Latest news with #Munich
Gizmodo
4 hours ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
Lightning Kills Way More Trees Than Anyone Thought, New Research Suggests
We've all seen dramatic footage of lightning striking a mighty tree, its branches going up in flames. But how often does this actually happen? Researchers didn't know how much lightning impacted forests—until now. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a computer model to provide what they claim to be the first estimate of lightning's impact on forest ecosystems around the world. According to their study, lightning affects forests more than previously thought. Specifically, they suggest that around 320 million trees die each year from lightning strikes, not including the trees that die in lightning-induced wildfires. 'Lightning is an important yet often overlooked disturbance agent in forest ecosystems,' the researchers explained in the study, published last month in the journal Global Change Biology. To make their estimate, they integrated observational data and global lightning patterns into a well-known global vegetation simulation. The computer model indicates that trees killed by lightning represent 2.1% to 2.9% of all plant biomass loss annually. While plants and trees absorb CO2 through photosynthesis during their lifetimes, they release a significant amount of it back into the atmosphere when they die and decay. As such, these figures are crucial to better understanding Earth's carbon cycling. With the combined model, 'we're now able not only to estimate how many trees die from lightning strikes annually, but also to identify the regions most affected and assess the implications for global carbon storage and forest structure,' Andreas Krause, lead author of the study and researcher at the Chair of Land Surface-Atmosphere Interactions, explained in a TUM statement. The biomass decay caused by the lightning-killed trees is estimated to emit between 770 million and 1.09 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. According to the researchers, this is surprisingly high. For comparison, living plants burned in wildfires release around 1.26 billion tons of CO2 every year. Both of these figures, however, are dwarfed by the total wildfires CO2 emissions (including the combustion of deadwood and soil material), which is approximately 5.85 billion tons per year. 'Most climate models project an increase in lightning frequency in the coming decades, so it's worth paying closer attention to this largely overlooked disturbance,' said Krause. 'Currently, lightning-induced tree mortality is highest in tropical regions. However, models suggest that lightning frequency will increase primarily in middle- and high-latitude regions, meaning that lightning mortality could also become more relevant in temperate and boreal forests.' The researchers argue that ecosystem models need to account for lightning mortality in order to better predict vegetation dynamics. Interestingly, though, not all trees die after getting struck by lightning—in fact, some kinda like it.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Men really are 'punching' on dating apps! Blokes pursue women who are more attractive than themselves, study confirms
Ladies - if it feels pretty bleak on the dating apps at the moment, scientists might have worked out the reason why. An analysis of online dating sites has revealed that men tend to 'punch' above their attractiveness level when it comes to swipes. Researchers discovered that overall, successful matches were more likely to occur between people with similar levels of desirability. But this means that men have likely ended up settling for someone who they were initially less interested in - after being rejected by more attractive options. 'Women nominate on average slightly less desirable mates, and men send ties (swipes) to women who are on average considerably more desirable than themselves,' the researchers wrote in the journal Plos One. 'Our research…shows that while men often aim high when choosing whom to contact, successful matches tend to happen between people with similar levels of desirability. 'This pattern is largely the result of rejection, rather than an initial preference for similarity.' The findings could shed some light on the success of certain male celebrities including Jay Z, Barry Keoghan and Pete Davidson - all of whom have dated women that many consider to be more attractive than them. The research was carried out by a team from the Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich, in Germany, and the University of Manchester. For their study, the team analysed data on nearly 3,000 heterosexual users of a Czech dating app, including swipes and desirability. Desirability was calculated by working out who received the most swipes. Women tended to rank more highly in this hierarchy, they discovered, largely because the app had many more male users than female ones. Overall, they found that men were more likely to pursue women who ranked as more desirable than them. 'Men tend to send ties (swipes) to women who are on average considerably more desirable than themselves,' the team wrote. 'All these findings together point toward the presence of aspirational pursuit among men, but not among women.' The analysis also revealed a huge discrepancy between how many swipes a person received, with certain individuals receiving triple the average amount of swipes. While some users sent almost no swipes, some were highly active when searching for a partner. The researchers said women's willingness to 'partner down' should be taken with a 'grain of salt' due to the low variability in how desirable men were. Previous research has suggested that married couples often share similar characteristics - such as age, ethnicity or political ideology. Scientists have also found that men and women are good at judging their own attractiveness, and tend to marry people who are similarly attractive. This suggests people largely date and marry people in our own 'league' - as far as beauty is concerned - experts from the University of Florida said. HOW CAN YOU CHECK IF YOU ARE BEING CATFISHED? Dating apps and online websites are plagued with fraudulent profiles, known as 'catfishes'. 