Magazine 2/2017

B56133

The Science Magazine of the Max Planck Society 2.2017

Big Data

IT SECURITY IMAGING COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR AESTHETICS Cyber Attacks on Live View of the Why Animals The Power Free Elections Focus of Disease Swarm for Swarms of Art Dossier – The Future of Energy

Find out how we can achieve CO2 neutrality and the end of dependence on fossil fuels by 2100, thus opening a new age of electricity.

siemens.com/pof-future-of-energy

13057_Print-Anzeige_V01.indd 2 12.10.16 14:47 ON LOCATION Photo: Astrid Eckert/Munich

Operation Darkness

When, on a clear night, you gaze at twinkling stars, glimmering planets or the cloudy band of the Milky Way, you are actually seeing only half the story – or, to be more precise, a tiny fraction of it. With the telescopes available to us, using all of the possible ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, we can observe only a mere one percent of the universe. The rest remains hidden, spread between dark energy and dark matter. The latter makes up over 20 percent of the cosmos. And it is this mysterious substance that is the focus of scientists involved in the CRESST Experiment. Behind this simple sounding name is a complex experiment, the “Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers.” The site of the unusual campaign is the deep underground laboratory under the Gran Sasso mountain range in Italy’s Abruzzo region. Fully shielded by 1,400 meters of rock, the researchers here – from the Max Planck Institute for Physics, among others – have installed a special device whose job is to detect particles of dark matter. According to theory, these particles barely react with their environment. They can easily penetrate the various layers of lead, copper and polyethylene that shield CRESST from background radiation. The detector can comprise up to 33 individual modules, each containing a 300-gram crystal made of calcium tungstate; the photo shows researchers who are in the process of fitting the measuring device with these. When a particle enters, it generates warmth. In addition, light results, which is then held in the enclosure and captured by a silicon wafer that also warms up in the process. To allow the thermometer to sense these inconceivably minimal temperature increases, CRESST works close to absolute zero at minus 273.15 degrees Celsius. CRESST-III has been running since summer 2016 with 13 modules and heightened sensitivity. Yet dark matter is living up to its name: to date, there are no convincing findings that unequivocally prove its existence.

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 3 Contents

On the net: Hackers attempt to influence elections in 18 BIG DATA 10 democratic countries.

18 Gravitational Waves on Home Computers PERSPECTIVES The Einstein@Home project makes it possible for anyone to search for Coping with the Past to Celebrate gravitational waves on their own PC, laptop or smartphone and thus 06 Its Anniversary become scientific explorers themselves. The software also detects pulsars. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational 06 Support for Open Access Physics are significantly involved in this citizen science project. 07 “Establishing the principle of Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy are excellence was a milestone” also trawling through the data. 08 Ne w Ties to the Netherlands and China 26 Stacking Data 08 Technology Transfer across For historians, big data is not an entirely new phenomenon. Even in the Atlantic the 18th and 19th centuries, scholars, scientists and state authorities 09 The Dilemma of Animal Research collected huge quantities of data, and analyzing all this raw material posed a challenge back then just as it does today. A group at the Max 09 On the Net Planck Institute for the History of Science looks at the methods used in the past – many of them unexpected – and examines how changes in data processing has ultimately brought about changes in science VIEWPOINT and society. 10 Cyber Attacks on Free Elections 34 Treasure Hunt in the Data Jungle Wouldn’t it be much easier and more convenient to vote from our Researchers normally formulate a hypothesis before beginning an home computers or smartphones? images/Imagno (large image), picture alliance/Cultura R experiment and collecting data. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute It’s better that we don’t, as even for Informatics are turning this scientific principle on its head. Their without online elections, there are software can analyze existing datasets and retrospectively extract many possibilities for manipulation. hypotheses and unexpected correlations. These, in turn, give scientists important clues for asking new questions. FOCUS

18 Gravitational Waves on ON THE COVER We live in the Information Age. The amount of data flowing through Home Computers networks is increasing exponentially. Structuring and using this big data, as experts refer to it, in a meaningful way is becoming more and more challenging. 26 Stacking Data

New technologies are needed to manage the torrent. 34 Treasure Hunt in the Data Jungle Cover: Kai Weinsziehr; photos this page: akg

4 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 In the magnetic field: The MRI In the ring: Researchers use this Under the spell: Scientists have delivers live images of the tongue circular track to observe the swarm measured the effect of art on body 54 movements of a horn player. 62 behavior of locusts. 70 and mind for the first time.

SPECTRUM MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGY CULTURE & SOCIETY

40 Radio Burst from a Dwarf Galaxy 54 Live View of the Focus of Disease 70 The Power of Art 40 Virtual Liver Could Reduce Need Doctors and patients can thank How do people react, mentally and for Animal Research magnetic resonance imaging – and physically, to poetry and prose? Re- not least a Max Planck researcher – searchers have actually succeeded 41 Speed Dating among Birds for the fact that many diseases can in rendering the effect of poetic and Early Forestry in the Amazon 41 now be diagnosed far more effec- rhetorical language measurable – 42 A 50,000-Year Connection to Country tively than they could 30 years ago. even in such intangible categories 42 Green Chemistry from the That researcher now wants to bring as elegance, or with such curious Mussel Foot those images to life. phenomena as the trash film cult. 43 Holograms for Biomedicine 43 New Biomarkers for Bowel Cancer Treatment ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE REGULAR FEATURES 43 Steel with a Bone Structure 62 Why Animals Swarm for Swarms 03 On Location 44 Most People Don’t Want to Know These days, everyone is talking 16 Post to – California, USA Their Future about swarm intelligence. But are I’m trying to find a good balance swarms really smarter than indi- 44 Dark Matter Not Found 78 Flashback 45 A Connection to Others’ Thoughts viduals? And what rules, if any, do A Quantum of Energy they follow? Scientists are using 45 Growth despite Fasting images/Imagno (large image), picture alliance/Cultura R new computational techniques to 80 Max Planck Community 80 Making It Easier to Plan a Career 45 Older but Bolder impose order on the seeming chaos plainpicture/Lohfink 81 OpenCon 2017 in Berlin of swarms. Award-Winning Research Video

Griesch, BIOLOGY & MEDICINE 82 Shaw Prize for Simon D.M. White Axel 83 Research Establishments 46 Exploring the Microbial Cosmos 83 Publisher’s Information Personal Portrait: Ruth Ley sarah-willis.com,

Cover: Kai Weinsziehr; photos this page: akg Photos:

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Coping with the Past to Celebrate Its Anniversary

The Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry confronts its history

One hundred years is a reason to cele- Planck Institute of Neurobiology. How- brain sections from their victims for brate, but also to look back. During this ever, during the National Socialist era, their research – even after the war had time, much valuable knowledge was scientists at the German Research Insti- come to an end. In March 2016, it came amassed at the German Research Insti- tute also participated in planning the to light that additional preserved spec- tute for Psychiatric Research and at its systematic extermination of individu- imens from this time were still held in successor institutions, the Max Planck als with physical, mental and emotion- the archive of the Max Planck Institute Institute of Psychiatry and the Max al impairments. They also used human of Psychiatry. Consequently, the Direc- tors immediately initiated the creation of an inventory by external experts. In addition, a research program was established with the aim of reconstructing the identity of the Nazi victims. In his speech at the celebration marking the centenary of the Institute, Max Planck President Martin Strat- mann emphasized that transparency and openness for the past had top pri- ority. With an eye to the present day, he admonished: “The thirst for knowledge has its limits. Gaining a scientific edge through human suffering is negli- gent and absolutely inexcusable.”

Learning from history: At the celebration marking the centenary of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Max Planck President Martin Stratmann underscored the ethical responsibility of science.

Support for Open Access Scientific organizations join forces to change the publication market

One year after its launch, the global initiative Open Access 2020 has received additional support. The 13th conference in Berlin in March 2017 brought together around 220 expert representatives from research and research-funding organizations from 34 countries. The focus was on their experiences with the fundamental transformation taking place in the publications market: for example, academic journals for which libraries must currently pay high subscription prices are to become freely accessible for all. “A year ago, we defined a common goal to make Open Access the norm in publishing. Today, the first groundbreaking contractual agreements with major publishing houses are a reality,” says Max Planck President Mar- tin Stratmann, who emphasized that the shift is intended to be accom- plished in cooperation with the publishers. Publishing house managers therefore also took part in the conference at which a roadmap for the concrete implementation was further elaborated. In Europe, political support for Open Access has recently grown. The EU ministers responsible for this Together for change: The Berlin conference in March was attended agreed that, by 2020, all research financed through EU funding must be by participants from all over the world, such as Louise Page from

published in a way that ensures unrestricted access to the publications. the US Open Access project Public Library of Science (PLOS). Photo: Denise Vernillo (top), Georg Botz/CC-BY-SA

6 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 PERSPECTIVES

“Establishing the principle of excellence was a milestone”

Max Planck Nobel Prize laureate Erwin Neher on the consultations concerning the foundation of the European Research Council (ERC)

Nobel laureate Erwin Neher of the Max idea, arrived at through competitive ex- Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry pert evaluation based on criteria of excel- is one of the pioneers of the European Re- lence, is the key to new knowledge. The search Council (ERC). Now in its tenth year, fact that we were able to establish this the institution is considered to be an inter- kind of thinking at the EU level was indeed national model for the effective sponsor- a milestone. ship of outstanding research. Here, Neher speaks about some of the important deci- Was it difficult to communicate this change sions that marked the founding years, in- in perspective? cluding a petition without which every- There were both supporters and critics. thing may have turned out differently. The core issue was, can we succeed in maintaining a focus purely on scientific ex- Mr. Neher, you are a scientific researcher to cellence and avoid the dominance of pro- the core – how did you end up in the very portionality? The scientific community different world of research policy? agreed: the ERC should sponsor projects Erwin Neher: Indirectly, it was thanks to that originate in the world of science – the then President of the EU Commission, projects that are high-risk and that are se- Erwin Neher Romano Prodi, who in 2000 declared that lected solely on the criterion of excellence. the European Union should become the What is now universally recognized as a world’s greatest knowledge-based society. recipe for success was the subject of much My assessment was quite clear: it takes dispute at the time. basic research to create such a knowledge aegis of the Commission but ultimately al- base. The Max Planck Society recommend- Was there one specific moment that lowed the ERC to have the last word, at ed me as a member of EURAB, the Europe- was decisive? least in its scientific decision-making. The an Research Advisory Board. I was direct- The discussion about the ERC was a recur- success of the project was certainly influ- ly involved from 2001 to 2004, when dis- rent issue at the EURAB, which directly ad- enced by the efforts of Ernst-Ludwig Win- cussions were being held with then EU vised the EU Research Commissioner in nacker, the first Secretary General, and Fo- Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin Brussels every few months. A situation tis Kafatos, the first Chairperson of the Sci- on how the associated funding should be once arose in which Philippe Busquin entific Council. And the first 26 members structured. That’s how I got drawn in to somewhat cryptically implied that the ERC of this body also played an important role. the whole business. was no longer on the list of projects that So the ERC had numerous founding fa- he wanted to carry through during his thers, as is usually the case with success- So it was a question of perseverance … term of office. I took the initiative and ful undertakings. Yes, that’s right. After two years of work- gathered signatures from 45 Nobel Prize ing with EURAB, my experience told me winners. We took the list to Brussels in Oc- How would you rate the ERC today? that the existing instruments were beyond tober 2003, passed it on to Busquin and Given the previous EU funding for research, repair. We needed something completely had a very good meeting. We did the same the ERC is a huge step forward, particular- new. The classic model was oriented to- the following year, when Janez Potocˇnik of ly for basic research. Thanks to the Scien- ward the competitiveness of European in- Slovenia had taken office. I believe that tific Council tying down the funding dustry, not toward facilitating entirely helped keep the idea alive. And Potocˇnik strands in the early years, beginning with new breakthroughs. Breakthroughs don’t then put his weight behind the establish- the Starting Grants, then introducing the come when an official body determines ment of the ERC. Advanced and Consolidator Grants, a broad what is important for European science spectrum within the span of an average and economics and then formulates proj- In his role as Max Planck President, Peter scientific career is now covered. Of course, ects that scientists can apply for. That Gruss was a strong advocate of the ERC … there is criticism of the bureaucracy, I hear would mean taking the same approach to Peter Gruss was very committed. Above all it from colleagues who have ERC Grants. research as a contractor building a bridge he addressed the issue of how the ERC But overall it is a very good program that in Spain. The process must be reversed, as should be structured in order to be as in- promotes truly top science. And of course at the national level with the German Re- dependent as possible. There were two I am happy to have had a part in it. search Foundation: it must be the idea models embodying different EU regula-

Photo: Amac Garbe that is the decisive factor. The optimum tions. The model chosen came under the Interview: Jens Eschert

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New Ties to the Netherlands and China

Two Max Planck Centers established in the fields of fluid dynamics and regenerative medicine

With partners in Guangzhou, China, A further Center is being established and Enschede in the Netherlands, the in Guangzhou, China. There, the Max Max Planck Society has founded two Planck Institutes for Molecular Bio- new Max Planck Centers. In the Cen- medicine and for Heart and Lung Re- ter at the University of Twente, the search will join forces with the Guang- Max Planck Institutes for Polymer Re- zhou Institute of Biomedicine and search and for Dynamics and Self-Or- Health of the Chinese Academy of Sci- ganization will cooperate with two ences. Their common goal is to ad- University groups. This will result in a vance research into reprogrammed pioneering center for the research of stem cells and provide new impetus complex fluid dynamics – the move- for regenerative medicine. Both Cen- ment in liquids and gases – which ters will also serve to promote inter- plays a central role in numerous nat- national exchange among talented ural and industrial processes. The young scientists. Center is set to improve the teamwork of the partners and will enable the Full of praise: At the opening of the common usage of research infrastruc- Max Planck Center at the University tures. The results are expected to facil- of Twente, Max Planck President Stratmann acknowledged the high itate, for example, advances in medi- level of Dutch research and referred cal diagnostics and in the operation of to the joint undertaking as a mile- wind turbines. stone for European science.

Technology Transfer across the Atlantic

Florida to become the American location for award-winning microscopy

STED method Abberior Instruments, the company owned by Max Planck Nobel Prize laureate Stefan Hell and headquar- tered in Göttingen, has founded a subsidiary in the US. Abberior produces microscopes based on the STED method Hell developed, which can be used to create high-resolution fluorescence images far below the dif- fraction limit. The campus of the Max Planck Florida In- stitute for Neuroscience was chosen as the location for the US center of operations. David Fitzpatrick, CEO and scientific Director of the Institute, is hopeful that this will also give the research a boost. “The latest improve- ments for this ultra-high resolution microscopy are the key to insightful discoveries in brain research and other areas,” says Fitzpatrick. “The entire American life science industry will benefit from having better access to Confocal this technology.” Stefan Hell stresses the strong scientific reputation of the campus in Jupiter. In addition to the Max Planck Institute, the campus is also home to Clear image: With the STED method, processes in living cells can be observed in far greater detail than with the confocal microscopes that Florida Atlantic University and a branch of The Scripps

are frequently used for research purposes (bottom right). Research Institute. Photos: Rikkert Harink/www.rikkertharink.nl (top), MPI for Biophysical Chemistry (below)

8 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 PERSPECTIVES

The Dilemma of Animal Research

Forum held at Max Planck Administrative Headquarters discusses animal ethics in science and society

In a declaration of principle on animal experimentation in basic research, the Max Planck Society has committed itself to strengthening transparency and communication regarding this controversial subject. To this end, a podium discussion was held in January at the Max Planck So- ciety’s Administrative Headquarters in Munich. Before an audience of 100 guests, two Max Planck Directors – brain researcher Wolf Singer and lawyer Anne Peters – and philosopher Dieter Birnbacher from Heinrich Heine Univer- sity Düsseldorf discussed issues focusing on animal ethics. The starting point was the special nature of basic research: intrinsically a core value, constitutive for human- ity, emphasized Singer. Birnbacher reinforced this, addi- tionally stressing the application factor. Scientists must weigh up the knowledge gained and the possible benefit of their projects against the welfare of the animal. Peters pointed out the importance of defined criteria. For example, the EU guidelines on animal welfare stipulate the extent to which an animal may be stressed and that, in ret- rospect, these stress factors must be evaluated in proportion to the gain in scientific insight. Singer added that, Careful consideration: Moderated by science journalist Christina Berndt owing to the extremely subject-specific reasons for ani- (center), Dieter Birnbacher, Wolf Singer and Anne Peters (from left) discussed mal research, it was necessary to have trust in the scien- animal research in light of ethical considerations. tists. This is possible only through transparency.

On the Net

Smelly spectacle How Diseases Spread Protection for Chimpanzees The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Richard Neher from the Max Planck In- To save western chimpanzees from Ecology in Jena was host to a very rare – stitute for Developmental Biology, to- extinction, Max Planck Director Chris and very stinky – event on the weekend of gether with Trevor Bedford from the tophe Boesch founded the Wild Chim- June 9-10, 2017. One of the world’s smelli- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Cen- panzee Foundation 16 years ago. The est flowers, Amorphophallus titanium, went ter in Seattle, was awarded the Open non-profit organization campaigns into bloom for the first time in 14 years. Science Prize. The two scientists are re- to protect chimpanzees in the Ivory The odoriferous plant, whose native hab- ceiving the prize for their online tool Coast, Guinea and Liberia. The re- itat is Sumatra, Indonesia, is also known nextstrain.org, with which the evolu- search projects of the behavioral sci- as the corpse flower because of its putrid tion and spread of pathogens such as entists at the Max Planck Institute for aroma that proves irresistible to certain Ebola and Zika can be monitored in real Evolutionary Anthropology also help pollinators. About 1,000 flower lovers time. “The Ebola epidemic made clear to to develop optimum protective mea- came to catch a glimpse – as well as a us just how useful a platform would be sures. We talked to Boesch about the good whiff – of the plant after it was with which propagation pathways can political situation in those countries, moved out into the open from the Insti- be observed live,” explains Richard Ne- the role played by ecotourism, and co- tute’s greenhouses. her, who recently took a position at the operative projects with schools. www.ice.mpg.de/webcam/2017/05/ Center for Molecular Life Science at the www.mpg.de/11074475/

Photo: Axel Griesch amorphophallus/a_titanum_1080p.mp4 University of Basel. interview-boesch-chimpanzees www.nextstrain.org

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Cyber Attacks on Free Elections

Political elections are still conducted using paper ballots. In an age when we use the internet to find information and do our shopping, use apps to control home heating and even use online functions for ID cards, this is quite as- tounding. Wouldn’t it be much easier and more convenient to vote for our politicians from our home computers or smartphones? Our author thinks not – and warns that, even without online elections, many electronic methods threaten to manipulate such processes.

TEXT RAINER W. GERLING

o make it clear from the start: there will be Elections must be secret, free and secure. Secret means no online political elections for the fore- that nobody finds out how a voter voted. For an elec- seeable future – at least not in Germany. tion to be truly free, voters must also not have any And that’s a good thing. Of course, inter- record of how they voted. Documenting your choice net voting would be easy and convenient, with a mobile phone photo from the voting booth andT it’s even possible that more people might vote isn’t a good idea, either. It must be ensured that votes online. Nevertheless, conducting an entire election for a given candidate can’t be bought or extorted. Se- cure means that the votes can be counted without manipulation. It’s at this point that a certain degree of doubt surrounds voting machines such as those Paper ballots are now used commonly seen in the US. In the United States, only 18 of the 50 states still for voting in just 18 US states use exclusively paper ballots to cast votes. Ten states use at least some voting machines with no paper printouts (for potential manual recounts). With these process online is an idea that is better left alone. Vot- devices, checking the digital vote count after the elec- ers’ computers could be attacked from anywhere in tion is virtually impossible. Even when voters receive the world, and the door would be wide open for var- a paper slip to check their vote, which they then ious parties to manipulate proceedings. Ronald L. place in a ballot box, ordinary people still can’t be Rivest found an apt way to describe the matter: certain that the machine recorded the same vote. during a lecture in 2016 he answered a question re- In principle, a mistrust of voting machines is ad- garding best practices for an internet election by ask- visable: there have been issues in the past with such ing what the best practices were for playing in the devices’ software. In 2008, it came to light that vot-

middle of a busy street. ing computers produced by Premier Election Solu- Photo: picture alliance/Cultura R

10 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 VIEWPOINT_IT Security

It is presumably on behalf of foreign governments that hackers attempt to influence elections in democratic countries – also on the upcoming German parliamentary election. Identifying the perpetrators and their employers is exceptionally difficult. Photo: picture alliance/Cultura R

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 11 VIEWPOINT_IT Security

tions “forgot” a portion of the votes when collating possible attacker. The operator can introduce exten- results from multiple voting machines. As a new ap- sive updates to the machine without arousing suspi- proval process would take years, the company pub- cion. Voters and election workers are also unable to lished a workaround in the form of amended operat- carry out on-site inspections. Protecting the machine ing instructions. This didn’t technically prevent the against manipulation by its operator is a much great- operating error, but merely showed the operator how er challenge. to avoid the error, so errors aren’t precluded. Completely sealing off voting machines isn’t an Voting machines’ security systems are also ex- option, as the ballot papers, at least in their current tremely dubious. In a blog post for the Princeton Cen- form, must be programmed before each vote. This is ter for Information Technology Policy entitled Decer- generally done by inserting memory cards, which are tifying the worst voting machine in the US, expert Jer- often written using Windows computers. The same emy Epstein detailed the unbelievable security gaps memory cards also serve to update the software: if a in voting computers. For example, the encryption file with a specific name is present, the machine decode for the Wi-Fi network’s WEP security algorithm tects the file content as a software update and installs is “abcde.” This code is “hard wired” and can’t be it. Anyone with access to the voting machine for even changed. Some systems have gone without security a short period can insert a memory card and intro- patches since 2004. USB ports and other physical ac- duce any arbitrary software. The security of voting machines is rightly considered to be dubious; however, comprehensive manipulation is improbable. If voting computers are hacked, Manipulated software it can be assumed that not all models are affected, but rather only certain ones. Even with normal comput- teaches voting machines ers, we know that a hack of a Windows computer won’t necessarily work with an Apple or Linux ma- to play chess chine. And in the United States, 53 different voting machines produced by 17 different manufacturers are cess points aren’t always secured. If somebody can in- currently in use. sert a USB device into an unsecured USB port, they Furthermore, there is no evidence to date that vot- can probably manipulate the machine. Bruce Schnei- ing computers have actually been manipulated. A er, an internationally recognized American IT securi- group that includes the director of the University of ty expert, reported that voting computers have the Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society, default passwords “abcde” or “admin”. In addition, J. Alex Halderman, alleged that Hillary Clinton re- since voting computers also communicate via Wi-Fi, ceived 7 percent fewer votes in Wisconsin constitu- they are even susceptible to remote hacking. encies that used voting machines compared with In 2007, Dutch and German hackers demonstrat- constituencies that used paper ballots. However, ed that a Nedap voting machine could be taught to these differences could also be explained by system- play chess by adjusting its software, showing that the atic errors or random correlations between the type software could be amended as desired without autho- of voting machine and demographic factors. There- rization. Hacking voting machines certainly requires fore, we can only speculate as to whether US presi- a lot of effort, but from the hacker’s perspective, the dential elections were manipulated, but an unpleas- serious implications resulting from a successful hack ant aftertaste and an uneasy feeling remain. clearly justify the effort. Moreover, while companies Voting machines have also been used in the past have a strong interest in ensuring that their comput- in Germany in various elections. Following two com- er systems are secure and have security systems such plaints against “the use of computerized voting ma- as a firewall to protect against attacks from outside, chines,” the German Federal Constitutional Court in in the case of voting machines, the operator is also a 2009 declared the Federal Voting Machine Ordinance

