Tractor beams are mysterious rays that can grab and lift objects. The concept has been used by science-fiction writers, and programmes like Star Trek, but has…
It is fascinating to observe a robot exploring its physical possibilities and surroundings, and subsequently developing different self-taught behaviors without…
Hall thrusters are advanced electric rocket engines primarily used for station-keeping and attitude control of geosynchronous communication satellites and…
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite is managed by both NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It flew over Olaf on…
The system is based on a concept called “spring-mass” walking that was theorized less than a decade ago, and combines passive dynamics of a mechanical system…
International team of researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Australian National University in Canberra created an ultrafast all-optical…
Patricia's remnants merged with an upper-level low pressure area after it made landfall, and that system has plagued the U.S. Gulf coast states with heavy…
You can’t learn new things in your sleep. Nevertheless, if you’ve been learning vocabulary in a foreign language, it can be highly effective to hear these…
One of the biggest challenges in the context of ‘renewable energies` is the even more efficient use of the raw materials available to us. Particularly when it…
With new makes of all-electric and hybrid automobiles seeming to emerge as fast as the colors of fall, it is easy to overlook another alternative to gasoline…
In a step towards a post-graphene era of new materials for electronic applications, an international team of researchers from the University of Augsburg…
Cancer-immunotherapy is currently gaining interest thanks to novel genetic engineering technologies. The most promising approach is the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technique for redirecting hereby modified T cells against cancer-associated antigens. The herein presented CAR constitutes of a B cell-derived single chain antibody fragment (scFv) directed against TOSO. This ectodomain is fused with a co-stimulatory CD28 T cell activation domain, finally followed by a CD3ζ domain. The receptor is introduced into allogenic or autologous peripheral blood T cells by retroviral gene transfer.
Cell-based assays show high killing specificity of the anti-TOSO CAR T cells against CLL cells, whereas normal B cells remain intact. The discrimination is strongly improved in comparison to previously engineered anti-CD19 CAR T cells that are currently used in clinical studies.
The described anti-TOSO CAR T cells have a strongly improved selectivity of target cell killing. The reduction of adverse effects on normal cells provides a competitive advantage against all other CAR T cell approaches that are currently on the market.
On behalf of the University of Cologne, PROvendis offers a patent license as well as a research collaboration with licensing option.
Monocrystalline solar cells that are produced using the relatively inexpensive CZ method (Czochralski method) display a noticeable drop in efficiency of more than 1% in absolute figures under sunlight within a few hours. This effect is called Light Induced Degradation (LID). Solar cells and modules are sold in relation to their performance. This is why elimination of light induced degradation holds tremendous economic potential. As early as 2006, a simple method for the regeneration of solar cells was developed at the University of Konstanz which proved to be very efficient at moderate temperatures and light intensity.
This well-known method has now been significantly enhanced and modified: the degradation of the Cz silicon solar cells can now be largely eliminated during the production process. The regeneration process is now carried out at much higher temperatures than before, using hydrogen that had diffused into silicon nitride. This makes the regeneration process a lot more efficient and faster. Ideally, this step follows the co-firing process during the production.
High-grade textiles (e.g. Cashmere, Pashmina and other natural fibers) are nowadays often counterfeited. Cashmeres shawls labeled as „100% Pashmina” can be made out of almost 100% polyester or other synthetic fibers. For this reason, a tool to proof the fabric composition declared on the label is very desirable. The object of this invention is a reliable method to determine the type and the nature of a fiber. The characteristic diffraction pattern of the fiber, recorded with an USB camera, enables the determination of the thickness, the surface structure as well as the grade of transparency and eventually the internal structure of the fiber. On the base of this information a reliable identification of the fiber material is provided.
A team of physicists led by Caltech's David Hsieh has discovered an unusual form of matter–not a conventional metal, insulator, or magnet, for example, but…
Bioimaging by fluorescence microscopy is a useful technique to study the localization and movement of molecules in living cells by fluorescence. Yet, the…
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