Currently, the petrochemical industry uses fossil fuels as the source of carbon for the production of many things, including plastics. This is problematic because carbon dioxide adds to climate change and, in addition, fossil fuels are running out. Therefore, LARGUS ANGENENT and his research group are looking for new sources of carbon. As he explains in this video, their aim is to convert waste into the chemicals needed [...] Watch video

How are memories formed and stored in the human brain? This is the overarching question that leads MARINA MIKHAYLOVA’s research. As she explains, there are two important features of memory formation: plasticity and stability of dendritic spines, small protrusions where synapses are formed. Activity-dependent remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton in dendritic spines is essential for synaptic plasticity. This process is [...] Watch video

In the internet age, digital platforms are providing increasingly important settings for buyers and sellers to interact. In this video, MARTIN PEITZ investigates why some markets tend to be dominated by single platforms (e.g. Google for internet search) while others (e.g. hotel booking) allow multiple platforms to profitably co-exist. Using theoretical modeling, the research indicates that sellers in particular markets [...] Watch video

It is very difficult to learn something new if you haven’t unlearned what you have done before. In this video, CAROLIN GÖRZIG shows how we can better understand and influence the processes by which terrorist groups learn and unlearn violence. Drawing on insights provided by the deradicalization of organizations like the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army), and with fieldwork ongoing in territories including [...] Watch video

After Joseph Schumpeter, economists have given much credence to the role that new business formation plays in regional economic development. In this video, MICHAEL FRITSCH argues that not all Start-Ups are created equal and proposes a more balanced assessment of the factors underlying economic development. Fritsch’s research takes a region-based approach and finds that up to two-thirds of the positive economic effects [...] Watch video

Our memories define who we are. Here, learning and memory are essential but how does the brain process and store information? Neurons are the elemental cells that compute and store this information in several ways. ALESSIO ATTARDO is interested in synapses. Synapses are the connections between neurons and this is where information flows. Specifically, Attardo focuses on the basic principles that govern synaptic plasticity [...] Watch video

When researchers want to delve deeper into the brain mechanisms of speech patterns, they cannot do all experiments on human subjects. This is why STEFFEN R. HAGE studies the vocalizations of marmoset monkeys. Particularly, as he explains in this video, he is interested in the long sounds these monkeys produce with durations up to three or four seconds. There is a debate whether these long sounds are produced out of [...] Watch video

The compromise effect can be observed in the consumer’s tendency to avoid extreme ends of the available range when making purchasing decisions. In this video, MARKO SARSTEDT investigates the origins of the compromise effect. Describing an experiment that interrogates the effects of a lowering of cognitive capability on purchasing decisions, Sarstedt argues that rather than involving fast or intuitive decision making, [...] Watch video

Good entrepreneurs play a key role in helping poor countries to prosper. In this video, MICHAEL FRESE asks us to consider the fundamental importance of psychological mindset in the development of successful entrepreneurs. Over a two year period, Frese analyzed outcomes achieved by groups of entrepreneurs that had received different forms of training and found that individuals who had been trained to develop an [...] Watch video

Humans may be sharing earth with up to twenty million species of macroscopic life, let alone microscopic life. Today, about 1.8 million species have been described and currently, we discover about 18,000 species per year, which means it would take us thousands of years to describe them all. This is why JOHANNES VOGEL endeavors to increase the current rate of discovery dramatically, as he explains in this video. [...] Watch video

The human brain has many functions; for instance, it allows people to focus on particular objects and ignore others, or to remember events in the past. TATJANA TCHUMATCHENKO uses mathematical equations in order to understand how our brain achieves this. Previous research in this area has developed models that explain single questions, such as ‘How does memory work?’. However, as she describes in this video, the brain [...] Watch video

Mostly, reciprocity is seen as a positive act. It helps people to cooperate and to engage in mutually beneficial exchange. KLAUS M. SCHMIDT, however, is interested in the negative aspects of reciprocity, for instance when a decision maker is offered a gift by an interested party. His research is focused on two aspects: Why do people reciprocate? And are the remedies discussed, such as disclosure and size limits, really [...] Watch video

To have empathy is often defined as the capacity to imagine or feel like other people feel. In the philosophical tradition morality and empathy have often been seen as intertwined or as one being the condition of the other. More recently, this close link has been questioned. Practical philosopher MONIKA BETZLER investigates how the human capacity to empathize with others is related to the concept of morality. In this [...] Watch video

Dental calculus, a calcified form of tooth plaque, can give detailed information about the diets, diseases and lifestyles of past humans. CHRISTINA WARINNER discusses how she gains new knowledge about the way human beings used to live, what they ate, and how their microbiome has evolved. Dental calculus is the richest known source of ancient DNA in the archaeological record, and it is the only part of the body that [...] Watch video

Modern humans colonized the whole planet and replaced all other hominids, such as Neanderthals. This evolvement raises interesting evolutionary questions concerning both species. The paleoanthropological research presented in this video looks at a moment in time when both co-existed. In order to find out about the differences between them, JEAN-JACQUES HUBLIN looks at both species’ use of technology, behavior, and [...] Watch video

The classic image that tourists and travelers should only leave footprints and take photos is put into question by CARSTEN WERGINs academic investigation of how tourism has changed the world. In this video, he describes his interest in the question of how tourism impacts on particular places and people. In his field studies and during participant observations he has found that tourism is not only a global industry, it [...] Watch video

The UNESCO World Heritage title has become a powerful global brand. It influences people’s decisions of where to travel and conveys prestige and national pride. CHRISTOPH BRUMANN and his research group investigated how this title is being awarded and what its consequences are on the ground at the chosen sites. Brumann explains in this video that using a two-fold anthropological approach, the researchers found that, [...] Watch video

It is very difficult to learn something new if you haven’t unlearned what you have done before. In this video, CAROLIN GÖRZIG shows how we can better understand and influence the processes by which terrorist groups learn and unlearn violence. Drawing on insights provided by the deradicalization of organizations like the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army), and with fieldwork ongoing in territories including [...] Watch video

Humans pride themselves on having extensive and diverse cultures. However, cultures can also be observed in animals. The research presented in this video aims at understanding the cultures of wild chimpanzee populations in several African countries and how they differ from each other. As chimpanzees avoid human contact, CHRISTOPHE BOESCH explains, the research team conducted the study by setting up camera traps to catch [...] Watch video

Different ethnic groups have shaped the genetic makeup of today’s Europeans. Through migration from various regions of the world, the genetic material of humans who first arrived in Europe forty thousand years ago has seen drastic changes over the last ten thousand years. By analyzing D.N.A extracted from ancient bones, JOHANNES KRAUSE traces back the genetic ancestry of human beings, especially those living in Europe [...] Watch video

Human development is determined by biology and culture. Biologically seen, the history of evolution has brought us certain cognitive biases, whereas our cultural legacy is built through interactions with other people. OLIVIER MORIN pursues research at the intersection of these two legacies and his particular area of interest is cultural transmission. As he explains in this video, one thing we inherit from evolutionary [...] Watch video

One of the most disputed issues in historical-comparative linguistics is the origin of the Japanese language and the question of whether it is related to the Transeurasian languages. MARTINE ROBBEETS has already shown in past research that it is possible to find a small core of evidence that relates Japanese as a daughter language of Transeurasian. This, she explains in this video, leads to new questions: How and why did [...] Watch video

When asked about the place of religion in their culture, many Chinese people will answer that China is a secular country with no major impact of religion. However, as PETER VAN DER VEER explains in this video, the Chinese are more religious than this perspective suggests and perform many rituals in their daily life. His research shows that this interpretation of Confucianism results from the historical influence of [...] Watch video

The notion of a powerful god is often said to play a significant role in supporting the transition from small relatively equal hunter and gatherer societies to big hierarchical societies. However, as RUSSELL GRAY explains in this video, while there is a correlation between “big gods” and “big societies”, this is no causal relationship. By comparing the evolution of different forms of social organization in [...] Watch video

While doing anthropological fieldwork in Malaysia, DOMINIK MÜLLER noticed that the Islamic Party of Malaysia organizes events and activities that are frequently embellished with popular culture elements, such as bands playing on electric guitars. This seemed at odds with common Western assumptions that Islamic political movements tend to condemn popular culture as un-Islamic. Müller then investigated how the change of [...] Watch video

When studying human social and cultural diversity, there are usually distinctions being made based on world regions. This leads commonly to the assumption that there is a continental divide between Europe and Asia. However, researchers from many disciplines point out that Eurasia should rather be seen as a unity. In the comparative anthropological study CHRIS HANN presents in this video, he found commonalities across the [...] Watch video

The 20th Century has been marked by a return to ethnic and religious affiliations and identifications which continue to be in the foreground of political discourse. The rise of religious groups is represented by the media as a turbulent phenomenon, which spikes new conflicts globally. These representations of collective identities are politically utilized. Resource conflicts and controversies about citizenship and [...] Watch video

Due to the current dire economic situation in Hungary many feel nostalgic about a time in their nation’s history when jobs were more secure. Young Hungarians, despite being highly qualified, have trouble finding work in their home country as well as in Europe. This led to high votes for the nationalist parties in the elections of 2014, who promise a return to the time of the great Austro-Hungarian Empire. This [...] Watch video

For music artists, the marketing possibilities of digital media have opened up new opportunities independent from the major music industry. MICHAEL AHLERS has examined this process using the German Gangsta rapper Kollegah as example. As Ahlers describes in this video, his research team conducted an interdisciplinary two-part study in focusing on Kollegah’s skill set and knowledge in one part and in the other one on the [...] Watch video

One of the basic questions concerning religious pluralism in societies is whether it has a reinforcing or an undermining effect on religiosity of individuals. The two contradicting hypotheses are on the one hand the ‘market theory’ on the other hand the ‘secularization theory’. According to the ‘market theory’ a vast supply of religions in society also increases the demand for it and thus reinforces the [...] Watch video

To have empathy is often defined as the capacity to imagine or feel like other people feel. In the philosophical tradition morality and empathy have often been seen as intertwined or as one being the condition of the other. More recently, this close link has been questioned. Practical philosopher MONIKA BETZLER investigates how the human capacity to empathize with others is related to the concept of morality. In this [...] Watch video

The topic of virtual violence in video games has been highly contested in Germany and other countries, especially in the context of school shootings. In contrast to these public debates, CHRISTOPH BAREITHER is interested in investigating the emotional experiences players have while enacting virtual violence. As he explains in this video, he used an ethnographic approach known as participant observation – in this case [...] Watch video