12 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 to be unconstitutional “because it does not ensure ber attacks and has therefore had the administrative the approval and use of only such voting machines network well secured as a precaution. If necessary, as satisfy the constitutional prerequisites of the prin- telephone and fax communication can be used in- ciple of publicity.” One prerequisite is “that the main stead. In the election in the Netherlands on March steps in the election process and the calculation of 15, 2017, votes were counted by hand, as the soft- results can be inspected by citizens reliably and with- ware used to do so is considered to be susceptible to out the need for specialist knowledge.” Current vot- hacking. Couriers brought the results from the polling computers do not guarantee this. As a result, voting stations to regional election offices. Only then ing computers haven’t been used in Germany since were computers used. that time. In Germany, the elections themselves can thus The question remains as to which factors speak certainly be considered secure, but there is cause for in favor of the machines, if any at all. The only ad- concern that hackers may attempt to influence the vantage is that they make counting simpler, faster and cheaper. They don’t make the voting process easier for voters. Voting machines merely prevent invalid ballot papers from being submitted – but Digital criminals leave submitting an invalid vote can also be a conscious voting decision. behind traces, but concrete There are also many good reasons to retain classic paper ballots in political elections. Only when we evidence is rare are able to mark a ballot with a normal pen on normal paper can we ensure that counting takes place result during the run-up. This was clearly the case in promptly and publicly – observing the principle of the US: on January 6, 2017, the CIA, FBI and NSA multiple-assessor verification. This verification prin- published a joint report stating that Russian intelli- ciple is also ensured by having observers present gence services had influenced the US presidential when votes are cast. election. In addition, the computer network of the Nevertheless, voting machines have probably Democratic National Committee was hacked in July not been banished from German polling stations for 2015. Large-scale document theft occurred through good. Manufacturers and local authorities with an May 2016. These documents were later published by eye on their funds will again attempt to introduce DC Leaks and WikiLeaks under the (potentially Rus- electronic systems to cast and tally votes. If voting sian) pseudonym Guccifer 2.0. As these documents machines are introduced, it mustn’t be done by rea- were primarily intended to discredit the Democrats soning, “trust us, we’ll do it right.” And that “we” and their candidate, Hillary Clinton, this can be re- could be both the voting machine manufacturer and garded as influencing the election – or at least at- the state. The fundamental approach must be: tempting to do so. The Russian government has ad- “Glitches will occur, we have to identify and correct amantly denied involvement. them.” The possibility to conduct an audit must be There is no publicly available evidence that Rus- included as part of an electronic voting process, and sian intelligence services were behind these events. an audit of the election results absolutely must be There are, however, fairly strong indications. Of carried out. course, such indications of digital wrongdoing are In the German federal elections in 2017, there will not as easy to identify as real-world evidence: at a be no manipulated voting machines, but by no classic crime scene, police find fingerprints, fibers means does this preclude the risk of digital manipu- and DNA traces that they can ultimately attribute to lation: voting results must be collected from polling one or more individuals. With a digital crime scene, stations, which is done over digital networks. Dieter investigators find malicious software and IP or

Photo: picture alliance/Cultura R Sarreither, the Federal Returning Officer, expects cy- e-mail addresses when analyzing communications,

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 13 but attributing these bits and bytes to an individu- In early 2015, hackers broke into the Parlakom net- al is much more difficult than is the case with con- work of the German Bundestag and copied 16 giga- ventional evidence. bytes of data. German security services believe that a So digital forensic experts look, for example, for hacker group close to the Russian state, known as Russian or Chinese text fragments in the malware. APT28, among other names, was responsible for the This alone isn’t proof, as it’s entirely possible that a attack. This group has been active since around 2004. hacker from another country might have laid a false trail. If the forensic expert is lucky, the malware might be an optimized or advanced version of known malware that Russian or Chinese state services are Attackers might attempt to known to have used in the past. There are then two clues. Data captured in a hack is transmitted to a serv- manipulate public opinion before er. This server is located with a provider somewhere the German federal elections in Europe or America. For this, the attackers simply rent computers from service providers and register domains. However, if the domain name was regis- The attack on French television broadcaster TV5 tered using an e-mail address that has previously been Monde in April 2015 was also attributed to APT28, as linked to Russian or Chinese state services, then this Hans-Georg Maaßen, President of Germany’s domes- constitutes a further piece of evidence. The specific tic security agency, the BfV, described in a podium data transmission technique used might already be discussion at the Max Planck Society’s IT Security known to the investigators, and they can compare it Symposium in 2015. The attacks also served as a false with previous cases. The precise technical details of flag operation, as the hack included a presumably this analysis, however, are a closely guarded trade se- faked claim of responsibility from a previously un- cret of the investigating secret services. known Islamic group named Cyber Caliphate. The interests involved may be a further clue: there IT security company Trend Micro reported in is a high probability that an attack on the World Uy- May 2016 that the APT28 group had launched an ghur Congress would involve Chinese state agencies, attack against the CDU. It was done by operating a as the World Uyghur Congress is one of the Five Poi- replicated CDU webmail server in Lithuania in or- sons, the main threats to the Chinese state. If, how- der to tap user accounts and passwords through ever – as occurred on December 23, 2016 – a large phishing e-mails. power outage causes problems in Western Ukraine, In August 2016, one Heinrich Krammer sent an and can be traced back to a cyber attack, then it is e-mail that seemingly came from NATO headquarters highly unlikely that Chinese state services are behind (the e-mail address ended in @hq.nato.int). The it. Several aspects here point toward Russian origins. e-mail promised background information about, Extensive knowledge collected by security firms among other things, the military coup in Turkey. and authorities may be able to produce a plausible Anyone who clicked on the link installed malicious overall picture. The conclusive findings are pub- software on their computer. The e-mail’s addressees lished, though they aren’t easily comprehensible were Sahra Wagenknecht and the head office of the from the outside. And of course a plausible picture is political party Die Linke, as well as the CDU and its certainly not evidence that will stand up in court. In youth movement, Junge Union, in the Saarland. light of the events surrounding the US presidential APT28 is suspected in security circles to have been be- election, the question is whether the German feder- hind this attack, too. al election is similarly vulnerable. At any rate, there In November 2016, WikiLeaks published 90 gi- have already been multiple cyber attacks on German gabytes of data (2,420 documents) from the Ger- political parties and governmental structures in the man Bundestag’s commission investigating the NSA

past 24 months. affair. This data didn’t appear to originate from the Photo: picture alliance/Cultura R

14 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 VIEWPOINT_IT Security

Bundestag hack in early 2015. The parallels with the hackers’ approach in the US are obvious. Conse- quently, it must be expected that, when the election campaign in Germany heats up, information from these hacks will surface on WikiLeaks or similar platforms. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Germany’s national cyber security agency, is working intensively on the issue. In autumn 2016, BSI President Arne Schönbohm personally warned Ger- man political parties about reconnaissance conducted by hackers affiliated with other states. The suspi- cion is that attackers might attempt to manipulate public opinion prior to the German parliamentary elections. The focus is on opinions and ideas being posted on the internet or social networks by auto- mated means. In March 2017, the BSI again express- THE AUTHOR ly warned German political parties of expected cyber attacks during the election campaign. Rainer W. Gerling, born in 1954, is the IT Security Officer of In early February 2017, media reports stated that the Max Planck Society and honorary Professor of IT Security German secret services had found no evidence of in the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics targeted Russian disinformation. However, accord- at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, where he is ing to research by broadcasting companies NDR and responsible for additional training on operational data pro- WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the 50-page re- tection. Gerling has published numerous essays in scholarly port described the reporting of Russian propaganda journals and books, and belongs to the editorial board of the media such as the German-language versions of Rus- magazines Datenschutz und Datensicherheit (Data sia Today and Sputnik News as downright “hostile.” Protection and Data Security) and IT-SICHERHEIT (IT Securi- Where is the line between exaggerated reporting and ty). Since 2012, he has been Deputy Chairman of the German disinformation? Association for Data Protection and Data Security (GDD). States attempting to influence public opinion to suit their aims through disinformation, propaganda, fake news and alternative facts (once known as lies) is nothing new. However, as a result of the internet, social media and platforms such as WikiLeaks, the number of information providers has dramatically increased, and traditional journalistic ethics and truth- fulness are often left by the wayside. It’s difficult for traditional media and experts, or even state agencies, to make corrections and evaluations. Experience tells us, however, that if you throw enough mud, some is sure to stick. Ultimately, each citizen must decide for themselves what they believe and what they don’t. Only one thing can help here: education. In that respect, Europeans should be less susceptible to alternative facts than citizens in the US, as the average

Photo: picture alliance/Cultura R Photo: Axel Griesch level of education in Europe is higher.

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 15 Post to California, USA

I’m trying to find a good balance

Scientists from 94 countries around the globe work at the Max Planck Institutes. Here they relate their personal experiences and impressions. Gabriel Antonio Guerrero from California is doing his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne. When he finishes, the 29-year-old plans to return the US, initially to attend medical school. After that he would like to obtain a position as an assistant professor of biomedicine.

I was born and raised in California and was just wrapping up my first year as a PhD student at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla when I considered applying for another PhD position at the MPI for Biology of Ageing in Cologne. During my first visit to Europe I truly fell in love with the idea of living in Germany – a place where I don’t even speak the native language. In the US, we believe that San Francisco is the most European of all American cities, so I figured that Cologne would be just like San Francisco. Of course that’s not true at all, and it took some time to get used to life in Cologne. For example, on a typical morning in La Jolla I’d go to the beach around 7 a.m., surf for 1.5 hours and be in the lab by 9 a.m., whereas in Germany I’d have to travel 500 km to get to the near- est natural surfing spot: the popular Eisbach in Munich. So I took up climbing as a recre- ational sport instead – indoors for now, but if I find some other people who are interested, we can take a trip to some outdoor climbing spots. When I first met my boss at the MPI, I was convinced that Max Planck is a place to do world- class research – simply because there are only two things that limit me here: my work ethic and my creativity. Molecular biologists spend a lot of time in the lab, but I have to say that

I really like the German approach to work-life balance. People here really value their free Graphic: iStockphoto

16 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 RUBRIK TITEL

Gabriel Antonio Guerrero (29) studied biology and economics at San Diego State University while conducting research at the University of California San Diego. He initially began his PhD at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla in the field of proteostasis. Since January 2015 , Guerrero is doing his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne. As a geneticist, he is investigating C. elegans and how neurons trigger protective mecha nisms in the rest of the organism and what - role these signals play in the aging process.

time and rarely take work home after an exhausting 12- to 14-hour day at the office. It’s nice this way; the research might progress a little more slowly, but it’s a lot more fun – so I’m trying to find a balance between the German science culture and the much more stressful one in the US. Research is extremely competitive everywhere, but I would still like to stay in academia. My plan is to finish my doctorate at the MPI, then go back to the US and spend another four years in medical school before trying to find an assistant professorship in the biomedical sciences. I just love the idea of teaching other students – and I know that I have to conduct research myself before I can teach others how to do it. It will take quite a while before I reach this goal, but it makes sense to invest time in education. My father is an assistant dean and professor of medicine. My parents had me just as my dad was starting his doctoral degree. They met at university, but both of them are children of first- and second-generation immigrants with Mexican and Native American backgrounds. My parents attained an unusually high level of education – even today, only around 5 percent of all PhD holders in the US are of Mexican descent. In my previous PhD program I was one of only two Hispanic students, which is when I realized that I was part of a minority. Personally, though, I’m very Americanized. I’ve never experienced open racism in California, the state with the highest percentage of Hispanics, at roughly 40 percent. It was different for my parents though; it was only thanks to full scholarships that both of them could even afford to attend university, and they often felt discrim- inated against. Equal access to education is still a problem for young people in the US today. That’s why a school system that offers access to quality education for all students regardless of their social or ethnic background is more important than ever. There’s still a long way to go before

Graphic: iStockphoto Photo: Private collection everyone in the US has the same educational opportunities that I had.

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 17

FOCUS_Big Data

Gravitational Waves on Home Computers

The Einstein@Home project makes it possible for anyone to search for gravitational waves on their own PC, laptop or smartphone and thus become scientific explorer themselves. Bruce Allen, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover, is the founder of this citizen science project. The software is now also used to track down pulsars in big data. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn are also involved in this search.

TEXT THOMAS BÜHRKE

he discovery of a gravitational searcher from the Max Planck Insti- with the same problems as those con- wave on September 14, 2015 tute. Yet matters could have turned out fronted by Allen and his colleagues: with the LIGO detectors in the differently. Since the beginning of the how can they find the periodic signals US is regarded as a scientific LIGO measurements, scientists have in the vast data chaos? sensation and confirmed one been searching for weak periodic grav- ofT the final predictions of Albert Ein- itational waves that are likely to be A NETWORK WITH ENORMOUS stein’s general theory of relativity. Sci- emitted by rapidly rotating neutron COMPUTING CAPACITY entists from the Max Planck Institute stars. Atlas is the world’s largest cluster for Gravitational Physics in Golm and for data analysis, yet in undertaking SETI@home is based on a decentralized Hannover were significantly involved this task, even it would be stretched to analysis of data that is distributed to in the discovery (MaxPlanckResearch its limits. thousands of private computers. It 1/2016, p. 78 ff.). The designers of gravitational wave works like this: a person logs in with a The first gravitational wave ever detectors were aware of this problem home computer and then receives the detected was unexpectedly strong. Its right from the start, so two of them software, which analyzes data when- signal was even visible to the naked came up with an idea. Bruce Allen re- ever the screen saver starts. The results eye in the data stream that was contin- members distinctly: “It was August 19, are automatically returned. In this uously analyzed by the Hannover- 1999.” He had met his colleague Stuart way, the search for signals is distribut- based Atlas supercomputer. The first Anderson for a meal at the California ed throughout a network with massive person to recognize the signal was a re- Institute of Technology (Caltech). Allen computing capacity. From the very be- had read an article in the Los Angeles ginning, SETI@home was extremely Screen savers with a purpose: The Einstein@ Times about the SETI@home project. popular. However, the search for aliens Home program automatically searches for The search for signals from extraterres- has so far been in vain. rapidly rotating neutron stars in the data from gravitational wave detectors, gamma trial intelligence in the data from large “I discussed with Stuart the possi-

Photo: Composite based on images provided by the MPI for Gravitational Physics/B. Knispel and iStockphoto/Antonio Guillem satellites and radio telescopes. radio telescopes presented researchers bility of searching the gravitational

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 19 FOCUS_Big Data

Left A satellite dish surrounded by nature: The Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico has a diameter of 305 meters and listens for pulsar signals. Einstein@Home can detect them, thus transforming home PCs, smartphones and tablets into valuable tools for science. Right page An idea that started in the cafe - teria: In 1999, Bruce Allen, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Phys- ics in Hannover, discussed with a colleague the possibility of having the data from gravitational wave detectors scanned. The result of this discussion was Einstein@Home, a program in which hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have so far participated. Allen is standing next to the Atlas cluster, which plays a central role in the network.

wave data of the two LIGO instru- es through David Anderson, from the participated in the project, with more ments in the same way,” says Bruce Al- University of Berkeley, who had already constantly joining in, so that now len. “But then the thought occurred to written the software for SETI@home. 40,000 amateur researchers are actively us that, while everyone is interested in “We transferred the software to our involved – sometimes with several de- aliens, who really cares about gravita- own project, which led to great advanc- vices simultaneously. tional waves?” As a result, the idea es in its realization,” said Allen. Scien- died, at least temporarily. Yet, four tists were thus able to complete an ini- SIGNALS ARE CHOPPED UP years later, it was revived. Allen re- tial version by February 2005, which INTO SMALL PARCELS ceived a call from a SETI@home pio- they presented at a press conference neer who was looking for a way to take held at the annual meeting of the There are around 100 other projects in part in the upcoming 2005 Interna- American Association for the Advance- which data is viewed by means of dis- tional Einstein Year. ment of Science. tributed computing. The spectrum ex- Immediately thereafter, Allen re- The media was enthusiastic about tends from the development of drugs membered the conversation in the the project. It was christened Ein- for combating malaria and molecular Caltech cafeteria and he suddenly saw stein@Home and customized for the simulations of proteins all the way to a chance to realize the idea he had dis- Einstein Year. The news spread quick- the search for the greatest known prime cussed at that time. He promptly ap- ly: according to Allen, within a few number. Einstein@Home is one of the plied to the National Science Founda- days, 20,000 participants had regis- largest of these endeavors. It has now tion for a grant of two million dollars tered. This, in turn, attracted the at- reached a total computing power of 1.7 over three years that would involve the tention of the National Science Foun- petaflops per second, which is 1.7 bil- University of Berkeley and the Max dation to the project, which now lion calculation steps. This computer Planck Institute. But this relatively offered financial support with little ad- network is one of the 60 most powerful small amount was not approved. It was ministrative ado. supercomputers worldwide. now June 2004 and the Einstein Year The Max Planck Institute for Gravi- “The Atlas cluster plays a central was fast approaching. tational Physics, where Allen was ap- role in this network,” says Bruce Allen. Without further ado, Bruce Allen pointed Director in 2007, was a part of It prepares the signals received by the and his coworkers decided to develop Einstein@Home from the very begin- LIGO detectors and chops them into the necessary software on their own. ning. To date, several hundred thou- small packages. They are chosen so

The project received its finishing touch- sand people throughout the world have that each participating computer re- Photo: NAIC-Arecibo Observatory

20 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 ceives no more than one megabyte of emit these space-time waves only if gravitational wave astronomy will offer data per hour. Atlas requires only 1 they’re not perfectly symmetrical. a whole new way to gather more infor- percent of its output for this adminis- Yet neutron stars are among the mation about these unseen denizens of trative activity. Data from the PCs and most spherical bodies in the universe, our universe.” laptops are then sent back to Atlas and making them poor transmitters. The prepared for scientists, for example in fact that no periodic signal has been re- BUNDLED RADIO WAVES SWEEP the form of diagrams. If a promising ceived from them up to now says some- THE EARTH LIKE SEARCH LIGHTS point in the data stream is reported, thing about their symmetry. The inten- Atlas examines it in detail. sity of a gravitational wave received on These findings are of great importance Despite years of research, the search Earth decreases with the increasing dis- to astrophysicists. Nevertheless, the for gravitational waves remained unsuc- tance of the neutron star. Moreover, enthusiasm of even the biggest Ein- cessful. While this was somewhat frus- LIGO detectors are most sensitive in the stein@Home enthusiast will begin to trating, resourceful researchers were able frequency range from several dozen to wane if no signal is caught over the to draw astrophysical conclusions from several hundred hertz. As a result, only years. This was a matter of deep con- this very absence of a signal. The con- statistical statements can be made cern to Bruce Allen, which is why he clusions were reached concerning neu- about the shape of neutron stars. was seeking other areas of application. tron stars – the remains of exploded suns Accordingly, there are no neutron He found one in late 2007 after listen- with a size of around 20 kilometers. stars with a rotational frequency of 100 ing to a lecture by a radio astronomer These neutron stars have extreme hertz or more within a radius of about on the search for pulsars. properties. The matter in them is so 1,000 light-years for which the surface Hidden behind these objects are strongly compressed that a teaspoon of differs by more than 10 centimeters neutron stars, which emit two bundles it on Earth would weigh as much as a from a perfect sphere. This is truly a of radio waves in opposite directions million long-distance trains. They also very remarkable result. “In the electro- along the magnetic field axis into rotate very rapidly about their own magnetic wave range, we have already space. If the axis of rotation and the axis. This creates excellent conditions detected several thousand neutron stars magnetic field axis are inclined toward for the emission of gravitational waves, – of a total of perhaps 100 million that one another, then the two bundles of where the frequency of such a wave exist in our Milky Way,” says Maria radio waves pass through space like the would correspond to the rotational fre- Alessandra Papa from the Max Planck searchlights of a lighthouse. If they

Photo: Frank Vinken quency of the body. But neutron stars Institute in Hannover. “In the future, happen to traverse the Earth, telescopes

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 21 FOCUS_Big Data

would receive a periodic signal with the rotation frequency of the pulsar. Bruce Allen immediately realized that Einstein@Home could be applied to this area. Particularly for double systems in which a neutron star and a companion orbit one another, Ein- stein@Home could make a significant contribution to the discovery of such systems. “With their analytical methods, radio astronomers can find only pairs for which the orbital period is longer than an hour,” says Allen. “We should also be able to track tighter pairs down to an orbital period of ten minutes.” Even though the analysis of the measurement data of radio telescopes is similar to that used in gravitational wave detectors, this expansion still required considerable effort. Doctoral student Benjamin Knispel found the endeavor to be especially fascinating and devoted himself to it. The subject matter even became his doctoral thesis. “The software had to be significantly modified,” recalls Knispel. “The data from radio telescopes differs in many aspects from that detected by the LIGO detectors.” The biggest challenge is that physicists don’t know whether a pulsar signal was actually hidden in the data record in question. And if it was, they don’t know at what frequency. A further difficulty arises in the case of a pulsar in a double system. If it is moving toward us in its course, the pulses arrive in shorter intervals, while if it is moving away from us, the pulse sequence slows down. The pulse frequency therefore changes periodically with the orbital period of the pulsar. “This blind search for signals of which the parameters are not known at all is very complex,” explains Knispel. “We want to make the optimal use of our limited computing capacity, just as if a person wanted to win the biggest profit in a casino from a certain stake.” Einstein@Home is ideal for these blind searches, because it is particularly efficient to analyze small data packages Graphic: NASA

22 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 Left page A cosmic lighthouse: The strong magnetic field of a neutron star creates bundles of radiation at its poles in the form of two cones that, with a bit of luck, will traverse the Earth and reveal a pulsar – an object that blinks rhythmically. Right A look at the data: Maria Alessandra Papa from the Max Planck Institute in Hannover coordinates the search for a continuous signal from gravitational waves, such as those that neutron stars should produce. In the future, the researcher hopes to learn more about a large, invisible population of these objects that has thus far been invisible.

with a high level of data processing Astronomers directed further radio tele- Max Planck Institute for Radio Astron- power. Because of the many decentral- scopes at the newly discovered heaven- omy in Bonn, who is extensively in- ized private computers, the computing ly body, including the Effelsberg 100-me- volved in Einstein@Home. These rare power is obtained almost for free. ter antenna of the Max Planck Institute double neutron stars are unique labs for for Radio Astronomy. These observa- testing relativity theory in strong grav- THE SUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR tions have shown that the pulsar is a itational fields – a special area of the UNKNOWN BEEPERS loner located about 17,000 light-years group headed by Michael Kramer, Di- away from Earth, and that it has a mag- rector at the Institute. Since March 2009, Einstein@Home is netic field around 20 billion times stron- Most of the currently 2,500 known also searching for radio pulsars. The ger than that of Earth. radio pulsars that have been identified data is provided by the PALFA project To date, Einstein@Home has led to in space are isolated and rotate as sin- (Pulsar Surveys with the Arecibo L-Feed the discovery of a total of 55 radio pul- gle stars. Only 255 of them are located Array) that is being carried out by sars, including some rare specimens, in double systems, and only a handful the Arecibo Observatory through its such as an object 25,000 light-years orbit around another neutron star. 305-meter antenna. It took only about away named PSR J1913 + 1102. This is This is where Einstein@Home hit the a year until the first discovery. The PCs a pair consisting of a pulsar and a neu- bull’s eye. of two participants had discovered a tron star; the two revolve around one However, the success story doesn’t conspicuous signal in the same data set. another with a five-hour orbital peri- end here. Since August 2011, the Ein- A subsequent analysis with Atlas od. However, the neutron star can’t be stein@Home computers have also been confirmed the find. Then the profession- detected as a pulsar – probably because rummaging through data from the Fer- als took over. In July 2010, astronomers its radio wave emissions don’t traverse mi space telescope. This telescope de- searched for the previously unknown the Earth. tects cosmic gamma radiation, which is beeper with the radio telescope in Green “With a total of 2.88 solar masses, of a significantly higher energy level Bank (USA). They were successful in we now have a new record for the total than radio waves or visible light. The their search: it was a pulsar that spins mass of a system composed of two neu- detection of pulsars in this manner is

