Goethe-Universit盲t 鈥� Press releases

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Oct 17 2025

06:34

With its launch at 看片软件 Frankfurt, Germany joins Instruct-ERIC to make cutting-edge technologies freely available to researchers across Europe.

Instruct-DE Strengthens Europe鈥檚 Structural Biology Research Infrastructure

FRANKFURT. Today, October 17, 2025, the German Instruct Center Instruct-DE officially begins its work at 看片软件. Instruct-ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure specialized in high-end technologies and methods in structural biology, which is recognized by the European Union. The consortium鈥檚 goal is to make cutting-edge technologies and methods from 17 partner countries accessible to researchers across Europe. Following a multi-year exploratory process, Germany was accepted as a partner country in Instruct-ERIC in 2024. In addition to providing German researchers with access to technologies in European partner countries, it also opens access to excellent German infrastructures for researchers from all over Europe.

The new German center is organized in a decentral manner and coordinated by 看片软件 Frankfurt. Partner institutions include Helmholtz Munich, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, DESY Hamburg, Hamburg-based European XFEL, University of Hamburg鈥檚 Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), and Forschungszentrum J眉lich. Instruct-DE also has four other institutions joining as national associated partners: Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Braunschweig, University of Bayreuth, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut f眉r Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) Berlin, and Charit茅鈥� Universit盲tsmedizin Berlin.

With the establishment of Instruct-DE, Germany鈥檚 advanced technologies become part of the freely accessible European Instruct Technology Catalog, which researchers from all partner countries can use at no cost, as explained by its spokesperson, Prof. Dr. Clemens Glaubitz. 鈥淭he previously highly successful mutual use of research infrastructures is taking a decisive leap forward with Germany鈥檚 participation through Instruct-DE,鈥� emphasizes Prof. Dr. Harald Schwalbe, Director of Instruct-ERIC, adding that, 鈥淪tructural biology in Germany is conducted at the highest level. Instruct-DE not only strengthens European research but also opens up new opportunities for German researchers to engage in European collaborations.鈥�

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Clemens Glaubitz
Instruct-DE Spokesperson
Institute of Biophysical Chemistry
看片软件 Frankfurt
Tel. +49 (0)69 798 29927
E-Mail: glaubitz@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Oct 13 2025

13:09

Global Tipping Points Report 2025 shows: It will take immense effort now to prevent the die-off of many coral reefs.聽聽

World Surpasses Its First Climate Tipping Point

In a report released today, October 13, 2025, international climate researchers conclude that the death of numerous tropical coral reefs caused by rising ocean temperatures can now only be prevented with the utmost effort. Parts of the polar ice sheets may have already passed their tipping points. Their continued melting could lead to an irreversible sea level rise of several meters.

Among the lead authors of the Global Tipping Points Report 2025 (GTPR 2025) is Nico Wunderling, Professor of Computational Earth System Sciences at 看片软件's Center for Critical Computational Studies | C3S and researcher at the Senckenberg Research Institute Frankfurt, who, together with other lead authors, headed the chapter on 鈥淓arth System Tipping Points and Risks." Wunderling says: 鈥淭he devastating consequences that arise when climate tipping points are crossed pose a massive threat to our societies. There is even a risk of the tipping of one climate system potentially triggering or accelerating the tipping of others. This risk increases significantly once the 1.5掳C threshold is exceeded."

Some two dozen subsystems of the climate system are known to have tipping points. According to the report, the first of these 鈥� that of tropical coral reefs 鈥� has now been reached. The study further assumes that the global average temperature will increase by 1.5掳C above pre-industrial levels within the next few years. This means the world is entering a phase in which the crossing of further climate tipping points is at risk, potentially leading to far-reaching consequences such as sea level rise from melting ice sheets or global temperature changes in the event of a collapse of the Atlantic Ocean circulation. The report also proposes measures to counter further temperature increases.

Coordinating lead author of the GTPR 2025 is Tim Lenton, Professor at the University of Exeter's (UK) Global Systems Institute. More than 100 scientists from over 20 countries contributed to the report, published just in time for the 30th World Climate Conference, which begins on November 10, 2025, in Bel茅m, Brazil. The Global Tipping Points Report, first published in 2023 and already widely noted at the time, is regarded as an authoritative publication in the field of assessing both the risks and opportunities of negative and positive tipping points in the Earth system and in human societies.

Climate tipping points have started receiving greater attention within climate sciences for only about 20 years. The authors of the report define a climate-induced tipping point in Earth systems 鈥� such as coral reefs, the Amazon rainforest, or large-scale ocean currents 鈥� as the level of warming beyond which these systems undergo self-reinforcing and often irreversible changes. For example, many tropical coral reefs would die off after exceeding their tipping point, even if humanity were to limit further global warming. The scientists predict that it is quite possible that additional tipping points will be crossed in the coming decades, especially as some may already lie at around 1.5掳C of global warming 鈥� including those of the Amazon rainforest (leading to savannization), the ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica (causing several meters of sea level rise), and the Atlantic Ocean circulation (causing a sharp cooling of the European continent).

