Research for the benefit of society

The seven institutes under the umbrella of the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. conduct research in key socially relevant fields in the natural, life and environmental sciences and in engineering. As such, the contributions they make are of vital international significance. Here, we present a number of selected projects.

04-2023WIAS

Mathematics – the universal science

Like no other scientific discipline, mathematics stands out for its universal language and applicability. It allows people from different cultures to easily work together on solving problems.

04-2023IGB

“To researchers, this river is like a textbook”

Dr. Alexander Sukhodolov of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries has been carrying out a research on the Tagliamento River in the north-east of Italy for almost a decade and a half. Scientists are fascinated by this river because it has a number of features that makes it a unique object of study. IGB operates a River Lab at the Tagliamento, where researchers study river hydrodynamics and its effect and interactions with aquatic biota.

04-2023IZW

Strategy 3.2 – Using stem cell technology to save the rhino

Conservation of endangered species can be approached in several different ways. The traditional methods are to protect populations and their natural habitats or to set up breeding programs in zoological institutions. But in cases as dramatic as that of the Sumatran rhinoceros or the northern white rhinoceros – species with only a few individuals left – new promising strategies are required. Such strategies are being developed and put into practice at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW).

04-2023FMP

Potential new treatment of thrombosis

The lipid kinase PI3KC2α is a potential pharmacological target for the treatment of thrombosis and, possibly, cancer. Researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) have now identified a potent inhibitor of its activity that serves as a lead for further drug development.

04-2023MBI

In times of darkness, we light the way to a brighter future!

A film about the Max Born Institute (MBI), the diversity of the research, the staff and the thoughts. Only 24 hours to capture this diversity on camera. So what sets the MBI apart?

04-2023PDI

Inside the great laboratory for molecular beam epitaxy

The concept was very clear: concise instructions, maximum freedom in the implementation, a single day of shooting with a professional film crew “next week,” followed by speedy post-production.

04-2023IKZ

Crystal growth – how does it work?

Are crystals grown in a similar way to bananas, apples or rare tulips? No, of course not! Crystal growth refers to a multiplicity of technical processes and methods that enable us to “grow” crystalline materials.

04-2022IKZ

What happened to all the antimatter?

Using high-purity germanium single crystals from the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ), astrophysicists hope to solve one of the biggest puzzles of the universe.

04-2022FMP

New insights: how potassium and sodium are conducted through ion channels

Tiny ion channels are responsible for transporting potassium and sodium to our cells.

03-2022IGB

Birch trees remove microplastics from the soil

With the help of trees, microplastic-polluted soils could be remediated.

10-2021PDI

Harnessing Single Photons with Sound

Scalable quantum networks require on-chip transfer and manipulation of single particles as well as their interconversion to single photons for long-range information exchange.

10-2021IKZ

Leibniz institutes join expertise to strengthen national and European technology sovereignty

Beginning of July, the new Leibniz Strategy Forum “Technological Sovereignty” officially started its work.

10-2021MBI

Honey, we shrunk the intense XUV laser

An international team of researchers has demonstrated a new concept for the generation of intense extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation by high-harmonic generation (HHG).

10-2021IZW

Acoustics meets wildlife research

How the monitoring of bats around wind turbines can (and should) be improved

10-2021FMP

The new old-fashioned way

Virchow’s teachings continue to this day – using full computing power

10-2021IGB

German federal elections: Researchers recommend a more sustainable water policy

Relevance of freshwater biodiversity is underestimated, foundations of life for nature and humans at risk

10-2021WIAS

How things communicate with each other

The new Leibniz Group “Probabilistic Methods for Dynamic Communication Networks”, led by Dr. Benedikt Jahnel at the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics (WIAS), is researching the mathematical bases of our modern communication society. The focus is on interacting systems in which physical objects, or “things”, such as cars or sensors communicate directly with one another.