Photo: T. Damm/Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics around its axis 41 times per second. tron stars,” says Paulo Freire from the an enormous challenge because the

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 23 PSR J0554+3107 PSR J1522-5735

PSR J1932+1926 PSR J1422-6138

The joy of discovery: Hans-Peter Tobler of Rellingen is one of those lucky amateur astronomers whose computers identified the signals from the first four gamma pulsars. In the background is an image of the Milky Way showing the positions of the pulsars. The flags in the enlargements refer to the nationalities of Einstein@Home users who participated in the discovery.

gamma radiation received is extremely to accomplish this within a year, al- lingen, something of an old hand at weak: on average, Fermi detects only though only a part of the project’s per- these matters, is one of them. He was about 10 gamma photons per day from formance capacity was utilized. A total already participating in SETI@home a typical pulsar! It therefore takes years of one-third of all such discovered ob- and immediately signed up in the be- of data collection to detect a pulsating jects has been due to the use of the de- ginning stages of Einstein@Home. Just signal – in the absence of prior knowl- centralized computers. about four years ago, he received the edge as to pulse frequency and phase, news that he was one of the discover- meaning the positions of the pulses in AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS DETECT ers of the first four gamma pulsars. the data stream. FOUR GAMMA PULSARS “Of course I was delighted and at This intricate analysis problem is first could hardly believe it when Bruce precisely where Einstein@Home demon- The new data is of great importance for Allen got in touch with me,” he re- strates its strength. First the software research because it isn’t yet clear just calls. “The certificate, which came lat- had to once again be rewritten and how pulsars generate radiation. Gam- er, has been framed and given a place made more efficient, but the effort was ma radiation and radio waves are prob- on my desk,” says the former econo- immediately rewarded: within a year, ably generated in different areas above mist, who has had a deep love for as- the participants had detected more the surface, which is why information tronomy since youth. than a dozen pulsars in the Fermi data, about the various radiation types can Einstein@Home can look back on and since then, further discoveries give us an overall picture of these fasci- an impressive history of discovery, have been achieved exclusively with nating celestial bodies. even if its actual intention – the detec- Einstein@Home. Successful amateur researchers who tion of gravitational waves – hasn’t yet Astrophysicists recently published a participate in Einstein@Home are in- been realized. And Allen isn’t all that catalog of 13 newly discovered gamma formed by e-mail, receive a certificate optimistic about the future. “Over the pulsars. Using only a single home PC, and are specifically acknowledged in past few years, more and more people the search would have taken more than the scientific publication pertaining to have switched from laptops and PCs

1,000 years. Einstein@Home was able their work. Hans-Peter Tobler from Rel- to tablets and smartphones, which are Photo: Knispel/Pletsch/AEI/NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration/Hans-Peter Tobler

24 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 FOCUS_Big Data

devices that have been designed to TO THE POINT maximize battery time.” In other words, idle times with screen savers l The project for distributed computing called Einstein@Home has been underway are a thing of the past. But the Max since 2005. The project has enabled tens of thousands of participants throughout the world to search the data provided by the LIGO detectors for signals from grav- Planck researchers have come up with itational waves. a new idea. l Since 2009, an extension of the software has made it possible to search data from Since July 2013, they have been of- radio telescopes, and since 2011 it has also been possible to search for pulsars in fering the software for Android smart- gamma ray satellite data. This has facilitated the discovery of 55 radio pulsars phones and tablets. In order to preserve and 19 gamma pulsars. battery life, minimize load times and l Since 2013 it has also been possible to search with Android smartphones and tablets. avoid using up download quotas, the software calculates only when the device is connected to a WLAN network GLOSSARY and the battery charge is above 90 percent. Currently about 4,000 active par- Gravitational waves: Curves in space-time produced by the accelerated motion of celestial bodies. Gravitational waves move through space at the speed of light and were first ticipants are registered – which is en- detected on September 14, 2015. couraging. “I hope that we will finally LIGO: This observatory consists of two detectors, each of which has laser arms with a find the first gravitational wave signal length of four kilometers. The detectors are located in Hanford (Washington, USA) and in the data of the improved LIGO de- Livingston (Louisiana, USA). After an upgrade, the sensitivity of the detectors was tectors,” says Allen. This would mean significantly increased. As a result, the observatory has been operating under the name that, for the first time, amateurs would Advanced LIGO since 2015. have been involved in a discovery wor- Distributed computing: A combination of independent computers that work as a single thy of a Nobel Prize. system and analyze large amounts of data. The Atlas supercomputer coordinates the independent computers that participate in Einstein@Home.

Publish open access in 2,390 Taylor & Francis journals at no cost to yourself!

Under a centrally funded agreement, corresponding authors at Max Planck institutions can publish open access without paying an Article Publishing Charge (APC) themselves.

Find out more: bit.ly/MP_author Analog information overload: Censuses conducted in the 19th and early 20th centuries generated huge amounts of paper that required manual sorting.

26 MaxPlanckForschung 1 | 17 FOKUSFOCUS_Big Data

Stacking Data

Big data isn’t an entirely new phenomenon, as far as historians of science are concerned. Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, scholars, scientists and state authorities collected huge quantities of data, and analyzing all this raw material posed a challenge back then just as it does today. A group led by Elena Aronova, Christine von Oertzen and David Sepkoski at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin looks at the methods used in the past – many of them unexpected – and examines how changes in data handling has ultimately brought about changes in science and society.

TEXT TINA HEIDBORN

russia, mid-19th century: At of a statistics employee is tallying up the census bureau in Berlin, a the counting cards of the current cen- tabulator reads out the enu- sus. The cards were delivered in large meration lists of the current wooden crates of 5,000 or 10,000 units census. The counting staff, by the Prussian Statistical Bureau. In seatedP around a large table, listen atten- this middle-class parlor, they are now tively; each of them is responsible for a being carefully sorted into stacks ac- separate category. When the operation cording to a precisely defined scheme. is complete, the marks they made in The housewife has hired a domestic their section of a big interim table form maid to free herself up for this home- are counted and the resulting numbers based piecework. Along with her two noted in a statistical table for publica- sisters, a brother-in-law, an unem- tion. This marking process was not only ployed trader, two widows and two un- Imagno

/ very time consuming, it was also cost- married young ladies from the neigh- ly and error prone. borhood, she is earning good money Some twenty years later: The scene helping to evaluate the results of the is a private apartment in the Prenzlau- census. They work more than ten hours

Photo: akg-images er Berg district of Berlin, where the wife a day, seven days a week. For historian

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 27 FOCUS_Big Data

19th-century statisticians freed the data from rigid lists – they made data move. » This was the beginning of modern data processing.

of science Christine von Oertzen, these specific concept of data – it appears data collected in so-called enumera- two scenes reflect a crucial leap in the here in the sources,” von Oertzen ex- tion lists and the processing of this history of mass data processing. plains. “The authorities developed a data in tables. As the Director wrote, a “Then as now, the term data was definition of what they understood table “contains a concentrated result, used in very different ways. What is data to mean.” It was Ernst Engel, ap- a summary and groupings of the infor- particularly interesting is that the pointed Director of the Royal Prussian mation drawn from the lists.” Engel Prussian authorities changed their Statistical Bureau in 1860, who estab- was one of the leading figures behind method of conducting censuses in the lished a vital conceptual distinction: the development of population statis- 1860s. For the first time, they used a he differentiated between the primary tics in Europe and, following Italy’s example, introduced “counting slips” in Prussia in 1867. These slips made further processing of the gathered data in tables much simpler: the information collected from the enumeration lists was now transferred to the handy little cards, which were vaguely reminiscent of playing cards. The counting slips provided a new way of accessing the information from the enumeration lists: it was now possible to handle the material in a literal sense. The slips could easily be counted, recounted or stacked and regrouped according to different criteria, so connections could be created between the various items of information from the survey lists. This had been precisely the problem with the marking process: another huge list had to be compiled for every new combination of criteria to be analyzed from the enumeration lists. The counting slips made it possible to correlate data. As Engel wrote in 1868: “The advantage of the counting slip method was that it allowed innumerable combinations of the individual data contained in the slips.” And Engel continued to optimize the method. A short while later he replaced the counting slips with individual counting cards that each respon-

Inconspicuous revolution: The Prussian counting card introduced in 1871 brought about a fundamental shift in processing

census data. Photo: Secret State Archives Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (GStA PK) This was the beginning of modern data processing. data modern of beginning the was This move. data made they – lists rigid from data the freed statisticians 19th-century

Photo: Secret State Archives Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (GStA PK)

Photo: akg-images runs, eachfocusingonseveral criteria. gan analyzing the cards inthree count rian ChristinevonOertzen. Theybe- combine different criteria,” says histo lighted attheirnew-found abilityto “The Prussian statisticians were de- FIRST TIME FOR THE VISIBLE SOCIAL INJUSTICESBECAME counting slips. stage ofmanuallytransferringdatato lists, anditdidawaywiththeinterim trouble of havingtouseenumeration reading ability. ThissavedEngelthe family and professional status, and al details,includingage,placeofbirth, required to provide numerous person- On these,theresidentsofPrussiawere counting slips, but equally manageable. size, about four times larger than the were approximately DIN A5format in dent hadtofilloutthemselves:they detail. in conditions such Berlin. like revealed cities big in analysis data especially census conditions, Improved living miserable to led mobility and growth Population overcrowded: Desperately - see wherelargenumbers of people the informationwasbroken down to the high child mortality rate. Or else cial problemsquantitatively, suchas material couldbeusedtoscrutinize so uation.” Forthefirsttime, the census snapshot thatcapturedthecurrentsit sians wantedthecensustoprovidea entiation indataanalysis. “The Prus- a previouslyunknowndegreeofdiffer- en. It was a breakthrough that allowed provement thiswas,”saysvonOertz- today tograspjustwhatamajorim from thematerial.“It’s difficultforus far-reaching insights to be gleaned ing assuch,butthatalsoallowedmore ods thatnotonlyimprovedthecount Engel’s aim:hewasinsearch ofmeth- bitious statistician, this was precisely workers insmalltowns.Beinganam- for example, or unmarried Protestant ly onCatholicwomeninruralareas, It wasnowpossible to focusspecifical - - - - - sition in1889:amethodusing punch sented hisinventionattheParis Expo- method isexaggerated. Hollerith’s supposedly groundbreaking Oertzen’s opinion,thesignificanceof machines andmechanization.”Invon ing, nottheintroductionofHollerith the beginning of modern data process- made data move. This is what marks freed the data from rigid lists –they received littleattention:“Statisticians processing revolutionthathasthusfar and cardsfrom1860onwardasadata able papermediasuchascountingslips the changeoverfromliststomaneuver their concreteapplication.Sheregards the developmentoftechnologiesand von Oertzenisparticularlyinterestedin tor ofpoverty. lived underoneroof–anotherindica- who werenotrelatedtoeachother Herman Hollerith,anengineer, pre As ahistorianofscience,Christine 2 | MaxPlanckResearch 17MaxPlanckResearch

29 - - 30 MaxPlanckResearch 2 MaxPlanckResearch | 17

Photo: akg-images Photo: akg-images

Photo: akg-images this model from the the from model this of case the in as – quickly operated be keyboardswere sophisticated enough to punch that later until wasn’t Right It cards by hand. the into punched be to had data all as work, preparatory laborious required this of census US the in used machines based on punch cards – were first were – cards punch on based machines HollerithLeft machines tabulating– the sameprincipleas Hollerith Prussian countingcardswere basedon fective. Asmoveabledatacarriers, the manual methodwasatleast equally ef er, thePrussiansbelievedtheirown data processing. ofmodern inthehistory step forward and itisgenerallyregardedasacrucial duced Hollerith’s systemrightaway, and the Russian Empire, intro- Hungary Some Europeanstates,suchasAustria BRINGING IN THE HARVEST DATA ANALYSIS WAS LIKE lion cardsbyhand. still had to be punched into the 63 mil- 1890 census, though, the information process wasconsiderablyfaster. Forthe machines, sothecountingandsorting cards wasthattheycouldbereadby ample). TheadvantageoftheHollerith destination, travelclassorfare,forex- ticket (todenotetheplaceofboarding, place dependingonwhopresentedthe the ticketwaspunchedinadifferent tickets asawayofstoringinformation: inspectors in America punching railway curred toHollerithwhenhesawticket American censusin1890.Theideaoc- tabulating. It was first used for the cards withmachinesforsortingand At the turn of the century, howev- 1920 s. s. At1890. the time,

- - vate dwellingsinBerlin. tween thecensusbureauand manypri lions ofcardssentbackand forthbe- on theconcrete,tangibleform ofmil- “hands and feet,” as she puts it – it took fore 1900,thedatastarted togrow ofPrussiandataprocessingbe- history Oertzen startedtodigdeeperintothe as notbeingphysical.”Butwhenvon explains. “We oftentendtoregarddata bor, she likebringing intheharvest,” analyzed quickly–itwasseasonalla described above.“The data hadtobe large PrenzlauerBergtabulatingteam Oertzen cameacrosstheunusually during herarchival research thatvon keep revisionstoaminimum.Itwas place topunishslipshodworkandthus ble. Heftywagedeductionswereputin officials, andheldthelatterresponsi- to thewivesofitscensusworkersand homes. Thestatedelegatedthiswork typically carriedoutbywomenintheir erally: it became a task that was source thejobofdataanalysis quitelit- lowed thePrussianauthoritiestoout- card counting. prior byintroducingtheprincipleof information technologyera20years gel establishedakeycornerstoneofthe zen, EuropeanstatisticianssuchasEn- cards. AccordingtoChristinevonOert- The useofslipsandcardsalsoal - - - their ownwords.Thewomen hadto pected toentertheinformation in range of terms, since people were ex - also covered an enormously diverse scripts –somebarelylegible –butthey not onlycameinmillionsof different head ofthehousehold.”Theanswers ship orotherrelationshipwiththe dents wererequiredtoindicate“Kin- cember 1,1890,forexample,respon provided. InthePrussiancensusofDe posedly distinctstatisticalcategories often ambiguousrealityintothesup- data processing:forcing acomplexand fundamental dilemmaunderlyingall lors, thewomenwerefacedwith and counting census data in their par- While theywerebusysorting,stacking AN AMBIGUOUSREALITY IMPOSING ORDERON fact middle-classhousewives. veterans doing most of the work but in tion thatitwasnolongerimpoverished though heconvenientlyfailedtomen- first andforemostforwarveterans– agency hadamandatetoprovidework successor EmilBlenckinsistedthathis take people’s jobsaway. ErnstEngel’s that Hollerith machines threatened to were quicktodrawattentionthefact Incidentally, thePrussianstatisticians 2 | MaxPlanckResearch 17MaxPlanckResearch FOCUS_Big Data 31 - - Women often performed the work of transferring data onto punch cards, as here in the US census office in 1908. Piano players were given preference because of their ability to operate the punch keyboard quickly and without errors.

classify the responses into seven cate- vided in the instruction sheet stipulat- tained for ongoing use. “These are gories. The census bureau wanted fos- ed that Category 2 should include rural things we are only too inclined to over- ter children and pensioners counted in maidservants, governesses, lady’s com- look,” says von Oertzen. one category, for example, but soldiers, panions, “household helpers,” house- subtenants, and day lodgers – night keepers, household support staff and IN THE PAST, TOO, QUANTITY workers who rented a bed that was un- maids, as well as menials and coach WAS DEEMED TO MATTER MOST used during the daytime – to be sub- drivers, while Category 3 was to include sumed under different rubrics. “The “Workers, house tutors, apprentices And what about the assumption that women were required to sort the cards and head housekeepers” as well as digital data is a new kind of scientific before counting them. This was an es- those fitting such a general description object, and that computerized data pro- sential operation – anything but me- as “in work.” Why did those who de- cessing represents a new scientific chanical or mindless,” says Christine scribed themselves as a “housekeeper” method? “Some people believe that sci- von Oertzen. “It required considerable fall into Category 2 while others who entific research will be exclusively da- interpretation and analysis. Diligence stated their position as “head house- ta-driven in the future,” says the re- and reliability weren’t sufficient: the keeper” fell into Category 3? searcher. The claim is that science will women had to be relatively well edu- “There’s this idea that handling become a simple matter of using auto- cated to be able to classify the informa- data is straightforward because the mated algorithms to process huge data- tion correctly. data itself is self-explanatory – that sets rather than putting forward hy- counting is all that’s required, which is potheses and testing them. Von Oertz- BIG DATA DEPENDS ON HUMAN a simple task. I believe that’s an illu- en’s study of mass data gathering in the WORK, AS WELL sion,” says Christine von Oertzen. Her past has tended to make her skeptical study shows vividly just how much the of this idea. The census bureau included a sample data collected had to be analyzed and The dream of achieving complete- sheet with model answers, and this evaluated more than 100 years ago. ness in scientific data gathering – an in- shows just how difficult it was to fit the And today, in the much-vaunted age of creasingly widespread vision in the age data into the given categories. When it big data? “Of course we’re interested in of big data – is something Christine von came to the respondent’s relationship continuity and ruptures,” says the his- Oertzen has also seen before. “In the with the head of household, for exam- torian. Despite digitization, there is 19th century there was an enormously ple, the statistics were supposed to re- still a lot of human work involved, she enthusiastic belief that data could be flect two separate categories: “Category says – even for big data today, at the used to create a comprehensive record 2: Servants to the head of household” beginning of the 21st century: the of reality,” she says. Scientists in a and “Category 3: Helpmates to the mass of data must be made compati- broad range of disciplines attempted to

head of household.” The examples pro- ble, and it must be updated and main- amass particular data in search of an Photo: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collection, Washington, D.C.

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There’s this idea that handling data is straightforward because » the data itself is self-explanatory. That’s an illusion.

overall picture – whether in astronomy, telescopes. As a result, astronomers’ tion is no longer limited to a specific lo- linguistics, evolutionary biology or tax- work shifted more and more from ob- cation as it was with the data centers in onomy. The motto for many research serving the sky toward merging differ- the Cold War: it can be freed entirely projects back then was: quantity mat- ent data formats to analyze and cor- from its original context and used in ters most. relate the collected data in a meaning- other ways. This is what happened, for Yet this was precisely what caused ful way. Sharing and circulating data example, with medical data collected in problems, too. Libraries and scholars thus became the core activity of astron- the 1990s from the Pima indigenous used card indexes in their attempt to omy, transforming the culture of the people of the Gila River Indian Com- get a handle on the vastly increasing entire discipline. munity Reservation in Arizona: the flood of information. David Sepkoski, medical data of the members of this co-organizer of the working group, DATA TODAY CAN BE DETACHED tribe of American Indians was original- traces the origins of data-driven re- FROM ITS CONTEXT ly collected with the consent of the in- search in taxonomy and paleontology. dividuals involved, the aim being to He examines how the study of paleon- Large-scale geophysical data became a study excess weight and diabetic ten- tology, which originated in the 19th veritable exchange currency during the dencies within the group. This particu- century, involved the development of Cold War, as Elena Aronova, co-orga- lar collection of data has since become classification systems for fossils over a nizer of the Berlin-based working freely available online and is now used long period of time, and how scien- group, discovered. American and Sovi- mainly to optimize computer-based tists classified and archived informa- et data centers collected and archived machine learning. The movement of tion on extinct species of a bygone era vast masses of data in analog form, but this data – without the consent of the using paper tools to create databases – the vision of making this material free- original subjects – highlights the com- long before the advent of computers. ly available to scientists in both the East plicated politics of data mobility in the Paleontologist Heinrich Georg Bronn and the West was only partly put into digital age. (1800–1862) drew on existing catalogs practice, hampered not only by politi- Mapping the world through data and compendia, for example, but reor- cal constraints but also by technologi- raises new issues and has now reached ganized the mass of data they con- cal limitations of analog storage media. new dimensions as a result of mod- tained. He subjected the data to quan- What is new in the digital age, ac- ern-day digitization. However, if we titative analysis by restructuring it cording to the group of historians of look back at the data practices of the according to his own scientific hypoth- science in Berlin, is the ability to detach past, we quickly realize just how old the eses, compiling charts and diagrams to data entirely from its original context. foundations are that shape datification illustrate at a glance the emergence, Once collected and digitized, informa- as we know it today. proliferation, diversification and ex-

tinction of species. The system he used to reorganize the material on paper was later used as a model for electronic and TO THE POINT digital paleontological databases. In observational disciplines such as l Scientists were already collecting large quantities of data in the 18th and 19th centuries in the hope of being able to create a snapshot of reality. astronomy, which had always been ori- Scientific work shifted increasingly toward data analysis. ented toward data collection, the quan- l The Prussian Statistical Bureau revolutionized data processing in the mid- tity of data exploded in the wake of 19th century by using counting cards. This enabled data to be combined new technological capabilities such as according to different criteria, thereby revealing unfamiliar interconnections. photographing the night sky or using

Photo: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collection, Washington, D.C. electronic and ultimately digital super

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 33 Treasure Hunt in the Data Jungle

Researchers normally formulate a hypothesis before beginning an experiment and collecting data. Pauli Miettinen from the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken is turning this scientific principle on its head with a new procedure for analyzing data – redescription mining. The software can analyze existing datasets and retrospectively extract hypotheses and unexpected correlations. These, in turn, give scientists important clues for asking new questions – for example, when the task is to capture the political mood among the population.

