Physics That Gets Under Your Skin
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- Written by Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden
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Due to modern advances in medicine ever smaller objects are moved through the human body: nanotherapeutics, micro-implants, mini-catheters and tiny medical instruments. The next generation of minimally invasive microsurgery will enable small micro robots to move with their own drive through the body and through the tissue to transport substances and micro-objects. Therefore, new methods must be developed to locate these micro-objects precisely and to monitor their movement. Conventional methods such as ultrasound, X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fail either due to insufficient resolution or due to long-term damage from radioactivity or high magnetic fields.
Retina-on-a-chip Provides Powerful Tool for Studying Eye Disease
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Grenzflächen- und Bioverfahrenstechnik IGB
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Impact statement: New technology that recreates some of the complexity of the human retina may help scientists study eye disease and screen for drug side effects that harm the eye. The development of a retina-on-a-chip, which combines living human cells with an artificial tissue-like system, has been described today in the open-access journal eLife. This cutting-edge tool may provide a useful alternative to existing models for studying eye disease and allow scientists to test the effects of drugs on the retina more efficiently.
Structure of Protein Nano Turbine Revealed
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- Written by Institute of Science and Technology Austria
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IST Austria scientists determine the first structure of a cell’s rotary engine using state-of-art microscopy. Cells rely on protein complexes known as ATP synthases or ATPases for their energy needs – adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules power most of the processes sustaining life. Structural biologist Professor Leonid Sazanov and his research group from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) in Klosterneuburg, Austria have now determined the first atomic structure of the representative of the V/A-ATPase family, filling in the gap in the evolutionary tree of these essential molecular machines. These results obtained using the latest cryo-electron microscopy methods revealed a turbine or water mill similar structure of the enzyme and have now been published in the journal Science.
Nylon as a Building Block for Transparent Electronic Devices?
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
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Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) led by Dr. Kamal Asadi have solved a four decade long challenge of producing very thin nylon films that can be used for instance in electronic memory components. The thin nylon films are several 100 times thinner than human hair and could thus be attractive for applications in bendable electronic devices or for electronics in clothing.
New Approach in the Fight Against Viruses
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Biomedizinische Technik IBMT
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In the ViroSens project, researchers from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Sulzbach and Regensburg are working together with industrial partners on a novel analytical method to make the potency testing of vaccines more efficient and cost-effective. The method combines electrochemical sensor technology and biotechnology and, for the first time, enables a completely automated analysis of the infection status of test cells.
Quantum Light Sources Pave the Way for Optical Circuits: Light in the Nanoworld
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- Written by Technische Universität München
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An international team headed up by Alexander Holleitner and Jonathan Finley, physicists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has succeeded in placing light sources in atomically thin material layers with an accuracy of just a few nanometers. The new method allows for a multitude of applications in quantum technologies, from quantum sensors and transistors in smartphones through to new encryption technologies for data transmission.
New Protein-sensing Mechanism Discovered
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- Written by Universität Konstanz
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In a stunning discovery, molecular biologists from the University of Konstanz and ETH Zurich have been able to demonstrate that the nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) senses newly synthesized proteins upon birth inside the ribosomal tunnel. New research published in Molecular Cell on 31 July 2019 conducted by researchers from the University of Konstanz’s Collaborative Research Centre 969 “Chemical and Biological Principles of Cellular Proteostasis” shows that the nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) acts as a major protein identifying and, possibly, sorting device inside the cell.
Selective Antibiotics Following Nature’s Example
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- Written by Universität Konstanz
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Chemists from Konstanz develop selective agents to combat infectious diseases – based on the structures of natural products. With multi-resistant germs becoming more and more of a threat, we are in need of new antibiotics now more than ever. Unfortunately, antibiotics cannot distinguish between pathogens and beneficial microbes. They can destroy the delicate balance of the microbiome – resulting in permanent damages. The research team around chemist Dr Thomas Böttcher has now made a significant step towards solving these problems.
