Engineers at Saarland University Turn Polymer Films into Self-sensing High-tech Actuators
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- Written by Universität des Saarlandes
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They might only be made from thin silicon film, but they can squeeze down hard, deliver a powerful thrust, vibrate or hold any required position. And because they can act as sensors, they are becoming important tools in technical applications. Stefan Seelecke and his team at Saarland University are developing a new generation of polymer film-based engineering components that can be used as continuous switches, self-metering valves, motorless pumps or even as tactile aids for touchscreens. The technology needs neither rare earths nor copper, it is cheap to produce and consumes very little energy and components made using it are astonishingly light.
New Method Speeds Up Development of Medication
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- Written by Universität Zürich
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UZH researchers have developed a novel method that speeds up the process of determining crystal structures of organic salts and significantly reduces the effort required to do so. As about 40 percent of all active pharmaceutical ingredients are salts, this new crystallographic method is set to greatly accelerate drug development.
Combining the Benefits of 3D Printing and Casting
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung IPA
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Researchers at Fraunhofer IPA have developed a new process that combines 3D printing and casting. In additive freeform casting (AFFC), first a shell of the part is manufactured using FLM printing, then this shell is filled with a two-component resin. This saves time, increases stability of the part and allows new materials to be printed.
Generation of a Stable Biradical
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- Written by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
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The world of chemistry has witnessed another step forward: researchers at the University of Würzburg in Germany have succeeded in twisting molecules so much that their double bonds have been completely destroyed. The result: unusually stable biradicals. Boron has a range of uses throughout everyday life, from laundry bleaches to heat-proof glass and ceramics.
Microarray Rapid Test Speeds up Detection in Case of Legionella Pneumophila Outbreak
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- Written by Technische Universität München
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In an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, finding the exact source as quickly as possible is essential to preventing further infections. To date, a detailed analysis takes days. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have now developed a rapid test that achieves the same result in about 35 minutes. Legionella are rod-shaped bacteria that can cause life-threatening pneumonia in humans. They multiply in warm water and can be dispersed into the air via cooling towers, evaporative recooling systems and hot water systems.
Nature Article: Scientists Develop a Room Temperature Maser to Amplify Weak Signals
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- Written by Universität des Saarlandes
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The spacecraft Voyager 2 has travelled a barely imaginable 17 billion kilometers from Earth and continues to send signals to the ground station. This is made possible by the maser technology, which works on similar principles to the laser and is able to amplify weak microwave signals almost noise-free. For regular communication on Earth, this technology is rarely used because it works only at low temperatures. However, a research team at the London Center for Nanotechnology and the University of Saarland has now developed a maser that can be used at room temperature. Their development is depicted on the cover of the eminent scientific journal "Nature", on 22nd March 2018.
Researchers Discover New Anti-Cancer Protein
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- Written by Universität Basel
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An international team of researchers has discovered a new anti-cancer protein. The protein, called LHPP, prevents the uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells in the liver. The researchers led by Prof. Michael N. Hall from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, report in “Nature” that LHPP can also serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of liver cancer.
Neutrons Pave the Way to Accelerated Production of Lithium-ion Cells
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- Written by Technische Universität München
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Developers from Bosch and scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are using neutrons to analyze the filling of lithium ion batteries for hybrid cars with electrolytes. Their experiments show that electrodes are wetted twice as fast in a vacuum as under normal pressure.
Tiny Implants for Cells are Functional in Vivo
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- Written by Universität Basel
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For the first time, an interdisciplinary team from the University of Basel has succeeded in integrating artificial organelles into the cells of live zebrafish embryos. This innovative approach using artificial organelles as cellular implants offers new potential in treating a range of diseases, as the authors report in an article published in Nature Communications.
Faster from the Laboratory to the Patient
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
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In the development of new medications and medical engineering, there is a gap between the discovery of new potential active ingredients and products and their further development into medicinal products and medical devices by the industry. The Helmholtz Association and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, together with the Deutsche Hochschulmedizin, have now jointly brought the Proof-of-Concept initiative into being. It promotes the translation of innovative, promising research projects.
Development and Fast Analysis of 3D Printed HF Components
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Hochfrequenzphysik und Radartechnik FHR
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3D printing is becoming increasingly important for the development of modern high frequency systems as it opens up new design possibilities. Fraunhofer FHR is exploring these possibilities for its customers and partners: from designing new HF components to testing these components. Engineers are inspecting the quality of components manufactured using additive processes with their high frequency transmitted light imaging system SAMMI®, e.g. to verify the correct density gradients of the material. As a member of the Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland, they will present this system at the Hannover Messe in hall 2, booth C22, from April 23 to 27, 2018.
Signaling Pathways to the Nucleus
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- Written by Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau
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Researchers have demonstrated how auxin, a hormone that controls many processes in plants, reaches its destination. A team of researchers from the University of Freiburg have discovered how the plant hormone auxin is transported within the cell and how this signaling pathway helps to control gene expression in the nucleus.
Locomotion Control with Photopigments
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- Written by Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
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(pug) Animal photoreceptors capture light with photopigments. Researchers from the University of Göttingen have now discovered that these photopigments fulfill an additional function: They not only exist in eyes, but also in mechanoreceptors along the body, where they control body movements. The results were published in Neuron. Coordinated locomotion requires mechanoreceptors that inform animals about their body movements. By analyzing locomotion in Drosophila fruit fly larvae, the scientists found that this locomotion control requires visual opsins, the visual photopigment proteins.
Splicing Together a Thin Film in Motion
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Struktur und Dynamik der Materie
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Technology reliant on thin film materials has become ubiquitous in our everyday life. Control of the electronic properties of materials at the nanometer level is reflected in advances of computers, solar energy and batteries. The electronic behavior of thin films is heavily influenced by the contact with their surroundings, as exemplified by the recent discovery of 2D superconductivity at a thin film interface. However, information about how such entwined states come into existence is limited by the lack of tools capable of visualizing such buried interfaces.
Speedy Surfaces
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
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Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, and the Tampere University of Technology, Finland, have found a new way of applying a structured coating for liquid repellency.
By using liquid flame spray, the method is extremely fast. Not only water but also oil drops do not adhere to these surfaces but remain spherical and bounce or roll off easily.
Construction Set of Magnon Logic Extended: Magnon Spin Currents Controlled Via Spin Valve Structure
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- Written by Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
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Magnon spintronics employs magnons instead of electrical charges for information processing. In the emerging field of magnon spintronics, researchers investigate the possibility to transport and process information by means of so-called magnon spin currents. In contrast to electrical currents, on which todays information technology is based, magnon spin currents do not conduct electrical charges but magnetic momenta.