TEXT TIM SCHRÖDER

ver the decades, comput- ceeded in accordance with the same this way, they are helping to track ers have learned to com- template, regardless of the discipline. down treasure in the data jungle. plete specified tasks. They First they posit a hypothesis such as: Any kind of data can be analyzed can solve complex equa- “Man is descended from the apes.” with the method, and that, too, is one tions, predict the weather, Then they test this hypothesis through of the strengths of redescription min- andO now even reply in a human voice observation and by collecting data. ing – and the volume of data that can to such questions as “Where can I find be processed is just about unlimited. a good, inexpensive Chinese restaurant MEANINGFUL INFORMATION For example, the procedure can help near here?” However, Pauli Miettinen FROM LARGE VOLUMES OF DATA extract meaningful information from from the Max Planck Institute for Infor- the large volumes of data that are col- matics in Saarbrücken has taken things The data analysis tool that Miettinen lected everywhere today. one step further. He has taught com- and his team developed turns this Pauli Miettinen and his colleagues puters to answer questions that nobody principle on its head. It uses existing showed what the method can do using has asked them yet – and in this way to data, analyzes it and makes entirely data from his home country of Fin- discern connections that humans new connections – some of which are land: information on Finnish politi- wouldn’t have noticed on their own. astonishing. The method used is pret- cians who stood as candidates for a With that, Pauli Miettinen is pretty ty much the cutting edge in the world seat in parliament in 2011 and 2015. close to looking into a crystal ball. He of data analysis. It’s called redescrip- For his analysis, the researcher com- himself describes his work a little more tion mining, which, freely interpreted, bined two datasets: the first contained soberly: “Basically, all we’re doing is means something like “alternative de- publicly available data on the politi- generating a new hypothesis from ex- scription.” In other words, Miettinen cians’ social background, their age, or- isting data.” That sounds modest, but and his colleagues search for new cor- igin, education and marital status. The it’s nothing less than a minor revolu- relations in existing data, for new second dataset contained replies to tion in the ways of scientific work. For statements contained in the data – for questions the politicians had answered centuries, researchers have always pro- new ways of describing the data. In for a web service. >

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Age Children Support for euthanasia

One line for every politician: This chart was produced by the Siren software in analyzing the sociodemographic data and political attitudes, in this case specifically on euthanasia, of candidates in the Finnish parliamentary elections. One finding: candidates over 34 and those with children are more likely to reject euthanasia. Graphic: Pauli Miettinen/MPI for Informatics

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 35 Such web services have been extraordi- he wanted to prove that it’s possible to Illuminating the data jungle: narily popular for some years – the Ger- determine the opinions and moods in Pauli Miettinen and his staff man Wahl-O-Mat website is fashionable, a society based on where people come developed software by the name of Siren (right-hand page) in to name but one. The idea is that politi- from and the statements they make. order to identify associations in cians and voters answer the same ques- “Our datasets are neither huge nor datasets that had not yet been tions independently of each other, and representative, but they reveal the prin- formulated as a hypothesis at the the website reveals to the voter which ciple clearly,” says Miettinen. “Our time the data was collected. party or candidate they have the great- analysis also showed that researchers est degree of agreement with. Miettinen without a software tool would be out of fed the information on the social back- their depth even with a manageable ground of 675 politicians into Siren, the volume of data such as this.” Because redescription mining software his team the association that the software estab- developed, as well as their answers to 31 lishes between the two datasets – in this questions, such as: “Are you in favor of case, the sociodemographic back- legalizing euthanasia?” ground and the politicians’ lists of answers – are sometimes hard to track POLITICIANS’ DATA AS A TEST OF down. At least if the study hasn’t been REDESCRIPTION MINING correspondingly designed from the outset. For instance, the software found For Pauli Miettinen, it wasn’t about dis- out, among other things, that people covering the details of what each poli- between 34 and 74 and people with tician thinks. And the fact that he used children tend to reject euthanasia. data from politicians was more a mat- Such results are remarkable above ter of chance and owed to the fact that all because Siren extracted them from he was simply looking for freely avail- two datasets that were originally col- able data about people with which he lected for different purposes and actu- could test Siren. Politicians’ data is free- ally have nothing to do with each oth- ly available. He wouldn’t have been er. In the 2015 list of questions, it was able to access other personal data for asked merely whether the respondent

reasons of data protection. Ultimately, is in favor of euthanasia or not. The Photo: Tom Pingel

36 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 FOCUS_Big Data

al or meaningless,” says Pauli Miettin- ren also identified: for example, moose en. A statement such as “People over 60 also live on the coast of Norway, where are less interested in available spots in there is more rainfall in August. And daycare centers,” for example, would there is a small population of moose in hardly be surprising. Austria in a region with significantly Time and again, however, Siren higher temperatures in February. comes up with surprises, as another ex- Thanks to Siren, biologists can gain periment of Miettinen’s shows. In this a better understanding of the climatic case, he worked with biologists to feed conditions that apply to the distribu- the software with information on the tion of moose and other mammals – al- distribution of Europe’s mammals. though this wasn’t the original purpose One dataset contained 54,000 individ- of the study. However, they still have to ual records of mammals with location define the rules and decide how to treat details, and the second, the climate the Austrian moose population, for ex- data of different locations and regions ample. “Biologists can define the con- software, however, establishes a much – for instance, the maximum and min- ditions in such a way that those habi- more complex connection by discover- imum temperatures and rainfall fig- tats are also included, or they can view ing further things in common, on the ures. These datasets, too, had original- situations such as the one in Austria as one hand between people who are in ly been collected independently of an anomaly,” says Miettinen. favor of euthanasia, and on the other, each other, came from different sourc- Software tools such as Siren are rare between those who reject it. “It deliv- es and actually had nothing to do with to date, as the discipline of redescrip- ers wholly new statements retrospec- each other. “This example underscores tion mining is still relatively young – tively and generates valuable answers the sheer volume of data you often computer scientists have only been us- to questions that no one had thought have to deal with when you link two ing this method for around 10 years. of at the time,” says Miettinen. datasets,” says Miettinen. There are also only a few groups in the The correlations identified by Siren world working on this subject, even can be very interesting for scientific SIREN DEFINES RULES AND though Siren is decidedly versatile. work. Above all because the software EXCEPTIONS Not only can the program establish presents many “AND”/“OR” links that correlations between two different many other data analysis programs The study was actually supposed to datasets, but it can also find associa- can’t identify with this degree of com- clarify to what extent mammal populations in a single data pool. Program- plexity. Scientists can use Siren to for- tions in Europe might move in re- ming software to enable it to process mulate completely new hypotheses – sponse to global warming. But Siren large volumes of “AND”/“OR” links or for example: “Middle-aged people identified some unconnected correla- negations such as “If x is true, y is im- reject euthanasia.” Such aspects can, in tions that were revealing for biologists possible,” is a challenge, says Miettin- turn, stimulate future scientific studies – on the habitats of moose, for exam- en. “It’s fairly difficult to translate that or surveys. Siren is available to research- ple. As the software discovered, moose into algorithms.” ers of all disciplines and can be down- are found primarily in regions in which However, it is relatively easy to ex- loaded free of charge from siren.mpi- the maximum temperature in February plain how redescription mining pro- inf.mpg.de. lies between -10 and 0 degrees Celsius, grams work. They search for similarities Scientists can feed their data into and in July between 12 and 25 degrees between the objects in a dataset – such the software as easily as with a statistics Celsius. In addition, the rainfall in Au- similarities can be the same answers program. Siren then uncovers numer- gust in these regions is between 57 and given by politicians to certain ques- ous correlations in a matter of minutes. 136 millimeters. However, there are tions, the same level of education or

Photo: MPI for Informatics “Of course, some correlations are trivi- some exceptions to this rule, which Si- marital status, or the same age. The

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 37 Above Siren analyzed whether the habitats of European mammals can be explained by software establishes correlations be- the climatic conditions in the respective region. The purple and red fields show where tween all these aspects. First it selects moose live. The climatic conditions in the purple areas match the expectations of the biologists: maximum temperatures in February between -10 and 0 degrees Celsius, in July simple, so-called weak correlations – for between 12 and 25 degrees Celsius and rainfall in August between 57 and 136 millimeters. example, it classifies people according Moose also live in the red areas even though these don’t meet the criteria. The biggest to whether they are in favor of eutha- surprise to the biologists was their presence in a region of Austria with significantly nasia or reject it. higher temperatures. There are no moose in the blue regions even though the climate fits. These simple associations are then Below This chart shows the same associations for the individual habitats, each repre- complemented by more precise associ- sented by a line. A value of over 0.5 for moose signifies that the species occurs there, and a value below 0.5, that it doesn’t. The average temperatures and volumes of rainfall in ations in the second step – for example, February, July and August have also been assigned relative values. The gray bars define by the question of whether people who the models Siren built in each case. The lines for the individual sites are grouped reject euthanasia have children. In the depending on whether moose are present and on what values are encountered for next step, the software takes age into temperature and precipitation, and are colored accordingly. It doesn’t matter where the account. Step by step, the software adds lines intersect with the left and right edge of the chart. any number of additional links, and in 1.0 this way identifies the objects that have the greatest similarity. These results are then used to generate the universal hypothesis or correlation. 0.8 SEVERAL EXPLANATIONS FOR ONE DATASET

0.6 With redescription mining, the program simultaneously tests how proba- ble or accurate any discovered correla- 0.4 tion is likely to be. As a computer scientist would put it: the software maximizes the “Jaccard coefficient” – a value by which the similarity be- 0.2 tween two so-called support sets can be measured, such as Finnish politicians with certain characteristics. Gerhard Weikum, Director at the 0.0

Max Planck Institute for Informatics Graphics: Pauli Miettinen/MPI for Informatics (2) Moose February July Rainfall in temperature temperature August FOCUS_Big Data

Pauli Miettinen, Sanjar Karaev and Saskia Metzler (from left) discuss how they will be able to refine data mining in the future.

and Head of the Databases and Infor- easy to operate, he says, and can be Users generally work with Siren on their mation Systems Department, regards used for very different questions. In own. In difficult cases, however, Pauli redescription mining as an extremely addition, it’s suitable for both so-called Miettinen adds support – for instance if useful tool when it comes to analyzing confirmatory and exploratory analy- it is unclear whether the data is funda- large volumes of data. The purpose of ses, he says. These differ in that an mentally suitable for reviewing a hy- data mining is generally to find inter- analysis starts either with or without a pothesis. In this way, Siren can show esting patterns in large, multidimen- working hypothesis. many scientific questions in a new light sional databases. “An analyst wanting An example of a confirmatory – and it’s a little reminiscent of the ma- to draw conclusions from it often also analysis was the study of mammal chine from the book The Hitchhiker’s needs an explanation or compact char- populations where it was expected Guide to the Galaxy, which calculates acterization of a pattern,” says Weikum. that climate change will change their for several million years only to spit out “Redescription mining is extremely distribution. In an exploratory analy- the number 42 in response to the ques- useful in such cases because it supplies sis, on the other hand, the software tion of the meaning of life. That is, of not just one explanation for a database tackles a dataset with no preconcep- course, relatively meaningless. The ma- but several.” tions. In that regard, an exploratory chine advises the baffled person to em- Weikum gives an example: A com- analysis with redescription mining is bark on a search for the right question puter program could recognize a pat- essentially a surprise package that can for which the answer “42” makes sense. tern in a database comprising people overturn old hypotheses or conjure up If they had had Siren, they might have who work for a high-tech company, new ones. found the right question. have a long commute every day and

earn a high annual salary of between 100,000 and 300,000 dollars. Rede- scription mining would be able to generate an alternative description of this TO THE POINT group from the data that might look l Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics use a software known as as follows: IT experts who have a uni- Siren to generate new hypotheses from existing data. This method of data analy- versity degree in a technical field, come sis is called redescription mining. from Asia and work in a US metropol- l Using Siren, the researchers analyzed, among other things, the connections between the sociodemographic background and the political attitudes of candidates itan area. in the Finnish parliamentary elections, as well as the climatic conditions prevail- Even if the term redescription mining in the habitats of European land mammals, specifically of moose.

ing sounds unfamiliar and abstract to l The software is available to researchers of all disciplines and can be downloaded non-computer scientists, Pauli Mietti- free of charge from siren.mpi-inf.mpg.de. nen encourages researchers from oth-

Photo: Tom Pingel er disciplines to use the software. It’s

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 39 SPECTRUM

Radio Burst from a Dwarf Galaxy

Astronomers discover the origin of one of these mysterious radio flashes

Astronomers successfully pinpointed the exact location of stars are able to form than is the case in our Milky Way may a “fast radio burst” for the first time. These short-duration provide a clue. Perhaps this burst originated in the collapsed radio flashes have been observed for several years now, but remnant of such a star. (www.mpg.de/10886843) it wasn’t previously known where they come from. An international team working with Laura Spitler from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy has now solved this mystery. To do so, the researchers used a network of radio telescopes to observe not just one, but multiple bursts from a source called FRB 121102. The high angular resolution made it possible to precisely localize the position to within a fraction of an arc second. Using the 8-meter Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, they were then able to identify the radio bursts’ galaxy of origin and, based on its measured spectrum, determine its distance from us – more than three billion light-years. Despite this success, the cause of the radio bursts remains a mystery. However, the fact that FRB 121102 comes from a dwarf galaxy in which much more massive

Artistic representation of the radio telescopes in the European VLBI network (EVN) used to observe the FRB 121102 radio burst.

Virtual Liver Could Reduce Need for Animal Research

Researchers simulate biliary fluid dynamics in the liver to predict drug-induced liver damage

The liver is the central metabolic organ in channels. Then the researchers developed the body and plays a crucial role in detoxi- a 3D model of the bile ducts that can sim- fication, making it particularly prone to ulate the flow properties of bile. The mod- drug-induced damage. This is why animal el enables researchers to investigate liver research is a legal requirement for testing diseases and the effects of drugs on the liv- the liver toxicity of new drugs. The liver er, such as cholestasis – the impairment of produces bile in order to break down lipids bile flow – which frequently occurs with and excrete waste products, and the bile is new active substances. Next, the research- transported to the intestine through a ers aim to adapt the model to reflect the finely branched network of channels. A re- conditions in the human liver. Although search team at the Max Planck Institute for animal research will continue to be neces- Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in sary for the foreseeable future, the model Three-dimensional model of the bile duct Dresden used high-resolution micro- could contribute to reducing the number network that transports bile from the liver to the intestine. The colors indicate the bile’s scopes to examine this network in mice of experiments involving animals. (www.

flow rate (blue: slow; red: fast). and analyze the layout and structure of the mpg.de/11186866) Graphics: Danielle Futselaar (www.artsource.nl) (top); MPI f. Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (bottom)

40 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 SPECTRUM

Speed Dating among Birds

During mating season, male pectoral sandpipers fly across a huge breeding range

Highly elaborate courtship rituals, exhausting fights with rivals, hardly any sleep and also, if they’re lucky, a copulation – a visit to their breeding grounds in the Arc- tic appears to be hardly less strenuous for pectoral sandpipers than the journey there. This is the conclusion scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen reached after they equipped 120 male pectoral sandpipers with small mobile satellite transmitters that come off again by themselves after a time. Accord- ing to the data they obtained in this way, after flying up to 14,000 kilometers from their wintering grounds, these birds often fly thousands of kilometers more through their breeding grounds in the Arctic. Within four weeks, they visit up to 24 potential breeding sites so as not to miss any mating opportunities, and possibly even to mate multiple times. They can do this because they don’t defend any territory and don’t support the females in caring for the offspring. During mating season, the males hardly sleep at all so that they can court the females and fend off their rivals nearly around the clock during the long summer days in the Arctic. In the end, though, only a few males actually succeed in siring off- The mating flight of male pectoral sandpipers – which weigh in at about spring. (www.mpg.de/10888750) 100 grams – is characterized by throat inflation and deep hooting calls.

Early Forestry in the Amazon

Indigenous inhabitants left their mark on the rainforest by domesticating tree species in the pre-Columbian era

Humans have been shaping the Amazon trees are therefore still found in the Am- rainforest much longer than previously azon rainforest more frequently today assumed. As an international team in- than would be expected if humans had cluding Florian Wittmann from the Max not intervened. In addition, they exhib- Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz it fewer genetic variations than occur discovered, the indigenous peoples of when species propagate naturally. The Amazonia began growing and propagat- notion that the vast rainforests were un- ing such plants as the Brazil nut, the ca- touched by human influence before cao tree and the acai palm as far back as the Spanish arrived in South America is 8,000 years ago. These domesticated therefore incorrect. (www.mpg.de/11147178)

Cultivated primeval forest: Humans shaped the flora in the Amazon Basin to a greater extent than was previously thought – for instance with acai palms, as in the Humaitá National Forest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Graphics: Danielle Futselaar (www.artsource.nl) (top); MPI f. Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (bottom) Photos: MPI for Ornithology (top), Carolina Levis (bottom)

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 41 SPECTRUM

A 50,000-Year Connection to Country

DNA analyses show unique attachment of Australian aborigines to their homeland

Australian Aborigines have exceptionally deep roots in their respective regions: the approximately 400 linguistic and regional groups have continuously inhabited the same territory for as many as 50,000 years. A team of researchers, including Wolfgang Haak from the Max Planck Insti- tute for the Science of Human History, used 111 historical hair samples to analyze mitochondrial DNA, which allows tracing of maternal ancestry. The results show that modern Aborigines are the descendants of a single founding population that settled in Australia 50,000 years ago. At that time, the land was still part of the ancient continent of Sahul, which was connected to New Guinea by a land bridge. The rise in sea level later separated Australia and New Guinea, after which the populations spread along the continent’s east and west coasts within 1,500 to 2,000 years. Thereafter, the settlers remained loyal to their regions – even when there were no natural barriers to further migration. The study was conducted as part of the Aborig- inal Heritage Project, which is aimed at helping people Aborigines preserve their traditions through such events as the DanceSite with Aboriginal heritage to trace their regional ancestry. Festival in Alice Springs, Australia. Research can help them answer the (www.mpg.de/11153645 – available only in German) question of just where they come from.

Green Chemistry from the Mussel Foot

The byssal threads are produced by a combination of self-organized and biologically regulated processes

The chemical industry can learn a lot key bioproduction steps proceed au- from the common mussel. Not only is tonomously, that is, without any ac- the mollusk’s mother of pearl remark- tive intervention by the mussel. The ably tough, but the byssal threads only reason the core, the cuticle and with which it clings to the seafloor are the adhesive plaque at the end of a also particularly tear-resistant, and byssal thread are produced at the cor- their ends adhere under water better rect sites is because the mussels se- than any other material. Furthermore, crete the respective starting substanc- the way in which the mussel spins the es in a precisely coordinated fashion complex threads in its foot could serve into the right locations in a fine as a blueprint for an environmentally groove in their foot. This finding could friendly production process for syn- point to a way to use simple technol- thetic composite materials. Scientists ogies to get polymers to arrange them- working with Matt Harrington at the selves into larger structures, largely Max Planck Institute of Colloids and without using heavy-metal catalysts. Interfaces in Potsdam discovered that (www.mpg.de/11091566)

The byssal threads of mussels adhere under water better than any glue from a tube. They are strong,

elastic, hard and self-healing. Photos: Rusty Stewart/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) (top); Science Photo Library/King-Holmes, James (bottom)

42 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 SPECTRUM

Holograms for Biomedicine

Low-energy electron beams can be used to study the three-dimensional Steel with a Bone structure of individual proteins Structure

Biologists will soon have a brand new od enables – unlike standard structur- Microlamellae prevent rapid instrument for surveying the toolbox al biology methods – these biomole- material fatigue of life: electron holography. Scientists cules to be studied in the form in at the University of Zurich and the which they perform their various tasks Max Planck Institute for Solid State Re- in living organisms. Electron holo- Material fatigue can have similarly search in Stuttgart used very low-ener- grams of proteins could thus not only fatal consequences in traffic as when gy electrons to record holograms of improve our understanding of bio- a driver becomes tired. In 1998, for single proteins for the first time, mak- chemical processes, but also facilitate instance, more than 100 people died ing their three-dimensional structure the search for new active substances. when an ICE train derailed in Eschede, visible. This particularly gentle meth- (www.mpg.de/10996153) Germany, because the steel in one of the wheel tires had worn out and cracked. A type of steel that Dirk Ponge and Dierk Raabe developed at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisen forschung in Düsseldorf could help prevent accidents like this. As the researchers have now discovered through an international cooperation, this material, like bones, is made up of microlamellae, so tiny cracks that occur when this steel is The image of the protein albumin (center) is calculated (the bar corresponds to exposed to stress don’t propagate 5 nanometers) from the hologram (left). The holographic image corresponds very well with a simulation (right). very rapidly. As a result, the material doesn’t fail as quickly.

New Biomarkers for Bowel Cancer Treatment

Scientists can predict in the lab how an anti-tumor drug will affect cancer cells

Bowel cancer is the third most com- individually based on tumor type. mon form of cancer in the world, First, the researchers essentially com- with most cases affecting the colon piled a molecular fingerprint of all the 20 µm and rectum. There are many different tumor groups. Then they tested how subgroups of these so-called colorec- the tumors respond to various treat- tal carcinomas, and the effectiveness ments, and in this way, linked a tu- Tiny lamellae reduce the rate at which a new type of steel fails. of the available drugs varies – there is mor’s fingerprint to its response to Red and green indicate different no one drug that works for every pa- various active substances. Among crystal structures. tient. A public-private consortium other things, the research team dis- that also includes researchers from covered molecules that can predict the Max Planck Institute for Molecu- the effectiveness of the chemothera- lar Genetics in Berlin identified bio- py drug 5FU and Cetuximab – two markers that may soon make it possi- drugs commonly used to treat this Photos: Rusty Stewart/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) (top); Science Photo Library/King-Holmes, James (bottom) Photos: Jean-Nicolas Longchamp/University of Zurich (top), M. Wang, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH (bottom) ble to treat colorectal cancer patients disease. (www.mpg.de/11044397)

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 43 SPECTRUM

Most People Don’t Want to Know Their Future

Learning what the future holds, good or bad, is not appealing to most

Want to know what the future holds? Most people would rather not. They prefer to remain uncertain about what life has in store for them, even if the news is positive. That’s what scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Granada determined after surveying more than 2,000 adults in Germany and Spain. Only 1 percent of participants consistently wanted to know what the future held. In contrast, 86 to 90 percent would not want to be informed about upcoming negative events, such as the failure of their marriage or the death of their partner. In addition, 40 to 77 percent preferred to remain ignorant of upcoming positive events, such as their soccer team’s victory or Christmas presents. Researchers call this phenomenon deliberate ignorance. It stands in contradiction to the established knowledge that humans basically strive for certainty and accrual of information. Gerd Gigerenzer, the study’s lead author, explains deliberate ignorance with the widespread fear of bad news and with the desire to maintain the enjoyment of suspense that pleasur- able events provide. (www.mpg.de/11070648)

In Greek mythology, seeress Cassandra’s knowledge of the future becomes a curse. Today, that is precisely why most people prefer not to know what the future holds in store for them.

Dark Matter Not Found

Milky Way systems in the early universe consist mainly of gas and stars

22 kpc A new set of observations of galaxies in tral imaging to observe several hun- the early universe shows that these dred massive, star-forming galaxies in galaxies are completely dominated by the early universe. This technique en- “normal” matter. A team of researchers abled the researchers to determine the working with Reinhard Genzel from rotation curves of the galaxies, which the Max Planck Institute for Extrater- in turn provide valuable information restrial Physics found that dark matter about the distribution of both baryon- 10 kpc evidently plays a much smaller role ic (normal) and dark mass at the peak there than in star systems in today’s of cosmic galaxy formation, 10 billion galaxies. The astronomers used spec- years ago. They found that the rotation velocities of the stars in the outer regions of the galaxies decrease, which Galaxies in focus: For each of the three speaks against the existence of an in- galaxies, the right column shows a veloci- visible mass. Furthermore, the star ty map. All galaxies show a clear rotation disks appear to be thicker and more tur- pattern, with blue areas moving toward bulent than those in today’s galaxies. 27 kpc the observer and red areas moving away

from the observer. (www.mpg.de/11170451) Photos: Flickr/Internet Archive Book Images/public domain (top), MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics (bottom)

44 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 SPECTRUM

A Connection to Others’ Thoughts

Researchers discover brain structure that helps us understand others

At about the age of four, a child’s brain think about other people and their undergoes an important change: it be- thoughts. The second region is an area gins to understand that others have in the frontal lobe of the cerebrum different thoughts than its own. It can that is involved in keeping things at now do what a three-year-old can’t: different levels of abstraction, thus put itself in someone else’s shoes. Ac- helping us distinguish between reality cording to scientists at the Max Planck and someone else’s thoughts. Only Institute for Human Cognitive and when these two brain regions are con- Brain Sciences in Leipzig, this mile- nected by the arcuate fasciculus can stone in brain development is tied to children start to understand what oth- the formation of a neural connection, ers think. (www.mpg.de/11182982) the arcuate fasciculus. This bundle of nerve cell processes forms a link be- Beginning at age four, the arcuate fasciculus tween two brain regions: one is locat- (green) forms a link between a region at the ed at the back of the temporal lobe of back of the temporal lobe (yellow) and a region the cerebrum and helps the adult brain in the frontal lobe of the cerebrum (red).

