Artificial intelligence in society and research: Leopoldina Annual Assembly opens in Halle (Saale)
Reports and Proceedings
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Oct-2025 03:11 ET (9-Oct-2025 07:11 GMT/UTC)
Artificial intelligence in all its facets is the focus of this year’s Annual Assembly of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, which takes place in Halle (Saale) today, Thursday 25 September, and tomorrow, Friday 26 September. The event brings together renowned experts from various disciplines to discuss current developments in AI research, their possible uses, and what this means for society. To open the event, Dr Lydia Hüskens, Deputy Minister President and Minister for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, and Dr Rolf-Dieter Jungk, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), will give welcome addresses. All the Annual Assembly lectures will also be livestreamed.
World's first successful development of innovative nanocomposites comprising lactic acid bacteria components and liquid metal
Selective tumor accumulation via EPR effect with demonstrated visualization and therapeutic efficacy in mouse-transplanted cancers
Complete cancer elimination through synergistic immune activation and photothermal conversion effects under near-infrared light irradiation
Confirmed excellent biocompatibility, promising new cancer diagnostic and therapeutic technologiesThe article examines how machine learning is revolutionizing igneous petrology and volcanology by automating tasks, enhancing models, and accelerating discoveries. At the same time, the authors warn of key challenges, including the need to understand what models actually learn and to ensure transparency, reproducibility, and interpretability. These concerns are especially critical for volcanic hazard assessment and crisis management. The study also addresses ethical risks and reviews evolving policies in the EU, US, and China.
ETH researchers have refuted the assumption that a huge store of dissolved organic carbon in the ocean was partly responsible for the ice ages and the emergence of complex life between 1,000 and 541 million years ago.
Applying a new method for analysing iron oxide grains, they were able – for the first time - to directly determine the dissolved organic carbon content of the ocean at that time.
The measurements show that the amount of dissolved organic carbon in the oceans at that time must have been 90 to 99 per cent less than today.
These findings call for new explanations as to how ecological and biogeochemical evolution are related.
A research team reveals that high-pressure processing (HPP), a widely used non-thermal food preservation technique, not only accelerates color-enhancing copigmentation reactions between anthocyanins and catechins but also reshapes the structural diversity of these complexes.