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Paving the way to a healthier old age
17-03-2020 | © istockphoto.com | jacoblund
Because lifespans have been steadily increasing, age-related diseases are also on the rise. ERC grantee Linda Partridge is researching ways to help prevent illness in later years and pave the way to a happier and healthier old age.
Astronomers reveal first-ever image of a black hole
09-04-2019 | © picture
It took one year, eight telescopes and a global network of scientists to produce. Scientists have revealed the first ever image of a black hole, a major milestone in astrophysics which not only backs up Einstein’s theory of general relativity but also opens up a new era of black hole observations.
Old and new diversities recreating urban spaces
28-04-2017 | ©Illustration: MPI-MMG - Steven Vertovec
Global migration flows show a profound diversification of migrants’ groups in recent years. Their patterns of nationality, ethnicity, language, age, gender and legal status are growing ever more complex and migrants with ‘new diversity’ traits live in cities alongside people from previous immigration waves. Prof. Steven Vertovec’s comparative study helps understand how old and new waves of migrants meet, mix, interact and get integrated into a given society.
Innovative vaccines and diagnostics open new opportunities for European companies
17-03-2017 | Portrait: © Max Planck Society, credit David Ausserhofer | Illustration: Automated carbohydrate synthesizer © Max Planck Society, credit David Ausserhofer
Glycans are complex sugars surrounding most of our body’s cells. They play an essential role in cell communication and within the immune system. Prof. Peter Seeberger’s ERC-funded research has focused on these important targets for drugs to develop new vaccines and therapies against infectious diseases. His results have led to several spinoffs and the creation of high-skill jobs in Germany and Switzerland.
Listening to jet-lagged plants
01-03-2016 | Illustration ©www.istockphotos.com Portrait © Prof. Ian T. Baldwin in the field
Prof. Ian Thomas Baldwin received an ERC Advanced Grant to study the internal circadian clock of plants. In particular, he wants to understand the ecological consequences of plants fallings ‘out of synch’. In this interview, Prof. Baldwin shares some of his research findings and explains why he has chosen to make his study results openly available.
A heavyweight for Einstein: Probing gravity where no one has done it before
24-04-2013 | An artist’s impression of the PSR J0348+0432 binary system. The pulsar is extremely compact, leading to a strong distortion of space-time (illustrated by the green mesh). The white-dwarf companion is shown in light-blue - ©J. Antoniadis/MPIfR
An international research team led by astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR, Bonn, Germany) used a collection of large radio and optical telescopes to investigate a newly discovered pulsar, and its white dwarf companion. The observations revealed a system with unusual properties, which weighs twice as much as the Sun, making it the most massive neutron star to date. These findings partly result from the “BEACON” project led by ERC Starting grantee Dr Paulo Freire, and agree with Einstein’s theory on general relativity. They will be published in tomorrow’s issue of Science, April 26, 2013.