'Catfishing' originated as a term for the process of luring people into false relationships, however, it has also come to encompass people giving out false information about themselves more generally. These profiles often use images of another person to allow users to pretend to be someone else in order to get a date, or scam money from a lonelyheart. Fortunately, there are certain ways to check if these profiles are real people or if they are bogus accounts — 1. Google reverse image search This is probably the most valuable tool for catching out a catfish and can be done via Google. To kickstart the process, people need only right-click the photos that are arousing their suspcions, copy the URL and paste it into The search engine will search to see if the image has been used elsewhere. If you find the picture associated with a different person to the one you're speaking to on your dating app, it's likely you've met a catfish! 2. Use an app called Veracity It is useful for dating sites such as Tinder, Bumble and Grindr as it allows images from Dropbox or Camera roll (or similar) to be cross-referenced against any matching results. Load the app, then select a screenshot of the suspicious dating app profile from your camera roll to launch the search. The app will tell you if the picture belongs to somebody else. 3. Check their Facebook Almost everyone who has a profile on a dating site will have a Facebook account (most dating apps require users to have one, after all!) so it is always advisable to track down your potential suitor on other forms of social media. 4. Google them Google and other search engines have an extensive repertoire and most people will crop up in a search. In this day and age, it's unusual for someone to have nothing on Google. Have a search through for them or their relatives, things they've said or posted in the past. If there's nothing, that should raise alarm bells. For prospective romantic engagements, seeing the face of someone you are virtually talking to is essential. 6. Money This is probably a scam and should provide immediate red flags.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Brit mum, 21, charged with drug trafficking in Germany after being caught ‘smuggling cannabis in luggage from Thailand'
A young BRIT mum has been charged with drug trafficking in Germany after allegedly smuggling cannabis from Thailand. Cameron Bradford, 21, from Knebworth, Herts, was arrested at Munich Airport on April 22 as she attempted to collect her luggage. 8 8 8 Authorities became suspicious of Cameron when she changed her flight to into London Heathrow via Singapore at the last minute - flying to Munich instead. She has been charged with attempted transit of cannabis and abetting the international trafficking of cannabis, authorities said. A family friend said Cameron had travelled to Thailand on her own and posted a photo of the ocean on her Facebook account just days before her arrest. She could be held for at least four months in a German prison while authorities investigate the origins of the cannabis, sources say. When Cameron, who has a young son, didn't return home on her Heathrow bound flight as expected, her family filed a missing persons report. But the next day the family was alerted to her whereabouts in Germany. Chief prosecutor Anne Leiding of the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office said: 'We can confirm that we are conducting proceedings in this matter. 'The defendant is still in custody.' A hearing will take place in Munich District Court on 6 August. The prosecution is refusing to discuss the charges or even give a trial date, citing the ongoing investigation. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British woman who is detained in Germany and are in contact with her family and the local authorities." In 2024, Germany legalised cannabis for recreational use by adults aged 18 and over. But despite a raft of publicity around the law change two essential points were missed. The law does not extend to tourists or non-residents, including Brits. It's also interpreted differently across all of Germany's 16 federal states. And crucially the unauthorised import of cannabis, even for personal use, is strictly illegal and carries a hefty five years in prison. SPATE OF DRUG ARRESTS It comes after a British couple claiming to be tourists from Thailand were busted with more than 33kg of cannabis in their suitcases at a Spanish airport. The pair were picked out by suspicious cops at Valencia Airport after displaying a 'nervous and evasive attitude' and are now behind bars on drug trafficking charges. 