Freiburg Researchers Show How to Control Individual Components of Self-Assembling Molecular Structures
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- Written by Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau
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In the development of autonomous systems and materials, self-assembling molecular structures controlled by chemical reaction networks are increasingly important. However, there is a lack of simple external mechanisms that ensure that the components of these reaction networks can be activated in a controlled manner.
A research team led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Walther and Prof. Dr. Henning Jessen from the Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) and Jie Deng from the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Freiburg are the first to show how individual components of self-assembling DNA-based structures can be activated and controlled using light-reactive photo switches. The researchers have published their results in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
LED Instead of Laser or Electron Beam: New Technology Revolutionizes 3D Metal Printing
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- Written by Technische Universität Graz
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A technology developed at Graz University of Technology uses LED instead of laser sources for the additive manufacturing of metal parts and optimizes 3D metal printing in terms of construction time, metal powder consumption, equipment costs and post-processing effort.
Selective LED-based melting (SLEDM) – i.e. the targeted melting of metal powder using high-power LED light sources – is the name of the new technology that a team led by Franz Haas, head of the Institute of Production Engineering at TU Graz, has developed for 3D metal printing and has now applied for a patent.
Activation of the SARS Coronavirus 2 Revealed
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- Written by Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH - Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung
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Infection researchers from the German Primate Center identify starting points for vaccine development and therapy.
The SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects lung cells and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The viral spike protein mediates entry of the virus into host cells and harbors an unusual activation sequence. The Infection Biology Unit of the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research has now shown that this sequence is cleaved by the cellular enzyme furin and that the cleavage is important for the infection of lung cells. These results define new starting points for therapy and vaccine research. In addition, they provide information on how coronaviruses from animals need to change in order to be able to spread in the human population (Molecular Cell).
Additive Ideas in Demand: The AMable Project Promotes Flexible AM Solutions to Fight the Coronavirus
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Lasertechnik ILT
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The coronavirus is currently paralyzing public and private life and in many places there is a lack of medical equipment and viable solutions to protect society against the spread of the virus. Together with institutions from all over Europe, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT is supporting companies in the EU project AMable in implementing Additive Manufacturing ideas that will help overcome bottlenecks in this fight. Now that AMable has already successfully paved the way for SMEs to industrial 3D printing with metal and plastic, the partners are offering aid and public funding for COVID-19 projects.
New Coating Stops The Corona Infection Chain
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- Written by better place
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The company itCoating has developed a new wipe-varnish coating, which is virus-proof, virus-repellent and virus-killing.
Tracking Down False Parkers in Cancer Cells
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- Written by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
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In squamous cell carcinoma, a protein ensures that unneeded proteins are no longer disposed of. A research team at the University of Würzburg has switched off this protein for the first time. Squamous cell carcinoma is a very unusual type of cancer. They occur in many tissues – for example in the lungs, esophagus, pancreas, throat and pharynx, and on the skin.
Producing Human Tissue in Space
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- Written by Universität Zürich
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The University of Zurich has sent adult human stem cells to the International Space Station (ISS). Researchers from UZH Space Hub will explore the production of human tissue in weightlessness. On 6 March at 11:50 PM EST, the International Space Station resupply mission Space X CRS-20 took off from Cape Canaveral (USA). On board: 250 test tubes from the University of Zurich containing adult human stem cells. These stem cells will develop into bone, cartilage and other organs during the month-long stay in space.
Water Splitting Observed on the Nanometer Scale
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
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Whether as a fuel or in energy storage: hydrogen is being traded as the energy carrier of the future. To date, existing methodologies have not been able to elucidate how exactly the electrochemical process of water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen takes place at the molecular scale on a catalyst surface. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz have now developed a new method to investigate such processes "live" on the nanometer scale. The new detailed insights into the splitting of water on gold surfaces could aid the design of energy-efficient electro-catalysts.
Cooling Magnets with Sound
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- Written by Universität Innsbruck
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Today, most quantum experiments are carried out with the help of light, including those in nanomechanics, where tiny objects are cooled with electromagnetic waves to such an extent that they reveal quantum properties. Now, a team of physicists led by Oriol Romero-Isart at the University of Innsbruck and the Austrian Academy of Sciences is proposing to cool microparticles with sound waves instead. While quantum physics is usually concerned with the basic building blocks of light and matter, for some time scientists have now been trying to investigate the quantum properties of larger objects, thereby probing the boundary between the quantum world and everyday life.
Magnetic Whirls in Future Data Storage Devices
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- Written by Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
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Magnetic (anti)skyrmions are microscopically small whirls that are found in special classes of magnetic materials. These nano-objects could be used to host digital data by their presence or absence in a sequence along a magnetic stripe. A team of scientists from the Max Planck institutes (MPI) of Microstructure Physics in Halle and for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has now made the observation that skyrmions and antiskyrmions can coexist bringing about the possibility to expand their capabilities in storage devices. The results were published in the scientific journal "Nature Communications".