While doing anthropological fieldwork in Malaysia, DOMINIK MÜLLER noticed that the Islamic Party of Malaysia organizes events and activities that are frequently embellished with popular culture elements, such as bands playing on electric guitars. This seemed at odds with common Western assumptions that Islamic political movements tend to condemn popular culture as un-Islamic. Müller then investigated how the change of [...] Watch video

The 20th Century has been marked by a return to ethnic and religious affiliations and identifications which continue to be in the foreground of political discourse. The rise of religious groups is represented by the media as a turbulent phenomenon, which spikes new conflicts globally. These representations of collective identities are politically utilized. Resource conflicts and controversies about citizenship and [...] Watch video

The migration of refugees is not a problem of the twenty-first century. Historian JENNY RAHEL OESTERLE investigates the question of how people in need of protection were treated in the Middle Ages. Her particular focus in this video is the Arabian Peninsula in the early seventh century, specifically the Islamic context during the lifetime of Muhammad. The term refugee is coined by a modern understanding in the context of [...] Watch video

There are more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. Many languages have evolved from a common ancestry line but we do not yet know where all the languages have come from and why there is such a great diversity. To find out how languages are related and form a family, linguists compare them by sifting through dictionaries, grammars or word lists. Recently, scholars have proposed automatic methods to compare languages [...] Watch video

When asked about the place of religion in their culture, many Chinese people will answer that China is a secular country with no major impact of religion. However, as PETER VAN DER VEER explains in this video, the Chinese are more religious than this perspective suggests and perform many rituals in their daily life. His research shows that this interpretation of Confucianism results from the historical influence of [...] Watch video

The UNESCO World Heritage title has become a powerful global brand. It influences people’s decisions of where to travel and conveys prestige and national pride. CHRISTOPH BRUMANN and his research group investigated how this title is being awarded and what its consequences are on the ground at the chosen sites. Brumann explains in this video that using a two-fold anthropological approach, the researchers found that, [...] Watch video

Some sciences like geology, astronomy or demography require a time scale of observation and study of phenomena that lasts longer than a human life span – and even that of civilizations. These “Sciences of the Archives” rely on the contribution of scientists who store their data and knowledge for the generations following after them. In this video LORRAINE DASTON explains how an interdisciplinary group of scholars [...] Watch video

The research question presented in this video focuses on the experiences and motivations of visitors to an art exhibition or museum. In order to establish the motivation for exhibition visits, VOLKER KIRCHBERG explains, the research team combined a variety of methodological approaches: questioning the visitors, measuring their cognitive and emotional responses, and tracking their movements through the exhibition. They [...] Watch video

One of the most disputed issues in historical-comparative linguistics is the origin of the Japanese language and the question of whether it is related to the Transeurasian languages. MARTINE ROBBEETS has already shown in past research that it is possible to find a small core of evidence that relates Japanese as a daughter language of Transeurasian. This, she explains in this video, leads to new questions: How and why did [...] Watch video

Due to the current dire economic situation in Hungary many feel nostalgic about a time in their nation’s history when jobs were more secure. Young Hungarians, despite being highly qualified, have trouble finding work in their home country as well as in Europe. This led to high votes for the nationalist parties in the elections of 2014, who promise a return to the time of the great Austro-Hungarian Empire. This [...] Watch video

Since Tunisia’s independence in 1956, the country has had a unique approach to the issue of gender compared to other Arabic countries as it pushed a public discourse on modernization and women’s rights. In this video, STEFFI HOBUß describes the approach of her researcher group to analyze how the issue of gender has been negotiated in Tunisia and how this has influenced Tunisia’s cultural memory ever since. By [...] Watch video

All human societies have rituals, both in everyday life and for special, festive occasions or religious ceremonies. As AXEL MICHAELS points out in this video, rituals are not necessary for our lives. So, why are there so many and why do people follow rituals at all? Michaels has pursued these questions in the context of India. Applying an ethno-indological approach – observing how rituals are performed in India today [...] Watch video

AXEL PHILIPPS investigates modes of visual protest. In this video, he describes his research of defacements of election posters on the streets. In order to determine the characteristics of these defacements, his research team used so-called ‘street reading’. They focused on defaced election posters on the main streets of Leipzig, Germany. Comparing their material to theoretical concepts drawn from the literature on [...] Watch video

The notion of a powerful god is often said to play a significant role in supporting the transition from small relatively equal hunter and gatherer societies to big hierarchical societies. However, as RUSSELL GRAY explains in this video, while there is a correlation between “big gods” and “big societies”, this is no causal relationship. By comparing the evolution of different forms of social organization in [...] Watch video

As STEPHAN PACKARD explains, readers’ interpretation of cartoon characters is strongly influenced by the way they are depicted. Characters in comic books are often drawn in a very reduced way, and show both human and animal-like features. In the semiotic analysis presented in this video the relation between the way characters are depicted and the readers’ reaction is examined. An important finding is that the [...] Watch video

In 2004, Moroccan authorities updated the Moroccan Family Code to reflect the needs of modern families. This was considered a revolutionary move at the time. The research presented in this video sets out to investigate how, after ten years, this modernized code has been implemented in people's lives not only in Morocco but especially in the lives of Moroccans residing in European countries. To get a full picture the [...] Watch video

In the face of extreme crises, such as natural disasters or national catastrophes, media representation frequently tends to be voyeuristic and to transform these events into spectacles. Considering this tendency, CHRISTIANE BROSIUS investigated whether there are forms of representation that allow to be close to people’s suffering and yet not to commodify it. She chose the 2015 earthquake in Nepal as a starting point and [...] Watch video

Certain fictional texts written during the seventeen years after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and before the Cultural Revolution are seen as influential and popular over time. In her research project presented in this video LENA HENNINGSEN investigates which factors lead to said popularity, which normative elements are contained in the texts and how they are constructed. She explains how [...] Watch video

Media Control means uses of media in terms of political power, e.g., censorship. By the means of discourse analysis, the research presented in this video investigates the communication of authorities and asks how they communicate about media they want to censor. As STEPHAN PACKARD explains, his analysis reveals two competing questions in those discourses. One is where and with what legitimacy a line is drawn between [...] Watch video

In late-Victorian popular fiction, science is often represented in an unorthodox way, for example in the figure of mad scientists, such as Dr Jekyll. At the same time, there was a strong belief in the power of science as a tool for progress. The so-called scientific naturalists were strong and successful advocates of the objectivity and truthfulness of scientific work and represented scientists as virtuous model citizens. [...] Watch video

By integrating findings from cognitive linguistics, psychology and neurology into literary studies the research presented in this video examines the different uses and effects of language in literature. To get a grasp on the qualities of language that make the influence of fiction possible REMIGIUS BUNIA distinguishes two modes of language: one mode for communication about specific objects with specific attributes, and [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video explores attitudes towards immigrants and their religious rights in Western societies, based on survey data. MARC HELBLING finds that religiosity and liberal values are key variables: Individuals with liberal values are generally more tolerant towards immigrants – but tolerate religious rights less. Religious people by contrast are less tolerant towards immigrants – but more open [...] Watch video

In the research presented in this video DANIEL LEESE asks how a party that did not fall from power dealt with atrocities committed under institutions of its own making. The study of case verdicts of an intermediate people’s court shows that the concept of transitional justice partly applies even though the transition is one from a totalitarian to an authoritarian regime. The study establishes that cases were dealt with [...] Watch video

Ancient historian CLAUDIA TIERSCH is interested in the political communication in the Late Roman Republic and its cultural implications. More specifically, she has investigated the question of how to understand the political aims of the political groups active at that time – the populares and the optimates – and analyzed their methods of addressing their adherents. In this video, she describes her research by [...] Watch video

The history of science traditionally focuses on specific time periods or on scientists that made important discoveries. The research presented in this video by JÜRGEN RENN broadens the perspective and looks at the history of knowledge more generally. With the goal to investigate how knowledge evolves historically the researchers looked at it across time periods and disciplinary boundaries. By tracing three dimensions of [...] Watch video

The study presented in this video looks at effects of radio broadcasting before and during the Nazi dictatorship in Germany. As MAJA ADENA explains, an econometric analysis of the contents of aired programs and of political attitudes in the population show important effects of broadcasting before and after seizure of power by the Nazis in 1933: Before 1933, pro-democratic content had negative effects on voting for the [...] Watch video

Over the last two decades the discovery of planets outside our solar systems has enabled researchers to study how planetary systems form - the major question within the field of astronomy today. These planetary systems and the respective planets vary significantly from each other. In order to understand how these differences come about, the research presented in this video goes back to the birth sites of planets and [...] Watch video

What makes exoplanets habitable? BARBARA ERCOLANO pursues this overarching question by focusing on the birth sites of these planets. Planets are born in the circumstellar disk that surrounds every young star. The specific research question presented in this video centers on the star TW Hydrae, which is very close to earth. The researchers investigated whether the T Tauri star “TW Hydrae” has a protoplanetary disk that [...] Watch video

Galaxies are filled with particles traveling very close to the speed of light; these are so-called ultra-relativistic particles. Until recently, it was very difficult to investigate these particles because of a lack of good observational data and they have been rather neglected in the study of astrophysics. As JIM HINTON explains in this video, his research group is interested in understanding how these particles [...] Watch video

Every galaxy seems to have a supermassive black hole in its center. A black hole is defined as such because nothing can escape from a certain point inside, not even light. There is, however, a last stable orbit which is called the event horizon outside of which gas can still radiate away. This event horizon might be the key to understanding black holes and, therefore, observers are interested in resolving the event [...] Watch video

The dust in our Milky Way is the constituent of the cosmic life cycle. It is the substance from which new stars are generated and it is what stars become once they die. Unfortunately, as HANS-WALTER RIX explains in this video, the dust turns distance measurements of stars in the Milky Way into a difficult endeavor, because it dims objects and blocks light from the material behind it. In his project two common methods of [...] Watch video

Over decades, beliefs such as ’the magnetic fields of planets in our solar system are all the same’ or ’moons don’t have magnetic fields’ were widely held. Using the example of Ganymede, Jupiter’s biggest moon, both premises were proven wrong. ULRICH R. CHRISTENSEN examines the theory of the so-called iron snow regime as the cause of magnetism: This theory assumes that iron crystallizing at the top of [...] Watch video

