Forum for Science, Industry and Business

Shape of neural progenitor cells influences brain size

The valves and pumps being developed by the research group led by Professor Stefan Seelecke at Saarland University are made from electroactive silicone film and offer a lot more than just the typical ‘open/close’ or ‘on/off’ functionality. The researchers control the film electrically and can make it execute precise vibrations or pulses on demand, while also monitoring its exact position or shape. This responsiveness makes it possible to continuously vary the flow rate through a valve or continuously regulate the performance of a pump. Another feature of these film-based devices is that they can indicate if they have become blocked by a foreign body.

Microbiologists from Brunswick, Konstanz und Tübingen in Germany discover how microbes can grow from iron-sulfur-mineral conversions

Two proteins work hand in hand to ensure that the tumour cells of neuroblastoma can grow at full speed. In "Nature", a Würzburg research team shows how the proteins can do this.

The heart exerts muscular force by contracting numerous contractile units of the heart muscle. Biologists at Münster University have found out that a specific motor protein is responsible for the assembly and mechanical stability of these contractile units in the heart. The study has been published in “The Journal of Biological Chemistry”.

Researchers from the Institute of Chemistry and Metabolomics of the University of Lübeck discover a new mechanism allowing Noroviruses to switch off sugar binding. Key for these novel insights were NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) experiments. Development of vaccines as well as the search for antiviral substances will benefit from this discovery.

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 21.03.2019

Researchers will create a corridor for Borneo’s endangered wildlife.

A long-term experiment in the Arctic deep sea shows: Sedentary animals in deep waters only colonise new habitats extremely slowly

Scientists at the INM present a Cobot for the first time which is equipped with microstructured surfaces for the handling of objects. Because these structures are very soft and have no sharp corners or edges, the risk of injury to humans is further reduced.

For molecular motors to be exploited effectively, they need to be able to operate in unison. However, integrating billions of these nanometre-sized motors into a single system, and getting them to operate in unison has proved to be quite a challenge. Organic chemists at the University of Groningen have now succeeded in integrating numerous unidirectional light-driven rotary motors into a metal-organic framework (a solid material with a 3D cage-like structure). Details of their discovery were published on 18 March, in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Researchers at the Universities of Magdeburg and Bonn are testing a substance from the leaves of the coralberry

A new sensor system developed in Saarbrücken, Germany can not only carefully control drying processes in industrial ovens, but can deliver reliable air humidity measurements even at high temperatures and in the presence of other background vapours. Professor Andreas Schütze, project manager Tilman Sauerwald and their research team at Saarland University have developed with partner companies a sensor system that precisely monitors industrial drying, baking and cooking processes. The new system improves product quality, optimizes the production process and lowers process energy demands.

There are roughly five times as many recreational fishers as commercial fishers throughout the world. And yet, the needs and peculiarities of these 220 million recreational fishers have largely been ignored in international fisheries and conservation policy. This gives rise to conflicts and loss of social welfare, and is not conducive to the sustainable management of fish stocks. An international team of fisheries scientists, economists, sociologists and ecologists led by Robert Arlinghaus from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) has now presented a five-point plan to bring about reform.

A computed tomography (CT) scan of the head is routinely performed as a check after operating a subdural haematoma. However, this may prompt additional, unnecessary surgeries and result in higher costs as well as an increased rate of complications, without recognizable benefits for the patients. This is shown by a study recently published in the renowned “New England Journal of Medicine” by the University Neurocenter Bern at Inselspital.

In order to save energy, aerodynamics is important for cars and aircraft. However, technologies controlling saving of energy are only designed for one speed range. Researchers at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern have developed a more flexible method: Thanks to a so-called shape memory wire, the "intelligent material" can automatically adapt its shape to changing conditions. It can also be tailored to customer requirements and integrated into existing components. The researchers market their material in their start-up “CompActive.” They will present this material at the Hannover Messe from 1 to 5 April at the Rhineland-Palatinate research stand (Hall 2, Stand B40).

Due to the special arrangement of its molecules, a new coating made of corn starch is able to repair small scratches by itself through heat: The cross-linking via ring-shaped molecules makes the material mobile, so that it compensates for the scratches and these disappear again.

Nanoscale patterning could enable precise manipulation of objects on many scales

Researchers from the University of Konstanz, Bielefeld University and ETH Zurich demonstrate for the first time that the pulsed EPR technique RIDME (relaxation-induced dipolar modulation enhancement) can be used for in-cell distance determination in biomacromolecules. Applied within the cell, RIDME improves significantly on conventional double electron–electron resonance (DEER) measurements.

The Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument (PEPSI) at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona released its first image of the surface magnetic field of another star. In a paper in the European journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, the PEPSI team presents a Zeeman- Doppler-Image of the surface of the magnetically active star II Pegasi.

World’s largest study of deep brain stimulation in the brain’s reward system / Study with 16 participants with previously treatment-resistant depression shows excellent results over one year / Results published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology

Researchers at Saarland University have created an ultrathin flexible film that can act as a sensor for innovative technologies. Integrated within a glove, the new sensory film can communicate the current position of the wearer’s hand and fingers. By establishing a direct connection between the virtual and real working worlds, man and machine can, quite literally, work hand in hand. The research team led by Professor Stefan Seelecke has achieved this through the use of smart silicone films. Another goal of the research work is to assist the wearer of the glove by transmitting tactile signals, such as pulses or vibrations, that are produced by the polymer film.

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have proposed a way to create a completely new source of radiation. Ultra-intense light pulses consist of the motion of a single wave and can be described as a tsunami of light. The strong wave can be used to study interactions between matter and light in a unique way. Their research is now published in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters.

Scientists at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently revealed hydroxyl super rotors from water photochemistry by using the Dalian Coherent Light Source (DCLS). The researchers, under the direction of Prof. YUAN Kaijun and Prof. YANG Xueming, published their findings in Nature Communications.