The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) currently circulating worldwide causes respiratory diseases with a mortality rate of about 2%. In a recent study, scientists have now been able to confirm that infection of rhesus monkeys with SARS-CoV-2 also causes many of the symptoms seen in humans.  The new study thus complements findings from previous studies. For example, Chinese researchers have already found evidence of immunity in rhesus monkeys after they…

There is much debate about the correct storage of tomatoes. There are two main options available to consumers: storage in the refrigerator or at room temperature. A research team from the University of Göttingen has now investigated whether there are differences in the flavour of ripe tomatoes depending on how they are stored and taking into account the chain of harvesting from farm to fork. No perceptible difference was found: the variety of…

Together with the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), the German Primate Center Göttingen (DPZ) and the Leibniz University in Hannover, the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) is the second winner in the nationwide innovation competition "Organ Replacement from the Laboratory" of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with its IndiHEART project. The IndiHEART project will be supported with 2…

Palm oil is often associated with tropical deforestation above all else. However, this is only one side of the story, as agricultural scientists from the University of Göttingen and the IPB University Bogor (Indonesia) show in a new study. The rapid expansion of oil palm has also contributed considerably to economic growth and poverty reduction in local communities, particularly in Asia. The study was published in the Annual Review of Resource…

The enforced "social distancing" in Corona times reminds us of the role social life plays for us. The same applies to our closest relatives, the non-human primates. But how do primates control their social relationships? What do they pay attention to, what significance do emotions have, which brain processes control interactions, and how are social decisions made? Since 2015, the Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus Primate Cognition has been addressing…

Researchers at the University of Göttingen conducted a consumer survey across Germany starting in mid-April to find out how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting shopping, eating and cooking behaviour and just how crisis-proof people think the food system is. The survey responses from the first phase of collection show that the fear of rising food prices was high at the beginning of the pandemic. In addition, people shopped less frequently and…

Since the beginning of March, public life in Germany has been severely restricted due to the corona pandemic. Following the encouraging decline in the number of new cases of COVID-19, the debate on the effectiveness of interventions taken to date and on further relaxation of the restrictions is meanwhile gaining momentum. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) and the University of Göttingen have now…

Proteins, the microscopic “workhorses” that perform all the functions essential to life, are team players: in order to do their job, they often need to assemble into precise structures called protein complexes. These complexes, however, can be dynamic and short-lived, with proteins coming together but disbanding soon after. In a new paper published in PNAS, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen,…

A team of researchers at the University of Göttingen has developed an innovative software program for the simulation of breeding programmes. The "Modular Breeding Program Simulator" (MoBPS) enables the simulation of highly complex breeding programmes in animal and plant breeding and is designed to assist breeders in their everyday decisions. Furthermore, the program is intended to be a cornerstone for further studies in breeding research in…

When we find something particularly beautiful or impressive, we literally get big eyes: Our pupils dilate. The pupil controls how much light enters the eye and falls on the retina. When there is a lot of light, the pupil contracts; when there is little light, it opens again. Neuroscientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen have now found out in a study…