Gravity is the decisive force driving the formation and evolution of cosmic structures. BJÖRN MALTE SCHÄFER is interested in the properties of gravity on very large scales as well as in very specific questions concerning structure formation, such as how galaxies acquire their angular momentum, how they start rotating, and how galaxies interact with surrounding structures. Currently, the understanding of gravity is based [...] Watch video

So far, the understanding we have of cosmic structures comes from numerical simulations. As MATTHIAS BARTELMANN explains in this video, his research group has developed a different method to calculate the statistical properties of cosmic structures in order to better understand why they evolve in the way they do. The researchers employed concepts of statistical field theory and could therefore use much simpler dynamical [...] Watch video

Galaxies keep drifting apart from one another. This is because the universe is expanding in an accelerated way. It is mostly composed of matter and thus the acceleration should slow down because matter carries gravity and gravity is a force which pulls, but does not push, if one neglects the cosmological constant. This is not the case and it is currently assumed that this accelerated expansion is caused by dark energy. [...] Watch video

Exoplanets are planets beyond our own solar system. Since they do not emit much light and moreover are very close to their parent stars they are difficult to detect directly. When searching for exoplanets, astronomers use telescopes to monitor the brightness of the parent star under investigation: Changes in brightness can point to a passing planet that obstructs part of the star’s surface. The recorded signal, however, [...] Watch video

Our memories define who we are. Here, learning and memory are essential but how does the brain process and store information? Neurons are the elemental cells that compute and store this information in several ways. ALESSIO ATTARDO is interested in synapses. Synapses are the connections between neurons and this is where information flows. Specifically, Attardo focuses on the basic principles that govern synaptic plasticity [...] Watch video

The research presented in the video investigates how endosomes are able to transport material back to the cell surface in a process called recycling or endosomal exocytosis. In order to do so, endosomes have to have their own identity which is defined by a phosphoinositide, Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P). To deliver the material to the cell surface the endosomes have to get [...] Watch video

T cells are an important component of the body’s immune system. As ERIKA PEARCE explains, there are several types of T cells which form consecutively during the immune response and serve different purposes. Effector T cells combat pathogens from infections or tumors while memory T cells provide protective immunity to prevent re-infection or reoccurring cancer. The research presented in this video investigates how the [...] Watch video

How are memories formed and stored in the human brain? This is the overarching question that leads MARINA MIKHAYLOVA’s research. As she explains, there are two important features of memory formation: plasticity and stability of dendritic spines, small protrusions where synapses are formed. Activity-dependent remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton in dendritic spines is essential for synaptic plasticity. This process is [...] Watch video

It has been known since the 1980s that sugars are central to the growth of plants. High levels of carbohydrates enable the plant to assimilate nitrogen to increase amino acid synthesis which then enables them to make proteins more quickly which, in turn, allows the plant to grow faster. It is still unclear, however, how plants sense their levels of carbohydrates and how they regulate their metabolism and growth based on [...] Watch video

Behavior is flexible and we can adapt it according to certain needs or particular contexts. ILONA GRUNWALD KADOW and her team are interested in the underlying neural mechanisms in the brain and also the genes that allow us to exhibit flexible behavior. As Grunwald Kadow explains in this video, they used fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and genetic methods in their experiments. Their findings suggest that internal [...] Watch video

When researchers want to delve deeper into the brain mechanisms of speech patterns, they cannot do all experiments on human subjects. This is why STEFFEN R. HAGE studies the vocalizations of marmoset monkeys. Particularly, as he explains in this video, he is interested in the long sounds these monkeys produce with durations up to three or four seconds. There is a debate whether these long sounds are produced out of [...] Watch video

Humans may be sharing earth with up to twenty million species of macroscopic life, let alone microscopic life. Today, about 1.8 million species have been described and currently, we discover about 18,000 species per year, which means it would take us thousands of years to describe them all. This is why JOHANNES VOGEL endeavors to increase the current rate of discovery dramatically, as he explains in this video. [...] Watch video

Looking at bones, joints or muscles, their function is not necessarily clear from their form. MARTIN S. FISCHER’s overarching research interest has always been the integration of form and function and the function of motion. In this video, he explains how locomotion, how animals and humans move, influences all locomotor operators. To examine the function of form the researchers need to study form during motion. For [...] Watch video

The human brain has many functions; for instance, it allows people to focus on particular objects and ignore others, or to remember events in the past. TATJANA TCHUMATCHENKO uses mathematical equations in order to understand how our brain achieves this. Previous research in this area has developed models that explain single questions, such as ‘How does memory work?’. However, as she describes in this video, the brain [...] Watch video

The ability to cooperate with each other has given humans one of the key advantages in the colonization of this planet. What about other species? Do they have cooperative abilities as well? RUSSELL GRAY and his fellow researchers have investigated this particular question observing keas, a New Zealand bird known for its playfulness and inquisitiveness. The researchers designed three experimental set-ups that tested the [...] Watch video

Our genes only make up about one or two percent of the human genome; the rest of the genome contains other functions including how the genes get activated. In current understanding, this regulation of the genes contains the key to the complexity of human development. Many parts of the human genome, not only the genes, get transcribed and the function of these thousands of transcripts is not yet understood. This is a [...] Watch video

Once a plant has germinated in a particular location, it cannot change it anymore. This means its growth depends on its location with its particular context, such as soil, herbivores, or sunlight levels. Therefore plants have evolved sophisticated signal transduction systems that allow them to perceive the outside world and then modify their growth, morphology and chemicals production and develop different phenotypes. IAN [...] Watch video

RÜDIGER KLEIN and his research group are interested in the question of how newly born cells, so-called neurons, communicate with other cells during embryonic development and how this communication shapes the brain. During development, neurons explore their environment for the presence of chemical signals. One family of such chemical signals are called FLRTs. It is assumed that these FLRT proteins tell the neurons in [...] Watch video

Why are some people more prone to sickness than others? Individual people differ in their genetic predisposition to disease. TOBIAS LENZ and his research group investigate whether historical selection by pathogens – by infectious agents – has shaped the genetic makeup of our immune system today. Their specific focus here is on whether selection by pathogens on specific immune genes, so-called HLA genes, has affected [...] Watch video

One the most common types of leukemia is chronic lymphocytic leukemia. To find the right treatment for an individual patient with that disease is a challenging task and many patients develop a resistance against the existing drugs. The purpose of the research presented by BRIGITTE VOIT in this video is to find new drugs that reduce cancer cells while not destroying other cells in the body. The researchers created two [...] Watch video

Our immune system has evolved many different cells with different functions to prevent infections. One of these functions is cellular cytotoxicity; this means that cells are able to kill other cells. Natural killer cells (NK cells) are one type of these cells that can achieve cytotoxicity. CARSTEN WATZL experiments with NK cells in order to find out how they protect themselves from their own cytotoxic machinery and how [...] Watch video

During the evolution of primates their brain size, and specifically the size of their cerebral cortex where the higher cognitive functions are located, expanded. Stem cells in the human brain go through a higher number of cell divisions and thus produce a higher number of neurons then do stem cells in the brains of apes. The research presented in this video investigates which evolutionary changes in the genome caused this [...] Watch video

The technique of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or short MRI, is a useful and widely used tool in clinical diagnostics. However, the current MRI techniques are not sensitive enough to detect low concentrations of drugs or disease related molecules. LEIF SCHRÖDER explains that MRI is typically based on the detection of water molecules. However, the high water concentration that is always present in the body creates a strong [...] Watch video

How does sexual selection contribute to biodiversity on earth? ASTRID T. GROOT investigates this question using the example of moths. As she explains in this video, in many species, including moths, the most common individuals are chosen as mates and the ones that deviate away from the mean are selected against. Following this principle, you would expect less and less variation but this is not the case. Thus, her research [...] Watch video

The connective tissues in our body – such as skin, tendon, or bones – all contain a molecule called collagen. When you cut your skin, it springs open. This shows that the tissues in our body are under pretension. The research presented in this video is interested in the question of whether the interaction of collagen with water causes this tension. The researchers found, as PETER FRATZL explains, that the pretension [...] Watch video

Plants have at least two ways of defending themselves against herbivores. They can do so directly by producing toxins or compounds that are anti-digestive, or they can indirectly defend themselves by emitting volatile compounds that attract predators and parasitoids of the herbivores. MEREDITH SCHUMANN investigates these indirect defenses. As she explains in this video, there are both fast and slow components to [...] Watch video

Proteins mediate a vast array of functions in the body, like fighting invaders or transporting oxygen. Their remarkable properties are due to their three-dimensional structure which is acquired by a simple chain of molecules, a polypeptide, folding into a complex structure, the protein. This folding process is still not fully understood and hence also difficult to replicate in a laboratory. To learn more about how it [...] Watch video

All cells in our bodies contain the same genetic information. Yet, these cells make up very different parts of the body like liver, heart, and eyes. This is achieved by expressing certain genes and inactivating others. The protein MOF is known to play an important role in this process: DNA does not flow freely in the cell nucleus but is packaged by histone proteins. There, MOF facilitates reading the genetic information [...] Watch video

The gut microbiome has a significant influence on various diseases ranging from malnutrition to chronic inflammation. It is largely shaped by environmental factors, like diet and lifestyle. How the genetics of the individual affect the composition of the microbiome, however, was largely unknown. RUTH LEY explains in this video that the research team addressed this question by comparing the microbiome of over 1000 twin [...] Watch video

It is often thought that evolution is a slow process. During ecological changes in the environment, however, evolution can happen very fast. One of the reasons for this could be the role of new genes that are recruited during that adaptation. DIETHARD TAUTZ pursues the theory that these new genes come out of the so-called non-coding part of the genome. He is interested in studying the fraction of bioactive molecules that [...] Watch video

Streptococcus pneumoniae kills millions of people worldwide. For the subgroup serotype 8, prevalent in the United States and Western Europe, there is no vaccine to date. In this video, PETER H. SEEBERGER explains the approach of his research group to create a synthetic sugar vaccine against this bacterial infection that works in mice. They relied on synthetic chemistry to assemble sugar chains from monomers; the [...] Watch video

Molecules in cells are not randomly distributed but form compartments that perform specific functions. A few years ago, scientists discovered that many of these compartments develop by the process of phase separation which results in liquid-like compartments. This is the case for stress granules – drops formed by the cell when it is under stress, e.g. from heat or chemicals. As ANTHONY A. HYMAN explains, it has been [...] Watch video

