Trees are a natural source of CO2 and make an important contribution to climate protection. However, species diversity varies greatly from region to region and has changed dramatically over the years. In the humid tropics, for example, there are considerably more plants to be found per square metre than in Germany. But why is this so, and what factors influence the diversity of tree species? In order to find answers to these questions, the forested areas of the world would have to be thoroughly explored - truly a Sisyphean task.

New technologies such as field robots are already making agriculture more efficient and sustainable. New habitats for insects and other animals are being created with flower strips or mixed cultivation of crops. This contributes to the protection of biological diversity. But can all these measures halt the global loss of biodiversity? Apparently not.

Jellyfish is a delicacy. At least in Western Europe, this thought will cause some bewilderment. But in Asian cuisine, the wobbly sea animals have been on the menu for centuries and are considered exclusive delicacies. One reason for this is certainly the time-consuming preparation, which takes several weeks. Chemists from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz and the University of Southern Denmark have now investigated what happens chemically to jellyfish tissue during this process and developed an alternative to the slow variant.

Too sweet, too salty, too fatty: Many foods contain ingredients that are unhealthy when consumed in excess. The food industry has long been under pressure to find alternatives: The cost of treating diet-related diseases such as heart, circulatory and metabolic diseases is around 17 billion euros a year.

Some authors are able to craft stories that come to life in the imagination of their readers. In fact, most books are literally alive, because their pages contain microorganisms. Researchers from the Leipzig University Library, the TU Braunschweig and the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ) now want to look at and study these microbes as "genuine components of the culture material".

It is at least 3,500 years old and yet so far no one knew its parents: the saffron crocus has been cultivated for a long time, especially in the Mediterranean region and in Asia. Its flower threads are the source of the valuable spice saffron, which can compete with gold at a price of up to 30,000 euros per kilo. The saffron crocus has also been appreciated for centuries as a medicinal plant and coloring agent. Despite its value, the plant has never been improved by breeding in all these years.

Many car owners hate scratches in the paint of their cars. After all, even harmless scratches abruptly reduce the value of the car, especially when it is a luxury car. Together with Saarland University, researchers from the Leibniz Institute for New Materials (INM) in Saarbrücken have a solution: they have developed a new type of coating that removes small imperfections in no time at all - all by itself.

“Anam­mox, a glob­ally im­port­ant mi­cro­bial pro­cess of the ni­tro­gen cycle rel­ev­ant for the earth’s cli­mate, does not work the way we as­sumed it did.” With these words, Boran Kartal from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen sums up a surprising discovery by the microbiologists: Together with colleagues, the Bremen researchers have for the first time discovered an anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (short: "Anammox") bacterium that uses nitric oxide ("NO") to grow.

Many people like giving to others - and not without reason. Scientists found that unselfish giving activates happiness hormones in the brain. Researchers from the Department of Marketing for Food and Agricultural Products at the University of Göttingen have investigated the extent to which the intention to do good for others also plays a role in purchasing.