this giant Rydberg atom, a molecule is formed. While standard chemical bonds are either covalent, ionic, metallic or of dipolar nature, the trilobite molecules are bound by a completely different mechanism. “It is the quantum mechanical scattering of the Rydberg electron from the ground state atom, which sticks the two together” says Max Althön, who is first author of the study. Althön explains further: “Imagine the electron rapidly orbiting around the nucleus. On each round trip, it collides with the ground state atom. In contrast to our intuition, quantum mechanics teaches us that these collisions lead to an effective attraction between the electron and the ground state atom.”

The properties of these molecules are amazing: Due to the wave nature of the electron, the multiple collisions lead to an interference pattern which looks like a trilobite. Moreover, the bond length of the molecule is as large as the Rydberg orbit – way bigger than any other diatomic molecule. And because the electron is so strongly attracted by the ground state atom, the permanent electric dipole moment is extremely large: more than 1700 Debye.
In order to observe these molecules, the scientists have developed a dedicated vacuum apparatus. It allows for preparing ultracold atoms via laser cooling and subsequent spectroscopic detection of the molecules. The results help to understand fundamental binding mechanisms between ground state atoms and Rydberg atoms, which have recently become also a promising platform for quantum computing applications. The discovery of the researchers complements the understanding of Rydberg systems, which can be exotic and useful at the same time.

Research on this study took place within the priority programme “Giant Interactions in Rydberg Systems”, which is funded by the German Research Foundation. This research was carried out in the OPTIMAS profile area (Landesforschungszentrum für Optik und Materialwissenschaften - State Research Centre for Optics and Materials Sciences), which has been funded as part of the state's research initiative since 2008.

The results of the measurements and a description of the experimental setup have been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications: “Exploring the vibrational series of pure trilobite Rydberg molecules”; Max Althön, Markus Exner, Richard Blättner & Herwig Ott



DOI:

Questions can be directed to:
Prof. Dr Herwig Ott
Ultracold quantum gases and quantum atom optics
University of Kaiserslautern-Landau
Phone: +49 0631 205-2817
E-mail: herwig.ott@rptu.de

In the event of a stroke, speed is of essence. Using computer tomography (CT) scans, doctors can quickly determine the position of the blood clot in the brain and what treatment is appropriate. Such imaging procedures play an important role in medicine. They are also used in other areas, for example prior to operations. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans help surgeons plan an operation before it is performed.

What all these technologies have in common is that they generate a lot of data. “Analysing and visualising this data automatically is an important step toward personalised medicine,” says Dr. Christina Gillmann, a computer scientist at the University of Leipzig. “This area has gained enormous importance in recent years.” AI processes such as machine learning and neural networks make this possible. These networks learn on the basis of data with which they are trained or “fed”. They learn, for example, from CT image data a doctor has previously processed. In this way, technical information, but also medical experience, is incorporated. The rule is that the more data these methods can evaluate, the better the results will be.

In a few years, such technologies have the potential to be used in everyday clinical practice, for example, to enable personalised diagnoses and therapies. However, they are still in the early stages of development. “Each medical case has to be trained individually. The data must be prepared individually in advance, which is very time-consuming,” explains Robin Maack from the Computer Graphics and Human Computer Interaction working group at University Kaiserslautern-Landau as a problem. For each medical case, doctors have to “label” the data individually, for example. “This means that if a network is to train to automatically recognise a tumour, hundreds of images with known tumours have to be hand-drawn in so that the neural network has a basis with which to learn,” Gillmann explains.

Maack continues: “In addition, there are no standard interfaces with which trained networks can be handled, loaded and used. But also when there are uncertainties in the data layers; be it training data sets or models used; there are no standardised guidelines for how medical professionals should deal with that.”

Such uncertainties occur, for example, with lesions. During a stroke, certain areas of the brain are no longer supplied with sufficient oxygen, or not at all, due to the blockage of vessels in the brain. They are no longer able to work efficiently. The core of the lesion is often easy to recognise, but at the edge there is usually no clear demarcation and regions where even doctors cannot agree whether they should be classified as a lesion or not. Ultimately, what is needed here is medical experience on how to deal with these issues.