Growth despite Fasting Older but Bolder

A new diet developed for fruit flies improves development A study conducted at the Max Planck Institute and fecundity without decreasing lifespan for Human Development has shown that, contrary to popular belief, older people take greater risks in certain situations than younger There are many recommendations for living a long and healthy life, people. In the study, participants had to one of which is to eat less. But that can have unpleasant consequenc- choose between two options, each of which es: flies and mice that were put on a diet, for example, displayed slow- offered a different probability of winning or er development and lower fecundity. So a nutrition plan was sought losing a larger or smaller sum of money. In that would provide the positive effects of a diet but without its nega- each case, they knew their chances of success. tive side effects. A research group at the Max Planck Institute for Biol- Ultimately, the older participants were more ogy of Ageing has now developed a diet for fruit flies and mice based likely than the younger ones to choose the on the organisms’ own amino acid profiles. Flies fed this diet had a low- riskier option – because they were more opti- er calorie intake than flies fed a standard diet, and they lived just mistic in their assessments of the possibility

Photos: MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (top), MPI for Biology of Ageing/Grönke (bottom) as long. Despite being on a diet, they develop faster, grow bigger in of winning and were thus more daring in their size and lay more eggs. The re- choices. The findings suggest that age differ- searchers therefore suspect that ences in risk-taking behavior are strongly in- a diet precisely tailored to our fluenced by situation. Previous studies gener- amino acid profile would have ally investigated the choice between a safe a positive effect on human and a risky option and thus reached a different health. (www.mpg.de/11160115) conclusion. The current study also showed that older participants made worse decisions In nature, the fruit fly Drosophila than younger ones: they were less likely to melanogaster feeds on ripe fruit. choose the option with the higher expected When fed a diet that precisely monetary return, presumably because of their reflects the composition of amino decreasing ability to process information and acids in their bodies, the flies became sated more quickly, but solve problems as quickly as younger people.

Photos: Flickr/Internet Archive Book Images/public domain (top), MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics (bottom) still grew faster. (www.mpg.de/11155381)

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 45 From England to Germany via France and the US: Microbiologist Ruth Ley has not only worked on a diverse array of bacteria over the course of her career, she has also encountered a cultural difference or two between various countries.

46 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 BIOLOGY & MEDICINE_Personal Portrait

Exploring the Microbial Cosmos

The human body is home to countless microbes. The intestinal tract, in particular, is colonized by innumerable bacteria. As a young environmental microbiologist, Ruth Ley never imagined that she would one day find herself interested in the human gut and the microbiota that reside in it. Today she conducts research at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, investigating the role the countless intestinal bacteria play in our health.

TEXT CORNELIA STOLZE

he different stages of her ca- for instance, on these tours of the her PhD at the University of Colorado, reer read like a travel agen- Rocky Mountains. I’m an awful skier,” she often had to don leather mountain cy’s top exclusive nature and says Ley, and laughs. It was her scien- boots and Telemark skis and trudge adventure destinations: A se- tific interest in ecology that led her to across snowy, windswept slopes at sub- mester on Mo’orea, a small remote corners of the globe. zero temperatures to reach altitudes of tropicalT island in the South Pacific She has studied the biology of the up to 3,700 meters before heading off near Tahiti; several weeks on Guade- reef at Mo’orea, where the University of back home across country. “And all loupe in the Caribbean; three years out California, Berkeley maintains a re- that effort just to collect samples of and about in Hawaii’s national parks. search station, caught lizards for a proj- sand and gravel up there for our re- Next, a longer stay in Boulder, Colora- ect on Guadeloupe, investigated Ha- search,” adds Ley with a grin. do with regular high-alpine skiing and waii’s ecosystem ecology and analyzed An unusual project indeed. Especial- trekking in the Rocky Mountains. the microbial diversity of Mexico’s salt ly for a biologist whose focus, after Then on to an excursion to Mexico’s flats. “At that time I would have gone studying at the University of Califor- salt flats thanks to a NASA Fellowship anywhere for an interesting project – nia, Berkeley, had turned to the inter- and – as the icing on the cake – a sev- what I cared about most was working actions of living organisms with their eral-week Antarctic expedition. with people I could learn from,” says environment and to the investigation Ruth Ley, who has been a Director Ley. Little things like heat or cold have of microbes and their complex commu- at the Max Planck Institute for Devel- never put her off doing her research. nities. According to many scientists at opmental Biology since mid-2016, has English by birth, she learned to adapt the time, the ground in which Ley took seen a good bit of the world. Her pas- to new challenges at an early age and measurements and samples in summer sion for travel, however, has nothing to not to be easily deterred by obstacles. and winter alike was lifeless at extreme do with a jet-set lifestyle or a fondness She became a backcountry skier, for altitudes like those above the tree line for extreme sports. “To be honest, I instance, when her job as a biologist re- in the Rocky Mountains. It was widely

Photo: Jörg Abendroth/derphotograph.de should have been the last person to go, quired such skills. While working on believed that neither bacteria nor oth-

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 47 BIOLOGIE & MEDIZIN_Zur Person

Bacteria have colonized nearly every habitat on Earth. Ruth Ley visited some of them on her research expeditions. Above The scientist in one of Antarctica’s Dry Valleys. Right A piece of a bacterial mat from Mexico.

er microbes could survive the inhospi- snow, ammonia was being oxidized to she searched her soil samples for traces table conditions of frosty winters in form nitrate. Her previous scientific in- of bacteria and other kinds of life. sand or gravel under as much as 10 me- vestigations of Hawaiian soils had Success wasn’t long in coming. ters of snow. taught her that such a thing was possi- Thanks to her treks through snow and Ley’s research soon showed that this ble only if certain microbes were pres- ice, Ley was able to prove that high-al- was incorrect. She discovered that such ent. That’s why Ley went to the trouble pine soils aren’t lifeless at all; rather, regions did indeed present signs of life. of setting up her measuring equipment they are the permanent habitat of nu- Measurements showed that, some- between the sand and snow high up in merous species of bacteria. For her doc-

where between the ground and the the mountains. Back in the laboratory, toral thesis, she identified microbes Photos: Private collection (2)

48 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 BIOLOGY & MEDICINE_Personal Portrait

The decision to conduct research at a medical faculty » was one of the best I ever made in my career.

that, protected from cold by the thick thing that made her stand out (she had microbes that, numbering in the mil- snow cover, are also active in winter – continued to speak English with her lions, colonize the human body as per- thus contradicting some of the theories parents through the years). She was also manent inhabitants of the skin and di- held by geologists. confronted with differing status sym- gestive tract. One thing we can already bols and eating habits. A small exam- say for sure is that microbiome research RAISED WITH CULTURAL ple? Ruth Ley thinks for a moment. is shedding new light on unexpected DIFFERENCES “Baguette and Camembert would be relationships that control our bodies. one. In Paris that’s a simple lunch for Ley’s courage in challenging old certain- normal working people. In California it UNKNOWN LODGERS ties and exploring new territory isn’t has the aura – who knows why – of a surprising. At the age of six. she moved high-society lunch.” Together with other researchers, Ley with her parents and two sisters from She made similar observations at was able to show for the first time that Surrey in the UK to Paris. Her father was school. In France you addressed your the human microbiome is much more an engineer and had been offered an at- teachers quite naturally using the po- than just a collection of stowaways that tractive post there. That left the daugh- lite vous form, or as monsieur or ma- help break down food into usable com- ters little choice but to rapidly adapt to dame. In the US, students and teachers, ponents. In fact, the myriad microor- the new environment and learn the un- so it appeared at first glance, were sud- ganisms in the intestines play a crucial familiar language as quickly as possible. denly on the same level. Everyone used role in our health and contribute, for Seven years later came the next the egalitarian English “you,” and instance, to obesity, diabetes and change. Ley, now 13 years old, had teachers were simply “Bob” or “Jane.” chronic autoimmune disorders. Medi- grown to feel very much at home in her But Ley quickly realized that appear- cations, in turn, can have deleterious new country, and spoke only French ances could be deceptive. Despite the effects on the microbiome. with her friends and sisters. Once again, seemingly more relaxed rules, Ameri- The individual intestinal microbio- the move was due to her father’s job. can kids had, to her amazement, much ta each of us possesses depends on This time it was to another continent – more respect for authority in school. where we have been in life, as we don’t from Europe to Palo Alto in California’s “In Paris, kids made off with anything pick up microbes until we are born. Be- Silicon Valley. Again she discovered that that wasn’t nailed down. I never expe- fore then, our intestines are thought to both school and everyday life followed rienced that in California.” be sterile. The first bacterial species to completely different rules than before. Without doubt, such radical and op- populate the intestines come from a “It was difficult adjusting,” Ley re- posing cultural habits take some get- newborn’s immediate environment calls. “France and the US are culturally ting used to. But experiencing early on and are composed of maternal vaginal, very different.” Once more, she and her in life that it’s worth being open to new gut and skin bacteria. Little by little, sisters had to learn new daily “codes” ideas and examining things carefully other species of bacteria from the envi- of behavior. Things that were normal stands you in good stead for a life pio- ronment are added. The microbiome’s and common in one country, Ley dis- neering a completely new scientific dis- community composition at any given covered, were considered snobby and cipline. Ruth Ley is now in the van- time depends primarily on our diet, but elitist in another – and vice versa. Ley’s guard of a field of research that has also on many other factors. This means British accent, which to the ears of her been expanding at a breathtaking pace the microbiome of each individual, American schoolmates initially made over the last few years. Her aim is to de- each family and each human popula- her sound pretentious, was the first code the microbiome: the collection of tion can have a distinct composition.

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 49 In Tübingen, Ruth Ley aims to investi- advances have been critical. First, the gate how genes, the immune system and composition of the intestinal microbi- environmental factors affect the human ome can now be determined using microbiome. The intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli (right) is an infrequent molecular biology methods, eliminat- member of this bacterial community. ing the need to culture the bacteria in Most strains are harmless, but some can the laboratory. In addition, modern se- also trigger infectious diseases. quencing techniques now enable us to rapidly decode the genetic composition of microbes, and computer analysis of data has accelerated tremen- dously.

USING MICE WITH NO INTESTINAL FLORA AS A MODEL

In the early 2000s, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis Medical care also plays an important “Essentially, we’ve known for a long (USA) working with clinician Jeffrey role in our intestinal microbiota. After time that certain bacteria in the human Gordon investigated the link between only one week of antibiotics, for exam- intestinal tract are very important for obesity and gut bacteria using germ- ple, the composition and activity of the the body,” explains Ley. “Despite this, free mice. Raised from birth in a bacte- microorganisms alters dramatically. we knew very little about most of them ria-free environment, these animals Dozens of species may disappear and until the early 2000s.” The reason was have no intestinal microbiota of their others take their place. Measurements that most of these microscopically own. This makes them an ideal model show that many of the approximately small organisms couldn’t be investigat- for elucidating the influence of specif- 2,000 chemical metabolic products ed in the lab, as we weren’t yet able to ic members of the microbiome on commonly found in feces – a sort of fin- grow them in culture dishes using arti- health. With microbiota-free mice, sci- gerprint for bacterial activity – change ficial nutrient media. entists are able not only to precisely temporarily in concentration following “But microbiome research has ex- control the type of food they are given,

antibiotic ingestion. ploded since 2004,” says Ley. Several but also to administer selected intesti- Photo: Jörg Abendroth/derphotograph.de (top), Jürgen Berger/MPI for Developmental Biology

50 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 BIOLOGY & MEDICINE_Personal Portrait

Number of various types of microorganisms: 1000 on the skin 600 in the mouth, throat and respiratory tract 25 in the stomach

500–1000 in the small and large intestines

Humans offer microorganisms a 60 home in a variety of organs, including in the rectum the respiratory tract, the skin and the gastrointestinal tract.

nal bacteria to test the effects of the mi- the process of applying techniques possess no intestinal bacteria of their crobes and of differing diets on individ- from Ley’s specialty field – environ- own normally have extremely little ual functions of the body. mental microbiology – to research into body fat. That changed abruptly when Just when Gordon’s team started to the microbes of the human digestive they were colonized by gut microbiota. sequence the genome of gut bacteria, tract. Ley therefore left him a message Even though the mice ate no more food Ley joined the team. It was a decision one day asking if he needed a microbi- than before, their fat stores grew. that proved fortuitous for a number of al ecologist. After visiting and inter- Shortly afterwards, Ley was able to people. Ley had already met a research viewing with Gordon and his group, demonstrate another connection be- colleague who would go on to become she joined as a postdoc in fall 2004. tween microbes and body weight in a her life partner. Lars Angenent, a suc- clinical weight-loss study involving 12 cessful Dutch bioprocess engineer, had MICROBIOME MIXTURE AFFECTS obese individuals. The results showed been working at the same university as BODY WEIGHT that, similar to mice, obese and nor- Ley in Boulder. Soon afterwards, how- mal-weight people can have different ever, he was offered a position as an as- A short time later, Gordon’s team pub- mixtures of bacteria in their intestinal sistant professor at Washington Uni- lished a groundbreaking paper. For the tract. The most marked difference was versity in St. Louis, while Ley stayed first time in medical history, the scien- in the proportion of the two most on at the University of Colorado. The tists were able to show that – contrary common representatives of intestinal couple traveled back and forth be- to long-held belief – our body weight bacteria, the Firmicutes and Bacteroide- tween the two cities for several years – is by no means solely dependent on tes phyla. Obese individuals enrolled and for much of that time with no how much we eat and how much en- in this study, Ley found, had signifi- prospects of ever being able to live in ergy we expend through exercise. A cantly more Firmicutes and fewer Bac- the same place. third factor, the microbial composition teroidetes than normal-weight people, Then they had a sudden stroke of of our intestines, is involved. and their microbiomes came to resem- fortune. Ley discovered that Gordon’s The researchers employed an ele- ble those of the lean controls more as team in the medical faculty of Wash- gant trick to prove this. They trans- they lost weight. ington University offered the perfect ferred the intestinal microbiome of Gordon’s team then went one step working environment for somebody conventionally raised laboratory mice further. This time they transferred in- with precisely her expertise. Not only to germ-free mice. Despite having un- testinal microbiomes from normal- was Gordon’s laboratory large and suc- limited access to food, the animals that weight and from genetically obese lab-

Graphic: Science Photo Library cessful; he and his colleagues were in are kept in sterile conditions and that oratory mice into germ-free mice. The

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 51 BIOLOGY & MEDICINE_Personal Portrait

THE BEST VOGEL CONVENTION CENTER BACKDROP IS WÜRZBURG’S INNOVATIVE EVENT LOCATION

Left Bacteria are essential for effective digestion: More than half of human feces consists of excreted intestinal bacteria. Above The composition of the bacterial community also affects body weight: Obese mice have more Firmicutes bacteria than Bacteroidetes; this relationship is reversed in animals with a normal body weight.

results were clear: mice that had been of the variation in the microbiome is biome research program over the next germ-free and had been given a micro- due to our genes. few years. She is currently also expand- biome from obese rodents became fat- Last but not least, Ley’s crossover to ing her laboratories as well as forming ter than those that received microbi- biomedical research had another fruit- new joint research teams involving the omes from lean donors. ful outcome for her and Angenent, who Institute and the Faculty of Medicine at The result electrified the whole is now her husband. Since their time in the University of Tübingen. team. For the first time, researchers had St. Louis, the two researchers have not One special focus of her future re- been able to demonstrate that a pro- only started a family – their son is now search will be performing large-scale pensity for obesity could be transferred 10 years old – Ley and Angenent have studies to sample microbes from the in- from one animal to another – simply since also succeeded in planning their testines of individuals from different Where once printing presses churned noisily, advanced acoustic wall by manipulating the mixture of the mi- career moves from post to post togeth- backgrounds. Using these samples, she crobiome in their gut. “It was one of er. In 2008, Ley moved with her hus- aims to investigate what effects genes, systems and silent air conditioning now ensure that even the finest notes those ‘Oh my God!’ moments. We were band and son to Ithaca, New York, the immune system and environmen- can unfold their magic to full effect. Against a backdrop of spacious absolutely elated,” Gordon told a re- where they continued their work at Cor- tal factors have on human intestinal porter. Ley, too, found her time in Gor- nell University. In 2013 she became an microbiota. As Angenent has taken up industrial architecture, you can take advantage of more than 4,000 square don’s team to be a particularly inspir- associate professor in the Department of a position as a Humboldt Professor in metres of event space to mount even the most spectacular of concepts, ing experience: “I never thought I Molecular Biology and Genetics. the Department of Geoscience at the would be applying for a job at a medi- At the Max Planck Institute in Tübin- University of Tübingen, their shared turning our VCC into an amazing changing stage that opens up cal faculty, but that decision was one of gen, Ley plans to establish a new micro- life as researchers can now continue. the best I ever made in my career.” undreamt-of possibilities.

FAMILY AND CAREER Let your imagination run free and contact us. GLOSSARY Among other things, the large number We will be happy to assist you at any time. of groundbreaking papers she has pub- Microbiome: The totality of all microorganisms that inhabit a living organism. Humans, for instance, are home to 10 times more microbes than their bodies possess cells. lished in the last few years testifies to It is estimated that each of us is inhabited by approximately 100 trillion bacteria. Most this. She discovered, for instance, that of these live in the intestines, but we also have lodgers on our skin, in the oral and nasal the intestinal microbiota changes dras- cavities, and on our sex organs. There is frequently a symbiosis between humans and tically during pregnancy, which im- microbes, benefiting both. Some bacteria, however, are only “table companions”, nei- pacts the mother’s metabolism and ther harming nor helping. thus ensures the optimal provision of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes: Two phyla of bacteria, usually with differing cell wall struc- nutrients to the fetus. Just as signifi- tures. Firmicute bacteria convert fiber into short-chain fatty acids that the body can absorb. The Bacteroidetes phylum, in contrast, breaks down complex polysaccharides. cantly, Ley worked on identifying hu- Together they account for the majority of the intestinal microbiota. man genetic determinants of the mi-

crobiome – in other words, how much Photo: Science Photo Library/Gschmeissner, Steve; graphic: MPG

52 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17

VCC_AZ_englisch.indd 1 15.03.17 10:55 THE BEST VOGEL CONVENTION CENTER BACKDROP IS WÜRZBURG’S INNOVATIVE EVENT LOCATION

Where once printing presses churned noisily, advanced acoustic wall systems and silent air conditioning now ensure that even the finest notes can unfold their magic to full effect. Against a backdrop of spacious industrial architecture, you can take advantage of more than 4,000 square metres of event space to mount even the most spectacular of concepts, turning our VCC into an amazing changing stage that opens up undreamt-of possibilities.

Let your imagination run free and contact us. We will be happy to assist you at any time.

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 53

VCC_AZ_englisch.indd 1 15.03.17 10:55 Live View of the Focus of Disease

Doctors and patients can thank magnetic resonance imaging – and not least Jens Frahm – for the fact that many diseases can now be diagnosed far more effectively than they could 30 years ago. The research carried out by the director of the Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH (non-profit) at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen has greatly simplified the process of capturing images of the body’s interior. Now the team from Göttingen wants to bring those images to life. MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGY_Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Singing lessons: The FLASH II technique can follow the tongue movements of a singer. It also facilitates the diagnosis of speech disorders.

TEXT ROLAND WENGENMAYR

hen you’re lying in the a single image. Only then did MRI re- the key advantage that it doesn’t ex- tunnel of a magnetic res- ally take off, and today there are more pose the body to harmful radiation. Be- onance imaging (MRI) than 30,000 scanners in the world that cause tissues have a high water content, scanner, you can be perform 100 million examinations a the MRI method works with signals thankful that the exam- year. This breakthrough allows today’s from water, or more precisely, from the inationW will take only a few minutes clinicians to study all body organs nuclei of hydrogen atoms – the pro- rather than hours (despite the images within a relatively short time and in tons. This makes it possible to distin- being taken from a multitude of angles three dimensions. Technical variants guish between various tissues, such as and with different contrasts). This im- even use chemical information from bones, muscles and organs, based on provement was achieved in the 1980s the MRI signal to gain insights into differences in their water content and by scientists at the Max Planck Institute metabolic processes in tissues and thus internal structure. By contrast, it took for Biophysical Chemistry. The first further improve our understanding of a protracted period of development be- generation of these devices, which brain diseases and other disorders. fore X-rays, the first imaging process in peered inside the human body without the history of medicine, could show the use of harmful radiation, took sev- KEEN INTEREST IN THE FATES not only bones but also soft tissues – al- eral minutes to produce a single image. OF FELLOW HUMANS beit often only with the help of con- Worse still, to get sharp images, the pa- trast agents. Nevertheless, the first im- tient had to lie motionless throughout For some years now, the team has been aging technique was such a major the procedure. teaching MRI how to move: their re- advance that Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen This period generally calls to mind al-time image series deliver live videos was awarded the Nobel Prize for Phys- the early years of photography, when of the body and its organs as they ics for his discovery of X-radiation in people had to hold very still for a long move. These series can follow the beat- 1901. Even back then it opened up new time to get a sharp image. However, ing heart and swallowing and speak- avenues of research, and that is precise- photographic technology advanced ing processes, and even tongue move- ly what Jens Frahm also hopes to rapidly, and eventually gave birth to ments while a subject is playing a brass achieve today through his research into motion picture films. Today, MRI is instrument. These are just some as- magnetic resonance imaging. following a similar path toward mov- pects of Frahm’s research. The physi- Actually, the director of Biomedi ing images. And Jens Frahm, along cist combines a warm-hearted interest zinische NMR Forschungs GmbH at the with his staff, have been vigorously ad- in the fates of fellow humans with a Max Planck Institute for Biophysical vancing that development for more fascination for medical technology, Chemistry has already reached the re- than three decades now. and he has devoted his entire scientif- tirement age for professors. “I’m now A key discovery by the Göttin- ic career to its advancement. in the extension phase,” he jokes, re- gen-based researchers was the FLASH Magnetic resonance imaging in its ferring to the fact that the Max Planck technique in 1985, which drastically present clinical form still isn’t a really Society has enabled him to continue

Photo: Jens Frahm/MPI for Biophysical Chemistry shortened the time needed to acquire fast imaging method. However, it has his work for the next three years. >

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 55 200 Above We have Jens Frahm and his colleagues to thank for the fact that MRI scans can now ] 150 100 -1 be performed relatively quickly. 100 Left Real-time MRI can be used to measure ] 80 -1 how fast blood is flowing through the aorta. 50 The velocity profile for a cross-section of 60 the aorta (x and y axes) just above the heart Velocity [cm s 0 shows how well the aortic valve is function- 40 ing. With a healthy valve (left), blood flows -50 Velocity [cm s fastest in the center of the vessel (red). 20 If the valve doesn’t open correctly (right), 5 blood flows more slowly or even backwards 0 25 10 in the center of the vessel (blue), but at 30 20 30 15 higher speeds along the vessel wall, putting 15 y [pixels] 30 20 5 great strain on it. 30 10 15 10 25 20 30 5 25 y [pixels] 30 x [pixels] x [pixels]

In doing so, they are lending sup- team in Göttingen accelerated exam- man responsible for the case, Bernhard port to a scientist who was admitted to inations with MRI scanners by a factor Hertel, waged a seven-year suit against the “Hall of Fame of German Research” of one hundred. It was only to be ex- pirate equipment manufacturers. Frahm in 2016 and who has garnered numer- pected that every medical manufactur- had to explain the technical details of ous awards. Frahm was also instrumen- er wanted to use the method: General the FLASH technique to his own law- tal in giving the Max Planck Society the Electric, Philips, Siemens and others yers. “For me as a scientist it was fasci- most lucrative patent in its history. But immediately jumped on the bandwag- nating to watch the whole spectacle,” before the licensing fees for the patent on. Then the plot thickened: some Frahm says with a grin. The opposing began to flow in, there was a bitter pat- companies used the technology devel- parties marshalled dozens of lawyers. ent battle surrounding the FLASH tech- oped by Frahm’s team happily enough, “They even worked with forged docu- nique, which Frahm fought with steely but then refused to recognize the ments,” the physicist says, “and re- resolve – something you wouldn’t im- team’s patent and pay licensing fees to tained a Nobel laureate in chemistry as mediately attribute to him from his the Max Planck Society. a scientific expert.” But he wasn’t fa- pleasant and friendly manner. Fortunately, Frahm had the sup- miliar with the various types of mag- The discovery of the FLASH tech- port of the patent experts at today’s netic resonance technology, and that

nique in the mid-1980s by Jens Frahm’s Max Planck Innovation GmbH. The was central to the matter. In the end, Photo: Frank Vinken; graphic: Jens Frahm/MPI for Biophysical Chemistry

