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Boosting evolution: How humans unintentionally altered the skulls of pigs
Short snouts and a flat profile - within a span of 100 years, humans have significantly changed the shape of the skulls of German domestic pigs. According to a team from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), this is likely down to new breeding practices introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. Their findings have been published in the journal "Royal Society Open Science". The researchers analysed 3D scans of 135 skulls of wild boars and domestic pigs from the early 20th and 21st centuries. Surprisingly, the same effects can even be observed in species that were kept separately.
People prefer meat alternatives if they are significantly cheaper than real meat, study shows
Only a few people fundamentally oppose eating plant-based meat alternatives, a recent survey of 2,100 customers in the US shows. The study published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS) was conducted by marketing researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Humboldt University Berlin and Georg August University Göttingen. According to the results, the price of meat alternatives is the most decisive factor for their acceptance, while similarity to meat did not matter that much. Although, when both options were priced the same, respondents often favoured the animal product.
New study in "Nature": How rapid temperature changes influence biodiversity
Biodiversity has changed faster in places where temperatures have also changed quickly. This is the result of a new study published in the scientific journal "Nature". Researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and Friedrich Schiller University Jena were also involved in the work.
Fossil discovery in the Geiseltal Collection: researchers identify unique bird skull
Around 45 million years ago, a 4.6 feet-tall (1.40 metres) flightless bird called Diatryma roamed the Geiseltal region in southern Saxony-Anhalt. An international team of researchers led by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt report on the bird's fully preserved skull in the scientific journal "Palaeontologia Electronica". The fossil was unearthed in the 1950s in a former lignite mining area in the Geiseltal in Germany. It was initially misclassified and thus led a shadowy existence until its rediscovery. The only other place that a similar skull fossil has been found is the USA.
Ecosystems: new study questions common assumption about biodiversity
Plant species can fulfil different functions within an ecosystem, even if they are closely related to each other. This surprising conclusion was reached by a global analysis of around 1.7 million datasets on plant communities. The study was led by MLU and the University of Bologna. Their findings overturn previous assumptions in ecology. The study was published in "Nature Ecology & Evolution" and offers insights for nature conservation.
Clay minerals: Researchers observe for the first time how sediment particles align during deposition
Clay minerals are a major constituent of the earth's surface and are mainly found in the sediments of lakes, rivers and oceans. The properties of clay and claystone crucially depend on how the tiny sediment particles are orientated. Using the European Synchrotron particle accelerator in Grenoble (France), a research team from the MLU has succeeded for the first time in observing in detail how some of the processes work. The study was published in the journal "Communications Earth & Environment" and provides researchers with insights into the structure and properties of sediments.