This is where the focus of Gillmann and Maack's work starts. Their team is currently developing a uniform system for processing and evaluating medical image data and visualising their uncertainties. The system is called GUARDIAN. The researchers have designed their technology in such a way that it is easy to use. “Clinics can load their trained neural networks and combine them with the processed data provided, for example, in the case of a stroke”.

The system evaluates the data and visualises the results. “This happens automatically, without the need for IT knowledge,” Maack explains. “In addition, our method also shows the uncertainties.” This means that the doctors can look at them again and, if necessary, make a joint decision on what is the best treatment in an individual case, for example.  

The two computer scientists will be presenting their technology at the fair. The system is freely available as an open-source application.

The “Visualization and Human Computer Interaction” working group of Professor Dr. Christoph Garth at University Kaiserslautern-Landau has been researching for a long time to prepare data from imaging procedures for medicine in such a way that it can be used simply and reliably in everyday clinical practice.

Klaus Dosch, Department for Transfer, Innovation and Sustainability, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the ����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern at the Medica. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science.

Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: klaus.dosch@rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

Questions can be directed to:
Robin Maack
Visualization and Human Computer Interaction
University Kaiserslautern-Landau / Kaiserslautern
Phone: +49 631 205-3268
E-mail: maack(at)rptu.de

Christina Gillmann
Image and Signal Processing Group
Universality of Leipzig
Phone: +49 341 97 32281
E-mail: gillmann(at)informatik.uni-leipzig.de

About the DFKI
The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence GmbH (DFKI) was founded in 1988 as a non-profit public-private partnership (PPP). It combines scientific excellence and business-oriented value creation with social appreciation. DFKI has been researching AI for humans for more than 30 years and is oriented towards social relevance and scientific excellence in the crucial future-oriented research and application areas of artificial intelligence. It is among the most important “Centers of Excellence” in the international scientific community. DFKI runs facilities in Kaiserslautern, Saarbrücken, Bremen and Lower Saxony, laboratories in Berlin and Darmstadt, and branch offices in Lübeck and Trier. Approximately 1,560 employees from more than 76 nations are currently conducting research in the field of innovative software solutions. The financial budget in 2022 was EUR 82.6 million.

Classical engines are heat engines and follow the laws of thermodynamics. They convert thermal energy released during the combustion of fuel into mechanical or kinetic energy through combustion in a piston. The idea of bringing an engine into the quantum world is not new. Professor Artur Widera had already shown in a past research paper that it is possible to operate a quantum heat engine in a stable and efficient manner. Now, together with colleagues from the University of Stuttgart and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, he and his research group have succeeded in developing a quantum motor that uses a different, purely quantum mechanical phenomenon as its drive.

Energy difference as a drive
“In the quantum world, or at the atomic level, we distinguish between two categories of particles: Bosons and fermions,” explains Jennifer Koch, a research associate in the group and first author of the study. “They differ in one characteristic and that is their intrinsic angular momentum or spin.” When a large number of bosons and fermions each gather in a so-called atom trap in an ultra-cold environment (where thermal effects do not play a role), the following happens: “If the bosons are not directed by thermal energy, they remain energetically in the ground state and join each other,” the physicist explains. “The fermions, on the other hand, follow the Pauli principle.” The Pauli principle states that two identical fermions cannot be in the same energy state. Instead, they move away from each other, adopting different excited states or increasing energy levels. The crucial key point for the research as follows: “The total energy of the fermion ensemble is higher,” Koch sums up.

In order to exploit the energy difference between the different particle ensembles, the research team benefited from the fact that fermions are transformative under suitable experimental conditions. The physicist explains as follows: “We united the fermions in pairs in each case - thereby creating bosons. In this way, we have created a quantum mechanical alternative to igniting a fuel, which can be used to operate our quantum engine.”