56 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGY_Magnetic Resonance Imaging

the Max Planck Society was victorious. tecting the signals. To put it simply, thus allowed for a second trick that re- By the time the final verdict was issued the key information lies in the signal ally speeded things up. The new tech- in 1993, the process had cost three frequency and the signal duration, nique excites only a small portion of million deutschmarks – but licensing known as the relaxation time. Both are the protons and leaves most of them fees from the FLASH patent, on the influenced by the protons’ immediate untouched, so that the next measure- other hand, have brought the Max environment, namely the local prop- ment can be taken immediately. “Ac- Planck Society a total of 155 million erties of the tissue. An MRI scanner cording to the state of the art in 1985, euros. To top things off, Frahm’s re- uses the frequency to compute an im- we were doing two things wrong,” search has produced other patents that age, and the relaxation time to differ- Frahm says wryly. But it is for precisely have also generated millions of euros. entiate tissues of various kinds. that reason that FLASH produced im To understand why FLASH was ages in just a hundredth of the time such a breakthrough, it’s important to ONE IMAGE FROM MANY originally needed. understand the basic principle of mag- INDIVIDUAL MEASUREMENTS Since then, the team in Göttingen netic resonance imaging. The signals has even refined its technique to the are emitted directly from water pro- The MRI signal gets strongest when all point that MRI is now on the thresh- tons, which are present in tissues in protons are excited at once – at least old of being able to make the leap from various concentrations. When ex- that was the credo in the early years of stills to motion pictures. Although dy- posed to a strong magnetic field, pro- MRI. It is also necessary to build up a namic MRI sequences have been used tons behave like tiny magnets that are single image by taking a large number in clinical practice for some time, they aligned like compass needles. An MRI of measurements. The problem is that can capture only periodic processes, scanner produces such a field with the protons that are used during a mea- such as the beating heart. Currently, help of a wide-bore magnet, which is surement take a relatively long time to such films have to be assembled from the tunnel in which the patient is ex- return to their home position. This measurements that can take several amined. The aligned protons may be means long waiting periods between minutes to produce. For examinations excited by a short radiofrequency pulse the many measurements. of the heart, the MRI data is synchro- that causes them to send a radiofre- The scientists in Göttingen by- nized with a simultaneously recorded quency signal themselves when grad- passed this problem with the help of electrocardiogram (EKG). This trick en- ually returning to their original state two tricks. The generally established ables a computer to correctly assign of equilibrium. A radiofrequency an- method at the time used two radiofre- each image to a corresponding phase tenna, which can be placed, for in- quency pulses followed by an echo sig- of the heartbeat in the finished video. stance, on the upper body to examine nal. In a first step, FLASH reduced the Because MRI and EKG can interfere the chest, is then responsible for de- measurement to just one pulse and with each other, the technique is prone

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 57 MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGY_Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The bottleneck on the path to real-time MRI was the need for many » different measurements to compute a single image.

to errors. Moreover, patients must usu- of number crunching needed to com- Using this trick, Frahm’s team reduced ally hold their breath to ensure that pute an image from little data. A com- the amount of data required for each the image isn’t corrupted by respirato- puter must convert MRI measurements image to just a few percent of what it ry motions. into a high-resolution video in re- was. Nevertheless, the MRI video im- The real-time MRI technique now al-time, meaning without any appre- ages are sharp and clear. Two doctoral developed by Frahm’s team dispenses ciable delay. students at the time, Martin Uecker, with such time-consuming procedures now a professor at the University Med- and discomforts. It delivers live video RESEARCHERS USE A TRICK TO ical Center Göttingen, and Shuo images of the body’s interior – without SHORTEN THE COMPUTING TIME Zhang, who now works at Philips in the need for EKG and with patients Singapore, played a key role in the de- breathing freely during the examina- The method used for dealing with velopment. tion. Thanks to the refined form of the scant data is distantly related to a tech- Frahm and two colleagues demon- FLASH technique, the Göttingen team nique used for fast video transmis- strated just how well the FLASH II tech- can acquire live body films at 30, 55 sions. Algorithms analyze only those nique works in the basement of the In- and, in extreme cases, as many as 100 sections of the image in a sequence stitute, where an MRI scanner of the frames per second. that have changed from the previous type used in hospitals is installed. Dirk The bottleneck on the path to re- image, and only those changes are Voit, who is also a physicist at the Göt- al-time MRI was the need for many dif- transmitted, dramatically reducing the tingen-based Institute, guides a doctor- ferent measurements to compute a sin- volume of data needed. The scientists al student into the tunnel. We then gle high-quality image. Now there is a in Göttingen are pursuing a similar withdraw to the control room. Voit simple solution: the new FLASH-based strategy. The computer keeps any in- launches the program with a few mouse technique creates images from only formation from the previous images clicks. In the shielded room behind the very few measurements, which more- that hasn’t changed, and for each window, the MRI machine springs audi- over can be recorded much faster. The frame, computes only those parts of bly to life – and then the first images of

price to be paid is the staggering amount the image that have changed. our subject’s torso form on the display. Photos: sarah-willis.com

58 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 “First, we’ll do cross-sectional images and examine the heart,” Frahm explains, pointing to the display. After making a few adjustments, Frahm is satisfied: “We now have a four-chamber view that cuts right across the long axis of the heart, as it were. Even a lay- person can immediately make out the four pumping heart chambers and also the flowing, eddying blood.” As the live transmission of the beating heart runs, Jens Frahm explains exactly how FLASH II technology represents a huge advance over conventional EKG-synchronized MRI. “Did you know that the heart actually must not beat with a perfectly regular rhythm?” he asks. “If it did, it would lead to mechanical problems, and the heart would never be able to continue working for a lifetime. Each heartbeat is a little shorter or a little longer than the previous one, and that is already at odds with what is required for conventional EKG-synchronized MRI of the heart,” he explains. The heart would have to operate like a machine to march in time with the technical synchronization. “Of course, that’s not the case in patients with cardiac ar- rhythmias,” Frahm says, “and it is precisely those patients who doctors want Above Jens Frahm’s team is pursuing a number of ideas to further refine MRI, including to examine.” real-time videos of the body’s interior. Here, the researchers are discussing a suggestion by Zhengguo Tan. A LITTLE PINEAPPLE JUICE AS Below Sarah Willis, horn player in the Berlin Philharmonic, is one of the musicians whose A CONTRAST MEDIUM tongue movements Peter Iltis (far left image), professor at Gordon College in Massachu- setts, is analyzing with real-time MRI. For this purpose, Willis is lying in the MRI scanner while blowing through a tube into a horn made of a nonmagnetic alloy (link to a video of That’s why hospitals are showing in-

Photos: Frank Vinken (top); sarah-willis .com (bottom) the project: http://sarah-willis.com/episodes/15-music-and-science/). creasing interest in the real-time MRI from Göttingen. Manufacturers of MRI scanners, however, are still wary. After all, every new technology requires cost- ly clinical testing and certifications. Nevertheless, Jens Frahm and his colleagues have joined forces with the University Medical Center Göttingen to apply the FLASH II technique to help the first patients, such as patients with swallowing disorders. With a little pineapple juice as a contrast medium, the live videos show what goes wrong when those patients try to swallow or when they suffer from reflux. >

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Tissue maps of the chest: How quickly the water protons return to their equilibrium after being excited with a radiofrequency pulse depends on the T1 relaxation time, which is characteristic for the tissue type. These T1 maps of the chest show the base, the middle and the apex of the heart in its relaxed state. The almost perfectly round wall of the left cardiac chamber is shown in light green, and the blood in the chamber, in red. Skeletal muscle appears green, the liver blue-green and fatty tissue blue.

Professional players of brass instru- video showed that the placement of the ing project. They are studying how suit- ments who find they can no longer musician’s tongue was completely dif- able visual feedback is for coaching play properly due to tongue cramps ferent from that of other horn players. patients with speech disorders, as well have a similar problem. The scientists He was, however, unable to simply as for brass players with tongue cramps. discovered somewhat serendipitously change it. Frahm’s team therefore came For decades, Jens Frahm has been that FLASH II can also help them. up with the idea of showing him his driven by the possibility of helping peo- During a research project, Frahm’s team live MRI video stream in real-time as he ple in a direct and practical manner ge recorded the playing technique of pro- was playing. “The visual control was so through basic research. Now he is intent fessional brass players to use the MRI effective,” Frahm says, “that it immedi- on bringing MRI to life. “I still want to n videos for training purposes. The team ately enabled the musician to practice realize that dream!” he says. In the fu- in Göttingen performed MRI scans on the correct tongue position.” This ex- ture, this could enable doctors to watch several world-class musicians who were perience led the researchers to an ongo- live what has gone wrong in the body. asked to play about 30 exercises on a valve-less, nonmagnetic natural horn. They then recorded the sound together with the rapid tongue movements at TO THE POINT 55 frames per second. “We found that not even elite mu- l The FLASH technique has reduced the time required for MRI scans by a factor sicians always do the same thing,” of one hundred, which is why this imaging technique is used so widely today. ei Frahm says. “That’s because we humans l The FLASH technique excites only a portion of the total MRI signal for each get very little if any sensory informa- measurement, thus allowing measurements to be taken in rapid succession without any waiting period. tion about the back part of our tongue l to control its precise position.” But if The Göttingen-based researchers came a step closer to real-time MRI by reducing the amount of data required for a single image. Live videos from the body’s musicians don’t know exactly what interior now help, for example, in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, their tongue is doing, it affects their but they can also be used for swallowing or speech disorders and for musicians teaching. Studying the video recordings with tongue cramps. M made in Göttingen should now help to identify the ideal playing technique. During the course of the project, the GLOSSARY kontrovers team also studied a musician from Cal- Magnet resonance imaging: This technique relies on the nuclei of hydrogen atoms ifornia who had speech problems and (protons), which behave like little magnets in an external magnetic field. MRI detects who also could no longer play correct- radiofrequency signals from tissue water protons that are excited by a radiofrequency ly. “Together with the University Med- pulse from the scanner. These signals depend on the location in the MRI scanner and ical Center Göttingen, we also investi- are used to compute an image. The technique can distinguish between various tissue types because they contain differing amounts of water with differing properties. gate cramps that occur during speech Die auflagenstärkste hochschul- und Forschung or stuttering,” Frahm says. The MRI Photo: Jens Frahm/MPI for Biophysical Chemistry wissenschaftspolitische Zeitschrift Deutschlands. Leseprobe unter: www.forschung-und-lehre.de & Lehre | 60 MaxPlanckResearch 2 17 oder per Fax 02 28 902 66-90 alles was die wissenschaft bewegt

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Probedruck Why Animals Swarm for Swarms

Until recently, following the crowd was not seen as a desirable goal in life. These days, however, everyone is talking about swarm intelligence. But are swarms really smarter than individuals? And what rules, if any, do they follow? With the help of new computational techniques, Iain Couzin from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell imposes order on the seeming chaos of swarms.

TEXT KLAUS WILHELM

aboon troops are strictly hier- tested ruler again, and the other troop archical with an alpha male members must make do with his left- ruling the roost. However, overs. “Even though individuals are signs of democracy have re- self-interested, it appears that democrat- cently been observed – for ex- ic principles still apply,” says Couzin. ample,B when the animals are hunting for food. “Even the uninformed animals FROM CHILDHOOD CURIOSITY in the troop participate in decisions TO CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCHER about possible food locations and the route the troop will take to find them. As a researcher, Couzin’s heart beats This may be advantageous to the dom- faster when he tells stories like this. He inant male, as it means that he can ben- comes across like a young boy in the efit from the decisions of others when process of discovering the world, but locating good food sources,” explains the biologist has been carrying out cut- Couzin, whose department conducts re- ting-edge research for two decades and search at the University of Konstanz. regularly makes astonishing discover- However, upon reaching the food ies. His research passion: the swarm,

source, the alpha male is the uncon- that most beguiling form of collective. Photo: Axel Griesch

62 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 Swarm for Swarms for Swarm Animals Why

Photo: Axel Griesch have shown that the animals are driven by the fear of being eaten. being of fear the by driven are animals the that shown have analyses His swarms. such of behavior the determines what discover to wants Couzin Iain area. one in live animals many too when individuals billion a over comprising swarms form locusts migrating nature, In ENVIRONMENT &CLIMATE_Collective Behavior 2 | MaxPlanckResearch 17MaxPlanckResearch 63 ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE_Collective Behavior

A school of fish is a self-organizing system. Decisions are based » on the movements of the individual animals

“The beauty of swarms fascinated me nally have some in the laboratory imals in the Sahara some time ago, he even as a child,” says the 42-year-old again!” Couzin’s delight at this is evi- almost died of starvation. “I hallucinat- Scot. “I always wanted to know why and dent. He has had to get by without the ed,” he recalls, “and I thought I would how animals gather in large groups.” insects for a long time – too long for die.” In the end, all of the insects were Today, swarm has become a byword his taste. blown away by a sand storm, and Cou- for wisdom. Just 50 years ago, serious zin left Africa with no data. scientists fancied that telepathic forces HUNTING FOR LOCUSTS Because of this experience, he fo- were at work when, for example, thou- IN THE SAHARA cused on researching the insects in the sands of fish move and turn together as laboratory. With his team, he built a if by magic. Even when a swarm spon- Couzin has many scientific passions, circuit on which the locusts could taneously changes direction, order is but he is particularly drawn to the be- move as they pleased. Every morning maintained and there are seldom colli- havior of insects – perhaps because lo- the scientists released up to 120 ani- sions. The animals coordinate their custs have helped him reach some very mals into the perfectly secured circuit. movements considerably better than exciting research findings. By evening, however, it was found that humans driving in traffic. However, he almost paid a very high some locusts had disappeared. “This Birds and insects have similar skills. price for this: when he spent weeks went on for days and I started to doubt Consider locusts, for instance. “We fi- looking for the legendary swarming an- my own sanity, or at least my ability to count.” That was until he was able to examine video recordings of the go- ings-on in the arena in detail and made a startling discovery: the animals eat one another. After all, locusts are cannibals. Experts had considered them to be vegetarians and cooperative, for example when they suddenly form gi- ant swarms and, as one of the great Biblical plagues, strip entire swaths of land bare. “But their behavior has nothing to do with cooperation. Rather, they are driven by the fear of being cannibal- ized by others within the swarm,” explains Couzin. When many insects come together, they can run out of essential nutrients, and that’s when they begin to turn on one another. It was

Couzin (right) and his PhD student Jake Graving observe the swarm behavior of locusts in the laboratory. To this end, they built a circular

track from which the animals can’t escape. Photo: Axel Griesch

64 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 on the movements of the individual animalsthe of movements the on based Decisionsare self-organizing system. a is fish of school A

Photo: Axel Griesch

Photo: Axel Griesch neighboring particlestochange their orientation ofone“particle” cancause magnets. Changesintheposition and align with each other much like small “flowing magneticfield.”Their bodies ticle physics.Theanimalsare akintoa that thelocustsfollowlawsofpar- tion, Couzin’s team later discovered form aswarm. locusts immediately lost their ability to longer feltthebitesfrombehind.The the insects’abdomenssothattheyno in byseveringthenerves ing histheory further experimentalevidencesupport- circles. Couzin and his colleagues found ing shortofgroundbreakinginexpert a “forced march”. sult isamobilecannibalistichordeon being eatenbythosebehind.There- eat the onein front of it, andto avoid found thateachindividualattemptsto swarms. fish of behavior the guides what predominantly study keep to shiners researchers golden and The shop. sunbleaks pet a in like aquariums with lined is Konstanz of University the at cellar fish The With theaidofacomputersimula- wasconsiderednoth- This discovery each individual in a swarm and recon - puter. These computer models trace construct animalswarmson thecom- Only by working together can they re- ologists tospeakthesame language.” to teach the computer experts and bi- mathematicians onhisteam.“We have computer scientists,physicistsand sights. To do this, he needs biologists, obtaining morecomprehensivein andinvirtualrealities,thus laboratory animals’ behaviorinthewild, – holistic,ifyouwill.Heanalyzesthe conventional approachtohisresearch This example illustrates Couzin’s un- LAB ANDON THE COMPUTER ANALYSES IN THE WILD,IN THE eral kilometers. in this way, even over distancesof sev- a swarmsynchronizetheirmovements position, too. The individual animals in - quently optsfortheleft. and fivetotheright,swarm fre- a majority. Ifsix fish swim to theleft tend toadoptthedirectionselected by group. Furthermore,individual fish influences themovementof theentire stimulus andthusdisproportionately school is often the first to react to a with them;afishontheedgeof of conspecificsbutwithoutcolliding schooling: theyseekouttheproximity dark. The fish follow clear rules when but theyremainmotionlesswhenitis ters. Indaylight,theyswiminschools, with alengthofaroundsevencentime tive ofNorthAmerica–asjuveniles, he studiesthegoldenshinerfish–ana group oforganisms:fish.Forinstance, fascinated byanotherswarm-forming the rulesthatgovernswarm. this way, thescientistsaimtodecode struct the animals’ fields of vision. In In addition to locusts, Couzin is also 2 | MaxPlanckResearch 17MaxPlanckResearch 65 > - -

66 id decision-makingandallows many to acollectivebrain.Thisenables rap- than eachofitsindividualmembers. therefore more effective as acollective “knowledge” withothers.The schoolis and allowsindividualstosharetheir quickly more, theprocessunfoldsvery where theschoolwillswim.Further tion changesultimatelydetermines act. Thesumofthepositionanddirec- more slowly, theirneighborsusuallyre- change direction,orsuddenlyswim explains Couzin.Ifindividualanimals movements oftheindividualanimals,” system. Decisionsarebasedonthe “So, aschooloffishisself-organizing likelyfollow.tion, thegroupwillvery their simulation slightly in onedirec- searchers steervirtualindividuals in the individuals.Forexample,ifre- attraction, repulsion and alignment of control thebehaviorofafishschool: Couzin identifiedthreefactorsthat With thehelpofhiscomputermodels, Sunbleaks glide through huge basins. Cameras record their every movement. every their record Cameras basins. huge through glide Sunbleaks MaxPlanckResearch 2 MaxPlanckResearch The swarmformssomething akin | 17 - ronmental cues,” says Couzin. ronmental cues,”saysCouzin. dent decisionsbasedonthe same envi- member ofthegroupmakes indepen cisions. “Accordingtothis view, each view thatbiggergroupsmake betterde- conventional teaching, which takes the prudent decisions. This contradicts the more make small groups big. Sometimes swarm can diminish if it becomes too cent studiessuggests,thewisdomofa However, as oneofCouzin’s mostre BETTER DECISIONS SMALLER GROUPS MAY MAKE plains Couzin. ly effective collective decisions,” ex- neighbors, individualscanmakehigh- responding tothemovementsoftheir to explicitlysignaloneanother. By viduals. Theanimalsdon’t evenhave simple interactionsbetweentheindi- plex swarmbehaviorcanarisefrom meld intoasingleentity. “Evencom- thousands oforganismstoliterally - - have access to similar sensory informa- have accesstosimilarsensory close proximitywithinagrouptendto sible tofulfillinreality. Individualsin But suchconditionsarealmostimpos- strong dominancehierarchy? Howdo the above-described baboons, exhibit a also applytoanimalgroups that,like itarian fishandbirdswarms, ordothey summarizing theirfindings. cisions itseemstomake,”saysCouzin, bigger agroupgets,thepoorerde- five and25membersworkbest.“Sothe medium-sized groupswithbetween most cases, they found that small to hold upwhenthisrealismisadded.In view ofthewisdomcrowdsdoesnot to demonstratethattheconventional and hiscolleagueAlbertKaowereable ulations ofdecision-making,Couzin making decisions.Usingcomputersim- modalities,when tiple cues,orsensory Furthermore, individualsmay use mul not be independent, but correlated. tion, sothecuestheyexperiencewill But do these laws apply only to egal- -

Photo: Axel Griesch Photo: Axel Griesch

Photos: Iain Couzin imals moveawayfromthe group, the are onthemove.“Whenindividual an decide onaparticularroute when they them todeterminehowthe baboons to optimizethesoftware, allowing studies, theresearchers werethenable Kenya. Usingtheresultsoftheirfield theanimalsonsitein team observed movements inreallife.Inaddition,the gram that accounted for thebaboons’ scientists created a new software pro GPS datatheyhadaccumulated,the from thewildbaboons. gan to testhismodels using the data versity to Lake Constance, Couzin be- his research groupfromPrincetonUni- puter. Immediatelyaftermovingwith was thenabletoevaluateonthecom- ond-by-second basis,whichWikelski abouts oftheprimatesonasec corded information about the where- Kenya withGPScollars.Thedevicesre- had previouslyfitted33baboonsin a distance.Forexample,thebiologist ments ofawidevarietyspeciesfrom ters withwhichhecantrackthemove- problem. Wikelski developstransmit- was abletoofferhimasolutionthis his futurecolleagueMartinWikelski Planck InstituteinRadolfzell in 2012, searchers tokeepup. rough terrainissimplytooswiftforre- a dauntingtask.Theirmovementover animals whentheyareonthemoveis for years.However, keepingtrackofthe a question that hasinterested Couzin Thisis wander throughtheirterritory? the animalsagreeonadirectionasthey different individuals. different indicate colors The swarm. a in shiners golden of movements Bottom Swimming vision. of fields the between overlap greatest the with positions in stay to prefer fish the that shows image The are. they brighter the vision, of fields the between overlap the greater The highlighted. are fish individual the of vision of fields The lab. the in shiners Top Camera image of a swarm of golden golden of swarm a of image Camera When CouzinvisitedtheMax To be able to evaluate the copious - - - dominant animalswasfound nottoin ity,” explainsCouzin. of thegrouptendtofollow the major- ferent directions, undecided members route theyprefer. Iftheyheadoffindif express theiropinionaboutwhich them ornot.Inthisway, theseanimals others havetodecidewhetherfollow Moreover, theroutechosenby ENVIRONMENT &CLIMATE_Collective Behavior - - accelerate theprocessoffinding acol- uninformed individuals facilitate and computational models,we findthat larly importantrolehere: “Inour ed groupmembersmayhave aparticu- plies withit.Theignorantand undecid the decisionofhisentourageandcom- process. Eventhealphamaleaccepts fluence thecollectivedecision-making 2 | MaxPlanckResearch 17MaxPlanckResearch 67 - ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE_Collective Behavior

lective solution. If, in contrast, many animals have their own ideas about the PEOPLE AS SENSORS right route to take, it takes longer for the group to be able to agree on the direction they will all take.” Of all the species Couzin has studied to date, the movements of groups of people have turned out to be the most predictable. His team developed comput- CHOOSING THE RIGHT ROUTE er vision software for tracking the movements of individual people in large crowds. They record information about where the individuals look and how But what happens when a stalemate oc- they behave with each other. curs and the different views can’t be The software is intended to help avoid disasters like the Duisburg Love reconciled? When the same number of Parade in 2010. The scientists can use it, for instance, to understand and sim- animals want to go left and right? Then ulate how crowds of people move in a street. In this way, potential sources of it depends on the angle between the danger during the construction of new buildings and neighborhoods can be two preferred options: “If it is smaller avoided from the outset. than about 90 degrees, the animals fol- In one study, Couzin hired actors and set them the task of behaving in a lowing behind opt for the middle path, conspicuous manner on a shopping street and in a large train station. He and in the case of larger angles, they wanted to find out how passers-by would react to unusual behavior exhibit- exhibit a strong tendency to select the ed by individuals. His analyses show that important information can be direction preferred by the bigger sub- gleaned from the way people look. People do detect suspicious behavior, per- group. “That is exactly what we pre- haps because they consider it to be a potential source of danger. However, dicted with the model we created for they don’t usually do anything about it. fish,” says Couzin. Hence, like the fish, Couzin found that observing the gaze of pedestrians allows individuals the baboons also follow a majority- to be employed as sensors. Furthermore, he found that individuals in rules principle in their collective deci- crowds follow the gaze of nearby pedestrians. Using a computer program, sion-making, providing evidence that he and his team were able to analyze these gaze responses, allowing them this is a fundamental principle of swarm to detect suspicious behaviors. Such technology could provide useful early- behavior across species. stage indicators of potential hazards even before the people themselves More-recent studies by Couzin and raise the alarm. his team have now shown that the baboons also consider their physical environment when deciding which route to take. Using a drone, the researchers took a large number of aerial images of the animals’ habitat and, from these, created a high-resolution three-dimensional reconstruction of their habitat. This allowed them to relate baboon movement decisions not only to social factors, but also to the environmental structure. They found that the animals employ roads built by humans, and sometimes also paths beaten by other animals. “This enables them to move faster and more easily between the locations where they feed and sleep,” says Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin, a former doctoral student in Couzin’s depart- The lines of sight of individuals in a crowd of people can be recorded and evaluated using ment. Vegetation, for example, is a con- image analysis software. This enables the early identification of conspicuous behavior that may be indicative of potential danger. siderable obstacle to the animals’ movements. Groups slow down in densely

vegetated areas, and it is more difficult Photo and graphic: Iain Couzin

68 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 Baboons live in hierarchical groups. However, important decisions are not dictated by the group leaders, but are made democratically. If the group members can’t agree on the route to be taken, the undecided apes follow the majority – irrespective of the direction chosen by the dominant animals.