8 8 The man and woman, aged 33 and 34, were stopped before reaching customs, with officials later discovering vacuum-packed marijuana and no clothes or personal belongings in their luggage. Cops said the pair will not yet be named but were arrested late on May 5 and hauled to court the next day. Their court appearance, which led to their remand in prison, took place behind-closed-doors as is normal in Spain where only trials are held in public. The two British nationals are not expected to find out for several months now whether they will be formally indicted and face trial. A British OnlyFans model was also caught allegedly smuggling nearly £200,000 worth of Thai cannabis into Spain. Glamorous Clara Wilson, from Huthwaite, Notts, has been charged with a drug running offence after more than 34 kilos of cannabis was found stuffed in her two suitcases. Elsewhere, Brit Bella May Culley, 18, sparked a massive international search operation in early May after she was reported missing while holidaying in Thailand. However, it was later revealed that the teen, from Billingham, County Durham, had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia. She was allegedly carrying 30 pounds (14kg) of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation. Around the same time, 21-year-old Charlotte Lee May, from Coulsdon, south London, was also arrested in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo after police discovered 46 kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase. The former flight attendant, facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted, is claiming she had 'no idea' about the drugs worth up to £1.2 million and insisted they must have been planted in her luggage without her knowledge. 8 8 8
Al Arabiya
9 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Spy cockroaches and AI robots: Germany plans the future of warfare
For Gundbert Scherf - the co-founder of Germany's Helsing, Europe's most valuable defense start-up - Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Scherf had to fight hard to attract investment after starting his company - which produces military strike drones and battlefield AI - four years ago. Now, that's the least of his problems. The Munich-based company more than doubled its valuation to $12 billion at a fundraising last month. 'Europe this year, for the first time in decades, is spending more on defense technology acquisition than the US,' said Scherf. The former partner at McKinsey & Company says Europe may be on the cusp of a transformation in defense innovation akin to the Manhattan Project - the scientific push that saw the US rapidly develop nuclear weapons during World War Two. 'Europe is now coming to terms with defense.' Reuters spoke to two dozens executives, investors and policymakers to examine how Germany - Europe's largest economy - aims to play a central role in the rearming the continent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government views AI and start-up technology as key to its defense plans and is slashing bureaucracy to connect startups directly to the upper echelons of its military, the sources told Reuters. Shaped by the trauma of Nazi militarism and a strong postwar pacifist ethos, Germany long maintained a relatively small and cautious defense sector, sheltered by US security guarantees. Germany's business model, shaped by a deep aversion to risk, has also favored incremental improvements over disruptive innovation. No more. With US military support now more uncertain, Germany - one of the biggest backers of Ukraine - plans to nearly triple its regular defense budget to around 162 billion euros ($175 billion) per year by 2029. Much of that money will go into reinventing the nature of warfare, the sources said. Helsing is part of a wave of German defense start-ups developing cutting-edge technology, from tank-like AI robots and unmanned mini-submarines to battle-ready spy cockroaches. 'We want to help give Europe its spine back,' said Scherf. Some of these smaller firms are now advising the government alongside established firms - so-called primes such as Rheinmetall and Hensoldt - that have less incentive to focus primarily on innovation, given their long backlogs for conventional systems, one of the sources said. A new draft procurement law, approved by Merz's cabinet on Wednesday, aims to reduce hurdles for cash-strapped start-ups to join tenders by enabling advance payment to these firms. The law would also entitle authorities to limit tenders to bidders inside the European Union. Marc Wietfeld, CEO and founder of autonomous robots maker ARX Robotics, said a recent meeting with German defense minister Boris Pistorius hammered home how deep the rethink in Berlin goes. 'He told me: 'Money is no longer an excuse - it's there now'. That was a turning point,' he said. Germany in the lead Since Donald Trump's return to the political stage and his renewed questioning of America's commitment to NATO, Germany has committed to meet the alliance's new target of 3.5% of GDP on defense spending by 2029 - faster than most European allies. Officials in Berlin have emphasized the need to foster a European defense industry rather than rely on US companies. But the hurdles towards scaling up industry champions in Germany - and Europe more broadly - are considerable. Unlike in the United States, the market is fragmented in Europe. Each country has its own set of procurement standards to fulfill contracts. The United States, the world's top military spender, already has an established stable of defense giants, like Lockheed Martin and RTX, and an advantage in key areas, including satellite technology, fighter jets and precise-guided munitions. Washington also began boosting defense tech startups in 2015 - including Shield AI, drone maker Anduril and software company Palantir - by awarding them parts of military contracts. European startups until recently languished with little government support. But an analysis by Aviation Week in May showed Europe's 19 top defense spenders - including Turkey and Ukraine - were projected to spend 180.1 billion this year on military procurement compared, to 175.6 billion for the United States. Washington's overall military spending will remain higher. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, head of Germany's security and defense sector association BDSV, said one challenge was that the military's procurement system was geared toward established suppliers and not well suited to the fast pace that new technologies require. Germany's defense ministry said in a statement it was taking steps to accelerate procurement and to better integrate startups in order to make new technologies quickly available to the Bundeswehr. Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the armed forces' powerful procurement agency, highlighted drones and AI as emerging fields that Germany needs to develop. 'The changes they're bringing to the battlefield are as revolutionary as the introduction of the machine gun, tank, or airplane,' she told Reuters. Spy cockroaches Sven Weizenegger, who heads up the Cyber Innovation hub, the Bundeswehr's innovation accelerator, said the war in Ukraine was also changing social attitudes, removing a stigma towards working in the defense sector. 'Germany has developed a whole new openness towards the issue of security since the invasion,' he said. Weizenegger said he was receiving 20-30 Linkedin requests a day, compared to maybe 2-3 weekly back in 2020, with ideas for defense technology to develop. Some of the ideas under development feel akin to science fiction – like Swarm Biotactics' cyborg cockroaches that are equipped with specialized miniature backpacks that enable real-time data collection via cameras for example. Electrical stimuli should allow humans to control the insects' movements remotely. The aim is for them to provide surveillance information in hostile environments - for example information about enemy positions. 'Our bio-robots - based on living insects - are equipped with neural stimulation, sensors, and secure communication modules,' said CEO Stefan Wilhelm. 'They can be steered individually or operate autonomously in swarms. In the first half of the 20th century, German scientists pioneered many military technologies that became global standards, from ballistic missiles to jet aircraft and guided weapons. But following its defeat in World War II, Germany was demilitarized and its scientific talent was dispersed. Wernher von Braun, who invented the first ballistic missile for the Nazis, was one of hundreds of German scientists and engineers transported to the United States in the wake of World War II, where he later worked at NASA and developed the rocket that took Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. In recent decades, defense innovation has been a powerful driver of economic progress. Tech like the internet, GPS, semiconductors and jet engines originated in military research programs before transforming civilian life. Hit by high energy prices, a slowdown in demand for its exports and competition from China, Germany's $4.75 trillion economy contracted over the last two years. Expanding military research could provide an economic fillip. 'We just need to get to this mindset: a strong defense industrial base means a strong economy and innovation on steroids,' said Markus Federle, managing partner at defense-focused investment firm Tholus Capital. Escaping 'the valley of death' Risk aversion among European investors had in the past disadvantaged startups, which struggled to get the capital they need to survive the 'valley of death' – the critical early stage when costs are high and sales low. But a boost in defense spending by European governments following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has investors looking for opportunities. Europe now boasts three start-ups with a unicorn valuation of more than $1 billion: Helsing, German drone maker Quantum Systems, and Portugal's Tekever, which also manufactures drones. 'There's a lot of pressure now on Germany being the lead nation of the European defense,' said Sven Kruck, Quantum's chief strategy officer. Germany has become Ukraine's second-biggest military backer after the United States. Orders that might once have taken years to approve now take months and European startups have had the opportunity to test their products quickly in the field, several sources said. Venture capital funding of European defense tech hit $1 billion in 2024, up from a modest $373 million in 2022, and is expected to surge even more this year. 'Society has recognized that we have to defend our democracies,' said Christian Saller, general partner at HV Capital, an investor in both ARX and Quantum Systems. Venture capital funding has grown faster in Germany than elsewhere, according to a data analysis by Dealroom for Reuters. German defense startups have received $1.4 billion in the last five years from investors, followed by UK, the data shows. Jack Wang, partner at venture capital firm Project A, said many German defense startups - rooted in the country's engineering prowess - are good at integrating established components into scalable systems. 'Quality of talent in Europe is extremely high, but as a whole, there's no better country, no better talent that we've seen other than in Germany,' he said. Weakness in Germany's automotive industry means there is production capacity to spare, including in the Mittelstand: the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that form the backbone of Germany's economy. Stefan Thumann, CEO of Bavarian startup Donaustahl, which produces loitering munitions, said he receives 3 to 5 applications daily from workers at automotive companies. 'The startups just need the brains to do the engineering and prototyping,' he said. 'And the German Mittelstand will be their muscles.'
Wall Street Journal
10 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Munich Re CEO Wenning to Retire, CFO Moves Up
Munich Re's MUV2 0.73%increase; green up pointing triangle Chief Executive Joachim Wenning will retire at the end of this year and be succeeded by finance chief Christoph Jurecka. The German reinsurer on Wednesday said Wenning doesn't wish to continue in the role for personal reasons and has decided to retire upon the conclusion of its strategy program this year. He will step down after eight years in the role on Dec. 31.