Thermodynamics - yes or no?
The proof of concept has thus been successful. But what about the findings? “At the moment, we are still far away from a specific application, because our development only works under special experimental conditions. But I am convinced that there is valuable potential in our basic research that can provide ideas for new applications in solid-state physics, for example in superconductors, where fermionic electrons as pairs also conduct the current without loss,” Widera sums up. “Our engine already had a good performance compared to a standard machine. And the more particles the ensembles contain, the higher energy levels and thus energy yields can be achieved,” Widera says. Professor Eric Lutz, one of the co-authors of the study, elaborates on another aspect: “The topic is extremely exciting from the perspective of the scientific community. We are thus initiating a discussion about how the experimental results are to be classified from a scientific point of view at all. Can we use the laws of thermodynamics? And if not, how do we describe the processes that make our engine run?” And Professor Thomas Busch, whose research group from Japan was involved in the theoretical modelling, adds: “These questions help to advance knowledge of the world of the smallest particles and to understand how we can use their characteristics for further technical innovations.”

Working together to succeed
Besides Professor Artur Widera and Jennifer Koch, the Kaiserslautern research team, which was in charge of the project, also included Sian Barbosa. The project partners included researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan - Professor Thomas Busch, Eloisa Cuestas, Keerthy Menon and Thomas Fogarty. They provided the theoretical models for the experimental approach. Also involved was Professor Eric Lutz from the University of Stuttgart (Theoretical Physics), who contributed his expertise in thermodynamics.

The study has been published in the journal Nature:

Full bibliographic information of the paper:
A quantum engine in the BEC-BCS crossover
Jennifer Koch, Keerthy Menon, Eloisa Cuestas, Sian Barbosa, Eric Lutz, Thomas Fogarty, Thomas Busch, and Artur Widera

Nature, Volume 621 Issue 7980, 28 September 2023
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06469-8

Questions can be directed to:
Dipl.-Phys. Jennifer Koch
Phone: +49 631 205 5272
Mail: jekoch@rptu.de
Prof. Dr. Artur Widera
Phone: +49 631 205-4130
Mail: widera@rptu.de

Our brain is essentially our body's computer. Through a complex interplay of various nerve cells in different areas, it controls and regulates all vital functions, such as breathing, how we move and speak, and how we respond to environmental stimuli with specific behavioral patterns. The so-called cortico-striatal circuit, which connects the cortex and striatum, two parts of the cerebrum, plays a key role in guiding goal-directed behavior.

"We already know that human behavioral disorders, in which a specific behavior is compulsively repeated, are associated with this circuit or network," says Professor Dr. Tanja Maritzen, who studies nanophysiology at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (����ֱ��). However, much of what happens in this part of the brain at the molecular level remains a mystery to science.

In the current study, the team around Tanja Maritzen closely collaborated with the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Volker Haucke from Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin. The researchers focused on two specific proteins that play a crucial role in this circuit. "Intersectin 1 and Intersectin 2 are large scaffold proteins that have many interaction sites," says Professor Volker Haucke. "Previous research has shown that their mutation in humans correlates with behavioral abnormalities."

To explore their exact role, the team inhibited the production of these proteins in mice. The results showed that the Intersectin proteins are vital for the organism, as some of the mice died early. A different subset displayed behavioral abnormalities: they stood on their hind legs in the corner and repeatedly jumped up and down. "Such symptoms, where a particular, essentially pointless behavior is compulsively repeated, are also known in neuropsychiatric diseases," Professor Tanja Maritzen notes, citing autism spectrum disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders as examples.

But what goes wrong at the molecular level? The team specifically looked at the NMDA receptor. "We observed that the absence of the two proteins results in fewer of these receptors at the ends of nerve cells, the synapses," explains Professor Volker Haucke. This is crucial for the transmission of signals from one nerve cell to another. Neurotransmitters, chemical messengers, carry the excitation between cells by binding to receptors. "The Intersectin proteins, as scaffold proteins, are important to stabilize the NMDA receptor at the synapse," he continues.

