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Geoscientists at Goethe University hope for certainty from asteroid samples from space - sample container safely landed on Saturday evening
On Saturday evening (5.12.2020), a container
containing a sample of the asteroid that had been dropped by the Hayabusa 2
space probe landed in the Australian desert. The chemical
"fingerprint" of the water from the asteroid Ryugu could prove that
the water on Earth actually originated from asteroid impacts in the early
history of the Earth. Up to now, asteroids could only be examined after fragments
impacted onto the Earth and therefore contamination by the Earth's water could
not be ruled out. In the coming year, the material sample will be examined by
scientists all over the world, including a scientific team from Goethe
University.
FRANKFURT. When
it was formed, the young proto-Earth was hot and probably circled around the
sun in a very dry zone where water evaporated and was blown into space by the
solar wind. According to one theory, our blue planet came to its great oceans
through watery celestial bodies that hit the earth. As spectral analyses of
comet tails have shown, it was most likely not comets.
This is because in their ice, the ratio of
hydrogen with two protons in its nucleus, deuterium (D), to hydrogen with one
proton in its nucleus (H) is usually different from that on Earth. On the other
hand, the water trapped in certain meteorites - i.e. in fragments of asteroids
that have hit the Earth - is almost exactly the same as terrestrial water. Such
C-class asteroids are highly carbonaceous and come from the outer part of the
asteroid belt that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Ryugu is one of
them.
Prof. Frank Brenker, geoscientist at
Goethe University, will examine the Ryugu sample together with his colleague
Dr. Beverly Tkalcec. He explains: "There are very good scientific
arguments that the D/H ratio we find in meteorites is indeed similar to that of
asteroids in space. Nevertheless, we cannot rule out water vapour contamination
on Earth: after all, 90 percent of an asteroid evaporates when it passes
through the atmosphere, and even if it hits a dry desert, the meteorite can
absorb water until it is found, for example from early morning fog. With the
Ryugu sample we will finally get certainty on this issue".
To this end, from the middle of next year,
the Frankfurt researchers will examine and screen Ryugu samples for their
chemical composition at the particle accelerators ESRF in Grenoble and DESY in
Hamburg. Later in the year, Ryugu samples will be cut with the help of a
focused ion beam and will be examined with a transmission electron microscope
at Goethe University. Tkalcec and Brenker want to determine the exact
geological history of the asteroid. In order to be able to assess the measured
values for the water, but also the organic compounds that occur, it is
immensely important to understand all the processes that led to their formation
in the first place. The temperature achieved by the asteroid is just as
important here as the circumstances of the formation of water-containing
minerals, and the influence of impacts on the surface of the asteroid.
The building blocks for life on Earth may
also come from carbon-rich asteroids such as Ryugu, since sugars and components
of proteins (amino acids) and the hereditary molecule DNA (nucleobases), which could
have been formed from inorganic substances under suitable conditions, have
already been found in meteorites. For this reason as well, numerous scientific
teams from all over the world will be working on the analysis of the Ryugu
samples.
Images for download:
Further
information
Prof. Dr. Frank Brenker
Institute for Geosciences – Nanoscience
Phone: +49 151 68109472
f.brenker@em.uni-frankfurt
International research team discovers shifts in small regulatory RNAs
Approval by the German Research Foundation (DFG): CRC 1080 starts its third round
The Collaborative Research Centre 1080 was successful
in the German Research Foundation’s current round of approvals and will start
its third funding period in 2021. The DFG is providing € 2 million per year for
four years of research. In the CRC 1080, scientists from various disciplines
investigate how the brain and nervous system maintain stability as a complex
system while also remaining accessible and flexible.
FRANKFURT. One of
the most remarkable features of our nervous systems is its ability to maintain a
stable internal state (homeostasis) while having to constantly respond to an
ever-changing environment. In the Collaborative Research Centre 1080, the
participating scientists endeavour to understand the significance of
homeostatic mechanisms for the human body, in particular for diseases of the
nervous system. They investigate mechanisms which enable the brain to maintain
network homeostasis as a balanced functional condition. This is decisive for
the stability of the nervous system, and helps the brain process the constant
flow of input.
The CRC 1080, which started in 2013, has
been extended by four years for the second time, so that the funding will
continue through to 2024. Goethe University is the coordinator, and the
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, the Max Planck Institute for Brain
Research, the Institute for Molecular Biology in Mainz (IMB) and the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem are cooperation partners.
CRC spokesperson Professor Amparo
Acker-Palmer says: “The strength of the Collaborative Research Project 1080 is
the integration of diverse research disciplines, we are not just looking at
individual genes, cell types, pathological processes or structures. Instead, we
engage experimental approaches and computer simulations that enable us to
follow whole chains of events that lead to neural homeostasis. The Rhine-Main
network of neurosciences rmn2, in which we are integrated, provides
an optimal environment for the CRC.”
