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There are still too few women in research. Less than 30% of all scientists worldwide are female. Even though in Germany, there are plenty of role models.
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00:05There are still too few women working in science, less than 30% of researchers are female.
00:12Men have it easier building careers, women still have to overcome many more challenges,
00:17but there are role models aplenty.
00:21Welcome to Tomorrow Today, the science show on DW, this time with a focus on women in
00:29research.
00:31Marika Udalar is finding out how our genes work.
00:35To do so, she and her team study human DNA.
00:39We're investigating the 3D structure of the DNA in our cells and how it influences the
00:45activity of our genes.
00:48The work could help us better understand diseases like cancer.
00:52Udalar has been at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Natural Sciences in Göttingen
00:58since 2020.
00:59There and at other research institutes and universities in the state of Lower Saxony, two out of five
01:06scientists on average in 2023 were women.
01:09They often face challenges that male colleagues are spared.
01:14I think that also as a female scientist, you have to deal with unconscious prejudices, and
01:20that can make it really difficult at the beginning of your career to establish yourself as a recognized
01:26scientist in your field.
01:30Biases are deep-rooted and wide-ranging.
01:34Angela Ittl says female researchers often have their scientific competence called into question,
01:39or face outdated paradigms about roles.
01:44The most challenging time in my career was when I had small children.
01:49Because that was the first time I felt really pressured by society.
01:54People were saying, please go home.
01:57And to resist that and remain convinced that I was on the right path,
02:01not just for me personally, but also for my children,
02:05well, let's just say that was a tough time.
02:10Over the past five years, the number of women working in the sciences in Germany has risen slowly.
02:16In Udilar's team, young female scientists now actually outnumber their male colleagues.
02:23Science is a very vast area to explore,
02:28and I'm very lucky to find a position in the Max Planck Society to do my research,
02:33where I'm supported by my PI.
02:37However, in the top jobs, women are still scarce.
02:41They hold only around a third of the professorships in Germany.
02:44At least some universities, though, are doing what they can to even the odds.
02:51We currently have a professor in one professorship who only applied because we approached her.
02:57And she only decided to take it because we agreed to give her a lot of support.
03:05Udilar's position as a lead researcher is financed by an equal opportunities program.
03:11I believe programs like the Lisa Meitner Excellence Program are very important,
03:16because they support promising female researchers at a very early stage in their careers.
03:22And that allows them to really focus on developing their research goals.
03:28Like Marike Udilar is doing now, with the work that might one day put her in the running for a
03:34leadership position herself.
03:38For women competing for positions in scientific fields still dominated by men, planning is half the battle.
03:44It's important to know what drives you and your research goals.
03:49Just like the next scientist on the show.
03:52She's an expert on special biotopes that play a vital role in climate protection.
04:00Peatlands, bogs and fens are shrouded in mystery and legend.
04:05Few know as much about the unique habitats as leading German expert Franziska Tannenberger.
04:13Fens are ecosystems that developed in places that have water in excess, like here.
04:19Plants that grow here, which are adapted to the wet conditions, don't decompose completely, but form peat.
04:26What I'm standing on.
04:28There are many important reasons to protect peatlands, especially in Germany, where most have been destroyed.
04:36Tannenberger has studied peatlands for many years and campaigned for their conservation.
04:42Fens like this one, the Molmerseewiesen, are rare.
04:47Since its restoration three years ago, many bog plants and animals have made a comeback in the area.
04:57You can see the transition here quite well.
05:00This is a sedge plant that grows in bogs like this.
05:04The leaves on top are green, of course.
05:07And the roots down below are these white and brown things you see.
05:10That's where it's already transitioning into peat.
05:13That's the special thing that happens in peatlands.
05:15The roots don't decompose completely.
05:18More is created than is broken down again.
05:22Peat that builds up over thousands of years forms very special ecosystems.
05:27And protecting them is about more than just everyday conservation.
05:32We face real societal challenges like the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis, to name just two.
05:39And at some point we realize that although peatlands can't save the world and solve every problem,
05:45a lot really does come together there.
05:49Although peatlands cover just 4% of all land globally, they play a key role in ecosystems.
05:55They trap more carbon than all the world's forests combined, providing a habitat for rare plants and animals.
06:04In Germany, 95% of all bogs and fens have been drained, the source of 7% of the country's
06:11greenhouse gas emissions.
06:13If drained peatlands were re-wetted, they could begin storing carbon again instead of emitting it,
06:18which is why Franziska Tannenberger campaigns for more of them to be restored in Germany.
06:24But what about the farmers who currently make their livelihood from land that was once a bog?
