Scientific highlights 2022

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2022 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 12 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year

Anatomical barriers shield the brain from SARS-CoV-2 invasion at vulnerable interfaces
Absence of evidence for neurotropism and neuroinvasion of several SARS-CoV-2 variants including Omicron more
How dangerous is digital media for democracy?
Systematic review shows significant impact on factors such as trust, participation, populism, and polarization
  more
A traveler from the edge of the Solar System
Iron isotopes in samples from asteroid Ryugu suggest its origin to lie beyond the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn more
Scientists unearth another brain-shrinking mammal
A study of moles reveals that cold weather – not lack of food – drives the rare phenomenon of reversible brain shrinkage in mammals more
Microscopy picture of a dividing basal radial glial cell, a progenitor cell type that generates neurons during brain development. Modern human TKTL1, but not Neandertal TKTL1, increases basal radial glia and neuron abundance.
Due to the change of a single amino acid, brain evolution has proceeded differently more
A person walking on a path in nature.
Study shows that a one-hour walk in nature reduces stress-related brain activity more
The universe in a new dimension
Astronomical objects appear in unprecedented detail in the first images from the James Webb Telescope more
Inside IBM's quantum computer, you can see the tower-shaped cryostat with numerous silver cables and struts running between two golden discs.The cables end under the lower disc with golden plugs in connector strips.
Cryptographic systems that even quantum computers cannot crack will soon be standard in the USA more
Origins of the Black Death identified
Multidisciplinary team studied ancient plague genomes more
Fingertip sensitivity for robots
A thumb-shaped sensor with a camera hidden inside is trained to infer haptic contact information. more
A bright reddish glowing plasma in a dark, ring-shaped plasma vessel.
European joint experiment prepares transition to large-scale ITER project more
The thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana)
Discovery that plants protect their most essential genes transforms our view of evolution more

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