To understand the world, we need to look closely

Few discoveries have revolutionized biomedicine faster and more radically than CRISPR/Cas9, popularly known as the “gene scissors”. These scissors are supposed to do things that were previously almost inconceivable: curing hereditary diseases, defeating cancer, making crops more resistant. This is a tool science has been waiting for, since CRISPR/Cas9 is precise, simple and cheap.

Mathematician Adrian Constantin is investigating the “underwater engine” of the El Niño climate phenomenon, which triggers devastating droughts in some regions, and heavy rains and floods in others. Constantin’s complex models facilitate better predictions of natural disasters.

How did complex life evolve on Earth? This is still one of the greatest mysteries of biology, and Christa Schleper is one step closer to finding the answer. The microbiologist succeeded in cultivating tiny unicellular organisms, which may represent the missing link in the evolution to complex living organisms such as plants and animals. Archaea are among the first living things on Earth and offer new insights into our own evolution. At the same time, they play a crucial role in our future.

Migration, population growth, shrinking societies: in public debate these topics fuel more emotions than most others. One hears of “waves of refugees”, a “population explosion” and a “tsunami of aging”. Demographer Wolfgang Lutz concentrates on the big picture of social developments. Once the education levels of the population – and especially that of girls – were included in development analyses, this revolutionized his research field. It also resulted in different forecasts when it comes to the pressing issues facing humanity, such as the climate crisis.

The quantum age has been upon us for some time now. Applications in this field are being explored extensively. With his work on quantum cryptography and teleportation, quantum researcher Anton Zeilinger has laid essential foundations for the new world of quantum communication. At the same time, the Nobel Laureate in Physics has intensified the scientific focus on the fundamental building blocks of our universe. His work on quantum entanglement addresses theoretical problems dating back to Albert Einstein.

From advanced search engine technology to maintaining privacy in the analysis of Big Data: Computer scientist Monika Henzinger is working on the further development of the fundamental structures of our digital systems. At the same time, however, she makes sure that her approaches remain practical and efficient, so they can quickly find their way into practice and give rise to new applications.

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