Plants, animals, and fungi show a huge diversity regarding form and phenotype: the observable characteristics of an organism. The research presented in this video uses the model of a particular roundworm to investigate how the phenotype is changed by the environment; this is known as phenotypic plasticity. RALF SOMMER explains that Pristionchus pacificus develops alternative mouth forms depending on their environment, [...] Watch video

Each year 1.5 million people die of tuberculosis thus making it the number one killer of all contagious diseases. With the number of multi-resistant tuberculosis growing, currently available treatments are no longer as effective as they used to be. The existing vaccine does not protect against pulmonary tuberculosis which is the most common form of the disease and easily transmittable. In this video, STEFAN H. E. KAUFMANN [...] Watch video

The ability to process complex syntax is a human characteristic. The development of language comprehension and articulation takes place over a certain period of time during childhood. What happens in the brain on a neural biological level during language acquisition is still unclear. The research explained in this video uses methods that detect and monitor brain activity to determine changes and patterns on the scale of [...] Watch video

The research presented in this interview pursues the goal of developing a therapeutic vaccine against cancer induced by human papillomavirus (HPV). As ANGELIKA RIEMER explains, the project identified T helper epitopes to enhance existing vaccines and led to the identification of five valuable candidates for inclusion into a therapeutic HPV vaccine. This was accomplished via a computer-based analysis of already existing [...] Watch video

Different ethnic groups have shaped the genetic makeup of today’s Europeans. Through migration from various regions of the world, the genetic material of humans who first arrived in Europe forty thousand years ago has seen drastic changes over the last ten thousand years. By analyzing D.N.A extracted from ancient bones, JOHANNES KRAUSE traces back the genetic ancestry of human beings, especially those living in Europe [...] Watch video

Parts of the human RNA that are not translated into proteins may still have an important function. As SVEN DIEDERICHS explains in this video, the occurrence of the RNA gene Malat-1 makes the difference between lung cancer with and without metastasis. By first identifying Malat-1 as the molecular difference between patients and then silencing this RNA gene, it was found that Malat-1 could be a viable target to suppress [...] Watch video

Sepsis is a common disease in intensive care. Under this condition the body reacts to infection by injuring its own tissues and organs which leads to high mortality rates. Until now reliable methods to identify vulnerable patients are lacking, and treatment is mainly directed at its symptoms. The research presented in this video focuses on endothelial progenitor cells, a cell type derived from the bone marrow circulating [...] Watch video

Autism spectrum disorders are largely of genetic origin, and 5-10% of cases are currently known to be caused by a single gene mutation. Understanding the consequences of these mutations in detail can open the way for medical treatment. The study presented in this video focused on how a frequent mutation seen in patients with autism spectrum disorders causes the brain dysfunction that leads to the behavioral symptoms. [...] Watch video

Tuberculosis is still a major health issue and the number one killer of all contagious diseases. But while more than 2 billion people are infected with the tuberculosis agent, only 10% develop an active disease. Current diagnostic tests cannot distinguish between infected people and people with active tuberculosis. In this video, STEFAN H. E. KAUFMANN explains that they found a characteristic gene expression profile of [...] Watch video

A positive outcome of an acute lung injury, a by-product of sepsis, is closely linked to a repair process in which endothelial progenitor cells are involved. These cells derive from the bone marrow and circulate in the blood stream. In the past ten years a lot was published on endothelial regeneration. The paper presented in this video aims at bringing together this research to create an overview of what has been achieved [...] Watch video

Mankind is increasingly polluting the atmosphere across the planet. The research detailed in this video is interested in the questions of how this pollution is generated and how it affects the health of people. The investigators found, as JOS LELIEVELD explains, that air pollution leads to millions of premature deaths since it causes, for instance, fatal cerebrovascular and respiratory diseases. The researchers also [...] Watch video

Plants use certain chemical compounds to defend themselves against animals that feed on them. As JONATHAN GERSHENZON explains in this video, dandelions are a very good model to research the defences of plants because they are especially robust. The research team therefore investigated dandelions to identify the compound that protects the roots from being damaged by insects. They studied dandelions from different regions [...] Watch video

Streptococcus pneumoniae kills millions of people worldwide. For the subgroup serotype 8, prevalent in the United States and Western Europe, there is no vaccine to date. In this video, PETER H. SEEBERGER explains the approach of his research group to create a synthetic sugar vaccine against this bacterial infection that works in mice. They relied on synthetic chemistry to assemble sugar chains from monomers; the [...] Watch video

KAI SUNDMACHER’s aim is to introduce a more sustainable process to chemicals production. As he explains in this video, for new technological developments in chemical process engineering a new methodology is needed that is able to include many decision variables in order to find the best pathway from the raw materials to the target product. Therefore, his research team developed an elementary process function (EPF) [...] Watch video

Currently, the petrochemical industry uses fossil fuels as the source of carbon for the production of many things, including plastics. This is problematic because carbon dioxide adds to climate change and, in addition, fossil fuels are running out. Therefore, LARGUS ANGENENT and his research group are looking for new sources of carbon. As he explains in this video, their aim is to convert waste into the chemicals needed [...] Watch video

Rainfall has a large impact on how life functions on earth and this, in turn, has great implications for both the ecosystem and human well-being. The research presented in this video investigates the ways in which the pollution of the air system affects the working of clouds and how they produce rain. By measuring the aerosol particles in clouds in specific areas, MEINRAT O. ANDREAE explains, the research team discovered [...] Watch video

Plants have at least two ways of defending themselves against herbivores. They can do so directly by producing toxins or compounds that are anti-digestive, or they can indirectly defend themselves by emitting volatile compounds that attract predators and parasitoids of the herbivores. MEREDITH SCHUMANN investigates these indirect defenses. As she explains in this video, there are both fast and slow components to [...] Watch video

The Eurasian forests are an important component in the earth’s climate system: Forests contain a lot of carbon in the vegetation and in the soil. But their role under warming conditions is still unclear – on the one hand, a higher CO₂ level in the air acts like a fertilizer for plants that grow and thus store more CO₂ in the [...] Watch video

Chiral molecules are molecules that behave as image and mirror image to each other; these are also called enantiomers. There is a demand in pure enantiomers, which can be created for the use of a variety of industries, such as drugs for the pharmaceutical industry or herbicides for agrochemistry. ANDREAS SEIDEL-MORGENSTERN and his research team investigate access to these pure enantiomers. To achieve this, they work on [...] Watch video

Although very light weight, hydrogen atoms have a high probability to be absorbed by a metal surface upon collision. In this video, OLIVER BÜNERMANN explains collision experiments carried out to determine why this is the case. During the experiment, they shot a hydrogen atom beam at a gold surface and at an insulator, measured the speed and direction of the atoms bouncing back from each surface and compared the results. [...] Watch video

The connective tissues in our body – such as skin, tendon, or bones – all contain a molecule called collagen. When you cut your skin, it springs open. This shows that the tissues in our body are under pretension. The research presented in this video is interested in the question of whether the interaction of collagen with water causes this tension. The researchers found, as PETER FRATZL explains, that the pretension [...] Watch video

As humans react differently to chemical substances one of the challenges for public health is to establish which compounds are harmful for whom. The research project presented in this video uses crowdsourcing as part of the DREAM challenges as a method to improve research on this topic by involving the scientific community. Data on different reactions to chemical compounds were shared with scientists all over the world. [...] Watch video

Patents are a very useful tool for supporting innovations by setting incentives for companies to invest in research and developments. However, only those innovations should be protected by a patent that are truly inventive. Otherwise, patents might actually end up stifling innovations rather than supporting them. This happens in the case of patent thickets where there are overlapping patents that block each other. DIETMAR [...] Watch video

The health insurance market is driven by the individual choices consumers make on their insurance plans. The research presented in this video explores the questions of how consumers choose these plans, whether they are able to pick the plan most suited to their situation and whether they switch to another and better health insurance plan when they have the opportunity to do so. JOACHIM WINTER explains that, after running [...] Watch video

Innovation is very important for economic growth and, often, small start-ups are a key generator of innovation. For this, access to patents is essential for innovative start-ups. However, a few dominant companies often hold these patents in a market field and refuse to license their technology to others, as MONIKA SCHNITZER explains in this video. She has investigated whether antitrust measures, such as compulsory [...] Watch video

The compromise effect can be observed in the consumer’s tendency to avoid extreme ends of the available range when making purchasing decisions. In this video, MARKO SARSTEDT investigates the origins of the compromise effect. Describing an experiment that interrogates the effects of a lowering of cognitive capability on purchasing decisions, Sarstedt argues that rather than involving fast or intuitive decision making, [...] Watch video

As explained in this video it is commonly assumed that logically incoherent decision-making is irrational and costly in that it can lead e.g. to a decrease in happiness or health. An example for this would be a patient reacting differently if doctors speak of a 90% success rate of a surgery instead of a 10% failure rate for the same procedure. The purpose of the study presented here was to examine if there is proof in the [...] Watch video

After Joseph Schumpeter, economists have given much credence to the role that new business formation plays in regional economic development. In this video, MICHAEL FRITSCH argues that not all Start-Ups are created equal and proposes a more balanced assessment of the factors underlying economic development. Fritsch’s research takes a region-based approach and finds that up to two-thirds of the positive economic effects [...] Watch video

In the internet age, digital platforms are providing increasingly important settings for buyers and sellers to interact. In this video, MARTIN PEITZ investigates why some markets tend to be dominated by single platforms (e.g. Google for internet search) while others (e.g. hotel booking) allow multiple platforms to profitably co-exist. Using theoretical modeling, the research indicates that sellers in particular markets [...] Watch video

Good entrepreneurs play a key role in helping poor countries to prosper. In this video, MICHAEL FRESE asks us to consider the fundamental importance of psychological mindset in the development of successful entrepreneurs. Over a two year period, Frese analyzed outcomes achieved by groups of entrepreneurs that had received different forms of training and found that individuals who had been trained to develop an [...] Watch video

Mostly, reciprocity is seen as a positive act. It helps people to cooperate and to engage in mutually beneficial exchange. KLAUS M. SCHMIDT, however, is interested in the negative aspects of reciprocity, for instance when a decision maker is offered a gift by an interested party. His research is focused on two aspects: Why do people reciprocate? And are the remedies discussed, such as disclosure and size limits, really [...] Watch video

By means of a field experiment, the research presented in this video tested the effects of financial incentives on the dieting behavior of obese people. As CHRISTOPH M. SCHMIDT explains, patients leaving rehabilitation clinics have been selected for the study and were given different treatments to help them achieve their target weight. It shows that those patients who received a financial incentive were more successful in [...] Watch video

