Research

An international team of researchers has succeeded in “filming” the activation of an important receptor. The results, that have now been published in the journal Nature, may lead in the medium term to the development of more effective medicines.

Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen have examined a man who has received more than 200 vaccinations against Covid-19. Until now, it has been unclear what effects hypervaccination such as this would have on the immune system.

Macrophages that “gorge themselves” on a certain protein may promote the progression of cancer rather than fight it. PD Dr. Heiko Bruns, immunologist at FAU, discovered this mechanism in connection with bone marrow cancer.

Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One) is providing 28 million US dollars in funding for an international research project led by FAU: The non-profit organization will support the cassava source-sink (CASS) project in the next five years to improve the productivity of one of the most important food crops in sub-Saharan Africa.

Researchers at the Dr. Karl Remeis Observatory, the Astronomical Institute of the Erlangen Center for Astroparticle Physics (ECAP) at FAU, used an X-ray telescope to scan the skies for X-ray emitting sources. The consortium has now published the largest catalog of X-ray sources to date sources in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The few glaciers in Africa have long since become an important indicator of how rapidly and severely climate change is changing our planet. The ice on the high summits of the continent is rapidly disappearing, Africa may lose its white peaks by the middle of our century.

FAU is massively expanding its computing capacities for AI applications. The Erlangen National High-Performance Computing Center is investing millions in AI cluster with cutting-edge processors. The Free State of Bavaria is providing the necessary funds within the context of the High-tech Agenda.

An international research team has uncovered that a previously overlooked repetitive DNA element known as Long Interspersed Nuclear Element (L1) helps maintain neural progenitor cells, and thus plays an important role in mammalian brain development.