The deficiency of these proteins isn't solely responsible for the onset of behavioral abnormalities. It is rather one component in a complex molecular system. The study has helped to understand a part of it better, reinforcing the notion that mutations in Intersectin can lead to neurological symptoms. Moreover, the study suggests that the NMDA receptor is a potential candidate for developing drug therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Source:

Dennis Vollweiter, Jasmeet Kaur Shergill, Alexandra Hilse, Gaga Kochlamazashvili, Stefan Paul Koch, Susanne Muelle, Philipp Boehm-Sturm, Volker Haucke, Tanja Maritzen (2023):

Intersectin deficiency impairs cortico-striatal neurotransmission and causes obsessive-compulsive behaviors in mice.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304323120

Fragen beantworten:

Professorin Dr. Tanja Maritzen
Nanophysiologie
����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern
Mail: maritzen(at)rptu.de
Phone: +49 631 205-4908

Professor Dr. Volker Haucke
Molekulare Physiologie und Zellbiologie
Leibniz Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP)
Mail: haucke(at)fmp-berlin.de
Phone: +49 30 94793-101

In future, they would like to make their software ZIGGURAT available on an online platform where interested parties can create an account for a fee. In addition to the software, the team from Kaiserslautern also provides their expertise and offers support in planning, for example.

On its way to independence, the company is supported by an "EXIST-Gründerstipendium" from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and the European Social Fund for "Business Start-ups from Science".

More at ziggurat.ai

Questions answered:
Timo Dilly
Ziggurat
E-mail: timo.dilly@rptu.de
Tel.: 0631-205-4643

Physical Review Letters 131, 046701 (2023)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.046701

Questions can be directed to:
Prof. Dr. Mathias Weiler
AG Applied Spin Phenomena
Department of Physics / University Kaiserslautern-Landau
Phone: 0631 205-4099
E-mail: mathias.weiler(at)rptu.de

Understanding wear mechanisms of machine elements is beneficial in many ways. On the one hand, measures can be initiated to extend the service life. On the other hand, the use can be made more sustainable – considering the resources required and with regard to various environmental aspects. "With our measuring device, we can examine radial shaft seals, for example, such as those used in gearboxes to seal shafts that are guided to the outside," explains Olaf Grutza. "The failure of these seals can not only lead to machine damage, but also to environment pollution through escaping oil."

The Wear-Tester developed by Rapid Part Evaluation is particularly interesting for research and development departments. For example, when components are being tested on a test bench under operating conditions that are as real as possible in order to evaluate new designs or new materials in terms of wear. For this evaluation, it is essential to record the relevant parameters in the form of pre- and post-measurements. "We can illustrate the great advantage of the time savings offered by our device with an example from research work at the Chair of Machine Elements, Gears and Tribology (MEGT) at ����ֱ��: Previously, two different measuring methods – optical microscopy and stripe light projection – were used for wear measurements on radial shaft seals; now only the Wear-Tester comes into play. In addition, our solution – consisting of measuring device and evaluation software – allows the desired parameters to be determined within 10 to 20 seconds, not after several minutes, with up to 40,000 profile measurements being recorded over the sample circumference. In other words, in the scenario described, our measuring instrument reaches the goal 50 times faster with a greater depth of data at the same time."

Thanks to a flexible sample mount, other components, gears or bearings, can also be tested for wear. As far as sample size is concerned, an inner diameter of at least 30 mm and a maximum outer diameter of 200 mm are possible with the wear tester.

The effort for the measurements is low: Simply insert the sample and configure the setup. Then any number of samples can be measured in sequence. The acquired measurement data is then evaluated with the specially developed software to determine the desired parameters.

At the Hannover Messe, Rapid Part Evaluation will demonstrate the fast and automated wear measurement to interested companies.

About the founding project

Since July 2022, the core team consisting of Olaf Grutza, Roman Reimche and Christof Härtel - all three graduates of the University in Kaiserslautern - has been supported by the EXIST start-up grant from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and the European Social Fund. At the same time, the start-up office of the ����ֱ�� and Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences advises the young founders on their way to independence. The team is also supported by the Chair of Machine Elements, Gears and Tribology (MEGT) at ����ֱ��, which provides premises and other resources and supports the team also from a technical point of view – especially in the person of Jun. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Thielen as a mentor. Also involved in the project are Tim Schollmayer and Christoph Burkhart, who laid the foundation for the project in the course of their work as research assistants at the MEGT.

