Searches for beyond-standard-model physics with astroparticle physics instruments.

Many instruments for astroparticle physics are primarily geared towards multi-messenger astrophysics, to study the origin of cosmic rays and to understand high-energy astrophysical processes. Since these instruments observe the Universe at extreme energies and in kinematic ranges not accessible at accelerators these experiments provide also unique and complementary opportunities to search for particles and physics beyond the standard model of particle physics. In particular, the reach of IceCube, Fermi and KATRIN to search for and constrain Dark Matter, Axions, heavy Big Bang relics, sterile neutrinos and Lorentz invariance violation will be discussed.

Einstein@Home discovers a radio-quiet gamma-ray millisecond pulsar.

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are old neutron stars that spin hundreds of times per second and appear to pulsate as their emission beams cross our line of sight. To date, radio pulsations have been detected from all rotation-powered MSPs. In an attempt to discover radio-quiet gamma-ray MSPs, we used the aggregated power from the computers of tens of thousands of volunteers participating in the Einstein@Home distributed computing project to search for pulsations from unidentified gamma-ray sources in Fermi Large Area Telescope data.

A question of data quality-Testing pollination syndromes in Balsaminaceae.

Pollination syndromes and their predictive power regarding actual plant-animal interactions have been controversially discussed in the past. We investigate pollination syndromes in Balsaminaceae, utilizing quantitative respectively categorical data sets of flower morphometry, signal and reward traits for 86 species to test for the effect of different types of data on the test patterns retrieved. Cluster Analyses of the floral traits are used in combination with independent pollinator observations.

A pathway of protein translocation in mitochondria mediated by the AAA-ATPase Bcs1.

The AAA+ family in eukaryotes has many members in various cellular compartments with a role in protein unfolding and degradation. We show that the mitochondrial AAA-ATPase Bcs1 has an unusual function in protein translocation. Bcs1 mediates topogenesis of the Rieske protein, Rip1, a component of respiratory chains in bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts.

Hybridization and crossability in Caiophora (Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae): Are interfertile species and inbred populations results of a recent radiation?

Interspecific hybridization is considered a possible mechanism of plant diversification. The Andes are a hotspot of biodiversity, but hybridization in Andean taxa has so far not been investigated intensively. The current study investigates crossability in Caiophora (Loasaceae subfam.

Nectar, floral morphology and pollination syndrome in Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae (Cornales).

Background And Aims: Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae are mostly distributed in South America (sea level to over 4500 m) with a wide range of animals documented as pollinators. The aim was to investigate correlations between nectar parameters, flower morphology, pollination syndrome and phylogeny.