06:32In the past, protecting peatlands often meant halting agriculture in those areas that we were re-wetting.
06:39Buying up the land, maybe turning it back into wilderness, which is a great thing.
06:44But considering the fact that we have almost 2 million hectares of peatlands in Germany,
06:49where we now want to gradually raise water levels, this strategy alone won't cut it.
06:57That's why Tannenberger is talking about options with farmers like Henning Christ,
07:03who's taking part in a re-wetting project.
07:05The goal is to make peatland protection and agriculture complementary rather than just one
07:12or the other. But as Klist explains here, even just getting around on waterlogged ground isn't easy,
07:19because you can't drive on it. Re-wetting poses new problems for farmers.
07:26I believe listening is very important and asking about the reasons and looking for solutions together.
07:33Not to show up with a finished plan, but always to ask how it could work here on the ground.
07:41Together with farmers, Tannenberger wants to explore possibilities for agriculture in peatlands,
07:47whether in saturated areas or, like here, in places that dry out in the summer.
07:52Henning Christ could now use this land to grow fodder for his animals,
07:57but its quality won't be very high.
08:01Of course we want to do our bit, because climate protection is a really big issue.
08:06But it also means downsides for us, no question.
08:09The land isn't quite as attractive economically as it used to be.
08:15The farmer receives some subsidies for conservation efforts, but they aren't enough to make up for an
08:22inferior harvest or the risks. Tannenberger also wants policymakers to get more involved in peatland
08:29protection and pushes for more state support. The researcher shuttles constantly between northern
08:35Germany, Berlin and Brussels, talking to everyone involved, like here at the German Council for Sustainable
08:42Development and Advisory Panel, or with people at the country's agricultural associations,
08:48who fear output and income in the sector will suffer.
08:53Franziska was the first to say that though we have to save peatlands for reasons of climate and
08:58biodiversity, we also have to save the people who earn their livings from farms. And when someone is so
09:04committed and well versed in representing their cause, it makes finding solutions together all the more fun.
09:13Discussing, listening to other opinions and not losing sight of environmental protection in the process,
09:19it all takes a lot of energy and staying power.
09:23On the one hand, it helps if you're really convinced that your issue is worth it.
09:27And in the case of peatlands, I'm very certain about the many synergies — climate, biodiversity,
09:33sustainable management — that everything is involved. Also, I think it's very important to talk about
09:38timeframes. Not everyone has to implement climate protection 100 percent tomorrow, but we all have
09:44to work together to get there.
09:49Franziska Tannenberger, one of Germany's top experts on bogs, fins and peatlands,
09:55who also knows how to convince people they're worth protecting.
10:02It's a natural process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, often for many years,
10:08slowing down climate change and global warming. Photosynthesis evolved in plants, but there are
10:14even more efficient ways to bind the carbon and CO2. Climatologist Kira Reiffelt and her team are
10:20exploring the options. A weather station on the roof of the Geo and Environmental Center in the German
10:28city of Tübingen. Here, the team led by Kira Reiffelt and Matthias May wants to conduct artificial
10:35photosynthesis — in other words, to use solar energy to convert gaseous CO2 into other products. Some
10:43artificial photosynthesis processes are already 10 times more efficient than the natural evolved
10:49processes. Trees, for example, use only one percent of the solar energy that's available to bind CO2 and
10:56ultimately store it in wood. This is the natural carbon cycle that has created a stable climate on Earth over
11:06millions of years. And what we humans have done is systematically extract and burn these natural carbon
11:15reserves that have been stored in the ground for those millions of years. Now we're facing a challenge.
11:25The CO2 concentration in the atmosphere from combustion is changing our climate so much
11:31that we're seeing negative consequences for prosperity and world peace.
11:40The researchers are essentially searching for a way to recapture all that carbon. Called NETPEC,
11:46their project brings together scientists from a range of disciplines.
11:50Kira Reiffelt is a climatologist, while Matthias May works in the field of physical chemistry.
11:56In this experimental setup, carbon dioxide is blown into an electrolyte solution.
12:03The shiny silver dome serves as a catalyst. When electrified, it can turn CO2 molecules into flakes of carbon.
12:14You can see something happening on its surface. Small bubbles are forming. In this phase,
12:19our catalyst is actually producing carbon monoxide. You can see quite clearly here that,
12:26in addition to the bubbles rising, black flakes are beginning to appear on the catalyst's surface.
12:32That's the carbon we want to extract from the process. The carbon flakes grow on the metal surface and are
12:42loosened by vibration.