Questions can be directed to:
Olaf Grutza, M.Sc.
����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau
Tel: +49 (0)160 97334987
E-Mail: grutza(at)rptu.de

--

Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology, Innovation and Sustainability, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the University Kaiserslautern-Landau at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science.
Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: klaus.dosch(at)rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

Increasing shortages of skilled workers and the desire to save costs in the long term are the key drivers accelerating digitization and automation in industrial production. In order to be able to implement flexible solutions, wireless communication in real-time is key, as promised by the 5G mobile communications standard. The technology enables large volumes of data and safety-relevant information to flow back and forth quickly and process steps to run at the required pace.

Professor Schotten's team at ����ֱ�� is investigating whether 5G-based solutions can deliver on this promise for relevant application scenarios. At the Hannover Messe, the researchers will focus on the following two projects:

Transport by robot

The team is testing intralogistics robots for the transport of goods on a site, for example factory premises or a university campus. For this purpose, the researchers have two types of vehicles (up to 75 kg payload and up to 10 kg payload) in use at the ����ֱ��. The delivery orders can be created automatically or triggered by pressing a button in a control station. Once the order has been initiated, the robot drives (semi-)autonomously to the transfer point, picks up the delivery and brings it to the destination. The entire fleet of vehicles can be tracked on a monitor wall in the control center. In addition to the camera images, all the sensor data, information on driving time, the current location and the package contents can be viewed there. This only works with the high data rates of 5G technology, because each individual robot requires a high upload bandwidth. It reports any problems or unknown situations to the control center, from where an operator takes over control via the 5G network – as fully autonomous driving under demanding real-world conditions is not possible yet. 

In the next step, or as soon as upcoming releases further increase the performance of the 5G mobile networks, more and more computing resources are to be outsourced from the robot to an edge cloud in order to reduce the complexity of the vehicles, their weight and energy consumption. Ultimately, this could make (semi-)autonomous transport vehicles more interesting for industrial customers, as this also reduces the purchase price and enables longer operating times.

Pinpoint crop protection measures

Agriculture also offers promising applications for fast mobile communications. Especially, when it comes to using resources efficiently and protecting the environment in the sense of precision farming. In the future, for example, it will no longer be necessary to use area-wide methods for fertilization, crop protection or irrigation, but rather highly precise, point-by-point methods.

As part of 5G-Kaiserslautern, researchers are testing an autonomous system that uses drones to locate weeds (dock) and an autonomous field robot to apply chemicals. The drone delivers images of the target area to an edge cloud, where the position of the weeds is calculated. This outsourcing of compute power saves energy and weight on the drone and thus massively increases the runtime. The field robot subsequently uses the processed data for its work. It independently follows the most efficient route in the field between the documented weed positions, detects the weeds by camera in order to apply the chemicals carried on board with pinpoint accuracy. Like a crop protection sprayer, it is able to switch on and off the nozzles on a spray bar, which is mounted at the front and connected to the tank at the rear. It is also wirelessly connected to the central control station, which enables remote access in the event of a problem or an unknown situation. Since in rural areas the often still patchy network coverage is a challenge, a mobile 5G network is used in this application.

For this project, too, the research team hopes that upcoming 5G releases will unleash more potential, finally proving the feasibility of the application. "Currently, the desired real-time communication has not yet been achieved," Schotten says. "One of the things we expect from announced upgrades is a large reduction in latency, which will minimize delays in data transmission."

Questions can be directed to:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans Schotten
Chair of Radio Communication and Navigation
E-Mail: schotten(at)rptu.de
Phone.: +49 631 205-3595

Christian Schellenberger
Chair of Radio Communication and Navigation
E-Mail: christian.schellenberger(at)rptu.de
Phone: +49 631 205-5523

The sharp rise in energy and electricity prices is not only a problem for private individuals, but also for industrial companies and real estate operators in particular. In addition, the energy turnaround must be further advanced in order for Germany to meet its climate targets. "The need for energy concepts is currently great. Measures are to be taken quickly to reduce energy consumption or to become completely energy self-sufficient," says Stefan Spies from the Department of Building Systems and Building Technology at the University Kaiserslautern-Landau.

But for whom is which method suitable? How many photovoltaic systems are worthwhile for an industrial company, for example? And what about biogas? Is a combined heat and power plant worthwhile? Is it possible to switch from natural gas to hydrogen? How can climate-neutral heating be achieved? What possibilities are there for energy-saving air-conditioning systems? Many companies that want to build a new production hall or renovate an administrative building are concerned with questions like these.