able for research on collective behavior. The scientists working there will be able to observe animal swarms in virtual holographic 3-D environments and measure their movements precisely. Special- ly developed transmitters, sensors and image processing will enable the simultaneous tracking of thousands of individuals in real time. Five smaller virtual environments where the researchers present real fish schools with a virtual world are already in operation today. Although the fish swim in empty pools, they see virtual rocks, water plants and predators. It will soon be clear whether the fish be- for the baboons to adapt to each other that the Center for Visual Computing have naturally in this environment or in the directions they take. of Collectives, a major new project he not. “It will be unique. Only in Germa- A third discovery was that, instead initiated in Konstanz, will uncover ny would it be possible to build such a of reacting to the positions of others, far-reaching new insights. research center,” says Couzin. But he baboon motion is more strongly influ- The Center is due to commence op- still wants to work with locusts again – enced by the routes taken by other ba- eration in three years’ time, and will be this time in a more relaxed setting, in boons within the previous five-minute one of the most modern facilities avail- the tranquility of Konstanz. period – baboons are effectively fol-

lowing in the footsteps of others. “And the greater the number of baboons that cross a certain point in this peri- TO THE POINT

od, the more attractive it becomes,” l The individual animals in a swarm often follow relatively simple rules when re- explains Strandburg-Peshkin. In this, sponding to others, such as a tendency to be attracted toward, and align direction the baboons somewhat resemble ants, of travel with, others while maintaining personal space and avoiding collisions. which recognize olfactory traces left l The principle of majority rule applies in many animal groups: members normally by members of their species along follow the direction in which the majority of their neighbors are moving. their routes. It isn’t yet entirely clear l Uninformed or unbiased individuals play a profound role in collective decision- whether the baboons also perceive making. They allow groups to make faster, and in some cases smarter, decisions. such scents or whether they simply observe and remember the paths taken by their “predecessors.” GLOSSARY Locusts, fish, baboons, ants – Cou- Swarm intelligence: When individuals contribute their skills to a collective, the group zin has examined a huge range of or- can develop characteristics that none of the individuals themselves have. This improves ganisms in detail and has repeatedly the performance of the group as a whole and can enable it to develop into a kind of superorganism. Examples of swarm intelligence include ant colonies and the internet. encountered similar laws and rules

Photo and graphic: Iain Couzin Photo: mhgallery/ 123RF governing collective life. He is hopeful

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 69 CULTURE & SOCIETY_Empirical Aesthetics

The Power of Art

Winfried Menninghaus, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main, is studying how people react, not just mentally, but also physically to poetry and prose. For many classical philologists and Germanists, his work is a betrayal of their disciplines. But the scientist and his team have actually succeeded in rendering the effect of poetic and rhetorical language measurable for the first time – even in such intangible categories as elegance or such curious phenomena as the trash film cult.

TEXT MARTIN ROOS

mong the greenery in the ment and Founding Director of the In- participants lying around on soft interior courtyard of the stitute, which was established in 2012. cushions and plied with exquisite Max Planck Institute for It is more than mere beauty that beverages while Scheherazade whis- Empirical Aesthetics stands matters here. The researchers investi- pers poems to them and Josephine a row of pink-colored let- gate how people react physiologically to Baker performs an interpretive dance tersA of nearly human height. Their ref- aesthetic stimuli – to film, dance, music of the alphabet. The Institute proce- erence to beauty (“schön”) seems to or, yes, language and poetry. “Who likes dures call to mind a medical research point rather insistently to precisely what and why?” is their alliterative slo- laboratory. The test persons are seat- what the researchers here are con- gan. “We develop aesthetic theories that ed in soundproof booths, where sen- cerned with. “No, no,” Winfried Men- integrate approaches drawn from phi- sors attached to their fingertips mea- ninghaus protests, half laughing, half losophy, psychology and neurosci- sure skin resistance, monitors on their resigned. It was the real estate compa- ence,” says Menninghaus, “and we sub- wrists record their heart rate and, de- ny that erected the illuminated sculp- ject them to a variety of tests.” pending on their emotional state, a ture to advertise the building. “Pure miniature camera films the goose coincidence,” says Menninghaus about A MINIATURE CAMERA FILMS bumps on their arms. Some of them the “kitsch in pink,” clapping his hands THE GOOSE BUMPS wear an electrode cap on their head together. A tall, lean man with un- to record the activity of nerve cells in tamed hair that sticks out like that of Here, watching films and listening to the brain. “Almost everything can be Doc Brown, the inventor in the fanta- music and poetry is an act undertak- measured nowadays,” explains Men- sy film Back to the Future, he is head of en in the service of science. But it ninghaus, “such as how long a partic-

the Language and Literature Depart- would be a mistake to imagine the test ipant spends looking at which word. Photo: plainpicture/Lohfink

70 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 Photo: plainpicture/Lohfink exhilarate, but also shock or disturb. or shock also but exhilarate, and move appeal, can it – beautiful be not need impact: Art Individual CULTURE & SOCIETY_Empirical Aesthetics

Menninghaus cites the great linguist and semiotician Roman Jakobson, who once taught that our “poetic language function” is always “on.” Accordingly, we perceive an aesthetic quality in even quite banal sentences. The Max Planck researcher looked about for proofs of this thesis – and found them: “We can now say that Jakobson was right. Be- 150 Ooo...ooo....Aaa...aaa...aaa...Ooo...oooo... That gives us an indication of the dy- cause we see proof of the omnipresence namics of attention processes.” of the poetic language function daily at 100 Since the beginning of his academ- our Institute.” 50 ic career, Menninghaus has been con- Together with ten colleagues, in- cerned with researching the effects of cluding Germanists, literary and film 0 beauty and basic features of aesthetic scholars and neuroscientists, Menning- -50 Eyes open sensibility. Today he is regarded as one haus is constantly developing new cat- Eyes closed of the most versatile and simultaneous- egories and methods to meaningfully -100 ly most controversial literary scholars – describe features that have an aesthet- -150 he is no stranger to criticism. Menning- ic impact – from verbal descriptions 0 50 100 150 200 250 haus is aware of the silent arrogance such as “beautiful”, “boring”, “excit- with which natural scientists look at ing” or “humorous” to comparative Top Kurt Schwitters reciting his Ursonate, such a “soft” discipline as aesthetics. He studies of language structures in terms a poem consisting solely of sounds. also senses the deep skepticism that of rhythm, meter or linguistic melody. Bottom At a performance at the Institute, most literary scholars feel for the meth- the researchers discovered that the middle part of the second movement appealed odologies of natural science, and thus POETRY IS AS STIRRING less to the audience than other parts. also for him. Critics ask: How is one AS MUSIC Surprisingly, the effect was more marked supposed to measure the quality of a among those who watched than among poem by such criteria as twitching eyes In the Institute’s own ArtLab, a kind those who closed their eyes. and sweating armpits? Are Menning- of multifunctional concert and event haus and others like him like the alche- space filled with high-tech audio-video mists of old in search of the formula for equipment and wiring harnesses for gold – or in this case, the recipe for the test persons, two Institute staff mem- perfect poem? bers have been testing the effect of Kurt “Of course not,” says Menning- Schwitters’ by no means easily digest- haus, “we don’t do recipes here. It is ible Dadaist Ursonate: neuroscientists primarily a question of perception.” He and linguistic psychologists Mathias shrugs off the accusation that his re- Scharinger and Valentin Wagner invit- search is just “nitpicking.” But the ten- ed 44 volunteers – individuals who dency on the part of many colleagues were not entirely averse to Schwitters’ to use “poetics of effect” as a term of idiosyncratic sense of humor – to the

abuse is something he cannot accept. ArtLab. But why choose such a hybrid Photos: London 1944, photographer: Ernst Schwitters; photo: Kurt Schwitters archive at the Sprengel Museum Hanover; photographe r: Aline Gwose/Michael Herling, Sprengel Museum Hanover © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2013; graphic: MPI for Empirical Aesthetics

72 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 Photos: London 1944, photographer: Ernst Schwitters; photo: Kurt Schwitters archive at the Sprengel Museum Hanover; photographer: Aline Gwose/Michael Herling, Sprengel Museum Hanover © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2013; graphic: MPI for Empirical Aesthetics

Photo: Jörg Baumann clude thesemanticlevel,tofocus precisely analyzed which acoustic and sure troveoffindings:“Once wehave However, thescientistsexpectatrea- linguistic propertiescorrespond with their physiologicalreactions. jective reportsbytheaudienceand acoustic parameters,thepurelysub- cover theconnectionbetween surd.” Theresearchers’ goalwastodis- and “chaotic”to“irritating”or“ab tense” and“melodic”to“demanding” their aestheticverdict–from“in adjectives wereavailabletodefine an electronictablet.Alargenumberof mance andtheiremotionalstatevia about theeffectofliveperfor- were alsorequiredtoanswerquestions and aftertheconcert,testpersons and skinconductance.Bothduring and electrodestomeasureheartrate inger. Theresearchers usedmonitors purely onthesoundlevel,”saysSchar throaty andmatingsong? of primitiveandmonkeycalls, piece ofmusic,suchadisturbingmix spectators. the of excitement emotional the to clues give can fingers the of at measured effects resistance physical skin the example, measure For can scientists presentations. the artistic research, for equipped space performance a ArtLab, the In audience: Measured No finalresultsareavailable asyet. “We deliberatelywantedtoex - - - - The researchers demonstratethisusing ticularly drawntorhythmand rhyme. haus. Thisiswhyourattention ispar- come tolanguage,”says Menning- the point: “It isthroughverse thatwe to verse and rhythm. To oversimplify with our parents, become accustomed through preverbal communication songs, buteachofushassincebirth, Christian hymnsandlaterwithfolk miliar with metrical speech, with at leastsinceancienttimes–beenfa- only have we for many generations – verse isattributabletothefactthatnot explains. Thepowerfuleffectoflyric most asmuchourfavoritemusic,he respond,” Menninghausadds. hear orread,ourphysicalselvesalways certain: “Regardlessofwhichtextswe dom or even rejection. Onethingis els triggeracceleratedheartrate,bore- combinations ofconsonantsandvow words, whichhighsandlows, down totheexactsyllable”–inother formation onthelinguisticproperties plains, “we will beable to providein- which physical reactions,” Wagner ex- Poetry movesusemotionallyal Poetry - - achieves thegreatestimpact. Therea- ets areillprophets”unambiguously content, theoriginalstatement “plan- variants, despitethesomewhat crude ets.” However, ofallthesentence able: “stars are not trustworthy proph - because itisnowclearlyunderstand- regains someofitspresence,notleast both rhymeandrhythm,thesentence is alsoreducedineffect.Devoidof ly unreliableprophets,”thestatement inal sentence,asin:“planetsarehigh- the rhythmisremovedfromorig- pressive power. If not the rhyme, but measurably lower“presence,”orex- are illprophets”),thestatementhasa out thealliterativerhyme(“thestars ets” is presented to test subjects with- When thephrase“planetsareillproph THE GREATER THE ENJOYMENT MORE TEARS, THE ers orlistenersandinwhatway. stimulate theaestheticdesiresofread- moved inordertoseewhichones tain stylistic features are specifically re- structured sentencesfromwhichcer 2 | MaxPlanckResearch 17MaxPlanckResearch

73 - - 74 ings, joyandsadness,cancel eachoth whether positiveandnegative feel- team alsoponderedthequestion of Menninghaus. is whatmakesitsopithy,” explains gaps todecodethesentence.Andthat brains have to work hard and fill in froma furniturestore.“Our message less wereitnotclearthatthisisa questions wouldbeentirelymeaning ready” alive.Taken together, thetwo may be“still”alive,buthardly“al alive?” isparadoxical,giventhatone old apartment?”And“Areyoualready thing like: “Are you still living in your ated and should normally read some- tion “Areyoustillliving?”isabbrevi- alive?) violatesseveralrules.Theques- (Are youstillliving,orarealready “ For instance,Ikea’s Germanslogan certain rules,”explainsMenninghaus. sentences orverseswhentheyviolate metrical language. perception respondsmore stronglyto son isthatouraestheticandaffective Listening for science: Test persons listen to a poem before answering questions on how moving and how beautiful they found the verses to be. be. to verses the found they beautiful how and moving how on In thisquestions way,answering thebefore researcherspoem a to canlisten compilepersons Test aestheticscience: for Listening judgments on works dating from different eras. Wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon?” MaxPlanckResearch 2 MaxPlanckResearch For alongtimetheMenninghaus “We alsorespondattentivelyto | 17 - - - nates Menninghaus. to stirandshakeup,that fasci- ancient rhetoric,thepower tomove, longer. Itisprecisely themovere of scarcely perceived in thiswayany haus explains.Butrhetoric was aesthetic appreciation,”Menning important factorsthatdetermined ic features, there were always some wealth offiguresspeechandpoet the ThirdReich:rhetoric.“Amongits ten, notleastdueitsmisuseduring discipline thathadlongbeenforgot things fullcircle, backtoanancient And that,forMenninghaus,brings INTO OLDAGE ELEGANCE CANENDURE matter of“beingmoved.” the greaterenjoymentis.It’s a it another way, the more the tears flow, same time,”saysMenninghaus.To put both peakedatalmostexactlythe tions tonegativeandpositiveeffects forphysicalreac- measurement curves found thatitisjusttheopposite.“The er outwhenappreciatingart.They - - - has littleoverlapwithelegance. within thebroadfieldofbeauty but ness, or sexual appeal – which also falls ders closelyonelegance– andsexi further categories:grace–which bor- the researchers haveintroducedtwo gant. To establishthefinedistinctions, thatisbeautifulalsoele- everything a beautifulcar. Ontheotherhand,not says. Anelegantcarisalsojudgedtobe broadly withjudgmentsonbeauty,” he ments on elegance generally overlap addresses thesubjectofelegance.“Judg fields ofpsychologyandneuroscience. the latest methods and theories in the techniques, linguisticmodelingand ory, and musicological analysis literary elements ofrhetoricwithaestheticthe amalgamate thelanguageproduction Winfried keento Menninghausisvery modern. Whichisanotherreasonwhy Thus, ancientrhetoricremainshighly ways involvesamixofjoyandsadness. show that“beingmoved”almostal “being moved.”Theseimpressively his teamconductedseveralstudieson It wasnotwithoutreasonthatheand One of Menninghaus’ latestprojects

- - - -

Photo: Jörg Baumann Photo: Jörg Baumann

Photo: SYFY haus –aresultwithhugepotential, not men andwomen,”explains Menning its thesmallestdifferences between beauty, theprofile foreleganceexhib with theageprofilesforsexiness and beyond theageof80.“Compared olds and can in some cases endure far peak onlyamongtheover-50-year- up toanadvancedage.Elegancescores tation of good looks that is achievable leaving elegance as the sole manifes two decadesbefore declining steeply, of youngwomenandmenbyaround the highdegreeofsexinessexpected right inthemiddleofthat:itoutlasts plies. Beauty, saysMenninghaus,is and women,thepreciseoppositeap- en, eleganceisnot.And for oldermen be expectedofyoungmenandwom tion toage:whilemuchsexinessmay egance” is particularly striking in rela- dissociation betweensexinessandel hotels andbridges.The“near-perfect luxury gerie andnightweartoyachts, tolin- variety ofobjects–fromcutlery ments abouttheeleganceofawide be abletomakereliable,nuancedstate tributions andcombinedtheresultsto “light,” “slender”andmanymore. nious,” “valuable,”“unpretentious,” as “fine,” “tasteful,” “fluid,” “harmo- sional construct with associations such ied eleganceasahighly multidimen- haus andhisteamhavethereforestud- negatively withelegance.Menning- ous featuresthatcorrelatepositivelyor sexy theobjectis.Itrequiresnumer ask howbeautiful,elegant,gracefulor an object,itisn’t sufficient tosimply beauty, elegance,graceorsexinessof well founded statements about the To beabletomakepsychometrically The researchers evaluated suchat ------

audience to be educated to an above-average standard and interested in culture. in interested and standard above-average an to movie educated be trash to the audience revealed study A fans. of number astonishing an and sequels several as with such movie movies trash in role central a play often Sharks man-eaters: Popular replicate itself,”saysSarkhosh.There- pensity ofHollywoodtoconstantly stream andfrustrationwiththepro- answer citedboredomwiththemain- first to bequiteasurprise.“Thevery you watchingthis?”,theresultsproved asked trashmovieaudiences,“Whyare his staff,filmscholarKeyvanSarkhosh, serious fun.Forexample,whenoneof ant researcher isalwaysready forsome For alltherigorsofscience,exuber ARE FAMILIAR WITH WE OFTENLIKEWHAT WE ing ofthisconnection.” stilllacksanunderstand- ion industry least forthecloth ing sector. “Thefash- CULTUREAesthetics &SOCIETY_Empirical - examples – among them searcher chosesharkhorrorfilmsashis flying, man-eatingsharks,blood,gore 2013 withseveralsequels. American disastermoviedatingfrom film audience–withanaverageageof finding ofthestudyisthattrash the publicatlarge,mostimportant ferent kind. it asanartistictreatofadecidedlydif- void ofstyleortaste,whileotherssee ofthemonstersharkstobede- story is justthepoint:someconsider “quite amusing”forallthat.Andthat “the worstfilmoftheyear”–but and screamsas“absolutegarbage” The genuinelysurprisingand,for Critics pannedSharknadowithits 2 | MaxPlanckResearch 17MaxPlanckResearch Sharknado Sharknado, an , a disaster disaster a , 75 CULTURE & SOCIETY_Empirical Aesthetics

Junge Wissenschaft

Das einzige europäische Wissenschafts- magazin mit begutachteten Beiträgen 9,50 EUR // Ausgabe Nr. 110 // 31. Jahrgang // 2016

9,50 EUR // Ausgabe Nr. 110111 // 31. Jahrgang // 2016 junger Nachwuchsforscher. 9,50 EUR // Ausgabe Nr. 110112 // 31.32. Jahrgang // 20162017 JungeJunge Wissenschaftliche Erstverö entlichungen Creative team: To render the effect of literature measurable, Winfried Menninghaus (right) works with a team Junge und das Neueste aus Mathematik, Informatik, of researchers drawn from various disciplines. Among them are neurolinguist Mathias Scharinger (left) and philosopher and psychologist Valentin Wagner (center). Jugend forscht in Natur und Technik Naturwissenschaft und Technik. WissenschaftWissenschaftJugend forscht in Natur und Technik Jugend forscht in Natur und Technik WissenschaftThe European Journal of Science and Technology The European Journal of Science and Technology Young ResearcherYoung Researcher The European Journal of Science and Technology Nur im Abo. Viermal im Jahr News aus Young Researcher 35 – is by no means comprised of in- familiar even in ancient times, the de- pop culture!” Within six weeks, more Forschung und Technik, Veranstaltungen, dividuals of low intelligence or educa- pictions of the satyrs being one than 1,000 reviews appeared in news- Porträts, Studien- und Berufsproﬁ le. tional achievement. On the contrary: example. The guilty pleasure derived papers the world over, with interview “Our subjects proved to have an by connoisseurs of trash movies is a requests from as far away as Africa. Vorteilsabo sichern! above-average standard of education. kind of cinematic celebration of taste- Menninghaus is still amazed: “I’ll nev- They have numerous cultural interests, lessness. According to Sarkhosh, it can er manage that with all our other stud- [email protected] visit theaters and museums, and watch be attributed to carnivalesque culture ies put together.” Roboter n • Mit vo fre Stichwort: „Vorteilsabo“ g un niche TV channels such as Arte,” ex- – a “counterculture that allows un- Who knows. Keyvan Sarkhosh is al- n d zu t li ü c plains Sarkhosh. orthodox freedoms.” ready working on a new study. This t h „Sonny“ s e r ftlich r cha e B Die Welt s e nU it For Winfried Menninghaus, there time, the focus is on fans of kitsch Klimawandelse rä Leseprobe anfordern!

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76 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 www.verlag-jungewissenschaft.de Junge Wissenschaft

Young Researcher Photos: MPI for Empirical Aesthetics/F. Bernoully Roboter „Sonny“ in der Welt der AutomobileRoboter - autonome Kollegen Themen: Nicht mehr über Sammelbilder ärgern! // Der Dreh mit dem Licht // Mathematisches Billard // On the run charging solar vehicle // Der Mpemba-Effekt und seine Ursache Themen: Nicht mehr über Sammelbilder ärgern! // Der Dreh Außerdem im Heft: Forschung aufmit Probe: dem LichtSmartwatch-App // Mathematisches und Täterjagd Billard // On // the run charging Titelthema: Entscheidungsfreiheitsolar für Roboter vehicle //// DerWissenschaftsjahr: Mpemba-Effekt Der und Pinguin seine Ursachestand Pate

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FLASHBACK_Particle Physics

A Quantum of Energy

Electrons that circle around a positively charged nucleus on stable orbits? When Niels Bohr presents his new model of the atom in 1913, many colleagues shake their heads. Shortly afterward, a successful proof is put forward: James Franck, who will later become a department head at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry in Berlin-Dahlem, and his colleague Gustav Hertz receive the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work. Initially, though, the two have no idea just what they have discovered here.