12:44This is carbon in its purest form, graphite, like what's found in pencil lead. It's non-toxic,
12:51flame-resistant and can be stored without any special precautions.
12:56The catalyst determines what end products are produced. Carbon flakes are just one option.
13:02The technology might still be in its infancy, but removing CO2 from the atmosphere
13:08is already being factored into calculations involving climate targets.
13:15Ideally, we wouldn't need this technology. That has to be said. Ideally, humanity would realize
13:22today that we need to stop burning hydrocarbons. But in a less-than-ideal scenario, we need this
13:29technology as a backstop option to get ourselves out of this dilemma. That we've been releasing CO2 for
13:37too long and have relied on combustion engines and fossil fuels for too long. And if we need this backstop,
13:44we may need it a lot. Even the most optimistic scenarios don't predict we'll eliminate global
13:55CO2 emissions completely in the next few years, even though that's what would actually be necessary
14:00to achieve climate targets and limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Researchers compare the CO2
14:08we're continuing to emit to an overdraft on your bank account. But this overdraft is one we're taking
14:14out with the environment. In order to still hit targets, you can try to pay back the overdraft debt
14:23through what are known as negative emissions. This means that we extract CO2 that has already been
14:31released into the atmosphere and store it permanently. This makes it possible to still achieve these
14:37targets, at least in principle, but of course at a higher cost. Time is of the essence. The NETPEC team
14:47is hoping for more funding so that it can work with more researchers to find solutions to what is
14:53currently humanity's greatest problem. In 10 years, I want to be standing here and showing you mountains
15:02of carbon we've extracted from the atmosphere. Better yet, in five years. In winter in Europe,
15:09when there are no leaves on the trees, there's little natural photosynthesis going on. But artificial
15:15photosynthesis could use every precious hour of sunshine in winter to continue removing CO2 from the
15:21atmosphere. Even then, however, it will play a secondary role. Negative emissions technologies can never
15:28replace climate protection measures. We worry that research into CO2 removal will lead to less climate
15:38protection because it presents us with a dilemma. Some people say that if we can remove CO2 from the
15:47atmosphere, then we can continue to operate gas-fired power plants. But it doesn't work that way.
15:55Our calculations only work if industry completely decarbonizes and we cover the remaining absolutely
16:02necessary CO2 emissions with artificial photosynthesis. It's not a fig leaf. It's vital, a hard necessity.
16:16So to stabilize the planet's rising temperature, we still have to stop burning fossil fuels.
16:22Negative emissions alone can't solve the climate crisis.
16:30Coming up with a quick fix for the world's problems? That's not how the chemist next up on the show
16:35thinks.
16:37She also works with catalysts, ones that have evolved in nature. In plants that sometimes have
16:43fascinating, exotic names.
16:50It may look and sound like a weed, but Japanese knotweed, Fallopia japonica, can actually be a useful plant.
16:58Harvested by hand to prevent damage, it grows almost everywhere along this tributary of the River Rhone in
17:04southern France. Chemist Claude Grison discovered it here. Left unchecked, this invasive species is extremely harmful.
17:15It grows three to four times faster than the other plants. So it suffocates biodiversity in this area,
17:21which has an exceptional array of plants. So it's a real catastrophe from an ecological point of view.
17:27But also from an economic point of view, because it chokes this tributary that should be regulating
17:32excess water from the Rhone. One possibility would be to try and clear out the plants.
17:39But Claude Grison found a way to put them to good use. She developed a unique process to acquire natural
17:45catalysts. These are widely used in drug research and cosmetics production, because they're highly
17:51efficient at speeding up complex chemical reactions to create new molecules.
17:57The plant has a unique physiology. It can emit molecules that poison its neighbors.
18:03Claude Grison has long been fascinated by the incredible abilities of plants.
18:09More than ten years ago, she worked with a group of students researching the unique properties of
18:14indigenous species in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the Pacific.
18:21In New Caledonia, I discovered some exceptional plant species that tolerate pollution, so to speak.
18:27Better still, they can actually extract metals from their surroundings and store them in their leaves.
18:34With these plants, it's possible to regenerate soil that's been completely degraded by the presence of metals.
18:42Here in France, Cruzan has been focusing on invasive plants. Some species can purify polluted water.
18:49Others, like Japanese knotweed, are now being processed in the lab for use in industrial applications.
18:56The Compagnie Nationale du Rhone is in charge of managing land along the river and controlling invasive
19:02species here. Together with scientists, they harvest the plants across several administrative areas.
