Parkinson’s disease is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative conditions. It causes motor impairments such as tremors, slow movement, muscle stiffness, and balance problems. The individual course of the disease cannot be predicted, so experts recommend close patient monitoring. New technological tools aim to facilitate communication between doctors, caregivers, and patients and improve the care situation. In the ParkProReakt project, researchers from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are working with partners to create a digital platform and app that, used with wearables, will track…
… improve active ingredient tests using human cell cultures. Many new drug candidates end up failing because they cause serious side effects in clinical trials. This is a common occurrence if the cells used come from animal tissue, for example. Specially prepared cell cultures made from human tissue known as human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells enable greater reliability in testing, thereby also increasing the chances that a drug will be approved. Fraunhofer researchers have developed innovative solutions for optimized…
For some years now, the trend in the cosmetics and skincare sector has been toward transparency and natural, sustainable ingredients. A growing number of consumers are rejecting cosmetics that contain petroleum-derived mineral oils and silicone oils. As a result, manufacturers are increasingly turning toward plant-based oils, fats, and waxes as substitutes. Working in tandem with Kneipp GmbH, a producer of cosmetic products and other items, the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC is conducting the first-ever systematic tests of the…
Wood, we come into close contact with it daily. Children play around on wood floors, and wood furniture plays an important role in our work and sleep habits as well. To keep this natural material from aging prematurely, it’s important to protect it against ultraviolet (UV) radiation. At the same time, people want to retain the look and feel of wooden surfaces, but the protective coatings that are currently available often contain harmful chemical compounds. To avoid using these substances,…
An international research team is examining the molecular mechanisms that enabled plants to colonize the surface of the Earth. Around 550 million years ago, the Earth’s surface was a barren land mass surrounded by oceans. Almost all lifeforms that had evolved up to that point existed exclusively in the oceans. Then, however, the first plants made their way onto land—not only making the Earth greener but also fundamentally transforming the atmosphere, the climate and overall conditions of life on our…
Research led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has demonstrated that small changes in the isotopic content of thin semiconductor materials can influence their optical and electronic properties, possibly opening the way to new and advanced designs with the semiconductors. Partly because of semiconductors, electronic devices and systems become more advanced and sophisticated every day. That’s why for decades researchers have studied ways to improve semiconductor compounds to influence how they carry electrical current. One…
USC Viterbi School of Engineering researcher Hangbo Zhao presents findings on highly stretchable and customizable microneedles for application in fields including neuroscience, tissue engineering, and wearable bioelectronics. The revolution in personalized medicine is well underway – with wearable devices and DIY home testing, it’s easier than ever to track everything from heart rate, to glucose levels, to microbiome diversity. However, there’s still an innovation gap before we achieve a seamless interface between the human body and invasive monitoring devices. That’s…
Precisely measuring the energy states of individual atoms has been a historical challenge for physicists due to atomic recoil. When an atom interacts with a photon, the atom “recoils” in the opposite direction, making it difficult to measure the position and momentum of the atom precisely. This recoil can have big implications for quantum sensing, which detects minute changes in parameters, for example, using changes in gravitational waves to determine the shape of the Earth or even detect dark matter….
New sensor is six orders of magnitude more sensitive than the next best thing. A research team at Pitt led by Alexander Star, a chemistry professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has developed a fentanyl sensor that is six orders of magnitude more sensitive than any electrochemical sensor for the drug reported in the past five years. The portable sensor can also tell the difference between fentanyl and other opioids. Their work was published in the…
The Center for Digital Agriculture showcased the many advancements in digital agriculture during its annual conference. When the Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) launched in 2018, they were looking forward to the future. Like many other areas of commerce and big tech, agriculture is a rapidly changing industry. Advancements in technology have transformed farming. In the five-plus years since its launch, CDA has risen to meet those needs by creating adaptable, interdisciplinary curriculums, research programs, industry partnerships and training opportunities for…
The technique opens possibilities for exploring exotic states of matter and building new quantum materials. Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible to explore exotic states of matter and build new quantum materials. They typically do this by cooling the atoms to a stand-still, then using laser light to position the particles as close as 500 nanometers…
New research shows how tiny plant-like organisms hitch a ride on ocean currents to reach darker and deeper depths, where they impact carbon cycling and microbial dynamics in the subtropical oceans. Some of the ocean’s tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean’s chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research. Published in the Proceedings of…
Nucleic acid-based medications such as mRNA vaccines are opening up new therapeutic approaches. These active ingredients must be enclosed inside nanoparticles to ensure that they get to where they are needed inside the body’s cells. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK and FDX Fluid Dynamix GmbH have worked together to develop a technology platform for the production of nanoparticles that can achieve particle quality and stability at levels previously out of reach: FDmiX (Fraunhofer Dynamic Mixing…
Oxygen saturation in the blood that is either too low or too high can cause physical harm or even death. This is why patients’ oxygen concentraions are monitored continuously in both intensive care and trauma units. However, the pulse oximeters clipped onto a patient’s fingertip for this purpose can be unreliable. Researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have developed a fluorescence-based sensor that measures the oxygen content of people’s breath directly and in real time. The sensor determines the oxygen concentration in…
Research at the south pole studied the mysterious quantum structure of space and time. Einstein’s theory of general relativity explains that gravity is caused by a curvature of the directions of space and time. The most familiar manifestation of this is the Earth’s gravity, which keeps us on the ground and explains why balls fall to the floor and individuals have weight when stepping on a scale. In the field of high-energy physics, on the other hand, scientists study tiny…
A new type of laser-based immersion probe, which the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen is testing as part of BMBF- and EU-funded projects with industrial partners and users, could pave the way for continuous inline monitoring of water treatment processes in wastewater treatment plants. The 2D fluorescence measurement method generates spectroscopic data directly on site in the clarifier. In conjunction with intelligent evaluation software, this process is the key to energy- and resource-efficient water treatment. It will…
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