Innovation can be both creative and destructive. It creates new patterns of social and economic life, while at the same time destroying or reforming existing ones. That means that innovations are the product of a given economic system and at the same time change the system they are part of. As UWE CANTNER points out in this video, the economics of innovation and change is shaped by different actors, which influence each [...] Watch video

The model presented in this video combines a game theoretic approach with mechanism design to examine the influence of competition on welfare maximization by politicians. It is shown that in “pure” competition between two politicians only the allocation of favors to the electorate helps winning elections, while welfare-maximizing tools of redistribution do not improve a politician’s vote-share. As FELIX BIERBRAUER [...] Watch video

In recent years, immoral behavior in firms as well as scandals in the banking sector and non-profit organizations have been widely discussed. Often it is groups rather than individuals who are responsible for these immoral acts. This video presents an economic experiment that investigates whether groups are more likely to lie than individuals; and why this might be the case. As SIMEON SCHUDY explains, significantly more [...] Watch video

In recent years, corporations have become more decentralized and decision-making power within the company has moved from the top level to lower levels of management. DALIA MARIN and her research team are interested in the question of how international trade has affected these changes in the organization of firms. As she explains in this video, they have used recent mathematical models of trade and have combined these with [...] Watch video

Opinions on the impact of financial penalties on the profitability of banks are divided: One view argues that they obstruct the functioning of the banking sector; another one says that these penalties are simply another cost of doing business. MATTHIAS PELSTER and his research group have investigated the impact of penalties on the performance of banks in an empirical study in order to properly differentiate between the [...] Watch video

Monetary incentives, even though apparently efficient in driving performance of workers, have drawbacks, explains BRUNO S. FREY. They can result in a reorientation of workers from their focus on quality towards merely meeting objectives. The experiment presented in this video studies the impact of replacing monetary incentives with symbolic awards. The positive effect on the performance of workers highlights the potential [...] Watch video

In the research presented in this interview, the idea of adaptive preferences is applied to the co-evolution of democracy and market economy. CARL CHRISTIAN VON WEIZSÄCKER explains that the ideal of democracy and market economy though somehow antithetic are inter-dependent in a normative sense: While democracy provides freedom and stability, progress is only ensured by a market economy that allows for innovation. Watch video

The ultimatum game is one of the most famous experiments in economics. It involves two players, one of them receives a sum of money which he has to share with a second player. The first player, the “proposer”, can decide how much he offers the second player, called “responder”, who can either accept or reject the offer. If the responder rejects, neither of the players receives any money. Mathematically, the first [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video tackles the old philosophical question on the reasons for social order with the means of modern economics. As HARTMUT KLIEMT elaborates, the rational choice assumption – that human behavior is guided by looking at causal consequences – cannot explain sufficiently why social order exists, because it does not account for rule-following behavior. Thus he shows that economic models of [...] Watch video

The ‘independent director’ was introduced as a corporate governance tool in the United States in the 1970s and quickly spread to the United Kingdom and from there to Continental Europe and Asian economies. The research presented in this video examines whether this legal transplant works in economies that have different shareholder structures and thus different agency conflicts than the US, and asks why these countries [...] Watch video

The findings on the relation between economic development and life expectancy at birth have long been contradictory. In the theoretical model and data analysis presented in this video it is shown that prolongation of life expectancy is a turning point for economic development: As UWE SUNDE explains, the effect of life expectancy on income is negative before the transition to low birth and death rates, and positive [...] Watch video

The experiment presented in this video explores the interaction of reward schemes and production functions on team effort. SEBASTIAN J. GOERG explains that unequal rewards seem to yield higher efficiency for complementary production functions (i.e., if each worker’s effort counts); but that symmetric reward schemes induce higher efforts if workers’ efforts are substitutes. He concludes that inequality may have a [...] Watch video

Firms, be it coffee shops or airlines, often try to bind customers with exclusivity rebates rewarding loyalty. The lab experiment presented in this video reveals that these programs are “sticky”: customers stay in those programs longer than would be “rational”. As ALEXANDER MORELL explains, customers often don’t switch to alternatives even if reaching the rebate becomes improbable. Contrary to common behavioral [...] Watch video

The experiment presented in this video constructs a heterogeneous duopoly of firms – on the one hand a firm with an internal structure leading to low prices, and on the other hand a firm acting collusively in price-setting. MICHAEL KURSCHILGEN explains that transparency about the competitor’s internal structure hampers tacit collusion: If the collusive firm is aware of the other firm’s internal structure, the firms [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video analyzes the relationship between law and morality, and asks what role morality plays in social interactions. Using empirical findings from social psychology, behavioral law and economics, it is deduced what people generally perceive as just or fair. The findings show that moral rules enable cooperation and how moral intuitions impact rule following behavior. As STEFAN MAGEN explains, [...] Watch video

In the banking model of maturity transformation presented in this video, the features of the shadow banking sector and its influences on financial stability are analyzed. As PAUL SCHEMPP explains, the model shows that banks and shadow banks can co-exist without harm to the financial sector as long as the shadow banking sector is small. However, liquidity guarantees from banks to shadow banks and a growing shadow banking [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video focuses on the question how empathy affects economic choice-behavior. In order to refine existing models of decision-making, two different concepts of empathy “imagine-self” and “imagine-other”, the latter requiring a higher level of sophistication, were included in game theoretic models. As JUSTIN VALASEK explains, it is established that empathy does not necessarily lead to [...] Watch video

In the large-scale natural field experiment presented in this video different treatments to induce compliance with the law were tested: Potential evaders of TV license fees in Austria received different mailings – one presenting the prospects of financial and legal consequences, one appealing to morals and one communicating high compliance rates. CHRISTIAN TRAXLER explains that only the threat of consequences had a [...] Watch video

By means of a panel data analysis presented in this interview, NIELS PETERSEN explores the relation between anti-trust institutions, the level of democracy, and economic development. Panel data from 154 states dating from 1960 to 2005 cannot substantiate a positive relation between the existence of anti-trust law and democratic development; the empirical findings even suggest that there is only a weak link between [...] Watch video

Even in the absence of absolute property rights, ex-post bargaining may lead to efficient distribution of goods, CHRISTOPH ENGEL explains in this video. The findings of this research thus extend the domain of the Coase theorem. In the experiment, with a society of two individuals and a single commodity, a good ends up with the individual who values it most even if only relative property rights – i.e., rights only [...] Watch video

The model presented in this video is designed to compare different options for the relation between banks and the public sector and different types of subsidies regarding their effects on social welfare. Comparing five options for interlinkage shows that the best choice often are development banks, if they are not allowed to compete with the private banking sector. In this case firms that would not get money from private [...] Watch video

The paper presented in this video, from the field of financial mathematics, addresses the problem of building optimal loan portfolios and develops a novel computational method to do so even if with an infinite number of loans. The new tool was tested on a data-set of 120 million mortgage loans, and was able to solve this high-dimensional problem. As KAY GIESECKE explains, the applied method is an asymptotic approximation [...] Watch video

The field experiment presented in this video shows that the level of donations can be raised by suggesting a concrete contribution amount to potential donors. As MAJA ADENA explains, the effects were threefold: the average donation level rose, the different suggested amounts were respectively donated more often in the treatment groups during the experiment, and they were still more often after the experiment, when no [...] Watch video

Employers and human resource managers in all sectors face the challenge of first selecting “good” employees and, once employed, motivating them to strive. As the paper presented in this video exhibits, the two tasks are closely connected: The laboratory experiment showed that workers’ “trustworthiness”, has a strong positive impact on their inclination to return wage-gifts by working harder. Hence employers [...] Watch video

In the laboratory experiment presented in this video, experimental CEOs were compensated either through stock options or restricted company stock. It shows that stock options induce excessive risk-taking in some cases and that company performance is generally better under compensation through restricted company stock. As FERDINAND M. VIEIDER points out, the main determinant of risk-taking under compensation through stock [...] Watch video

Departing from the standard model of economics with the assumption that humans have fixed preferences, or tastes, more recent behavioral insights show that preferences are influenced by past consumption in a way that the status quo is often valued higher than alternatives. CARL CHRISTIAN VON WEIZSÄCKER adds this “adaptiveness” to the standard model of preferences and shows that this still allows performing standard [...] Watch video

There is no global regulation, let alone any hard-law treaties, that deal with the interactions between humans and animals even though these have been globalized in many areas, such as for food, agriculture, or the procurement of pets. This is why ANNE PETERS has initiated a research program on Global Legal Animal Studies as she explains in this video. Analyzing international law and comparing domestic laws, she has [...] Watch video

In the new digital economy the problem of data protection is not only heatedly debated but also has become the subject of academic research. New business models are emerging based on the current digital transformation of manufacturing and the digital transformation of many smart products. These smart products, such as autonomous cars, collect a huge number of data. The question arises: Who owns the data and how should the [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video looks into the rightfulness of engaging other states in the protection of EU borders. This happens when EU member states cooperate with the migrants’ countries of origin or transit countries in order to hinder refugees from crossing the border, e.g. by providing training or boats for border patrols. As NORA MARKARD explains, one central finding is that when a EU state outsources [...] Watch video

The European Union does not have sufficient legitimacy and is not well accepted by its citizens which leads to a negative impact on the process of European integration. DIETER GRIMM identifies three sources of this problem. First of all, the way the European Parliament, the democratic body, is elected and works is too far from the citizens. Second, the principle of subsidiarity is applied differently in every member state [...] Watch video

Comparative law, an important legal method, is becoming ever more relevant in a globalized world. Different methods exist in comparative legal research despite the effort of the discipline to combine them. Whereas the so-called functionalists only look at the written law, the “law as culture”-approach demands for taking into consideration also the surrounding factors and conditions such as religion, society or [...] Watch video

Through immigration, our society is becoming more diverse. However, the integration and inclusion of migrants is often difficult. ANUSCHEH FARAHAT is interested in the question of how this inclusion can be promoted through the means of law. In particular, she focuses on the structural obstacles migrants face when attempting to participate in society, such as when entering the job market or higher education. As she [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video deals with the understanding of contracts and contract law. As MARKUS REHBERG explains, the main focus of contract law so far has been the moment of conclusion between the contracting parties, but a basic principle to fully comprehend the nature of contracts is still missing. He suggests to use the “justification principle”, outlined in the video, to solve this problem and explains [...] Watch video