The team led by Professor Dr. Sabine Hoffmann and Professor Dr. Björn-Martin Kurzrock addresses such needs. They develop energy concepts and management systems. The clients come from different sectors. "For example, we work with automotive groups, retail chains or housing cooperatives," Spies continues. "The first thing is to clarify the individual requirements. What does the company want? What are the future challenges that may arise? Then it is a matter of defining the individual goal. This can be, for example, balance sheet CO₂ neutrality, complete CO₂ freedom, but also self-sufficiency in the areas of electricity and/or heat." Then current technologies are selected. "In the process, we always look to the future to plan for innovations. We develop different scenarios, consider the economic viability and prepare a risk analysis. We present the package to the clients."

An important topic at the moment is power-to-X, for example. This refers to technologies that can store electricity surpluses when there is an oversupply of renewable energies. "Hydrogen, for example, is suitable for this," Spies continues. "There are losses in the conversion, but the current global economic situation has encouraged and accelerated interest in this. With increased energy prices, the economic framework now gives more possibilities."

The researcher team in Kaiserslautern is always in contact with various manufacturers to know what technologies will be coming onto the market in the next few years. To work out its energy concepts, it also needs knowledge from different fields. Therefore, the team consists of researchers from building technology, building physics, energy management, computer science and real estate economics.

Optimisation problems often play a major role in the work, as Spies explains with an example: "In the case of photovoltaic systems, the largest possible one is not profitable for every company. We determine what is economically viable depending on the customer." In simulations, the team can also look at the thermal situation of buildings, among other things, and see which renovation measures make sense. "We always look into the question of what we can improve," Spies continues. In doing so, the team checks the thermal quality of a building if, for example, a new building is planned. "This is important in terms of cooling-heating requirements. There is always a lot of potential for optimisation here."

At the Hanover Messe, the team will present its offering with examples and also show results and concepts from previous research projects, which could also be of interest to future clients.  

Questions can be directed to:
Stefan Spies
Department of Building Systems and Building Technology
University Kaiserslautern-Landau / Campus Kaiserslautern
Tel.: 0631 205-4274
E-mail: Stefan.spies(at)rptu.de

+++
Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology, Innovation and Sustainability, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the University Kaiserslautern-Landau at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science.
Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: klaus.dosch(at)rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001

In the future, 6G technology could be used for biosensors in personalised medicine, personal avatars for protection in road traffic or as support in the world of work. But 6G is also likely to play a key role in the implementation of climate targets.

"In order to better bundle 6G research, we are working closely together in the platform," says coordinator Professor Dr Hans Schotten, who heads the Radio Communication and Navigation Department at ����ֱ�� in Kaiserslautern and the Intelligent Networks Research Department at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). "The goals are also to better dovetail cooperation with international partners, to create an innovation network for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, and to train specialists who are familiar with the technology."

Among other things, it is important that the technology functions safely and reliably. But energy efficiency and sustainability also play a role in this context. In developing the new methods, processes from artificial intelligence, microelectronics, quantum technologies and also digital twins are used, for example.

In Germany there are four large research associations on 6G, so-called hubs (Open6GHub, 6G-RIC, 6GEM and 6G-Life), and 18 6G projects in which industry is involved. In addition, there are three projects on the so-called AI-NET, which is about automated, resilient and secure networks, and seven projects that deal with the resilience, i.e. the reliability, of such networks. All of this work is bundled in the 6G Platform. This "Platform for Future Communication Technologies and 6G" is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It is coordinated at the University Kaiserslautern-Landau in Kaiserslautern.

In addition to the ����ֱ�� and the DFKI, the technical universities in Berlin and Dresden, the University of Bremen, the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, the Barkhausen Institute, the Institute for Automation and Communication (ifak) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS are participating in the platform.
At the Hannover Messe, the Kaiserslautern engineers will present the 6G platform and the work of the participating research institutions at their own research stand. In doing so, their offer is also directed at interested companies and institutes.

