3D printing method makes it possible… Scientists have developed a new way to 3D print materials strong enough to support human tissue. In the quest to develop life-like materials to replace and repair human body parts, scientists face a formidable challenge: Real tissues are often both strong and stretchable and vary in shape and size. A CU Boulder-led team, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, has taken a critical step toward cracking that code. They’ve developed a…
University of Utah researchers develop potential alpha-particle treatments that target the plaques on the brain that lead to dementia. Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating brain disorder with limited treatment options, has long challenged researchers. Specifically, researchers have struggled with slowing the buildup of amyloid beta plaques, harmful clumps of proteins that exacerbate the disease by damaging brain cells and causing memory loss. Led by the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering, University of Utah researchers have developed a groundbreaking approach…
Two new early career research groups bolster Stuttgart’s quantum photonics research. The first Junior Research Groups for Quantum Photonics have started work at the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung Center for Quantum Photonics (CZS Center QPhoton), where three universities have been conducting joint research into new quantum technologies since 2022. They are headed by physicist Dr. Laëtitia Farinacci and physicist Dr. Stephan Welte respectively and are based at the University of Stuttgart. Stuttgart’s strong quantum research offers both groups ideal conditions. Dr. Laëtitia Farinacci…
Finding unknown effects of existing drugs. Fewer side effects, improved chances of healing: the goal of precision medicine is to provide patients with the most individualized treatment possible. This requires a precise understanding of what is happening at the cellular level. For the first time, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now succeeded in mapping the interactions of 144 active substances with around 8,000 proteins. The results could help to identify previously unknown potential benefits of existing…
Ancient ocean temperatures are most commonly reconstructed by analysing the ratio of different oxygen atoms in the calcium carbonate remains of fossils. However, this presents many challenges, including a combination of biological processes known as “vital effects” which are very noticeable in corals and can affect the data. A research team led by the University of Göttingen now shows how the abundance of a third, very rare oxygen isotope can uncover whether the isotopic composition was solely influenced by temperature…
Encouraging results from a large international study led by Heidelberg have recently been published in the journal “Lancet”: The genetic material of cancer cells with unknown tissue of origin contains numerous targets for specific drugs that are already available and have been developed to treat other forms of cancer. These suppressed the disease in CUP patients for significantly longer than chemotherapy. If metastases occur in the body, but the original tumor remains undetectable, this is referred to as “cancer of…
The newly founded Robotics Institute Germany (RIG) has officially begun its operations with an exciting kickoff event. Led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the consortium unites research, resources and infrastructures and aims to make Germany the world’s leading location for AI-based robotics. The University of Stuttgart is a founding partner and participates in the RIG with the Institutes for Artificial Intelligence and for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Units…
Transmission of tuberculosis does not only depend on the pathogen. Different groups of TB bacteria exist worldwide with different regional distribution: some are generalists and can be found on many continents, others are very limited in their spread. An international team of researchers has now been able to show for the first time that the specialist strains spread more effectively among suitable hosts from the same geographical area, whereas generalist strains can spread in different host populations from a variety…
Understanding the relationship between the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the earth beneath is key to predicting future climate change impacts, finds McGill-led study. A McGill-led study suggests that Earth’s natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica’s impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades. By the same token, if emissions continue on the current trajectory, Antarctic ice loss could lead to more future sea level rise than previously thought. The finding is…
Eco-friendly 3D concrete printing. A research team led by engineers at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science is the first to explore how an emerging plant-based material, cellulose nanofibrils, could amplify the benefits of 3D-printed concrete technology. “The improvements we saw on both printability and mechanical measures suggest that incorporating cellulose nanofibrils in commercial printable materials could lead to more resilient and eco-friendly construction practices sooner rather than later,” said Osman E. Ozbulut, a professor in the…
… uses minimal ingredients and steps. A new 3D printing method developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego is so simple that it uses a polymer ink and salt water solution to create solid structures. The work, published in Nature Communications, has the potential to make materials manufacturing more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The process uses a liquid polymer solution known as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), or PNIPAM for short. When this PNIPAM ink is extruded through a needle into…
The digital transformation means that more and more devices such as X-ray and ultrasound machines are being connected to networks in hospital settings, for example. These kinds of equipment have to be movable as needed. In the LINCNET project, Fraunhofer researchers are using light to transmit data to machines and robots in clinical settings and industrial production environments. Combining electrical networks with the ultra-fast 5G mobile network creates powerful and low-cost wireless networks for buildings. When deployed in hospitals, this…
Hotter conditions prevent two tiny organisms working together for mutual benefit, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists studied a single-celled organism (Paramecium bursaria) which can absorb and host algae (Chlorella spp). This pairing is common in freshwater worldwide, and their symbiotic relationship provides benefits including trading of nutrients and protection for the algae. But when scientists made the water 5°C warmer, the partnership stopped working – and the results suggest the algae may even become parasitic. The breakdown of…
With new technique, patient-derived neurons accurately model late-onset Alzheimer’s, point to potential treatments. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a way to capture the effects of aging in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. They have devised a method to study aged neurons in the lab without a brain biopsy, an advancement that could contribute to a better understanding of the disease and new treatment strategies. The scientists transformed skin cells taken from patients with…
Acquisition of aurora spectral images succeeded. Auroras are natural luminous phenomena caused by the interaction of electrons falling from the sky and the upper atmosphere. Most of the observed light consists of emission lines of neutral or ionized nitrogen and oxygen atoms and molecular emission bands, and the color is determined by the transition energy levels, molecular vibrations and rotations. There is a variety of characteristic colors of auroras, such as green and red, but there are multiple theories about…
Specific physical human-robot interactions are increasingly required in the manufacturing industry, the professional service sector, and healthcare. This necessitates improvements in comfort and convenience as well as in communication between humans and machines. Robots need to be able to predict human actions and recognize intentions. And that calls for flexible metamaterials, and more specifically, flat metasurface antennas with highly integrated electronics that allow for sensing of the near environment. The Fraunhofer FHR has teamed up with six partners in the…
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