The Electrical Charge is What Makes the Difference: New Membrane Separates Small Organic Molecules
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- Written by Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht - Zentrum für Material- und Küstenforschung
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![Figure: Diagram of membrane production: 1. Synthesis of the custom-made triblock terpolymer; 2. SNIPS: the functional groups of triblock terpolymer (-OH, C5H4N) position themselves precisely in the pores; 3. Post-functionalisation: after treatment with methyl iodide (CH3I) or 1,3-propane sultone ((CH2)3SO3), the nanochannelsare positively or negatively charged and allow organic molecules to pass selectively. [Fig: Zhenzhen Zhang]](/images/media/pressoffice/images/2020/03/thumbnails/thumb_2020-03-03_The_electrical_charge_is_what_makes_the_difference.jpg)
A new membrane developed at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) separates small dye particles or drug substances not only by size but also by their electrical charge. This additional function enables organic molecules with lateral dimensions of one to two nanometres to be such high-efficiently separated for the first time. HZG’s polymer researcher Zhenzhen Zhang has now presented her results in the journal Advanced Materials.
“Classic Blue” is the trending colour of the year 2020. The textile industry has long since adjusted its dyeing lines accordingly. To prevent dye residue from ending up in the wastewater, membrane technology provides an environmentally friendly way to safely remove harmful substances.
Researchers Have Succeeded for the First Time in Temporally Shaping the Electric Field of an Attosecond Pulse
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- Written by Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau
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Chemical reactions are determined at their most fundamental level by their respective electronic structure and dynamics. Steered by a stimulus such as light irradiation, electrons rearrange themselves in liquids or solids. This process takes only a few hundred attoseconds, whereby one attosecond is the billionth part of a billionth of a second. Electrons are sensitive to external fields, so researchers can easily control them by irradiating the electrons with light pulses. As soon as they thus temporally shape the electric field of an attosecond pulse, researchers can control the electronic dynamics in real time.
A team led by Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Sansone from the Institute of Physics at the University of Freiburg shows in the scientific journal Nature how they were able to completely shape the waveform of an attosecond pulse.
Additively Manufactured Rocket Engine Features an Aerospike Nozzle for Microlaunchers
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS
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Microlaunchers are an alternative to conventional launch vehicles. Able to carry payloads of up to 350 kilograms, these midsized transport systems are designed to launch small satellites into space. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden and TU Dresden’s aerospace experts developed an additively manufactured rocket engine with an aerospike nozzle for microlaunchers. The scaled metal prototype is expected to consume 30 percent less fuel than conventional engines. It will feature prominently at the Hannover Messe Preview on February 12 and in the showcase at booth C18 in hall 16 at the Hannover Messe from April 20 through 24, 2020.
The market for small satellites is sure to boom in the years ahead. The United Kingdom aims to build a spaceport in the north of Scotland, the first on European soil. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) has also endorsed the idea of a national space-port. It is to serve as the pad for small-to-midsized launchers that haul research instruments and small satellites into space. These microlaunchers are engineered to carry a payload of up to 350 kilograms. Aerospike engines are an efficient means of powering these microlaunchers. They offer the welcome prospects of far less mass and far lower fuel consumption. A research team from Fraunhofer IWS and TU Dresden's Institute of Aerospace Engineering developed, manufactured and tested an aerospike engine over the past two years.
Photonics Meets Textile Engineering: Faster CFRP Component Manufacturing With an Ultrashort Pulsed Laser and Robot
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Lasertechnik ILT
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Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) components are usually assembled using fasteners. These are typically glued into the CFRP component once it has been cured and drilled. The consortium behind the CarboLase project came up with a new method, using an ultrashort pulsed laser to drill the holes for the fasteners in the textile preform with micrometer-scale accuracy. Integrating the fasteners in these high-precision cut-outs before the CFRP component is cured saves time by shortening the production process. In 2019, the project team’s efforts were rewarded with the prestigious CAMX Award in the “Combined Strength” category.
Sustainable 3D-printed Super Magnets
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- Written by Technische Universität Graz
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Magnetic materials play important roles in electrical products. These materials are usually manufactured by means of established production techniques and use of rare earth metals. Several research teams at TU Graz are working on alternative, more environmentally friendly production methods. From wind turbines and electric motors to sensors and magnetic switching systems: permanent magnets are used in many different electrical applications. The production of these magnets usually involves sintering or injection moulding. But due to the increasing miniaturisation of electronics and the more exacting requirements, this places on magnetic components in terms of geometry, these conventional manufacturing methods are frequently coming up short.
Superfast Insights Into Cellular Events
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- Written by Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
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FRANKFURT. Even more detailed insights into the cell will be possible in future with the help of a new development in which Goethe University was involved: Together with scientists from Israel, the research group led by Professor Harald Schwalbe has succeeded in accelerating a hundred thousand-fold the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method for investigating RNA. In the same way that a single piece of a puzzle fits into the whole, the molecule hypoxanthine binds to a ribonucleic acid (RNA) chain, which then changes its three-dimensional shape within a second and in so doing triggers new processes in the cell. Thanks to an improved method, researchers are now able to follow almost inconceivably tiny structural changes in cells as they progress – both in terms of time as well as space. The research group led by Professor Harald Schwalbe from the Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ) at Goethe University has succeeded, together with researchers from Israel, in accelerating a hundred thousand-fold the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method for investigating RNA.
