Research

International team of researchers finds evidence of large-scale tectonic changes in the Pacific region 50 million years ago. A chain of extinct volcanoes that mostly lie under water stretches across the Pacific from Hawaii to Kamchatka. This chain, known as the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain, is the trail ...

FAU chemists and physicists aim to increase the efficiency of solar cells considerably. Doubling the amount of electricity produced by solar cells is just a difficult as it sounds. Chemists and physicists at FAU are carrying out intensive research on this topic. They are investigating singlet fissio...

FAU researcher Prof. Dr. Julien Bachmann receives ERC grant of 1.9 million Euros FAU has counted another success in the tough competition for European research funding, as Prof. Dr. Julien Bachmann has been awarded the European Research Council’s (ERC) prestigious 1.9-million-euro ERC Consolidator ...

Astronomers identify thermonuclear supernova as cause Ten years ago, a team of astrophysicists led by researchers at FAU discovered an inconspicuous star in our galaxy, US 708, that turned out to be moving incredibly fast. Based on new observations that the FAU team were involved in, the cause of i...

How does the sugar get into the beet? This question has been investigated by researchers at FAU’s Division of Molecular Plant Physiology in collaboration with colleagues from the universities of Kaiserslautern, Cologne and Würzburg, and the companies Südzucker AG and KWS Saat AG. They have discovere...

More parasites due to rising sea levels Climate change leads to steadily rising sea levels. The risk of floods is not the only consequence. An international working group involving FAU researchers has shown that various types of parasites have been spreading rapidly as a result of rising sea levels...

Magnetite is often used as a catalyst in chemical reactions. Other metal atoms can be bonded on its surface in such a way that they remain separated from one another and do not form larger metal particles. Researchers suspect that this speeds up chemical reactions particularly well. However, how thi...

Scientists at FAU, Germany, awarded $10 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the crop yield of the cassava plant Cassava, also known as manioc, provides the basic diet for more than half a billion people. It is the most important food source throughout much of the tropica...

We are all familiar with the expression ‘to taste blood’. In the animal kingdom just the smell of blood has an irresistible effect on carnivores. If a predator smells blood it knows that dinner is not far away. But what are the characteristic components of blood in mammals? What exactly causes the t...

FAU researcher proves algae species creates ecological niches We all know how important coral reefs are for the ecosystem. In places where coral reefs occur, their three-dimensional structures provide ecological niches that have a positive effect on biodiversity. It is less well known that other or...