How do lawgivers define what makes a good parent? NADJMA YASSARI is interested in the impact of the principle of the best interests of the child on custody decisions in the Middle East and countries with common heritage from Islamic family law. As she explains in this video, her research team adopted a comparative inner-Islamic approach. They did not only examine the legal aspects of the question but they also put each [...] Watch video

The ‘independent director’ was introduced as a corporate governance tool in the United States in the 1970s and quickly spread to the United Kingdom and from there to Continental Europe and Asian economies. The research presented in this video examines whether this legal transplant works in economies that have different shareholder structures and thus different agency conflicts than the US, and asks why these countries [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video analyzes the relationship between law and morality, and asks what role morality plays in social interactions. Using empirical findings from social psychology, behavioral law and economics, it is deduced what people generally perceive as just or fair. The findings show that moral rules enable cooperation and how moral intuitions impact rule following behavior. As STEFAN MAGEN explains, [...] Watch video

In the large-scale natural field experiment presented in this video different treatments to induce compliance with the law were tested: Potential evaders of TV license fees in Austria received different mailings – one presenting the prospects of financial and legal consequences, one appealing to morals and one communicating high compliance rates. CHRISTIAN TRAXLER explains that only the threat of consequences had a [...] Watch video

In an empirical analysis of the German and the South African constitutional courts and the Canadian Supreme Court, the study presented in this video examines the use of the concept of balancing. Contrary to the common understanding, NIELS PETERSEN shows that courts do not use balancing to engange in judicial activism. Instead, they restrain themselves and employ proportionality as an instrument of rationality review, i.e. [...] Watch video

In the research presented in this video DANIEL LEESE asks how a party that did not fall from power dealt with atrocities committed under institutions of its own making. The study of case verdicts of an intermediate people’s court shows that the concept of transitional justice partly applies even though the transition is one from a totalitarian to an authoritarian regime. The study establishes that cases were dealt with [...] Watch video

By means of a panel data analysis presented in this interview, NIELS PETERSEN explores the relation between anti-trust institutions, the level of democracy, and economic development. Panel data from 154 states dating from 1960 to 2005 cannot substantiate a positive relation between the existence of anti-trust law and democratic development; the empirical findings even suggest that there is only a weak link between [...] Watch video

Stroke is one of the most frequent neurological disorders, befalling over 250.000 persons each year in Germany alone. The research underlying this video explores the role of non-invasive methods for stroke diagnosis and therapy. The use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), which produces image-signals on the basis of the oxygen-concentration in the blood, allows for the detection of increased or decreased [...] Watch video

Our immune system has evolved many different cells with different functions to prevent infections. One of these functions is cellular cytotoxicity; this means that cells are able to kill other cells. Natural killer cells (NK cells) are one type of these cells that can achieve cytotoxicity. CARSTEN WATZL experiments with NK cells in order to find out how they protect themselves from their own cytotoxic machinery and how [...] Watch video

The gut microbiome has a significant influence on various diseases ranging from malnutrition to chronic inflammation. It is largely shaped by environmental factors, like diet and lifestyle. How the genetics of the individual affect the composition of the microbiome, however, was largely unknown. RUTH LEY explains in this video that the research team addressed this question by comparing the microbiome of over 1000 twin [...] Watch video

The technique of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or short MRI, is a useful and widely used tool in clinical diagnostics. However, the current MRI techniques are not sensitive enough to detect low concentrations of drugs or disease related molecules. LEIF SCHRÖDER explains that MRI is typically based on the detection of water molecules. However, the high water concentration that is always present in the body creates a strong [...] Watch video

Almost everybody has to deal with stress sometimes. But what is stress? It is a reaction of the body to a challenging situation which elicits a stress response in the body. Stress is also a risk factor for disease and this is an area that MATHIAS V. SCHMIDT and his research team focus on. The most prominent stress-related disorders are psychiatric disorders and metabolic disorders. Specifically, as Schmidt explains in [...] Watch video

The studies presented in this video show that a focus on social interaction in neuroscience helps to examine the neural mechanisms that are at work in human brains during social interaction. Using a combination of fMRI and eye-tracking, the brain activity during social interaction is observed. As LEONHARD SCHILBACH explains, intact brain mechanisms reward social interaction and thus evoke intrinsic motivation. The new [...] Watch video

Only in the last decades research found that experiences change the human brain. The research presented in this video deals with the question how making music reorganizes neural pathways in the brain. In a comparative study of brains of pianists who started playing early in life with those of pianists who started later and those of non-musicians ECKART ALTENMÜLLER found significant differences: Among others, the brain [...] Watch video

The research presented in the video investigates how endosomes are able to transport material back to the cell surface in a process called recycling or endosomal exocytosis. In order to do so, endosomes have to have their own identity which is defined by a phosphoinositide, Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P). To deliver the material to the cell surface the endosomes have to get [...] Watch video

Knowledge of medical treatments is usually not equally distributed between physicians and patients. Often, doctors need to analyze the available data in the medical domain and then communicate the results about possible options to the patient. MARKUS A. FEUFEL has focused his research on the challenge of this communication. As he describes in this video, his research team found that it is not only the patients who have [...] Watch video

High-level athletes, such as basketball and volleyball players, show more than fifty percent prevalence of developing tendinopathy – an injured tendon – compared to the normal population. The researchers around ADAMANTIOS ARAMPATZIS assume that the reason for this could be the dysbalances in the adaptation between muscle and tendons. As he describes in this video, the researchers measured and compared the [...] Watch video

All cells in our bodies contain the same genetic information. Yet, these cells make up very different parts of the body like liver, heart, and eyes. This is achieved by expressing certain genes and inactivating others. The protein MOF is known to play an important role in this process: DNA does not flow freely in the cell nucleus but is packaged by histone proteins. There, MOF facilitates reading the genetic information [...] Watch video

Why are some people more prone to sickness than others? Individual people differ in their genetic predisposition to disease. TOBIAS LENZ and his research group investigate whether historical selection by pathogens – by infectious agents – has shaped the genetic makeup of our immune system today. Their specific focus here is on whether selection by pathogens on specific immune genes, so-called HLA genes, has affected [...] Watch video

One the most common types of leukemia is chronic lymphocytic leukemia. To find the right treatment for an individual patient with that disease is a challenging task and many patients develop a resistance against the existing drugs. The purpose of the research presented by BRIGITTE VOIT in this video is to find new drugs that reduce cancer cells while not destroying other cells in the body. The researchers created two [...] Watch video

Streptococcus pneumoniae kills millions of people worldwide. For the subgroup serotype 8, prevalent in the United States and Western Europe, there is no vaccine to date. In this video, PETER H. SEEBERGER explains the approach of his research group to create a synthetic sugar vaccine against this bacterial infection that works in mice. They relied on synthetic chemistry to assemble sugar chains from monomers; the [...] Watch video

In the 1980s researchers showed that damaged nerves in the spinal cord have the ability to regrow. Chemical engineers contribute to the field of spinal cord repair by developing biomaterial scaffolds that support cell and nerve growth inside the body after an injury. In the research project explained by LAURA DE LAPORTE in this video, such scaffolds were developed and tested: The special architecture of the developed [...] Watch video

T cells are an important component of the body’s immune system. As ERIKA PEARCE explains, there are several types of T cells which form consecutively during the immune response and serve different purposes. Effector T cells combat pathogens from infections or tumors while memory T cells provide protective immunity to prevent re-infection or reoccurring cancer. The research presented in this video investigates how the [...] Watch video

A positive outcome of an acute lung injury, a by-product of sepsis, is closely linked to a repair process in which endothelial progenitor cells are involved. These cells derive from the bone marrow and circulate in the blood stream. In the past ten years a lot was published on endothelial regeneration. The paper presented in this video aims at bringing together this research to create an overview of what has been achieved [...] Watch video

Mankind is increasingly polluting the atmosphere across the planet. The research detailed in this video is interested in the questions of how this pollution is generated and how it affects the health of people. The investigators found, as JOS LELIEVELD explains, that air pollution leads to millions of premature deaths since it causes, for instance, fatal cerebrovascular and respiratory diseases. The researchers also [...] Watch video

The use of continuum robots – robots that are not composed of rigid links and joints but are continuously bending structures – opens up completely new possibilities for surgery: With this tool surgeons can reach locations in the human body which they would not be able to reach with traditional surgical instruments. This enables them to e.g. remove brain tumors in a minimally invasive way. There are a vast number of [...] Watch video

Molecules in cells are not randomly distributed but form compartments that perform specific functions. A few years ago, scientists discovered that many of these compartments develop by the process of phase separation which results in liquid-like compartments. This is the case for stress granules – drops formed by the cell when it is under stress, e.g. from heat or chemicals. As ANTHONY A. HYMAN explains, it has been [...] Watch video

Autism spectrum disorders are largely of genetic origin, and 5-10% of cases are currently known to be caused by a single gene mutation. Understanding the consequences of these mutations in detail can open the way for medical treatment. The study presented in this video focused on how a frequent mutation seen in patients with autism spectrum disorders causes the brain dysfunction that leads to the behavioral symptoms. [...] Watch video

The research presented in this interview pursues the goal of developing a therapeutic vaccine against cancer induced by human papillomavirus (HPV). As ANGELIKA RIEMER explains, the project identified T helper epitopes to enhance existing vaccines and led to the identification of five valuable candidates for inclusion into a therapeutic HPV vaccine. This was accomplished via a computer-based analysis of already existing [...] Watch video

Each year 1.5 million people die of tuberculosis thus making it the number one killer of all contagious diseases. With the number of multi-resistant tuberculosis growing, currently available treatments are no longer as effective as they used to be. The existing vaccine does not protect against pulmonary tuberculosis which is the most common form of the disease and easily transmittable. In this video, STEFAN H. E. KAUFMANN [...] Watch video

Sepsis is a common disease in intensive care. Under this condition the body reacts to infection by injuring its own tissues and organs which leads to high mortality rates. Until now reliable methods to identify vulnerable patients are lacking, and treatment is mainly directed at its symptoms. The research presented in this video focuses on endothelial progenitor cells, a cell type derived from the bone marrow circulating [...] Watch video

Tuberculosis is still a major health issue and the number one killer of all contagious diseases. But while more than 2 billion people are infected with the tuberculosis agent, only 10% develop an active disease. Current diagnostic tests cannot distinguish between infected people and people with active tuberculosis. In this video, STEFAN H. E. KAUFMANN explains that they found a characteristic gene expression profile of [...] Watch video