The GTPR also features a series of case studies on various tipping elements of the climate system, including the following:

Coral Reefs: Worldwide, coral reefs in tropical regions are suffering unprecedented mortality due to repeated mass bleaching events. The current global warming of about 1.4掳C already exceeds their thermal tipping point, which scientists estimate at about 1.2掳C. Even in the unrealistic case that warming could be stabilized at 1.5掳C, there is a very high probability that the reefs will tip. Many will be permanently lost unless global temperatures drop again to 1掳C above pre-industrial levels or less. The longer and the further this threshold is exceeded, the less likely recovery becomes.
Amazon Rainforest: Climate warming combined with partial deforestation is already exposing the Amazon rainforest to the risk of large-scale savannization at 1.5鈥�2掳C of global warming. This in turn could further amplify climate change.
AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation): The collapse of the AMOC, which includes the Gulf Stream, could already occur at less than 2掳C of global warming. This would lead to much colder winters in northwestern Europe, disrupt global monsoon systems, and reduce agricultural yields in large parts of the world.

The GTPR's authors emphasize that, alongside these negative tipping points in the climate system, there also exist positive tipping points in our societies. Crossing these can trigger rapid transformations toward more climate-friendly behavior. Some examples:

Renewable energies are already cheaper than fossil fuels in most parts of the world, and electric vehicles are replacing gasoline and diesel cars on the roads. This trend could prove to be both irreversible and self-reinforcing.
The gradual introduction and promotion of climate-friendly technologies by policymakers can accelerate the emergence of positive tipping points, including in the adoption of sustainable heating systems or in freight transport.
鈥淪ocial contagion" mechanisms can cause a majority of people to adopt behavioral changes initiated by a minority 鈥� such as reducing meat consumption or altering mobility habits.

Global Tipping Points Report:

Further Information / Contact:
Prof. Dr. Nico Wunderling
Professor for Computational Earth System Sciences
Center for Critical Computational Studies (C3S)
看片软件 Frankfurt and Senckenberg Research Institute Frankfurt
wunderling@c3s.uni-frankfurt.de
Thilo K枚rkel, Research Assistant
Center for Critical Computational Studies (C3S)
koerkel@c3s.uni-frankfurt.de

Oct 9 2025

14:52

First report of effective deep brain stimulation for stuttering therapy 鈥� Pilot project by Frankfurt University Medicine and M眉nster University Hospital

Patient Treatment Shows: Brain Pacemaker Helps with Stuttering聽聽

Deep brain stimulation, a method where specific brain regions are activated using implanted electrodes, is a well-established approach for treating movement disorders such as Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Researchers led by Christian Kell from Frankfurt University Medicine as well as Nils Warneke and Katrin Neumann from M眉nster University Hospital have now successfully alleviated severe stuttering in a person with developmental stuttering using this method for the first time. The researchers are now preparing a study to test the therapy on additional individuals who experience severe stuttering.

FRANKFURT. While stuttering was believed to have purely psychological causes up until about 30 years ago, scientists today attribute it to a variety of factors capable of contributing to its development. For instance, several genes have been identified that increase the risk of stuttering, and anatomically, the brains of individuals with speech flow disorders show differences in neural connections and brain activity compared to those who speak fluently.

PD Dr. Christian Kell, neurologist and director of the Cooperative Brain Imaging Center at 看片软件 Frankfurt, explains: 鈥淭he left hemisphere of the brain can process signals that occur in rapid succession. However, in people who stutter, the auditory cortex in the left hemisphere interacts less with the motor cortex, which controls the muscles involved in speech. As a result, the brain may delegate these tasks to the right hemisphere, which struggles with the rapid signals characteristic of speech.鈥� The outcome: Although affected individuals know exactly what they want to say, they get stuck on certain words.

Kell does not consider stuttering to be a disease that necessarily requires therapy: 鈥淚 believe it would be ideal if society could accept that some people stutter,鈥� says the neurologist. At the same time, he is convinced that medicine should offer services to those who suffer from their speech flow disorder and seek help.

Following extensive scientific preparation and at the patient鈥檚 repetitive request, the teams from Frankfurt and M眉nster implanted a hair-thin wire into the left thalamus of a man who stutters. The thalamus is a central relay station deep within the brain. Through this wire, the brain region was stimulated with mild electrical currents. Standardized tests were then used to measure how the patient鈥檚 stuttering changed.