TEXT ELKE MAIER

April 1940. In Niels Bohr’s laboratory istry and then finally to physics. His in Copenhagen stands 54-year-old new place of study, Berlin, is the top chemist George de Hevesy, holding choice for this and the center of at- a Nobel Prize medal in his hand. It traction for the most influential phys- belongs to Jewish physicist James icists of the time, among them Hein- Franck. To keep it safe from the Na- rich Rubens, Emil Warburg and Max zis, Franck had entrusted it to his Planck, and later also Paul Drude and friend and colleague Bohr, and he, in Albert Einstein. Franck completes his turn, had given it to de Hevesy. doctorate in 1906 at the Physics Insti- The Germans had now occupied tute of Berlin University on the mobil- Denmark and were already marching ity of ions in gas discharges and be- » through the streets of the capital. comes a research assistant there. There was no time to lose. De Hevesy Also working at the same Insti- Particles on a collision course: James Franck (left) and Gustav pours aqua regia over the prestigious tute is Gustav Hertz, who is five years Hertz studied collisions between electrons and atoms. medal and waits until the corrosive his junior and whose uncle Heinrich mixture of concentrated hydrochloric and nitric acid has dissolved Hertz – after whom the unit of frequency is named – had discovered the metal. When the occupying powers turn the laboratory upside electromagnetic waves, a major key to communications technolo- down, the beaker with its precious contents stands unnoticed gy. James Franck and Gustav Hertz become friends and launch a among numerous others. joint project to study the interaction between atoms and electrons. The gold is later handed over to the Royal Swedish Academy of The apparatus consists – in simplified terms – of a glass flask Sciences, which has a new medal minted from it. On January 31, filled with mercury gas. Inside are a negatively charged thermion- 1952, James Franck is able to receive the coveted honor for a sec- ic cathode and a positive anode, with a voltage applied between ond time – for an experiment whose significance he and his col- them. This causes electrons to be continuously emitted at the league Gustav Hertz were initially unable to fully appreciate. But cathode and accelerated toward the anode. En route, they collide first things first. with the mercury atoms. As soon as the electrons reach the anode, James Franck is born in Hamburg on August 26, 1882. He is the the researchers measure their speed. In this way, they aim to de- second child of banker Jacob Franck and his wife Rebecca. James is termine how much kinetic energy the electrons have lost through to receive a classical education at the high school he attends, the the collisions with the gas atoms. Wilhelm Gymnasium. However, he has no appreciation for ancient The scientists observe the following: If a low voltage is applied, languages and is thus deemed to “show little promise” as a student. the electrons hurtle toward the finish with their speed unchanged. He is much more interested in connections: even at an advanced If the electron energy reaches 4.9 electronvolts (eV), the speed of age, James Franck remembers a eureka moment during his Greek the arriving electrons approaches zero, and in a darkened room, a class when he suddenly realized why a grease spot in his exercise thin luminescent band appears just in front of the anode. If the book “makes the opaque paper translucent.” voltage is increased further, the electrons speed up again, and the Following high school – where he had to repeat a year – he en- luminescent band moves toward the cathode. At twice the critical rolls at Heidelberg University to study economics and law for his fa- value, the speed is suddenly zero, and a second luminescent band

ther’s sake. Only later does he assert himself and switch to chem- is formed, a third one at triple the value – and so on and so forth. Photos: Wikimedia Commons

78 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 RÜCKBLENDE_Lockstoffe

Band by band: The gas atoms emit the energy they have received from the electrons in the form of light. In the experiment shown here, mercury gas was replaced with neon, which produces an orange glow.

What was happening here? In their 1914 publication, James Franck and Gustav Hertz write that an energy of 4.9 eV ionizes the mercury atom, or in other words, ejects an electron from its shell – a mistake, as it would turn out. What the two had overlooked in their zeal was that, just a few months prior, Niels Bohr had presented a Between 1917 and 1921, James Franck works as a department head theoretical model of the structure of the atom that fit their obser- at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electro- vation perfectly. chemistry in Berlin under Director Fritz Haber. He then switches In his publication, Bohr describes a kind of miniature planetary to the University of Göttingen as a professor of experimental phys- system in which electrons circle around a positively charged nu- ics. In 1933, he is supposed to become Director of the Physics Insti- cleus on stable orbits. These orbits – so-called shells – have fixed tute at Berlin University, but this never happened. separations from each other. If one now wants to move an elec- On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler becomes Reich Chancellor, and tron from one shell to the next (further out), a very specific amount a few weeks later, the “Law for the Restoration of the Profession- of energy is required that depends on the species of the atom. Niels al Civil Service” comes into force. It states that civil servants of Bohr, who knew all about “the wonderful experiment of Franck and non-Aryan descent are to be retired. Although James Franck, as a Hertz,” guessed that this amount was precisely 4.9 eV in the case former front-line soldier, is exempt, he can’t accept the affront. He of mercury. He would be proved right about this. resigns voluntarily out of protest, but hardly any of his colleagues Without knowing it, Franck and Hertz had proved that elec- demonstrate solidarity with him. trons can be excited only by the right quantum of energy – one of In the same year, he and his family leave Germany. Franck spends more than a year as a visiting scientist with Niels Bohr in Der Spiegel 19/1957 Copenhagen, takes on a professorship at Johns Hopkins Universi- The Nazis didn’t yet dare to attack Nobel laureate James ty in Baltimore, then moves to the University of Chicago in 1938. » Franck, one of the most noble minds among the not always During World War II, he is part of the team there working on the noble nuclear physicists, because he was too well known. Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. When he learns The upstanding man resigned in April 1933 to make a point that the bomb is to be used against Japan even after Nazi Germa- and out of solidarity […] ny has capitulated, he takes a stand. Together with six other scientists, he draws up a memorandum that will go down in history the key statements of Bohr’s theory. If the amount of energy is too as the Franck Report and speaks out against the use of the atom- low, electron and atom collide without an energy transfer taking ic bomb in Japan. place. The electron transfers its energy to the atom only when the In the report, the researchers draw attention to the danger of critical threshold of 4.9 electronvolts is reached. After such a colli- a nuclear arms race and advocate demonstrating the destructive sion, the electron is initially at rest before being accelerated again force of the new weapon in an uninhabited area instead of attack- by the voltage – and it again passes on the energy it collects in the ing Japan. Their appeal goes unheeded. On August 6, 1945, the process upon reaching 4.9 eV. The luminescence is caused by the bomb explodes over Hiroshima, and three days later, Nagasaki is atom re-emitting the absorbed energy in the form of light. hit. Japan capitulates. Only later do the two scientists realize how crucial their exper- After the war, James Franck focuses his research activities on iment was: “It was as if a researcher wanted to explore unknown the field of photosynthesis, a process in which solar energy is ab- territory and realized that he already had a complete map of this sorbed and conserved in the form of a chemical bond. The scien- territory in his hands without knowing it,” Franck writes in retro- tist thus remains true to his favorite topic: the energy transfer be- spect. James Franck and Gustav Hertz receive the 1925 Nobel Prize tween atoms and molecules. After the war, Gustav Hertz is obliged in Physics for their experiment. to work as a specialist for the Soviet atomic bomb project; on his In April 1914, Gustav Hertz presents the results at a meeting of return in 1955 he takes over the management of the Institute of the German Physical Society in Berlin. Just over three months lat- Physics at Leipzig University. He is the only Nobel laureate to live er, World War I starts. James Franck enlists. Like Gustav Hertz, he and work in East Germany. Franck dies at the age of 81 during a vis- is sent to the front to work under Fritz Haber in gas warfare. Both it to Göttingen, and Hertz at the age of 88 in East Berlin. are later also assigned to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical The Franck-Hertz experiment is now one of the classical exper- Chemistry and Electrochemistry in Berlin-Dahlem. One of their iments in physics. Teachers like to demonstrate it in physics les- tasks is to test whether gas masks are fit for purpose using them- sons as important support for Bohr’s model of the atom and proof

Photos: Wikimedia Commons Photo: Infoczo/CC-BY-SA 4.0 selves as guinea pigs. of quantum theory.

2 | 17 MaxPlanckResearch 79 MAX PLANCK COMMUNITY

Making It Easier to Plan a Career

“Career Steps Opportunities” aims for feedback / new network starts work

A series of events in Berlin, Göttingen MPG had tripled its number of female could better respond to their needs. It and Tübingen entitled “Career Steps Directors. She described the improve- soon became clear that gender equity Opportunities” shed light on various ment in equal opportunity symbolized won’t be achieved without effort, and aspects of career planning and devel- by this increase as an expression of that an awareness of the situation is an opment. The goal is to increase aware- structural and cultural change. Still, she essential skill for modern managers. ness of gender equity at all levels of hi- appealed to the management of the This is by no means a matter of erarchy within the internal scientific Max Planck Society, represented by pa- course, as the often-repeated requests for community. tron and Vice President Angela Friederi- individual help and flexible working At the beginning of March, the ci and acting Secretary General Rüdiger hours demonstrated. “But there are now Max Planck Society invited Cornelia Willems, not to waver in their efforts. research group leaders who allow their Quennet-Thielen, State Secretary at The contribution by Stefanie Lo- team members exactly this latitude,” as the Federal Ministry of Education and haus, publisher of Missy Magazine, was event organizer and MPG Gender Equal- Research, and other guests, including met with thoughtful nodding as she ex- ity Officer Ulla Weber discovered. One the improvisational theater group plained that, in terms of female in- female group leader with six children “Freiwild,” to the Harnack House in volvement, science differed little from told her: “The main thing is that they Berlin for the opening event, which the music and arts scene: “We have the are present on the one day a week on ended with a three-voice chorus of same problems. Gender equity isn’t just which the group meeting takes place.” thanks and left a smile on the partici- a question of access and equal rights, it The Department of Personnel and pants’ faces. The four performers is also dependent on where the encour- Personnel Law at Administrative Head- earned thunderous applause for their agement and support comes from, who quarters took advantage of the opening conference summary in the form of a believes that building a career is a nat- event to cement the first links in a ca- highly idiosyncratic version of “Little ural choice and who takes care of chil- reer support network. On the pattern of Red Riding Hood.” dren and family.” the links between the Welcome Officers The event began with a retrospec- At workshops on work-life balance, at the Max Planck Institutes, the aim is tive look at the path taken by the Max gender awareness and science careers, to establish a “Career Steps Network” Planck Society to promote equality. the predominantly young male and fe- in concert with the Institute employees And a successful path it’s been, too, as male scientists were asked to share their tasked with career support. One hun- Cornelia Quennet-Thielen confirmed, personal experiences and desires so as dred individuals have already linked up pointing out that, in ten years, the to hear how the Max Planck Institutes on maxNet to exchange ideas.

Impressions from “Career Steps Opportunities” with Cornelia Quennet-Thielen (below right), State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the improvisational theater group Freiwild (below left). Photos: Arne Sattler/MPG

80 MaxPlanckResearch 2 | 17 Established in 2006 the Ernst Haage Prize honors young scientists for outstanding achievements in the field of chemical energy conversion and fosters young academics in Eparticular.stablished in 2006 the Ernst Haage Prize honorsThe prize young is awarded scien- tistsby the for Ernst outstanding Haage- achievementsFoundation and in is in Award Research theendowed field of with chemical energy conversion and€ 7,500. fosters young Conversion“ Energy „Chemical academics in particular.Nominees must be scientists who hold a docto- Therate prizefrom ais Germanawarded research institution/universi- by the Ernst Haage- Foundationty. They should and haveis their primary residence in Award Research in endowedGermany, withbe no more than 40 years old and not

€have 7,500. a permanent employment contract. Conversion“ Energy „Chemical ominations may be submitted to the Foundati- NNominees must be scientists who hold a docto- rateon‘s fromBoard a Germanof Trustees research by September institution/universi- 15th 2017 ty.and They should should include have thetheir following primary residencedocuments: in Germany, be no more than 40 years old and not have- Two a permanent pages of laudationemployment contract. Nominations- Curriculum may vitae be insubmitted table form to the Foundati- on‘s- CompleteBoard of Trustees publication by September list 15th 2017 and- Upshould to three include reprints the of following works by documents:the nominee - Two pages of laudation Personal- Curriculum applications vitae in cannot table formbe considered. - Complete publication list - Up to three reprints of works by the nominee The prize recognizes outstanding scientific Personalachievements applications in the cannotfield of be chemical considered. energy conversion, for example in the following divisi- Tons:he prize recognizes outstanding scientific achievements in the field of chemical energy conversion,–Hydrogen for as aexample medium in for the transferring following divisi- ons: and storing energy –Hydrogen–Photovoltaic as storagea medium solutions for transferring –Electrochemical and storing energy storage –Photovoltaic–Biomass and storagebioenergy solutions –Electrochemical storage –CO 2 transformation –Biomass–Hydrogen and oxidation bioenergy and electrolysis –CO transformation –Reduction 2 of nitrogen –Hydrogen oxidation and electrolysis –Reduction– Artifi cial and of naturalnitrogen photosynthesis Established in 2006 the Ernst HaageEstablished in 2006 the Ernst Haage Prize Prize honors young scien- honors young scien- tistsEstablished for outstanding in 2006 the Ernst Haagetists for outstanding Prize achievementshonors–Development young inscien- of new experimentalachievements in –tists Artifi for cial outstanding and natural photosynthesis the field of chemical the field of chemical achievements in theenergy field conversion of chemical energy conversion energyand fosters conversion young and fosters young andacademics fosters inyoung OpenCon 2017 in Berlin academics in particular.academics in particular. –DevelopmentTheparticular. prize is awarded of new Three-day experimental program at the Harnack House from November 11 to 13 The prize is awarded The and prize theoretical is awarded methods to fi nd new by the Ernst Haage- by the Ernst Haage- by the Ernst Haage- in Award Research in Award Research

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The Max Planck Society will be hosting conference dedicated to early career re- Conversion“ Energy „Chemical Conversion“ Energy „Chemical € 7,500. € 7,500. Conversion“ Energy „Chemical and theoretical methodsthe OpenCon 2017 organized by SPARC searchers to in the run-up to the “Berlinfi nd new N ominees application must areas be scientistsin theand the Right to Research Coalition. energy 11” Open Access conference.who That con- Nominees must be scientists who holdresearch.hold a docto- a doctorate from a German researchAbout 200 international participants ference turned out to beinstitution/universi- the initial spark rate from a German research institution/university. They should have theiraround the globe will come together for OpenCon.primary Organized by the Right to ty. They should have their primary residence in residence in Germany, be no more than 40 yearsGermany, be no more than 40 years old and not old and not have a permanent employmentfrom November 11 to 13 at the Harnack Research Coalition and SPARC, Open- contract. have application a permanent areas employment in theHouse, the Society’s conference centerenergy Con 2017 builds on the success of the have a permanentcontract. employment contract.research. Nominations may be submitted to the Foundati- on‘sNominations Board of mayTrustees be submitted byin Berlin, Germany, to promoteSeptember open- first three OpenCon conferences, which Nominations to may be submitted to the Foundati-the 15th Foundati- 2017 andon‘s Boardshould of include Trustees the byness in scholarly communication. followingSeptembercollectively convened approximately on‘s Board of Trustees by September 15th 2017 documents: 15th 2017 and should include theOpenCon, the platform forfollowing the next 500 participants from 80 countries. and should include the following documents: documents: - Two pages of laudation generation to learn about Open Access, In addition, OpenCon’s unique struc- - TwoCurriculum pages ofvitae laudation in table form- Two pages of laudation Open Education and Open Data, brings ture has supported 70 satellite events, - CurriculumComplete publication vitae in table list form- Curriculum vitae in table form - Up to three reprintstogether the mostof engaged students and enablingworks more than 4,100 attendees by the - nomineeComplete publication list - Complete publication list - Up to three reprintsearly career ofacademic professionals acrossworks 32 countries to participate in an - Up to three reprints of worksby by the the Personal nominee applications cannotfrom all over the world. Attendance at in-person OpenCon event. beThroughout nominee considered. Personal applications cannotOpenCon is by application only, and the year, hundreds of thesebe individuals Personal applications considered. cannot be considered. The prize recognizesthe majority of past participantsoutstanding receive remain engaged through monthly com- scientific achievements in the fieldtravel scholarships. munity calls,of regular webcasts and a very chemical energy conversion,he prize forrecognizes example outstandingin the he prize followingrecognizes outstanding scientific scientific divisi- ons:T OpenCon 2017’s three-day program active community discussion list. T achievements in the fieldwill begin with two days of keynotes, Since initiatingof the “Berlin Declara - chemicalachievements in the field of chemical energy energy conversion,–Hydrogen foras aexample mediumpanels and interactive workshops.in Openfor- tion on Openthe Access to Knowledgetransferring in conversion, followingfor example in the following divisi- divisi- ons: and storing energy ons: –Photovoltaic storage Consolutions places an emphasis on highlighting the Sciences and Humanities” in 2003, –Hydrogen–Electrochemical as a medium storagediverse early career voices, while complefor- the Max Planck Society is pursuingtransferring a –Hydrogen as a medium for transferring –Biomass and storing and energy bioenergymenting them with such leading experts broad and comprehensive Open Access and storing energy –CO transformation –Photovoltaic ErnstErnst2 storage HaageHaage solutions–Photovoltaic storage solutionsPrize as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and agenda. The Max Planck Society is com- –Electrochemical–Hydrogen oxidation storage and electrolysis–Electrochemical storage –Reduction of nitrogenEuropean Parliament Member Julia mitted to consistently supporting Open –Biomass and bioenergy –Biomass and bioenergy – Artifi cial and natural photosynthesisReda, who attended prior OpenCons. Access on all levels. In particular, it is –CO transformation –CO transformation –Development 2 of new The thirdexperimental day will feature an all-day crucial to foster the engagement of the 2 –Hydrogen and theoretical oxidation methods and electrolysisto fi –Hydrogen nd oxidation and electrolysis new –Reduction application of areas nitrogen in thesession where participants have the openergy- next generation of scholars because stu- –Reduction of nitrogen research. – Artifi cial and natural photosynthesisportunity to craft new campaigns, lay the dents and early career researchers face – Artifi cial and natural photosynthesis –Development of newfoundations experimental for new resources and form challenges from a scholarly publishing –Development of new experimental call andErnst theoretical for proposalsHaage methodscollaborations that will continue long af- in transition.to fi andnd theoretical methods to fiPrize nd new new 2017 call application for areas proposals in theter the November conference is over. Theenergy application areas in the energy research.research. 2017 call for proposalsFor more information about the conference 2017 speakers for 2017 will be released later. In 2013, the Max Planck Society and and to sign up for updates, please visit Directorate of the MaxErnst Planck Institute HaageSPARC organized the first Open Access www.opencon2017.org/updates. Ernst HaagePrize Prize for Chemical Energy Conversion callAttn. Ms. forChristin Ernstproposals call for proposals 2017 2017 Stiftstr. 34-36 D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr DirectorateCatchword: ofErnst the Haage Directorate of the Max Planck Institute Max Planck Institute forFor Chemicalfurther information Energy Conversion on the Ernstfor Chemical Energy Conversion Haage Attn.Prize, Ms.the ChristinFoundation Ernst and award ceremony,Attn. Ms. Christin Ernst please visit http://www.cec.mpg.de Stiftstr. 34-36 Award-Winning Research Video Stiftstr. 34-36 Prof.D-45470 Dr. RobertMülheim Schlögl an der Ruhr D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Prof.Catchword: Dr. Serena Ernst DeBeer Haage One of the films from the Max Planck Cinema series, “Biomaterials – Patent so- Catchword: Ernst Haage DirectorateProf. Dr. Wolfgang of the Lubitzlutions by nature,” has won the Technology Prize for 2016 at the Goethe Institute Prof. Dr. Frank Neese For further information onScience Film Festival. the The film depicts the research carried outErnst by Peter Fratzl at For further information on the Ernst HaageHaage Prize, the Foundation and award ceremony,Prize, the Foundation and award ceremony, please visit http://www.cec.mpg.dethe Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and optimally meets the re- please visit http://www.cec.mpg.de quired criteria: according to the international jury, “It exemplifies those decisive DirectorateProf. Dr. Robert of the Schlögl Prof. Dr. Robert Schlögl Max Planck Institute technologies that will change our lives in the 21st century.” Prof. Dr. Serena DeBeer The Goethe Institute presented awards in six categories. The Technology Prize Prof. Dr. Serena DeBeer Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lubitz Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lubitz Prof. Dr. Frank Neese is endowed with 1,000 euros. The Festival brings science to life on screen in an Prof. Dr. Frank Neese forMax Chemical Planck Institute Energy ConversionPhotos: Arne Sattler/MPG entertaining, creative and exciting way. It toured 16 countries last fall. Attn.for Chemical Ms. Christin Energy Ernst Conversion Stiftstr.Attn. Ms. 34-36 Christin Ernst D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Catchword:Stiftstr. 34-36 Ernst Haage D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr ForCatchword: further information Ernst Haage on the Ernst Haage Prize, the Foundation and award ceremony, pleaseFor further visit informationhttp://www.cec.mpg.de on the Ernst Haage Prize, the Foundation and award ceremony, Prof. Dr. Robert Schlögl Prof.please Dr. visit Serena http://www.cec.mpg.de DeBeer Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lubitz Prof.Prof. Dr.Dr. FrankRobert Neese Schlögl Prof. Dr. Serena DeBeer Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lubitz Prof. Dr. Frank Neese MAX PLANCK COMMUNITY

Shaw Prize for Simon D.M. White

Max Planck Director receives award for numerical simulations of structure formation in the early universe

This year’s Shaw Prize for Astronomy goes to Simon D.M. White, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Astro- physics, for his contributions to understanding structure formation in the universe. The Shaw Prize is awarded annually in the life sciences, mathematics and astronomy by the Shaw Prize Foundation in Hong Kong. A gold medal and prize money of 1.2 million US dollars will be awarded in each area at a ceremony in Hong Kong on September 26, 2017. The universe was born 13.8 billion years ago in the Big Bang. But how did the cosmos we observe today, with its billions of galaxies of different shapes and sizes, develop from this enormous explosion? Apparently, as Simon White and his collaborator Martin Rees first hypothesized in 1978, gigantic clouds This year’s Shaw Prize for Astronomy goes to Simon D.M. White, of material separated from expansion Director at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. and fell back on themselves under the influence of gravity when the universe was just a few hundred million years large scales. The work of White and his tion. White was a Lindemann Fellow old, and galaxies then formed as gas colleagues demonstrates how such com- at the Astronomy Department of the cooled and condensed at the centers of plex structures develop from the simple, University of California at Berkeley in immense halos of the mysterious dark near-uniform conditions initially hy- 1977 and 1978, and a research fellow matter that is still detected only pothesized, but now directly observed, at Churchill College, Cambridge from through its gravitational effects. to be present in the early universe. 1978 to 1980. Over four decades, Simon White Simon White was born in 1951 in He was then a senior fellow at the and his students and collaborators have Ashford, England. He earned a first de- Space Sciences Laboratory of UC Berke- simulated this scenario with ever-in- gree in mathematics from Jesus Col- ley (1980–1984) before joining the creasing realism on the largest available lege, Cambridge in 1972, an MSc in as- Faculty of Astronomy at the Universi- computers. A well known recent exam- tronomy from the University of Toron- ty of Arizona (1984–1991). In 1991, ple was the Millennium Simulation, to in 1974 and a PhD from Cambridge White returned to the Institute of As- carried out in 2005 on the Max Planck University in 1977. In the 1980s, tronomy in Cambridge and was direc- Society’s Garching supercomputer in White teamed up with Marc Davis, tor of the European Association for Re- collaboration with Volker Springel and George Efstathiou and Carlos Frenk to search in Astronomy from 1992 to others. This simulation tracked the de- show that the “Cold Dark Matter” the- 1994. Since 1994, White has been Di- velopment of structure and the forma- ory (CDM) was consistent with the for- rector at the Max Planck Institute for tion of 20 million galaxies throughout mation of galaxies and other cosmo- Astrophysics in Garching. a region of space measuring more than logical structures. In addition to numerous other two billion light-years across. In the 1990s he, together with Ju- prizes and awards, Simon D.M. White In fact, such simulations produce a lio Navarro and Carlos Frenk, showed has won the Helen B. Warner Prize kind of cosmic net in which matter ac- that all dark matter halos have a sim- from the American Astronomy Society, cumulates in and flows along filaments ple “universal” structure that can be the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astro- on the edges of gigantic bubbles. This is predicted from the material content physics, a gold medal from the Royal precisely the structure that astronomers and geometry of the universe and cur- Astronomical Society and the Gruber

observe in the real universe on very rent ideas about its very early evolu- Cosmology Prize. Photo: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

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