Parts of the human RNA that are not translated into proteins may still have an important function. As SVEN DIEDERICHS explains in this video, the occurrence of the RNA gene Malat-1 makes the difference between lung cancer with and without metastasis. By first identifying Malat-1 as the molecular difference between patients and then silencing this RNA gene, it was found that Malat-1 could be a viable target to suppress [...] Watch video

For more than one hundred years, scientists have been working to uncover how turbulent flows occur. This would enable them among other things to predict how pollutants spread in water or how pollen travel in air. As EBERHARD BODENSCHATZ explains in this video, new insights are offered by an approach based on Lagrangian Particle Tracking Technique: The researchers focused on a single particle in a fluid and followed it [...] Watch video

So far, the understanding we have of cosmic structures comes from numerical simulations. As MATTHIAS BARTELMANN explains in this video, his research group has developed a different method to calculate the statistical properties of cosmic structures in order to better understand why they evolve in the way they do. The researchers employed concepts of statistical field theory and could therefore use much simpler dynamical [...] Watch video

The silicon-based technologies that is used today to access and compute information is reaching its limits. To further improve computing capacity, this essentially two-dimensional technology, as STUART PARKIN puts it, needs to give way to the three-dimensional approach of spintronic devices that use not only electric current but also the spin of the electrons. In this video, he explains how the research team created a new [...] Watch video

Galaxies keep drifting apart from one another. This is because the universe is expanding in an accelerated way. It is mostly composed of matter and thus the acceleration should slow down because matter carries gravity and gravity is a force which pulls, but does not push, if one neglects the cosmological constant. This is not the case and it is currently assumed that this accelerated expansion is caused by dark energy. [...] Watch video

The theory of materials science investigates the electronic and structural properties of advanced materials, nano-structures and bio-molecules. In the study explained in this video, the researchers present a novel theoretical method to describe, design and control how molecules and materials in combination with photons may lead to new states of matter with novel emerging properties. The research aims to theoretically find [...] Watch video

Understanding the behavior of liquids in porous materials is important for very different areas of our lives, ranging from the recovery of oil from rock to water holding capacities of different soils. The study presented in this video is dedicated to the quest for the mechanisms behind these processes. STEPHAN HERMINGHAUS explains that, starting out, the researchers had several ideas for what the general principle might [...] Watch video

The greatest developments in particle physics have been achieved with the help of particle accelerators. To answer open questions on particles, even stronger accelerators are needed but conventional technology encounters limits. The new ‘plasma-wakefield acceleration’ technology is designed to build high performance accelerators that are more compact. As ALLEN CALDWELL explains, the basic idea is to generate a plasma [...] Watch video

Exoplanets are planets beyond our own solar system. Since they do not emit much light and moreover are very close to their parent stars they are difficult to detect directly. When searching for exoplanets, astronomers use telescopes to monitor the brightness of the parent star under investigation: Changes in brightness can point to a passing planet that obstructs part of the star’s surface. The recorded signal, however, [...] Watch video

Recent research has shown that solid materials can be classified based on their electronic band structure using the abstract mathematical concept of topology. In this video MARKUS MORGENSTERN explains how interdisciplinary research found the first material of a topological type called “weak topological insulators” and how this might solve problems in the field of quantum computation. Watch video

Galaxies are filled with particles traveling very close to the speed of light; these are so-called ultra-relativistic particles. Until recently, it was very difficult to investigate these particles because of a lack of good observational data and they have been rather neglected in the study of astrophysics. As JIM HINTON explains in this video, his research group is interested in understanding how these particles [...] Watch video

Theoretical models suggest that a large part of our universe is made up of dark matter - this has not yet been directly observed but the existence of dark matter is inferred from its gravitational effects such as the rotation of galaxies. Currently researchers work on directly detecting these particles instead of just predicting them theoretically. In this video MANFRED LINDNER describes the detector used by the team of [...] Watch video

THOMAS PFEIFER is interested in the origins of motion: how, on an atomic level, motion is coming into play and how this motion that is initially described by the laws of quantum mechanics then transfers into the classical motion we can see. For this, researchers employ a combination of spectroscopy and laser methods. The specific research question presented in this video investigates how a very fundamental system, such as [...] Watch video

The objectives of the research in theoretical physics presented in this video are to understand the fundamental physics behind the properties of black holes and to find out whether black holes are unique in their way of information-processing. As GIA DVALI explains, the research he developed together with CESAR GOMEZ has two important findings. Firstly it shows that quantum criticality is the basic principle of the [...] Watch video

Although very light weight, hydrogen atoms have a high probability to be absorbed by a metal surface upon collision. In this video, OLIVER BÜNERMANN explains collision experiments carried out to determine why this is the case. During the experiment, they shot a hydrogen atom beam at a gold surface and at an insulator, measured the speed and direction of the atoms bouncing back from each surface and compared the results. [...] Watch video

Over decades, beliefs such as ’the magnetic fields of planets in our solar system are all the same’ or ’moons don’t have magnetic fields’ were widely held. Using the example of Ganymede, Jupiter’s biggest moon, both premises were proven wrong. ULRICH R. CHRISTENSEN examines the theory of the so-called iron snow regime as the cause of magnetism: This theory assumes that iron crystallizing at the top of [...] Watch video

The dust in our Milky Way is the constituent of the cosmic life cycle. It is the substance from which new stars are generated and it is what stars become once they die. Unfortunately, as HANS-WALTER RIX explains in this video, the dust turns distance measurements of stars in the Milky Way into a difficult endeavor, because it dims objects and blocks light from the material behind it. In his project two common methods of [...] Watch video

Gravity is the decisive force driving the formation and evolution of cosmic structures. BJÖRN MALTE SCHÄFER is interested in the properties of gravity on very large scales as well as in very specific questions concerning structure formation, such as how galaxies acquire their angular momentum, how they start rotating, and how galaxies interact with surrounding structures. Currently, the understanding of gravity is based [...] Watch video

Over the last two decades the discovery of planets outside our solar systems has enabled researchers to study how planetary systems form - the major question within the field of astronomy today. These planetary systems and the respective planets vary significantly from each other. In order to understand how these differences come about, the research presented in this video goes back to the birth sites of planets and [...] Watch video

There is an extensive discussion about the connections between climate change related disasters and armed conflicts like civil wars. JONATHAN DONGES explains in this video how the research team looked at this relationship in more detail. Their new approach connects natural disasters with large economic effects, potentially related conflicts as well as the socioeconomic contexts. The findings show that in countries with a [...] Watch video

We can see progress all over the world, such as technological transformations, or rising life expectancies and literacy rates. Are these improvements in material conditions accompanied by a change in moral standards? So far, such questions have mainly been discussed in the area of philosophy. CHRISTIAN WELZEL is interested in finding empirical evidence that allows tangible conclusions on this matter. As he explains in [...] Watch video

In recent years DNA testing has increasingly been used by immigration authorities to facilitate family reunifications and to verify the family relations of applicants. This has affected immigration procedures and the understanding of the concept of family. As TORSTEN HEINEMANN explains in this video, the researchers investigated how DNA testing is introduced into the immigration process and the implications this has for [...] Watch video

It is very difficult to learn something new if you haven’t unlearned what you have done before. In this video, CAROLIN GÖRZIG shows how we can better understand and influence the processes by which terrorist groups learn and unlearn violence. Drawing on insights provided by the deradicalization of organizations like the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army), and with fieldwork ongoing in territories including [...] Watch video

Why do some cities grow and are prosperous whereas others shrink and decline? VOLKER EICHENER investigates the key factors that determine the development of a city and also suggests a strategy for declining cities to reverse this trend. As he explains in this video, he examined population growth or decline in a given city as well as economic variables, such as industry, age, or social structure and used these data for [...] Watch video

The 20th Century has been marked by a return to ethnic and religious affiliations and identifications which continue to be in the foreground of political discourse. The rise of religious groups is represented by the media as a turbulent phenomenon, which spikes new conflicts globally. These representations of collective identities are politically utilized. Resource conflicts and controversies about citizenship and [...] Watch video

During the refugee crisis of 2015, about 1.5 million refugees entered the European Union. LUDGER PRIES examined how it was possible that this massive inflow of people was managed relatively successfully. In particular, he researched how different actor groups, from volunteers and leftist activists to the police, worked closely together. Employing an organizational network analysis in five Mediterranean countries, as he [...] Watch video

India has been known to be a state that never changes. Since the 1980s, and especially after the 1990s, however, India’s growth trajectory has begun to evolve and change from its static status quo. RAHUL MUKHERJI has investigated the reasons for this change, as he explains in this video. For this, he looked at historical processes and compared processes that have achieved successful change to processes that have failed [...] Watch video

The European Union does not have sufficient legitimacy and is not well accepted by its citizens which leads to a negative impact on the process of European integration. DIETER GRIMM identifies three sources of this problem. First of all, the way the European Parliament, the democratic body, is elected and works is too far from the citizens. Second, the principle of subsidiarity is applied differently in every member state [...] Watch video

Throughout history sortition was often used as an election mechanism for public executive functions. Political systems such as Ancient Athens or Venice during the middle ages elected some of the executive positions by drawing lots. In the research presented in this video BRUNO S. FREY compares those methods with actual processes such as political elections or market decisions in order to investigate the advantages and [...] Watch video

The findings on the relation between economic development and life expectancy at birth have long been contradictory. In the theoretical model and data analysis presented in this video it is shown that prolongation of life expectancy is a turning point for economic development: As UWE SUNDE explains, the effect of life expectancy on income is negative before the transition to low birth and death rates, and positive [...] Watch video

In the research presented in this interview, the idea of adaptive preferences is applied to the co-evolution of democracy and market economy. CARL CHRISTIAN VON WEIZSÄCKER explains that the ideal of democracy and market economy though somehow antithetic are inter-dependent in a normative sense: While democracy provides freedom and stability, progress is only ensured by a market economy that allows for innovation. Watch video

AXEL PHILIPPS investigates modes of visual protest. In this video, he describes his research of defacements of election posters on the streets. In order to determine the characteristics of these defacements, his research team used so-called ‘street reading’. They focused on defaced election posters on the main streets of Leipzig, Germany. Comparing their material to theoretical concepts drawn from the literature on [...] Watch video