Questions can be directed to:
Michael Karrenbauer
Department of Radio Communication and Navigation / University Kaiserslautern-Landau in Kaiserslautern
Tel.: +49(0)631-205-2702
E-Mail: michael.karrenbauer@rptu.de

Eindimensionale Thouless-Pumpen fungieren als Modelle für den zweidimensionalen Quanten-Hall-Effekt. Dieser entsteht, wenn sich Elektronen bei tiefen Temperaturen und einem starken Magnetfeld nur noch in zwei Raumrichtungen bewegen können. Unter diesen Umständen steigt die senkrecht zu einem fließenden Strom auftretende Spannung nicht kontinuierlich mit dem Magnetfeld an, sondern wächst stufenweise. Für die Entdeckung dieses außergewöhnlichen Zustands erhielt Klaus von Klitzing 1985 den Physiknobelpreis. Der zugehörige Hall-Widerstand, das Verhältnis aus Hall-Spannung und Strom, ist dabei quantisiert; er wird bestimmt durch eine ganzzahlige topologische Konstante (Chern-Zahl). Mittels Thouless-Pumpen (benannt nach David J. Thouless, einem weiteren Physiknobelpreisträger) wird dieser Effekt greifbar: Ladung wird in einem Zeit-periodisch modulierten Gitter während einer Periode um eine konstante (ganze) Zahl von Gitterplätzen weitergepumpt. Analog zum Quanten-Hall Effekt, wird diese Konstante durch die Chern-Zahl beschrieben. Betrachtet man die Zeit als „künstliche“ Dimension, erhält man das zweidimensionales Quanten-Hall-System zurück.

Weiterführende Forschungsarbeiten zeigten, dass bei erhöhten Magnetfeldern nicht nur Phasen auftreten, die durch eine ganzzahlige Konstante bestimmt sind. Ebenso können Konstanten, die Bruchteilen von ganzen Zahlen entsprechen, derartige Phasen beschreiben. Ursächlich für diesen sogenannten fraktionalen Quanten-Hall-Effekt sind die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Elektronen.

Genau hier hat die Studie von Erstautor Marius Jürgensen angesetzt, die in Zusammenarbeit mit Sebabrata Mukherjee und Christina Jörg während ihres Post-Doc-Forschungsaufenthaltes in der Arbeitsgruppe von Prof. Mikael C. Rechtsman an der Pennsylvania State University entstanden ist. Das Team hat ein mittels Photonen bzw. Lichtteilchen betriebenes Modellsystem geschaffen, um Wechselwirkungen in Quanten-Hall-Systemen besser zu verstehen. Das System basiert auf gekoppelten Lichtwellenleitern, ähnlich zu Glasfasern. „Lichtteilchen in Lichtwellen verhalten sich grundsätzlich anders als Elektronen in einem Festkörper“, so Jun.-Prof. Dr. Christina Jörg, die an der ����ֱ�� die AG „Topologie in 3D photonischen Quantensimulatoren“ leitet. „Sie fliegen durcheinander durch und stoßen nicht miteinander.“ Daher haben die Forschenden einen Trick angewendet, um die Photonen miteinander in Wechselwirkung zu bringen: Sie nutzten die intensitätsabhängige Änderung des Brechungsindexes des Materials, Glas, das sie für die Experimente verwendeten. „Der Brechungsindex wird größer, je mehr Licht wir über einen gepulsten Laser ins System bringen“, so die Physikerin. „Dadurch entsteht eine Wechselwirkung. Weil sich die Fokussierung durch den erhöhten Brechungsindex und die Kopplung zu den Nachbar-Wellenleitern die Waage halten, bildet sich ein formstabiles Wellenpaket, ein sogenanntes Soliton. In Thouless-Pumpen haben sich die Solitonen ebenso wie die Lichtwellen im nicht-wechselwirkenden Fall jeweils um eine ganze Gitterkonstante, vorgegeben von der Chern-Zahl, weiterbewegt.“

„Dass Solitonen nach diesem Verfahren gepumpt werden, hatten wir bereits 2021 gezeigt“, sagt Marius Jürgensen, Erstautor der Studie und Doktorand an der Pennsylvania State University. „In der gemeinsamen Forschungsarbeit haben wir zusätzlich beobachtet, dass Solitonen auch fraktional wandern können. Bei höherer Lichtleistung bewegen sich die Solitonen nur die halbe Distanz. So konnten wir letztlich je nach Stärke des Lichtfelds das Pumpen um verschiedene Bruchzahlen zeigen.“