Kell is thrilled with the results: 鈥淚n the months following the start of stimulation, the frequency of stuttering gradually decreased by 46%, and the stuttering became significantly less severe. When we turned off the deep brain stimulation without the patient knowing the timing, the stuttering worsened again, demonstrating a genuine biological effect dependent on the strength of the brain stimulation.鈥� Unlike Parkinson鈥檚 patients, whose tremors typically diminish immediately after starting brain stimulation and return as soon as the stimulation is stopped, the stuttering in this case increased very slowly after the stimulation was turned off 鈥� but not to the same extent as before. Kell attributes part of this effect to the patient himself: 鈥淭hrough the experience of stuttering less during stimulation, he and his brain likely found ways to further reduce the stuttering.鈥�

The research team is now preparing a study to investigate whether deep brain stimulation can also help other individuals who experience severe stuttering. However, Kell is careful to curb overly high expectations: 鈥淒eep brain stimulation is an intensive physical procedure and, like any surgery, carries risks. These must be carefully weighed against the distress experienced by a person who stutters. We also want to explore whether we can achieve similar effects by stimulating the brain externally 鈥� without surgery.鈥�

Publication: Christian A. Kell, Nils Warneke, Verena Zentsch, Johannes Kasper, Melanie Vauth-Weidig, Tobias Warnecke, Katrin Neumann: Left thalamic deep brain stimulation for persistent developmental stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders (2025)

Images for download:

Captions:
The position of the implanted electrodes in the patient鈥檚 basal ganglia. (1)
The intensity of stuttering has clearly decreased due to deep brain stimulation. The chart illustrates the severity of stuttering over a period of up to nine years before and from three months after the surgery. (2)
Image source for both images: Kell et al., J Fluency Dis 2025, doi:

Further Information
PD Dr. Christian Kell
Director of the Cooperative Brain Imaging Center (CoBIC)
看片软件 Frankfurt
Tel +49 (0)69 6301-6395
c.kell@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Oct 8 2025

14:45

Joint project by 看片软件 Frankfurt and the University of Cologne investigates prehistoric agriculture in the Rhineland and Hesse

Diversified Cereal Cultivation in the Early Neolithic Period

Already in the early Neolithic period, farmers in what is now the Rhineland and Hesse diversified their grain cultivation, i.e. they cultivated different types of cereals. Agricultural innovations, introduced earlier than previously assumed, made food supplies more resilient and flexible. Initial findings from the joint research project by 看片软件 Frankfurt and the University of Cologne have now been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

FRANKFURT. 鈥淒iversification and Change 鈥� Analyzing settlement patterns and agricultural practice during the 5th millennium BC in Central Europe" 鈥� this is the title of the interdisciplinary project conducted by 看片软件 Frankfurt and the University of Cologne. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the project brings together the disciplines of prehistoric archaeology, archaeobotany, vegetation history, archaeozoology, and dendroarchaeology. The research team, led by Professor Dr. Silviane Scharl and Dr. Astrid R枚pke (both from the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology at the University of Cologne) and Associate Professor Dr. Astrid Stobbe (看片软件 Frankfurt), discovered that farming societies already began to integrate new grain varieties into their crop spectrum nearly 7,000 years ago. The researchers gained deeper insights into the underlying processes and were able to place these agricultural innovations in chronological order. The results of the study, titled 鈥淒ynamics of early agriculture 鈥� multivariate analysis of changes in crop cultivation and farming practices in the Rhineland (Germany) between the 6th and early 4th millennium BCE," have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The first farmers in Central Europe belonged to the so-called Linear Pottery Culture, which populated the continent between about 5400 and 5000/4900 BCE. They cultivated almost exclusively the ancient wheat varieties emmer and einkorn, both spelt grains. With these cereals, the outer husk must be removed from the grain before further processing (dehulling). It was previously known that new types of cereal such as naked wheat (which does not require dehulling) and barley were introduced during the Neolithic period 鈥� more precisely, during the so-called Middle Neolithic period (ca. 4900 to ca. 4500 BCE) 鈥� although the exact timeline and processes were previously unknown. To better understand these processes on a regional level, the research team collected and analyzed data from archaeobotanical macro-remains found at 72 Neolithic sites in the Rhineland (Germany). The samples consist of charred remains of seeds and date from the late 6th to the early 4th millennium BCE. They were recovered from settlement pits of Neolithic farmers.

Using multivariate statistics, the researchers were able to demonstrate significant differences between the Neolithic phases. Surprisingly, the study revealed that agricultural changes characteristic of the Middle Neolithic period were already recognizable at the beginning of this period. 鈥淭he integration of new types of grain made agriculture more resilient and flexible. It enabled not only the cultivation of winter crops but also summer crops and the potential use of a greater variety of soils as well as a possible reduction in labor," says Professor Scharl. A steady increase in cereal diversity was also confirmed by a diversity analysis, which shows that Neolithic farmers reached the greatest diversity in their cultivation spectrum around 4350 BCE. After that, it declined markedly, indicating a renewed transformation of the agricultural system, which is the subject of further research. Some evidence suggests that livestock farming 鈥� especially cattle rearing 鈥� increased during this subsequent period.