AddSteel Project: New Steel Materials for 3D Printing
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Lasertechnik ILT
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North Rhine-Westphalia has launched the NRW Leitmarkt project AddSteel, which is aimed at digitalizing the steel industry. Coordinated by SMS group GmbH, a plant engineering company based in Mönchengladbach, this project will develop new function-adapted steel materials for additive manufacturing. One of the project’s key areas of focus is the qualification of the developed materials for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), a metallic 3D printing process, at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen. One of the AddSteel project team’s first successes was the development of the first case-hardening and heat-treatable steel powders designed specifically for LPBF applications.
Living Components
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- Written by Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau
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Programmable structural dynamics successful for first time in self-organizing fiber structures.
Cells assemble dynamically: their components are continuously exchanging and being replaced. This enables the structures to adapt easily to different situations, and by rearranging the components to respond to stimuli faster, to renew or to form just on demand. The microtubules, a scaffold structure made of protein fibers that can be found in the cytoplasm of the cells of algae, plants, fungi, animals and humans, are one such dynamic mesh. Because of their self-organizing structure, these fibers constantly form and degrade at the same time, thereby actively supporting the cell in complex tasks such as cell division or locomotion. The fibers require energy to form and maintain such dynamic states.
Leukemia: How Cancer Stem Cells Suppress a Danger Detector
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- Written by Universität Basel
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Acute myeloid leukemia stem cells elude the body’s immune cells by deactivating a danger detector. The underlying mechanisms and the potential new therapeutic approaches that this gives rise to have been detailed in the journal Nature by researchers from the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel in collaboration with colleagues in Germany.
For Bacteria, the Neighbors Co-determine Which Cell Dies First: The Physiology of Survival
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- Written by Technische Universität München
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Bacteria do not simply perish in hunger phases fortuitously; rather, the surrounding cells have a say as well. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now discovered that two factors, above all, decide over life and death: the energy required to continue living and the efficiency with which surviving cells can recycle biomass from dead cells.
Wireless Microengine Made from a Twisted Fibre
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- Written by Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht - Zentrum für Material- und Küstenforschung
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A highly efficient, micro-sized motor-cum-energy storage system has been presented by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) and the University of Bordeaux in the journal ‘Science’. The ‘microengine’ is made from polymeric micro-fibres, which are stiff at room temperature. When heated, the fibres become elastic and can be twisted – like a model aeroplane powered by a rubber band. Unlike the elastic band, however, when the fibres are cooled, they remain twisted until the microengine is re-heated. The energy stored when the fibres were twisted is released, the movable end begins to turn and the ‘microfiber motor’ can propel objects.
Trapped Light Particles: Dresden Physicists use Nanostructures to Free Photons for Highly Efficient White OLEDs
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- Written by Technische Universität Dresden
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Thanks to intensive research in the past three decades, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been steadily conquering the electronics market - from OLED mobile phone displays to roll-out television screens, the list of applications is long.
Current OLED research focuses in particular on improving the performance of white OLEDs for lighting elements such as ceiling or car interior lighting. These components are subject to much stricter requirements in terms of stability, angular emission and power efficiency.
Fraunhofer WKI Develops Sustainable Sandwich Elements made from Wood Foam and Textile-reinforced Concrete
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
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In a joint project with the Technische Universität Braunschweig, researchers from the Fraunhofer WKI have developed an innovative building element for the construction industry: a sandwich element with a wood-foam core and a thin cover layer of textile-reinforced concrete. It can be used, for example, as a lightweight curtain-wall element or in interior fittings. The high-performance wood foam requires no artificial binding agents and can be produced from regionally available wood residues. Through the utilization of wood foam instead of conventional foam based on petrochemicals, the proportion of particularly sustainable construction materials in buildings can be increased.
Puzzling on a Quantum Chessboard
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- Written by Universität Innsbruck
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Physicists at the University of Innsbruck are proposing a new model that could demonstrate the supremacy of quantum computers over classical supercomputers in solving optimization problems. In a recent paper, they demonstrate that just a few quantum particles would be sufficient to solve the mathematically difficult N-queens problem in chess even for large chess boards.
