Forum for Science, Industry and Business

Combining research-oriented teaching and interdisciplinary collaboration pays off: Researchers at the University of Konstanz develop a novel spectroscopic approach to investigate hitherto difficult-to-observe protein structures. On “campus.kn”, the online magazine of the University of Konstanz, we report on the new approach and its origin at the interface between chemistry and biology.

For a long time, ecologists have relied on their senses when it comes to recording animal populations and species diversity. However, modern programmable sound recording devices are now the better option for logging animal vocalisations. Scientists lead by the University of Göttingen have investigated this using studies of birds as an example. The results were published in the journal Ecological Applications.

Researchers at UNIGE have discovered that the development of the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory and emotions, is severely impacted in adolescence following the onset of the first psychotic symptoms.

Largest dataset of its kind from the mouse brain is part of a larger effort to discover the brain's 'periodic table'

The research has focused on different types of cells called macrophages, and how they work when bacteria are present

Tumors and certain viral infections pose a challenge to the human body which the immune system typically fails to hand. In these diseases it switches to hypofunctional state that prevent adequate protection. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has achieved a major success: They were able to identify the crucial molecular switch that triggers such dysfunctional immune responses. This could make it possible in the future to switch off or to prevent this state.

SEARCHLIGHT project radically rethinks wireless architectures for highly scalable ultra-dense millimeter-wave networks

A research centre in West Africa examines strategies to address the climate change. Its German partner is the University of Würzburg; the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the initiative with 3.7 million euros.

Scientists are developing alternative methods for assessing the fish-friendliness of hydroelectric power plants

Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) and National Materials Genome Project have been launched by American and Chinese government in the past decade. One of the major goals of these missions is to facilitate the identification of materials data to speed material discovery and development. Current methods are promising candidates to identify structures effectively, but have limited ability to deal with all structures accurately and automatically in the big materials database, because different material resources and various measurement error lead to variation of bond length and bond angle.

Polymers reinforced with carbon fibers combine strength and low weight. They also boast significant green credentials as they are less resource-intensive during production and use, and they are readily recycled. While the mechanical properties of continuous-fiber laminates are sufficiently competitive for applications in aerospace and automobiles, composites reinforced with short carbon fibers could be attractive for fast-manufacture, and even 3D printing for applications with more moderate strength requirements.

A hair-sized probe that can measure key indicators of tissue damage deep in the lung has been developed by scientists.

Self-cleaning surfaces and laboratories on a chip become even more efficient if we are able to control individual droplets. University of Groningen professor Patrick Onck, together with colleagues from Eindhoven University of Technology, have shown that this is possible by using a technique named mechanowetting. 'We have come up with a way of transporting droplets by using transverse surface waves. This even works on inclined or vertical surfaces'. The research was published in Science Advances on 14 June.

An international collaboration between researchers from Germany, the Netherlands, and South Korea has uncovered a new way how the electron spins in layered materials can interact. In their publication in the journal Nature Materials, the scientists report a hitherto unknown chiral coupling that is active over relatively long distances. As a consequence, spins in two different magnetic layers that are separated by non-magnetic materials can influence each other even though they are not adjacent.

Lehigh University researchers use data analytics and experimental microscopy to discover new high-entropy alloys, validating novel approach to new materials search

Innovative research, reported in the SPIE Journal of Biomedical Optics, utilizes a dual-wavelength approach for the specific identification of plaque-causing cholesterol

Decay is relentless in the macroscopic world: broken objects do not fit themselves back together again. However, other laws are valid in the quantum world: new research shows that so-called quasiparticles can decay and reorganize themselves again and are thus become virtually immortal. These are good prospects for the development of durable data memories.

Researchers have filled two knowledge gaps: The vacuoles of plant cells can be excited and the TPC1 ion channel is involved in this process. The function of this channel, which is also found in humans, has been a mystery so far.

Experiments with X-ray lasers show how new phase-change materials could lead to more efficient and faster data storage technologies.

Light can be used not only to measure materials’ properties, but also to change them. Especially interesting are those cases in which the function of a material can be modified, such as its ability to conduct electricity or to store information in its magnetic state. A team led by Andrea Cavalleri from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg used terahertz frequency light pulses to transform a non-ferroelectric material into a ferroelectric one.

Kiel Physics Department receives around €2.5 million in BMBF funding to set up new methods at the DESY X-ray sources

Within the framework of quality monitoring of lightweight construction components intelligent sensor systems become crucial: In many industries, especially in aerospace engineering and automotive industry, the use of forward-looking hybrid designs based on fiber composites and light metals is steadily rising. From 25-29 June 2019, at the 14th International Foundry Trade Fair in Düsseldorf, Fraunhofer IZFP scientists will introduce a robot-assisted sensor system for the nondestructive inspection of hybrid cast components, which can easily be integrated into the quality monitoring of production processes (hall 13, booth A34).

Optoelectronic integration offers a promising strategy to simultaneously obtain the merits of electrons and photons when they serve as information carriers, including high-density communication and high-speed information processing, paving the way for the next-generation integrated circuits (ICs).