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First quantification of a major ecological crisis and recovery A new study paves the way to understanding biotic recovery after an ecological crisis in the Mediterranean Sea about 5.5 million years ago. An international team led by Konstantina Agiadi from the University of Vienna has now been able to quantify how marine biota was impacted by the salinization of the Mediterranean: Only 11 percent of the endemic species survived the crisis, and the biodiversity did not recover for at least another 1.7 million years.

A new study clearly shows how important it is to emphasize consensus among climate scientists Climate scientists have long agreed that humans are largely responsible for climate change. A new study, co-led by Bojana Veckalov from the University of Amsterdam and Sandra Geiger from the University of Vienna, finds that communicating the scientific consensus about climate change can clear up misperceptions and strengthen beliefs about the existence and the causes of climate change.

Research team identifies unconventional energy source for recently discovered "green" nitrifying bacteria An international research team led by the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna has discovered that comammox bacteria, first identified by them in 2015, can grow using guanidine, a nitrogen-rich organic compound, as their sole energy and nitrogen source.

How microplastic particles disperse in the ocean depends on microscopic details. Scientists at TU Wien have now succeeded in precisely characterising the motion of these particles. Microplastics are a global problem: they end up in rivers and oceans, they accumulate in living organisms and disrupt entire ecosystems.

One of the first major studies on abrasion emissions from rail vehicles shows that a lot of particulate matter contaminated with heavy metals is produced especially along railway lines. In addition to exhaust emissions, abrasion emissions from tyres and brakes have become increasingly important when assessing the environmental impact of traffic.

From the bus window to the DNA laboratory: Postbuses make the diversity of flying insects in Austria visible. The University of Innsbruck is launching an innovative project to record insect biodiversity. Wipe and know which insects fly in Austria: In the new biodiversity project of the Institute of Zoology at the University of Innsbruck, public transport in Tyrol, Carinthia, Lower Austria and Upper Austria is helping to study the diversity of microorganisms.

Irrigation with treated wastewater and sewage sludge brings tire additives into the leafy vegetables Car tires contain hundreds of chemical additives that can leach out of them. This is how they end up in crops and subsequently in the food chain. Researchers at the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have now detected these chemical residues in leafy vegetables for the first time.

Sustainable land use as a key to combating alien species The introduction of plant and animal species into new regions by humans is increasing rapidly worldwide. Some of these non-native species have a massive impact as they upset the balance of ecosystems. It was previously unclear whether there are differences in the spread of such invasive species between areas cared for by indigenous populations and other regions.

Adaptation of the photosynthetic mechanism in air plants (Tillandsia) occurs through gene duplication Researchers at the University of Vienna, along with collaborators from France, Germany, Switzerland and the USA, have achieved a major breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants).

Only a few tree species are flexible enough to survive a century of rapid climate change Europe's forests have already been severely affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists from the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Munich have now investigated which trees can be used for reforestation.

A recent study in the journal Science takes the most comprehensive look yet at the past and future of global biodiversity: intensive land use reduced biodiversity by up to around 10 percent over the course of the 20th century. By 2050, the climate crisis could become the main factor, alongside land use, for further losses in biodiversity.

Dyes, such as those used in the textile industry, are a major environmental problem. At TU Wien, efficient filters have now been developed - based on cellulose waste. Using waste to purify water may sound counterintuitive. But at TU Wien, this is exactly what has now been achieved: a special nanostructure has been developed to filter a widespread class of harmful dyes from water.

As desertification spreads worldwide, scientists discover how desert microbes endure harsh drought periods Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall - how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by an ERC project led by microbiologist Dagmar Woebken from the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna.

The laser-based technology developed at TU Graz enables the continual real-time analysis of air pollutants and their interaction with other gases and sunlight. Sunlight has a major influence on chemical processes. Its high-energy UV radiation in particular is strongly absorbed by all materials and triggers photochemical reactions of the substances present in the air.

April 4, 2024 Pressure changes and mechanical forces trigger wound healing in plants Plants are very robust and survive harsh environments, owing in part to their remarkably efficient wound-healing capacity. For over a century, scientists aimed to understand it in more detail. A new collaborative study at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) now shows that the process is quite straightforward, revolving around pressure and forces.

New fossil ray species discovered in Bavarica, Germany: Aellopobatis bavarica from the Late Jurassic In a new study recently published in the journal Papers in Palaeontology , an international team of scientists led by palaeobiologist Julia Türtscher from the University of Vienna has explored the puzzling world of rays that lived 150 million years ago and discovered a previously hidden diversity - including a new ray species.

Many studies on the climate crisis focus on researching temperature extremes on a global scale. Scientists at the University of Vienna have now uncovered an error in an established calculation method, leading to a systematic underestimation in the frequency of heat days. The error is based in the previously unnoticed impact of the seasonal cycle on the extreme threshold due to the incorrect application of so called "moving time windows".

Energy systems that are essential to our daily lives are increasingly threatened by wars, pandemics, climate change and other unexpected events. An international team of researchers has found that demand-side approaches have far greater potential to reduce our vulnerability to energy crises than supply-side measures.

New findings enable more accurate prediction of the carbon cycle Warmer soils harbour a greater diversity of active microbes, according to a new study from researchers at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna. The study, published in Science Advances , represents a significant shift in our understanding of how microbial activity in the soil influences the global carbon cycle and possible feedback mechanisms on the climate.

New climate model shows more extreme rainfall in the tropics with increased temperatures Understanding cloud patterns in our changing climate is essential to making accurate predictions about their impact on society and nature. Scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology published a new study in the journal Science Advances that uses a high-resolution global climate model to understand how the clustering of clouds and storms impacts rainfall extremes in the tropics.