Even in the absence of absolute property rights, ex-post bargaining may lead to efficient distribution of goods, CHRISTOPH ENGEL explains in this video. The findings of this research thus extend the domain of the Coase theorem. In the experiment, with a society of two individuals and a single commodity, a good ends up with the individual who values it most even if only relative property rights – i.e., rights only [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video looks into the rightfulness of engaging other states in the protection of EU borders. This happens when EU member states cooperate with the migrants’ countries of origin or transit countries in order to hinder refugees from crossing the border, e.g. by providing training or boats for border patrols. As NORA MARKARD explains, one central finding is that when a EU state outsources [...] Watch video

The model presented in this video combines a game theoretic approach with mechanism design to examine the influence of competition on welfare maximization by politicians. It is shown that in “pure” competition between two politicians only the allocation of favors to the electorate helps winning elections, while welfare-maximizing tools of redistribution do not improve a politician’s vote-share. As FELIX BIERBRAUER [...] Watch video

International organizations, such as UNESCO or the EU, which were founded by nation states, rely on the proper planning of their budgets to maintain their infrastructure. KLAUS GOETZ has examined how these organizations put together their budgets. As he explains in this video, he and his co-researchers established two main results after evaluating standing orders, public documents as well as internal documents, and after [...] Watch video

The UNESCO World Heritage title has become a powerful global brand. It influences people’s decisions of where to travel and conveys prestige and national pride. CHRISTOPH BRUMANN and his research group investigated how this title is being awarded and what its consequences are on the ground at the chosen sites. Brumann explains in this video that using a two-fold anthropological approach, the researchers found that, [...] Watch video

In the research overview presented in this video DANIEL LEESE explains the dimensions of modern personality cults found in studies on states such as the Peoples Republic of China, North Korea, the Soviet Union, Vietnam and others. He outlines the elements modern personality cults have in common, their aims and functioning as well as their ideological self-justification. Watch video

Adequate response to the increasingly high threat of terrorism is a challenge for governments in the beginning of the 21st century. The historical analysis presented in this video examines ways to approach terrorist threats. As BRUNO S. FREY explains, the findings show a new perspective on how to address the terrorist challenge. The specific policy proposals resulting from the study are decentralization of the state [...] Watch video

By means of a panel data analysis presented in this interview, NIELS PETERSEN explores the relation between anti-trust institutions, the level of democracy, and economic development. Panel data from 154 states dating from 1960 to 2005 cannot substantiate a positive relation between the existence of anti-trust law and democratic development; the empirical findings even suggest that there is only a weak link between [...] Watch video

Departing from the standard model of economics with the assumption that humans have fixed preferences, or tastes, more recent behavioral insights show that preferences are influenced by past consumption in a way that the status quo is often valued higher than alternatives. CARL CHRISTIAN VON WEIZSÄCKER adds this “adaptiveness” to the standard model of preferences and shows that this still allows performing standard [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video exposes the inner mechanisms at work in political discourse. By first modelling verbal interaction between political actors with an agent-based model, and then analyzing the interaction with network analysis PHILIP LEIFELD detects four basic mechanisms: innovative and path-dependent mechanisms, as well as constructivist mechanisms (based on learning and interaction between people) and [...] Watch video

The model presented in this video is designed to compare different options for the relation between banks and the public sector and different types of subsidies regarding their effects on social welfare. Comparing five options for interlinkage shows that the best choice often are development banks, if they are not allowed to compete with the private banking sector. In this case firms that would not get money from private [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video explores attitudes towards immigrants and their religious rights in Western societies, based on survey data. MARC HELBLING finds that religiosity and liberal values are key variables: Individuals with liberal values are generally more tolerant towards immigrants – but tolerate religious rights less. Religious people by contrast are less tolerant towards immigrants – but more open [...] Watch video

In an empirical analysis of the German and the South African constitutional courts and the Canadian Supreme Court, the study presented in this video examines the use of the concept of balancing. Contrary to the common understanding, NIELS PETERSEN shows that courts do not use balancing to engange in judicial activism. Instead, they restrain themselves and employ proportionality as an instrument of rationality review, i.e. [...] Watch video

One hour of sunlight is enough to power the entire planet for over a year. MICHAEL SALIBA is a leading scientist who investigates how we can tap into this abundant energy source in order to produce sustainable electricity in the future. As he explains in this video, the perovskite semiconductor – a new material that was discovered about five years ago – has great potential to advance the use of solar energy. The [...] Watch video

Exoplanets are planets beyond our own solar system. Since they do not emit much light and moreover are very close to their parent stars they are difficult to detect directly. When searching for exoplanets, astronomers use telescopes to monitor the brightness of the parent star under investigation: Changes in brightness can point to a passing planet that obstructs part of the star’s surface. The recorded signal, however, [...] Watch video

In the 1980s researchers showed that damaged nerves in the spinal cord have the ability to regrow. Chemical engineers contribute to the field of spinal cord repair by developing biomaterial scaffolds that support cell and nerve growth inside the body after an injury. In the research project explained by LAURA DE LAPORTE in this video, such scaffolds were developed and tested: The special architecture of the developed [...] Watch video

The silicon-based technologies that is used today to access and compute information is reaching its limits. To further improve computing capacity, this essentially two-dimensional technology, as STUART PARKIN puts it, needs to give way to the three-dimensional approach of spintronic devices that use not only electric current but also the spin of the electrons. In this video, he explains how the research team created a new [...] Watch video

The greatest developments in particle physics have been achieved with the help of particle accelerators. To answer open questions on particles, even stronger accelerators are needed but conventional technology encounters limits. The new ‘plasma-wakefield acceleration’ technology is designed to build high performance accelerators that are more compact. As ALLEN CALDWELL explains, the basic idea is to generate a plasma [...] Watch video

The recovering of our 3D-world with only one camera is a challenge in many fields ranging from self-driving cars to plastic surgery. In this video DANIEL CREMERS presents innovations from computer vision to tackle that challenge. Modelling the movement of a camera in addition to the geometry of the depicted world and using new algorithms allow the recovery of more pictures in real-time. The algorithms compute the highest [...] Watch video

Many android apps that try to use SSL to secure network communication fail in doing so and are insecure. By detecting such security flaws and interviewing the developers, the study presented in this video shows the necessity of rethinking how developers interact with security code. As shown, developers are not, as often implied, infallible. This means that prevention of security problems should be carried out by [...] Watch video

How do humans understand each other? One unique aspect is the evolution of more than six thousand languages on earth. In order to use language meaningfully a certain social cognitive infrastructure is needed. This infrastructure turns out to be prior to the acquisition of language in humans. The research presented in this video investigates how infants learn to communicate and how they understand other people’s [...] Watch video

Our society is becoming more and more diverse concerning cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious aspects. Therefore, children growing up in a pluralistic society need intercultural competence as a key skill. Schools are a prominent place where children can acquire this competence and some studies suggest that physical education is a particularly adept subject to transmit intercultural competence because it combines [...] Watch video

The migration of refugees is not a problem of the twenty-first century. Historian JENNY RAHEL OESTERLE investigates the question of how people in need of protection were treated in the Middle Ages. Her particular focus in this video is the Arabian Peninsula in the early seventh century, specifically the Islamic context during the lifetime of Muhammad. The term refugee is coined by a modern understanding in the context of [...] Watch video

Decision-making in a complex world is a challenge. Some people are better at it than others. Why is this so? JOACHIM FUNKE focuses his research on identifying those character traits that can be trained or changed and that help people to improve their decision-making behavior. For this, Funke and his team need to identify the personality traits of their study participants and they use simulated situations to analyze their [...] Watch video

Using survey data and combining multilevel modelling with propensity score matching the study presented in this video examines the effects of social networks among parents on their children’s educational attainment in different social environments. The existing knowledge on the influence of parents’ networks is confirmed and refined, as ANETTE FASANG explains. The networks’ effects are not exclusively positive, as [...] Watch video

As explained in this video it is commonly assumed that logically incoherent decision-making is irrational and costly in that it can lead e.g. to a decrease in happiness or health. An example for this would be a patient reacting differently if doctors speak of a 90% success rate of a surgery instead of a 10% failure rate for the same procedure. The purpose of the study presented here was to examine if there is proof in the [...] Watch video

The study presented in this video evaluates data from observational towers, satellite pictures and other published data to compare the impact of land-cover change and land management change on climate. The results show that land management change within the same vegetation (e.g., harvesting a formerly untouched forest) has effects on climate change that are similarly large as effects of land-cover change (e.g., changing [...] Watch video

There are more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. Many languages have evolved from a common ancestry line but we do not yet know where all the languages have come from and why there is such a great diversity. To find out how languages are related and form a family, linguists compare them by sifting through dictionaries, grammars or word lists. Recently, scholars have proposed automatic methods to compare languages [...] Watch video

The Arctic sea ice is the ice that is floating on the Arctic Ocean. In recent decades, this pack ice has been disappearing very rapidly. So the question arises when the Arctic sea ice will be completely gone. DIRK NOTZ has examined this using the Arctic summer sea ice in September as example. As he explains in this video, his research group combined satellite observations with model simulations and found a clear linear [...] Watch video

Risk perception is not only an individual but also a social phenomenon. The experiment presented in this video examines the development of perceived risk over the course of a communication chain: The first person got a balanced overview on a chemical and its risks then information was passed on from person to person. WOLFGANG GAISSMAIER elaborates how this set up led to an amplification of risk perception and the [...] Watch video

Modern humans colonized the whole planet and replaced all other hominids, such as Neanderthals. This evolvement raises interesting evolutionary questions concerning both species. The paleoanthropological research presented in this video looks at a moment in time when both co-existed. In order to find out about the differences between them, JEAN-JACQUES HUBLIN looks at both species’ use of technology, behavior, and [...] Watch video

Human development is determined by biology and culture. Biologically seen, the history of evolution has brought us certain cognitive biases, whereas our cultural legacy is built through interactions with other people. OLIVIER MORIN pursues research at the intersection of these two legacies and his particular area of interest is cultural transmission. As he explains in this video, one thing we inherit from evolutionary [...] Watch video

To maintain confidence in scientific findings, the project presented in this video by SUSANN FIEDLER examines the reproducibility rate of empirical results in psychology: Studies published in three major psychological journals in 2008 are replicated by other researchers in collaboration with the original authors. The results of original and replicated studies are compared to determine the general reproducibility rate in [...] Watch video

The research presented in this video shows the need to reflect precisely the analytical notions and frameworks used when looking at medieval societies, and the limitations of reference to history when tackling contemporary questions. Some of the main findings of the comparative analysis of modern and medieval concepts of Europe conducted by KLAUS OSCHEMA are that ‘Europe’ and ‘Christianity’ were not used [...] Watch video