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Biologists at Bielefeld University and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics identify the genome sequence of the sugar beet

Success for researchers at Bielefeld University's Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec) headed by Professor Dr. Bernd Weisshaar and at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin headed by Dr. Heinz Himmelbauer: They have decoded the genome sequence of the sugar beet. What makes the sugar beet such an interesting case is its only distant relationship to previously decoded plants. This should generate completely new knowledge on plant construction and function.

Biologists at Bielefeld University make new discovery in zebra finches

The behavioural scientists Dr. Tobias Krause and Dr. Barbara Caspers from Bielefeld University have discovered that songbirds use their sense of smell for social communication and can apply this to distinguish relatives from non-relatives. The scientists' study is being published today (4 January) in the online version of the journal Biology Letters published by the renowned British Royal Society. Only recently, the two biologists were able to confirm that songbirds – in contrast to previous claims in the textbooks – have a sense of smell.