Zusammenfassend ist es dem Team gelungen, das fraktionale Thouless-Pumpen von Solitonen erstmals experimentell nachzuweisen. Zudem haben die Forschenden ein Modellsystem geschaffen, das faszinierende Einblicke in das Zusammenspiel zwischen wechselwirkenden Teilchen und der Physik des Quanten-Hall-Systems ermöglicht. „Die genaue Beziehung zwischen den Bruchzahlen und der nötigen Wechselwirkungsstärke werden wir in Folgestudien erforschen. Wir möchten gerne verstehen, ob es eine direkte Verbindung zum fraktionalen Quanten-Hall-Effekt gibt.“

Die Studie ist einsehbar unter:

Pressekontakt:

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Christina Jörg
����ֱ��, AG Optische Technologien und Photonik
E-Mail: cjoerg[at]rptu.de
Telefon: 0631 205-4400

If the countries of the EU want to reach the target, action must be taken: “To reduce pesticide risks at a national or continental scale, you can, for instance, use fewer amounts of pesticides or you can substitute some pesticides by the same amount of less toxic ones”, as Sascha Bub, the lead study’s author, explains the main hypothesis of the study. Based on this assumption, the Landau researchers have developed a simple method for risk assessment: “If you multiply amounts and toxicities of all pesticides used in a country in a year, and then sum up the multiplication products, you get a rough indicator of how risks develop. We call this indicator the total applied toxicity”. In fact, for different organism groups, the pesticides’ toxicities are very different, sometimes by factors of billions: some are especially toxic to pollinators, others to soil organisms or plants. The authors of the study, therefore, calculated the total applied toxicity for eight organism groups and 292 pesticides used in Germany between 1995 and 2019, using 1889 toxicity threshold values from the official EU pesticide registration.

The result: It turns out that in Germany, over the last 25 years, the total applied toxicity has decreased only for terrestrial vertebrates. For fish, terrestrial plants and soil organisms, on the other hand, the total applied toxicity has gone up. “The increase we see for soil organisms is worrisome, because they are of high importance for soil health. Increased risks for soil organisms might eventually affect agricultural productivity”, says Bub. The increase in total applied toxicity for fish is also critical, considering the long-term efforts undertaken to bring down pesticide toxicity for vertebrates, including fish. A previous study by the same research team for the USA has in fact shown that such measures can lead to a decreasing trend for fish.

Methods for assessing risk reduction need improvement

The study also discusses the results in the context of the EU regulation on sustainable use of pesticides. This regulation targets a reduction of pesticide risks by 50% by 2030. “Any risk reduction goals need indicators to evaluate them”, says Ralf Schulz, senior author of the study. “We have compared the harmonized risk indicators, which are currently being used by the EU, and our total applied toxicity to understand why the former only indicate decreasing risk.” The scientists point out that the EU risk indicators do not differentiate among various organism groups, and put pesticides into fixed risk categories, instead of considering the individual toxicities of pesticides to various species. This makes them unsuitable as a risk indicator, according to the researchers from Landau. “With the application of the harmonized risk indicators, a key parameter of pesticide risk - toxicity - remains unconsidered”, underlines Schulz. “These indicators are not able to reflect the fact that pesticides become increasingly toxic for some organism groups – and, additionally, they are designed in a way that a reclassification of pesticides alone may lead to a decreasing trend. The EU has set ambitious goals to reduce pesticide risks, and the methods to assess these goals should be as sound as possible.”

The study

Bub, S., Wolfram, J., Petschick, L.L., Stehle, S., Schulz, R. (2023) Trends of total applied pesticide toxicity in German agriculture. Environmental Science & Technology. https:doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c07251

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ralf Schulz
����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau
iES Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences
Tel.: +49 (0)6341 280-31327
E-Mail: r.schulz@rptu.de

����ֱ�� Kaiserslautern-Landau
Communication Department
Kerstin Theilmann
Tel.: +49 (0)6341 280-32219
E-Mail: kerstin.theilmann@rptu.de