The current study illustrates that Neolithic farmers gradually developed agricultural techniques and practices that allowed them to respond flexibly to regional and changing environmental conditions. In regions with more challenging environments, they cultivated cereals that could yield harvests even under such conditions. This demonstrates that farmers had a profound understanding of their local environments and adapted their food production strategies accordingly. The studies, as well as those still in progress on landscape changes in Hesse during this period, also show that people made strategic use of the land around their settlements and, depending on available resources, found different ways to feed their livestock.

Publication:

Image for download:

Caption:
Charred emmer grains from a storage find at a Linear Pottery Culture settlement near Werl, North Rhine-Westphalia. (Photo: Tanja Zerl, University of Cologne)

Further Information
Apl. Prof. Dr. Astrid Stobbe
Institute of Archaeological Sciences 鈥� Prehistory and Early European Archaeology
Laboratory for Archaeobotany
看片软件 Frankfurt
E-Mail stobbe@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Tel. +49 (0)69 798-32109

Oct 8 2025

14:34

New Koselleck Project at 看片软件 Frankfurt: Neurobiologist Prof. Amparo Acker-Palmer Secures 鈧�1.25 million for Neurovascular Research

How Blood Vessels Influence Brain Development聽聽

Blood vessels are more than just pathways for oxygen and nutrients; they also host communicative processes that guide brain development and sustain its function. These vascular-neuronal interfaces are at the core of new research led by Prof. Amparo Acker-Palmer, which will receive 鈧�1.25 million as a German Research Foundation (DFG) Koselleck Project.

FRANKFURT. Within blood vessels, specialized endothelial cells, which form the inner lining of all vessels, exchange signals with neurons and glial cells that decisively influence the formation of brain circuits and the development of brain architecture. Disruptions to this exchange can result in developmental disorders or neurodegeneration. In her newly approved, DFG-funded Koselleck Project, Prof. Amparo Acker-Palmer aims to explore the hidden functions of vascular-neuronal interfaces. Using cutting-edge imaging techniques, molecular profiling, and genetic models, she seeks to uncover where and how endothelial cells interact with neurons and other brain cells, as well as the principles by which these interactions shape brain connectivity and structure. A particular focus is on the cerebellum, which plays a key role in movement and certain cognitive processes, and on the role of blood vessels in brain folding, a process that diversifies and enhances brain functions. Defects in brain folding can lead to neurological disorders, including intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, and motor impairments.

鈥淏y bringing together vascular biology and neurosciences, we are opening a new chapter in neurovascular research. Understanding how blood vessels regulate brain development is crucial not only for fundamental biology but also for developing new therapeutic strategies to address diseases caused by disrupted communication between vessels and neurons,鈥� says Professor Acker-Palmer, adding that the study has the potential to revolutionize neurovascular biology and unlock previously unknown therapies. Acker-Palmer holds the professorship for Molecular Neurobiology at 看片软件 Frankfurt and is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking research on neurovascular communication. Her work has earned her several prestigious awards, including an ERC Advanced Grant.

Acker-Palmer鈥檚 lab is distinguished by its collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, bringing together vascular biologists and neuroscientists to ensure seamless knowledge exchange, innovation, and discovery. According to the neurobiologist, this creates an ideal environment for tackling the ambitious project. The project aligns well with the overarching goals of the German Research Foundation鈥檚 (DFG) Koselleck Program, which aims to support visionary, high-risk research with the potential to open entirely new scientific fields.

The Reinhart Koselleck funding line, awarded since 2008, is named after Reinhart Koselleck (1923鈥�2006), one of the most important German historians of the 20th century and a co-founder of modern social history. Reinhart Koselleck Projects are awarded to 鈥渞esearchers distinguished by outstanding scientific achievements.鈥� The prerequisites for approval are particularly innovative research approaches and a certain degree of risk.

Images for download:

Image captions:
Neuroscientist Amparo Acker-Palmer has secured a Koselleck project grant from the DFG. The project focuses on the connections between blood vessels and brain development. (Copyright Till Acker) (1)

3D reconstruction of blood vessels in the cerebellum of a mouse, rendered using artificial intelligence from iDISCO+. (Image: Marta Parilla Monge and Jimena Redondo Nectal铆, Acker-Palmer AG) (2)

Further Information
Prof. Dr. Amparo Acker-Palmer
Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience
看片软件 Frankfurt
Tel.: +49 (0)69798-42563
E-Mail: acker-palmer@bio.uni-frankfurt.de

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Press releases 鈥� 2025