03-2021IKZ

Crystal-clear strategies for a sustainable future

Many of the environmentally friendly technologies we use are made with efficient power electronics. Europe is currently recognising just how important it is to research and produce these electronics locally.

03-2021IGB

Europe's rivers fragmented by one million barriers - but there is a fix

A study published in the scientific journal "Nature" with the participation of IGB shows: Europe has some of the most fragmented rivers in the world.

03-2021IZW

Hotspots of cheetah activity is a key to solving the cheetah-farmer conflict in Namibia

Rural central Namibia is one of the most important strongholds of the declining global cheetah population. Here, the rarest large African cat lives on privately owned farmland.

03-2021FMP

Cytotoxin-carrying backpacks

Professor Christian Hackenberger conducts research into protein-based biopharmaceuticals that can be used as a targeted approach to treat cancer and viral infections. At the Berlin Science Week in early November, the FMP researcher received the “Breakthrough of the Year” award.

03-2021MBI

White turns into (extreme-)ultraviolet

Researchers from the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI) have developed a new method to modify the spectral width of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) light.

01-2021PDI

The stairway to heaven – and other destinations: Quantum-cascade lasers for high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy

Terahertz (THz) quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) are powerful, narrow-band, and frequency-tunable sources of radiation for high-resolution spectroscopy in the far-infrared or THz spectral range. The PDI develops and produces this type of lasers for different applications.

12-2020WIAS

Understanding the crisis with mathematics

During the Corona crisis the whole world is suddenly looking not only at the research results of virologists, but also at those of mathematicians: how fast is the virus spreading through the population? What are the routes of transmission of the infection? And when can we go back to the stadium? Mathematicians at the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics (WIAS) have also been looking into the pandemic.

09-2020MBI

Atom-billiards with X-rays: a new approach to look inside of molecules

Since the early days of quantum mechanics, it is known that photons also possess momentum. The photon’s ability to transfer momentum was used in a novel approach by scientists of the Max Born Institute, Uppsala University, and the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility to observe a fundamental process in the interaction of x-rays with atoms.

09-2020IKZ

From crystal to prototype

Undisputedly, the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) enjoys worldwide recognition when it comes to growing crystalline materials – especially volume crystals. But they are not resting on their laurels.

07-2020IGB

Where is the water during a drought?

In low precipitation periods – where and how is the limited available water distributed and what possibilities are there for improving retention in the soil and the landscape?

07-2020IZW

Evolutionary wildlife research for species conservation – a mission for the Anthropocene

Interview with Professor Dr. Heribert Hofer, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW)

06-2020FMP

Osmotic stress identified as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system.

02-2020MBI

Let there be … a new light

Researchers from the Max Born Institute (MBI), the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) and Technische Universität (TU) Berlin have now shown how to generate and characterize an entirely new type of light – synthetic chiral light, which identifies molecules’ handedness exceptionally distinctly.

01-2020FMP

Gene mutation in the chloride channel causes high blood pressure

Excessive production of the hormone aldosterone by the adrenal glands leads to high blood pressure and may also damage the kidneys. A team of researchers has now shown that a genetic mutation in a chloride channel triggers this disease.

01-2020PDI

Science in the City: high-performance 3D electron microscopy in the centre of Berlin

The central square of Hausvogteiplatz in the heart of Berlin is buzzing with activity, traffic noise, exhaust fumes and, at regular intervals, rumbling from the subways underfoot. Less than 50 meters away, in a basement of the Paul-Drude-Institut (PDI), it is completely silent, squeaky clean, and vibration-free. With visible pride, Dr. Achim Trampert, head of the Microstructure Department, stands in the newly launched “Berlin Application Laboratory for Electron Tomography – BALET”.

01-2020IGB

IGB Policy Brief: Strengths and weaknesses of the Water Framework Directive

Putting the WFD to the test – IGB Policy Brief recommends continued commitment to the objectives and improved practical implementation

01-2020IKZ

Original kilogram replaced – New International System of Units entered into force

Along with the ampere, kelvin, and mole, the kilogram is now defined by a natural constant. The single crystals grown from the highly enriched isotopic silicon-28 at the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) have made it possible.

