german research

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Besides the 92 elements that occur naturally, scientists were able to create 20 additional chemical elements.

These new elements were produced artificially and are all very short-lived: they decay in a matter of a split second.

However, scientists predict the existence of even heavier elements with an extreme longevity.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) As one out of three "Knowledge and Innovation Communities," Karlsruhe Institute of Technology together with InnoEnergy has won the bid. 35 partners from business enterprises, universities, research institutions, and business schools make up the European consortium.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology will finance KIC InnoEnergy in a first phase with presumably about 30 million euros annually until 2014.

Within the KIC, a sustainable energy system for Europe shall be developed until 2050.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Even the snow on Aconcagua Mountain in the Andes is polluted with PCBs.

An international team of researchers detected low concentrations of these toxic, carcinogenic chlorine compounds in samples taken from America's highest mountain.

The snow samples taken at an altitude of 6,200 meters are among the highest traces found anywhere in the world of these substances, which have been banned since 2001.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) At the 2009 Supercomputing Conference in Portland, Ore., the high-performance computer QPACE (QCD Parallel Computing on the Cell) was recognized today as the most energy-efficient supercomputer in the world.

QPACE is at the head of the Green500 list, which provides a global ranking of energy-efficient supercomputers.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Short-term fluctuations in the spatial distribution of the ocean water masses

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) The human brain consists of about 100 billion neurons, which altogether form about 100 trillion synaptic connections with each other.

A crucial mechanism for the generation of this complex wiring pattern is the formation of neuronal branches.

Neurobiologists at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Germany, have now discovered a molecule that regulates this vital process.

At the same time they have succeeded in elucidating the signaling cascade induced by this molecule.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) A combination of small satellites can, with innovative methods, use the signals of the navigation satellite systems GPS and Galileo to significantly improve remote sensing of the System Earth.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Leipzig: The long-term effects of pesticides on living organisms in rivers and on water quality can now be assessed more easily.

Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research have developed a tool that can estimate the harmful effect of pesticides, such as those flushed into rivers and streams from agricultural land, within minutes.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) EUMINAfab offers open access to machines and know-how in micro- and nanotechnologies for users from science and industry.

Today, this European infrastructure facility coordinated by KIT is starting operation: 10 leading institutions from research and industry in eight EU member states make available a total of 36 high-tech installations along with the corresponding scientific and technological expertise.

Users are given cost-free access, provided that they agree to a publication of research results.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Three research institutes from the German federal state Bremen among others have set up an observation ward for the long-term observation of a mud volcano in the Norwegian deep sea.

This took place during RV Polarstern's 24th Arctic expedition July 10-August 3. The endeavors are part of the project ESONET, funded by the European Union.