Further
information:
Professor Amparo Acker-Palmer
Spokesperson for CRC 1080
Institute for Cell Biology and Neurosciences
Goethe University
Phone: + 49 69 798-42565
Acker-Palmer@bio.uni-frankfurt.de
https://www.crc1080.com/
The research project “ZOWIAC“ by Goethe University and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research will be funded with three fourths of a million euros
The raccoon, raccoon dog, mink and golden
jackal are not native to Germany or Europe, but are increasingly spreading in
these non-native regions. The joint research project ZOWIAC, “Zoonotic and
ecological effects on wildlife of invasive carnivores" by Goethe University and
the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research will study how these invasive and alien
species threaten biological diversity and which diseases they can transmit to
humans as well as animals. The project is mainly funded by the German Federal
Environmental Foundation (DBU). The research project will receive additional
funding and support from Senckenberg and the regional hunting associations in
Hessen and Bavaria, and will also involve nature conservation groups, hunters
and citizens.
FRANKFURT. More and more exotic animals and plants are being intentionally and unintentionally introduced into Europe from areas where they naturally occur. In Germany alone, more than one thousand invasive alien species (IAS) are registered. Invasive species cause significant changes to species communities and ecological systems and are considered one of the most important risks to biological diversity. Because they transmit diseases or serve as intermediate hosts for pathogens, they threaten the health of humans as well as pets, livestock and wildlife. The EU Commission estimates the annual economic and health damage caused by IAS in Europe at 9.6 to 12.7 million euros. In the course of globalisation and the increasing population and settlement density, invasive species are also attaining increasing significance in cities.
Among the species that are spreading more and more in
Europe are the two predatory mammals raccoon (Procyon lotor) and raccoon dog (Nyctereutes
procyonoides), which are considered invasive, as well as the mink (Neovision
vison) and the golden jackal (Canis aureus), the latter occurring with increasing frequency in Germany over the
last ten years. Due to their broad food spectrum and high adaptability these
animals are able to live in almost any natural habitat. They are suspected to
be among the factors responsible for the decline of numerous indigenous species,
some of which are endangered, such as bats, various amphibian and reptile
species, and ground-nesting birds. The project will also investigate whether
their moving into urban areas favours the transmission of pathogens to humans
and animals, so-called zoonoses.
A zoonosis introduced to Europe by the racoon is the
racoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis), whose eggs are spread through the
animals' faeces. This poses a potential threat to human health, particularly in
cities, where racoons utilise anthropogenic food resources and spaces. Racoons
also serve as reservoir hosts for coronaviruses, lyssaviruses (rabies), canine
distemper virus, and the West Nile virus. The spectrum of pathogens of the
racoon dog resembles that of the racoon. In addition, it is considered the
final host of the fox tapeworm (Echinococcus
multilocularis). The mink is one of the most widely spread alien mammal
species worldwide and is considered a carrier of a variety of zoonoses such as
leptospirosis, trichinosis and toxoplasmosis. The golden jackal carries
zoonosis pathogens as well. Some of them, such as the canine tapeworm (Echinococcus granulosus), the canine
roundworm (Toxocara canis) and
trichinae, can have significant effects on public health.
The joint project ZOWIAC
will make an essential contribution to the development of up-to-date, sound and
reliable data in order to better assess the health risk posed by the raccoon,
raccoon dog, mink and golden jackal, and their impact on native species and
ecosystems, says project leader Professor Sven Klimpel from Goethe University
and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research. A systematic monitoring of the
most frequently associated pathogens will be carried out. Furthermore, spatial
aspects will be considered in particular, i.e. established populations in urban
and rural regions (agricultural/forestry/bodies of water), populations at their
current distribution limits in Europe, as well as from the regions of origin
(North America, Asia). Daliy movement patterns can be determined by radio
collaring single individuals. Metabarcoding of stomach and faeces samples will
provide detailed information on food spectrum and parasite fauna, in order to
better estimate possible effects on biodiversity and the zoonosis potential.
Various population and environmental parameters will be collected and used to
create dispersal models to show the potential distribution and occurrence of these
carnivorous mammals also under changing climatic conditions, Klimpel explains
further.
Since the future success in mitigating negative
effects from IAS will depend largely on public understanding and participation,
all relevant groups and actors will be involved. In addition to cooperation
partners from the scientific community, hunting associations and relevant ministries,
citizens will also be involved in the research project (Citizen Science). As a
basis for this exchange, an application and an online communication platform
will be developed to generate data and provide information on current research
findings. Since ZOWIAC includes aspects on wildlife ecology and health
research, the project will also deliver results that can serve relevant ministries
and authorities as a basis for decisions on how to handle invasive and alien predators
in Germany and Europe.
Images
for download:
1. http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/94824069
Caption:
Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), Credit: Dorian D. Dörge, Goethe University
Frankfurt
2. http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/94824102
Caption:
Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Credit: Dorian D. Dörge, Goethe University
Frankfurt
Further
information:
Prof. Dr. Sven Klimpel
Chair for Integrative Parasitology and Zoophysiology
Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity
Goethe University Frankfurt
Phone: +49 69 798 42249
Klimpel@bio.uni-frankfurt.de
Norbert Peter, M.Sc., Dipl.-Forsting. (FH)
Medical Biodiversity and Parasitology
Senckenberg Society for Nature Research
Phone: +49 69 798 42212