01-2020IZW

Rediscovery of the silver-backed chevrotain

The silver-backed chevrotain, also called the Vietnamese mouse deer, was thought to be extinct. But now, 28 years after it was last recorded, researchers have photos and footage confirming the first rediscovery of this shy creature in the wild.

02-2019WIAS

From A to B, or is C better?

Arguably, one of the most important concepts in mathematics is distance. We can use distance to explain the limits of values and the convergence of abstract mathematical objects. The concept is also at the heart of many applications such as image analysis, where it is used to compare images to each other, for example.

02-2019IZW

When everything seems too late – an attempt to save the Northern White Rhino

There are only two Northern White Rhinos left worldwide, and both of them are females. Is it still possible to save the species from extinction? An international attempt to prevent the worst case.

01-2019IKZ

Gallium oxide – the new star in the semiconductor sky?

When it comes to crystals – and we’re talking about the really big bulk crystals used in electronic/photonic technology platforms for research, development and service – IKZ is the first port of call.

01-2019MBI

Atomic jet – the first lens for extreme-ultraviolet light developed

Scientists from the Max Born Institute (MBI) have developed the first refractive lens that focuses extreme ultraviolet beams.

10-2018FMP

A molecular switch may serve as new target point for cancer and diabetes therapies

If certain signaling cascades are misregulated, diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes may occur.

10-2018PDI

Stored Light

Novel microcavities can store light beams for split seconds and allow them to interact with each other – this is an important step towards building quantum simulators.

09-2018IGB

When lakes start to sweat

Rising temperatures are a threat to the balance of lakes. In a new IGB Dossier, researchers provide a summary of the changes that lakes are already undergoing and of the scenarios that are likely to occur.

Highlights

Research for the benefit of society

Mathematics – the universal science

“To researchers, this river is like a textbook”

Strategy 3.2 – Using stem cell technology to save the rhino

Potential new treatment of thrombosis

In times of darkness, we light the way to a brighter future!

Inside the great laboratory for molecular beam epitaxy

Crystal growth – how does it work?

What happened to all the antimatter?

New insights: how potassium and sodium are conducted through ion channels

Birch trees remove microplastics from the soil

Harnessing Single Photons with Sound

Leibniz institutes join expertise to strengthen national and European technology sovereignty

Honey, we shrunk the intense XUV laser

Acoustics meets wildlife research

The new old-fashioned way

German federal elections: Researchers recommend a more sustainable water policy

How things communicate with each other

Crystal-clear strategies for a sustainable future

Europe's rivers fragmented by one million barriers - but there is a fix

Hotspots of cheetah activity is a key to solving the cheetah-farmer conflict in Namibia

Cytotoxin-carrying backpacks

White turns into (extreme-)ultraviolet

The stairway to heaven – and other destinations: Quantum-cascade lasers for high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy

Understanding the crisis with mathematics

Atom-billiards with X-rays: a new approach to look inside of molecules

From crystal to prototype

Where is the water during a drought?

Evolutionary wildlife research for species conservation – a mission for the Anthropocene

Osmotic stress identified as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Let there be … a new light

Gene mutation in the chloride channel causes high blood pressure

Science in the City: high-performance 3D electron microscopy in the centre of Berlin

IGB Policy Brief: Strengths and weaknesses of the Water Framework Directive

Original kilogram replaced – New International System of Units entered into force

Rediscovery of the silver-backed chevrotain

From A to B, or is C better?

When everything seems too late – an attempt to save the Northern White Rhino

Gallium oxide – the new star in the semiconductor sky?

Atomic jet – the first lens for extreme-ultraviolet light developed

A molecular switch may serve as new target point for cancer and diabetes therapies

Stored Light

When lakes start to sweat