19:10We're looking to develop pest control techniques that can be used on a large or small scale,
19:15and on different plants. The benefit is that we're promoting a type of chemistry that is green
19:20and sustainable. It's a kind of circular economy that integrates various species.
19:29Today, the team has only managed to clear a few hundred meters of land.
19:33The plants are taken to a warehouse where they're dried for at least three days or longer in wet weather.
19:39Then they're shredded and sent to the laboratory.
19:44Here, the plant material is placed in the oven to dry for a few hours.
19:49Only then is it ready for the chemical process in the lab.
19:53The resulting organic catalyst is mixed with water and a few natural additives to create a final product
19:58that's indispensable in cosmetics, for example. Grison's product is entirely natural – a clean
20:05alternative for an industry looking to shift away from harmful petroleum substances in personal care products.
20:15People think of chemistry as a discipline with a terrible environmental impact, which is true.
20:21But chemistry also gives us a better understanding of ecology,
20:24how a plant or insect functions on a molecular level. And so chemistry can have a positive impact
20:30on the environment. I'm interested in reconciling these two disciplines.
20:39Grison's discoveries about plants in New Caledonia and France are so groundbreaking,
20:43she received the European Inventor Award in 2022.
20:46The winner is Claude Grison! Claude Grison has already founded two companies,
21:01proof that her organic catalysts are in high demand.
21:08Our last report introduces a young archaeologist who's still in the early days of her career.
21:14She's drawn to the mummies left behind by the ancient Egyptians,
21:18as well as the techniques they used to embalm the bodies of their departed.
21:23It's a field that involves working with materials that most people would find at least a little creepy.
21:34Archaeologist Pia Kushevsky is currently taking 30 samples of human skin
21:39out of the incubator practically every day here at the University of Munich.
21:44She's drying, washing and embalming them, according to a process the ancient Egyptians
21:49probably once performed on a large scale.
21:53We actually know relatively little about the details of how things were done there.
21:58We now want to know what happened when and for how long.
22:02We're also learning more about how the embalming substances behave and how we have to mix them.
22:09Together with mummy researcher Andreas Nerlich,
22:13she's looking for the still mysterious recipe used by embalmers in ancient Egypt.
22:18For over a month now, the young archaeologist has been drying out donated skin samples with baking soda.
22:25And they're now documenting appearance, smell and weight.
22:30And taking small snippets to analyze the tissue, DNA and proteins.
22:35Not an easy task, says Nerlich, who heads the project.
22:40They're so dried out that you can't take a sample with a scalpel. That's surprising.
22:46But if we already had all the answers,
22:48we wouldn't have needed to perform the experiment in the first place.
22:55The soda-cured samples are next washed with wine.
23:00And then, for the first time, embalmed with mixtures of different substances,
23:05among them exotic ingredients like elemi and mastic resin, and oils from cypress and cedar.
23:14These are oils, fats and resins we think were used because of the investigations at the Saqqara
23:20embalming workshop. But we know nothing about substance concentrations, so we now have to test them.
23:31Research carried out a few years ago has helped throw light on what substances the ancient Egyptians
23:37used. In 2016, a German-Egyptian team of scientists discovered an underground embalming workshop in Saqqara,
23:46near Cairo. In it were ancient jars that contained oil and ointment. A lab analysis determined what they held.
23:56It was a real breakthrough because it was archaeological evidence of what substances were used.
24:02Until then, we only knew a little from what Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus described.
24:09With the information provided by those ancient historians, Nährlich tried to recreate the
24:15mummification process over 10 years ago on a pig. But there was a major problem. Authors such as
24:21Herodotus and Diodorus were writing centuries after the fact, and their instructions were inaccurate.
24:28The current experiments are based on a much better starting point.
24:32The scientists are trying out the original ingredients on several test samples at the
24:38same time. And they can compare the results they obtain with the real thing.
24:45Since we're testing this on human skin, we're much closer to the original, to a mummy, an Egyptian mummy.
24:54The young archaeologist and the mummy researcher hope to soon have the first results from their experiments.
25:01But for now, embalming is still on the daily agenda.
25:11What are stars made of? How many colors can butterflies see? Could robots have babies one day?
25:19Yes. Do you have a science question? Then send it to us as a video, text or voice message.
25:25If we answer it in the show, then we'll send you a little gift as a thank you. So go
25:30on, just ask.
25:36Thanks for watching Tomorrow Today, the science program on DW.
25:41That wraps things up for our show, looking at women in science.
25:45Their numbers are growing, and more and more are making names for themselves in many different areas.
25:52Pushing the limits of what we know about the world around us, and changing the face of research in
25:57field after field. See you next time. Bye for now.
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