Research

How can we write transnational history in a world in which science and technology are becoming increasingly relevant? The Transnational History Lab has looked at this question in more detail. The researchers have prepared a documentary on their work.

Emperor penguins are an endangered species. Scientists are protecting the largest of all penguins by monitoring their numbers precisely and investigating which factors affect their population. A team led by researchers at FAU has now developed a reliable method that can predict the number of breeding pairs and chicks and serve as an early warning system for climate change in the Antarctic Ocean.

When fighting infections or tumors, entire armies of immune cells must coordinate their behavior. Researchers at FAU will investigate which immune processes play a role in this over the next three years. The researchers will also use machine learning algorithms. The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation supports the project through its Rise Up! program with funding of almost €500,000.

Sebastian Teichert and his colleagues have monitored the growth of rhodoliths very closely. In the process, they discovered which impact climate change has on their development.

Providing offenders dependent on heroin with substitution treatment has a positive effect on their life behind bars and after release from prison. This is the conclusion after the long-term study of a team of FAU researchers, a worldwide first of its kind.

Who undertakes voluntary work aimed at encouraging the integration of migrants in rural areas? What contribution do the migrants themselves make towards a lively volunteering culture in rural areas? Geographers at FAU investigate how volunteering can contribute to successful integration in rural areas.

Spinal muscular atrophy describes a disease in which a genetic mutation causes certain nerves responsible for sending signals to muscles to degenerate. Genetic treatments have only been available for a few years, and can now be complemented by a procedure using short laser pulses that was developed at Uniklinikum Erlangen.

Does stress in social situations cause a particular posture? Do I move in a different way when I feel under pressure or fear a potential conflict? FAU researchers have been investigating these questions in their research. Using their results, they were able to train machine learning models to distinguish between people who were stressed and those who were not - a first step towards non-invasive methods of measuring stress.

The smartphone in your jacket pocket, LEDs for lighting your home and electronics for your charger, solar panels or your electric vehicle all have one thing in common: they depend on semiconductor materials and their properties. Researchers at FAU are researching how to make such devices more powerful, compact and energy efficient. Dr. Saskia Schimmel is one of them.

Until now, the generation and storage of electricity from solar energy has been dependent on various devices, leading to conversion losses. That may change soon: chemists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and other research institutes are conducting research into a hydrocarbon molecule that can either convert sunlight into electricity or save the energy for a long time in a chemical form.