- Details
- Written by Technische Universität München
- Category
During the continued progression of the Corona pandemic, rapid, inexpensive, and reliable tests will become increasingly important to determine whether people have the associated antibodies – either through infection or vaccination. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now developed such a rapid antibody test. It provides the result in only eight minutes; the aim is to further reduce the process time to four minutes.
There are currently more than 20 different test procedures available for determining whether a person has antibodies against the new Corona virus. The waiting times for the results range between ten minutes and two and a half hours.
- Details
- Written by NB GmbH
- Category
COVID pandemic fast-tracks technological development that will clean plastic litter in oceans. The current COVID pandemic challenges our societies with extensive amounts of plastic mask debris released into our environment. As a response to this growing issue, and to respond to the nanoparticle pollution in the water ecosystems, several technological solutions are being accelerated to achieve the overall goal – a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for everyone. InNoPlastic, a newly launched EU H2020 research and innovation project, combines ultra-sound methodologies with other innovative solutions, to tackle plastic litter and enable easier removal from oceans and the seas worldwide.
New Microscopy Method: MINSTED Resolves Fluorescent Molecules With Resolution at the Nanometer Scale
- Details
- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie
- Category
Scientists working with Stefan Hell at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and the Heidelberg-based MPI for Medical Research have developed another light microscopy method, called MINSTED, which resolves fluorescently labeled details with molecular sharpness. With MINSTED, Nobel laureate Hell has come full circle. “A good 20 years ago, we fundamentally broke the diffraction resolution limit of fluorescence microscopy with STED. Until then, that was considered impossible,” says Hell. “Back then we dreamed: With STED we want to become so good that one day we will be able to separate individual molecules that are only a few nanometers apart. Now we've succeeded.” At that time, the STED principle amounted to a revolution in light microscopy. For this conceptual leap and subsequent developments, Hell received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014.
- Details
- Written by Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
- Category
New technique using nuclear spin hyperpolarization of hydrogen paves the way for further advances in the field of MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is already widely used in medicine for diagnostic purposes. Hyperpolarized MRI is a more recent development and its research and application potential has yet to be fully explored. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) have now unveiled a new technique for observing metabolic processes in the body. Their singlet-contrast MRI method employs easily-produced parahydrogen to track biochemical processes in real time. The results of their work have been published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition and chosen by the editors as a "hot paper", i.e., an important publication in a rapidly-developing and highly significant field.