Starting May 1, the biochemist and professor of Biostructural Interactions at Friedrich Schiller University Jena will also lead a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology.

Drylands cover roughly 40% of Earth’s land surface and play a major role in the global land-atmosphere carbon exchange. Most carbon in dryland ecosystems is stored in soils, but little is known about…

Researchers have discovered a brood pheromone released by larvae of clonal raider ants that temporarily suppresses egg-laying in adult ants.

An introduced bacterium displaces the sawtoothed grain beetle's symbiotic partner, leading to the complete collapse of a previously stable symbiosis within a few generations.

Newly discovered enzymes found in the cinchona tree play a crucial role in the production of the malaria drug quinine and other important alkaloids. This opens up possibilities for the…

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF inaugurated its newest research building today with a ceremony. In addition to Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär,…

Biophotonics researcher Prof. Jürgen Popp, Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) and Professor of Physical Chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University Jena,…

Ozone destroys colony-specific odor signals and leads to attacks within the colony

Plant diversity loss affects the odor signals emitted by plant communities –with possible consequences for interactions with other organisms

The insect-pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana detoxifies the defense substances of the beetles, which originate from plant precursors, and can successfully infect these insects

How a symbiotic fungus helps a beetle survive in dead wood

In addition to pathogens, the reed leafhopper hosts symbiotic bacteria that could play a role in adapting to new host plants.

A pioneering method enables simultaneous RNA and metabolite analysis in the same cell, revealing the molecular choreography underlying the biosynthesis of medically relevant natural products.

Iridoid-producing plants use a cyclase to synthesize the characteristic double-ring structure of this important class of defense compounds and medically relevant substances.

Today's conifers contain a mixture of ancient and recent defense substances in their resin, which may be key to combating bark beetles!

Despite having only a tiny genome, the symbionts of reed beetles can adapt their gene activity flexibly to the developmental stages and ambient temperatures of their hosts.

These conifers produce various monoterpenes to defend themselves against both bark beetles and microbial pathogens.

A catalytically inactive enzyme enables the formation of free indole for plant defense and communication

In summer 2025, the European Space Agency ESA plans to launch the MTG-S1 satellite from the third generation of the Meteosat series. The geostationary satellite will significantly improve the accuracy…

The elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway of ipecacuanha alkaloids shows how two distantly related plant species could develop the same substance independently.

Lithium niobate has long been a standard material for modulating optical signals, both in telecommunications and in laser amplifiers. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and…

With great regret we all had to accept the closure of the casino in the Abbe Center on Beutenberg last fall. More than 3,500 employees at the Beutenberg Campus have no longer been able to buy a daily…

Evolutionary adaptations have enabled the fruit fly Drosophila busckii to detect and thrive on toxic food sources

Extreme climate events endanger groundwater quality and stability, when rain water evades natural purification processes in the soil. This was demonstrated in long-term groundwater analyses using new…

How leaf beetles found the key to digesting plants better with the help of bacteria