New international research from Tulane University and published in Nature Geoscience is the first study to demonstrate global-scale patterns in how El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences mangrove growth and degradation. Previously, impacts had only been documented at individual sites, such as a dramatic die-off in northern Australia in 2015 when more than 40 million mangrove trees perished along a 1,200-mile stretch of coastline. 

Diamond quantum sensors can be used to analyze the magnetization response of soft magnetic materials used in power electronics; report scientists based on collaborative research. Using a novel imaging technique, they developed quantum protocols to simultaneously image both the amplitude and phase of AC stray fields over a wide frequency range up to 2.3 MHz. Their results demonstrate that quantum sensing is a powerful tool for developing advanced magnetic materials across diverse applications.

Scientists from the University of Stuttgart and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) are leveraging digital technologies to make design and construction more future-proof and climate-positive. This research takes place within the interdisciplinary Cluster of Excellence IntCDC. As announced today by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science and Humanities Council, the federal and state governments will continue funding the cluster, including the participating institutions MPI-IS and Bauhaus Earth, for another seven years as part of the Excellence Strategy. The Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Transformative Architecture (IntCDC)” will enable the university to further strengthen its position as a leader in international cutting-edge research in architecture and civil engineering.

A resounding victory for the University of Oldenburg, Germany: all three top-level research projects that submitted proposals to be Clusters of Excellence in the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments have been approved and will receive funding for seven years. The topics of the Clusters are hearing research, animal navigation and marine sciences.

An interdisciplinary research team involving the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has identified two antiviral drug candidates effective against a wide range of viruses. The study demonstrates how combining computer-aided modeling with laboratory validation can speed up the development of new antiviral drugs. The researchers used computer simulations to search for specific metabolic processes necessary for viral reproduction but not vital for the cell itself. Using this method, the team identified two active agents that successfully combated various viruses in initial laboratory tests. These findings are an important step toward creating drugs that could quickly be made available in the event of a future pandemic. The study was recently published in the journal Communications Biology.