Research in Germany

Joint studies by TU Chemnitz and TU Berlin investigate how vehicle mode, speed, and braking behaviour influence interactions with an automated shuttle

+++ RESEARCH TICKER UNIVERSITY OF BONN: Researchers Calculate Heat Absorption by the Oceans+++ The world’s oceans behave like a thermometer: As the water warms, it expands and sea levels rise. Geodesy researchers at the University of Bonn are able to measure this and determine how much the oceans are warming. For individual ocean basins, their method has revealed significant deviations from model calculations—in some cases in the double-digit percentage range.

Blood vessels have to perform two seemingly opposing tasks: they must remain stable conduits for blood flow while also responding to injury, disease and inflammation. How blood vessels distinguish between these different states has not been fully understood. Scientists from the Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University and the German Cancer Research Center have now identified a mechanism that separates these functions: cleavage of the vascular receptor Tie1 is required for the pro-inflammatory activity of the Angiopoietin-Tie signaling pathway, but not for its functions in vascular growth and maintenance. The findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

A single-celled green alga from the sand dunes of the Negev Desert has, within just a few years, become a key model organism in modern photosynthesis research. Chlorella ohadii helps researchers better understand plants’ adaptability to extreme environmental conditions. These findings could help make crops more resilient to heat, drought, and other consequences of climate change in the future. Haim Treves, a professor of plant metabolism at RPTU, has been studying the desert alga since its discovery. His findings have now been published in the scientific journal New Phytologist.

As the “power house of the cells”, mitochondria supply cells with energy. They also play an important role in metabolism. The Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and University Hospital Düsseldorf (UKD) are researching the role of mitochondria in the development of certain diseases. In a recent study, the researchers from the Institute show how damaged mitochondria may contribute to liver disease. The researchers led by Principal Investigator Dr Ruchika Anand have now published their findings in the scientific journal Cell Death & Disease.

What would happen to the price of electricity if significantly more battery storage systems were traded on the market? The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is releasing a price simulator today on its Energy-Charts.info platform that answers this question using real market data. The tool uses the actual buy and sell bids from the daily electricity exchange auction and adds a freely selectable number of battery storage units. For each quarter-hour, users can see how the exchange electricity price would have changed, how the batteries charge and discharge, and what their charge levels are.