Accelerating the R&D of wearable tech: A “hassle-free” model to fabricate materials used in wearable sensors removes experimental barriers in design. Engineers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have developed a model that combines machine learning and collaborative robotics to overcome challenges in the design of materials used in wearable green tech. Led by Po-Yen Chen, assistant professor in UMD’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the accelerated method to create aerogel materials used in wearable heating applications – published June 1 in…
SLF researchers investigate in deep holes whether satellite data accurately show snowmelt to improve hydrological discharge forecasts. Francesca Carletti takes a hammer to the ground. She drives the water probe deeper and deeper into the snow to determine the snow water equivalent (SWE, see box). This is just one of the many data she is measuring on this sunny day in March at the Weissfluhjoch test site near Davos. Her goal: to develop a strategy that more accurately indicates the…
Team of researchers at UC San Diego identifies cause of cellular miscommunication implicated in the origin of many human diseases. A group of researchers at University of California San Diego has identified the cause of a “short-circuit” in cellular pathways, a discovery that sheds new light on the genesis of a number of human diseases. The recent study, published in the journal Science Signaling, explores the biochemical mechanism that can interrupt the cellular communication chain — a disruptive interaction that…
… exhibit surprisingly heterogeneous wiring. Analysis of the connectome of Drosophila melanogaster provides new insights into how its visual system is organized / Research contribution by the FlyWire Consortium. An isolated Tm9 cell (left) and with all its presynaptic neurons, reconstructed with aid of FlyWire.ai (right). (photo/©: Marion Silies) The brain is a particularly complex organ, not only in humans. Even the brain of a fly contains more than 100,000 neurons connected by millions of synapses. For the first time,…
Brain tumors are fatal when there is a double gene mutation. Result of an international cohort study by MHH researchers. Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare hereditary cancer predisposition disease characterized by bone marrow failure as well as endocrine and physical abnormalities. A key clinical feature in those affected is a high risk of cancer. The reason for this is that certain genes involved in the repair of DNA damage do not function properly in the disease. This includes the…
New mathematical framework sheds light on how cells communicate to form an embryo. Biological processes depend on puzzle pieces coming together and interacting. Under specific conditions, these interactions can create something new without external input. This is called self-organization, as seen in a school of fish or a flock of birds. Interestingly, the mammalian embryo develops similarly. In PNAS, David Brückner and Gašper Tkačik from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) introduce a mathematical framework that analyzes self-organization…
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, the University of Tübingen, and the University Hospital Tübingen have developed a web-based toolkit to accelerate and simplify protein design without needing powerful computers or extensive protein design expertise on the user’s end. The toolkit benefits its users with multiple design tools, fast analyses, easy interpretation, and downloadable results. Their framework for the Damietta Server, published in Nucleic Acids Research, offers a comprehensive resource for biological research community. Designing proteins with…
Not a climate tipping element, but nevertheless far-reaching impacts. AWI experts find no evidence of a global climate tipping point in connection with permafrost; rather, permafrost soils are thawing in step with global warming. Permafrost soils store large quantities of organic carbon and are often portrayed as a critical tipping element in the Earth system. Based on the scientific data currently available, the image is deceptive, as an international team led by the AWI has shown. According to their findings,…
The viruses probably regulate the growth of snow algae on the ice by infecting them. Knowing how to control these viruses could help us reduce some of the ice from melting. Every spring when the sun rises in the Arctic after months of darkness, life returns. The polar bears pop up from their winter lairs, the arctic tern soar back from their long journey south and the musk oxen wade north. But the animals are not the only life being…
Experiments in weightlessness isolate classic diffusion phenomenon. For years, various models have been developed to describe an important class of mixing effects that occur, for example, in the flow in a chemical reactor. Experimental validation, however, has lagged far behind due to the superimposition of gravity effects. A European research team involving the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and partners at the University of Szeged (Hungary) and Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) has now closed this gap with experiments conducted under…
Optical waves propagating through air or multi-mode fiber can be patterned or decomposed using orthogonal spatial modes, with far-ranging applications in imaging, communication, and directed energy. Yet the systems that perform these wavefront manipulations are cumbersome and large, restricting their utilization to high-end applications. The development of a Free-Standing Microscale Photonic Lantern Spatial Mode (De-)Multiplexer using 3D Nanoprinting, as revealed by a recent study, marks a significant advancement in photonic technology. This spatial multiplexer, characterized by its compactness, minimal footprint,…
Plastics made of polycarbonate are sought-after materials in industrial applications thanks to their versatility and high quality. However, recycling of plastic waste is still running up against limits these days, as mechanical recycling methods do not produce adequate qualities of recycled material for all applications. Together with chemical company Covestro Deutschland AG, Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a method that makes it possible to reclaim the substances originally used to make the polycarbonates. In catalytic pyrolysis, a controlled process of…
Developing transparent particles and imaging their positions, researchers shed light on never-before-seen interiors of crystalline structures. A team of New York University researchers has created a new way to visualize crystals by peering inside their structures, akin to having X-ray vision. Their new technique—which they aptly named “Crystal Clear”—combines the use of transparent particles and microscopes with lasers that allow scientists to see each unit that makes up the crystal and to create dynamic three-dimensional models. “This is a powerful…
… to treat neurological diseases and conditions. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a technology that uses ultrasound signals for targeted stimulation of certain areas of the brain. A special ultra-sound system with 256 individually controllable transducers makes it possible to target and stimulate individual points deep inside the brain with sound signals. In the future, the innovative 3D sound technology from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT could be used to treat diseases and conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease,…
Due to their stability and resistance to water and grease, PFAS chemicals are used in a wide range industries, but they are harmful to health and the environment. Membranes containing PFAS are used in many semiconductor manufacturing processes, for example. Researchers from the Fraunhofer IAP have now developed a sustainable alternative in the form of an innovative, PFAS-free membrane. The chemically stable, highly permeable polymer membrane has a pore diameter of approx. seven nanometers and enables filtration of the smallest…
Animal testing has long been a fixture of medical and pharmaceutical research, but alternative methods are growing more and more important. Innovative methods allow for research aimed directly at humans — without using animal testing as an intermediate step. TigerShark Science, a planned Fraunhofer start-up and spin-off of the Fraunhofer Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies TLC-RT at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, is taking this kind of approach. TigerShark Science hopes to use skin models grown from human…
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