In a nutshell:

- Extreme weather events alter soil isoprene uptake capacity: During the 2023 El Niño drought, soil moisture below 20% severely suppressed soil respiration and isoprene consumption, contributing to increased atmospheric isoprene concentrations above the forest.

- Impact on atmospheric processes: As climate change intensifies drought and heat extremes, reduced soil isoprene uptake capacity could impact atmospheric oxidation, aerosol formation, and methane lifetime.

- Improved climate predictions: Accounting for soil isoprene uptake in models would strengthen projections of future climate feedbacks.

Geothermal energy—the clean, renewable heat beneath our feet—has the potential to become the backbone of the world’s energy system on the same scale as oil and gas today, said Matthew Houde, Co-Founder and Chief of Staff at Quaise Energy, during a keynote address at the recent World Geothermal Congress (WGC). The WGC is the leading global event dedicated to geothermal energy.

Three University of Bonn researchers have been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Neuroscientist Professor Dominik Bach, chemist Assistant Professor Ala Bunescu and radiologist Professor Philipp Vollmuth (from the University Hospital Bonn) are each receiving €150,000 over a period of 18 months. This program helps researchers to take findings from their work and turn them into commercial products or services.

High-resolution sediment analyses from the Arabian Sea reveal, for the first time, that summer and winter monsoons respond differently to global climate change. Researchers from the University of Bremen contributed to the study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

During embryonic development, cells with biochemically distinct ends – called polarised cells – organise into distinct patterns based on their orientation. Using theoretical physics approaches and quantitative experiments, scientists have shown how the shape of tissue boundaries determines these patterns. They found that specific features in these patterns – called topological defects – determine where the proamniotic cavity, an important structure for embryonic development, forms. This research identifies fundamental principles that govern how order and functional structures emerge inside complex biological systems.