New Measurements Point at Slower Burn-In Phase of Hydrogen Burning. Nuclear astrophysics studies the evolution of the elements in the universe since its creation. The astrophysical models rely on parameters that scientists deduce from laboratory measurements. Nuclear reactions play a crucial role inside of stars. A team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with researchers from Italy, Hungary and Scotland, has now reinvestigated one of the central reactions at the Dresden Felsenkeller accelerator – with a surprising result, as reported…
Researchers have made the first demonstrations of identifying and removing “erasure” errors. Quantum computers of the future hold promise in solving all sorts of problems. For example, they could lead to more sustainable materials, new medicines, and even crack the hardest problems in fundamental physics. But compared to classical computers in use today, rudimentary quantum computers are more prone to errors. Wouldn’t it be nice if researchers could just take out a special quantum eraser and get rid of the…
Because metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — highly porous metal complexes — are so structurally and chemically diverse, they could be used for many applications, such as drug delivery and environmental clean-up. But researchers still need to get a better understanding of how they function, especially when embedded in polymers. Reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, researchers have now developed and characterized nitric oxide (NO)-storing MOFs embedded in a thin film with novel antibacterial potential. Studying the interactions between MOFs and…
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed electronic “stickers” that measure the force exerted by one object upon another. The force stickers are wireless, run without batteries and fit in tight spaces. That makes them versatile for a wide range of applications, from arming robots with a sense of touch to elevating the immersive experience of VR and AR, making biomedical devices smarter, monitoring the safety of industrial equipment, and improving the accuracy and efficiency of inventory…
m-Presa significantly cuts construction costs, schedules of pumped storage hydropower infrastructure. Southwest Research Institute has developed a new modular steel buttress dam system designed to resolve energy storage issues hindering the integration of renewable resources into the energy mix. The m-Presa™ modular steel buttress dam system facilitates the rapid construction of paired reservoir systems for grid-scale energy storage and generation using closed-loop pumped storage hydropower (PSH), cutting dam construction costs by one-third and reducing construction schedules by half. The m-Presa…
Low-frequency noise is bad for health, but a pingpong ball acoustic metasurface can stop it. Long-term exposure to low-frequency noise can cause numerous health problems, but the solution may be found in an unexpected object, a pingpong ball. Conventionally thought of as the hollow plastic balls that speed through the air during a fast-tempo game of table tennis, with a few modifications, pingpong balls can help absorb the city din. Low-frequency noise is ubiquitous in cities, near roads, and by…
APPLAUSE European collaborative project successfully completed. Researchers from Fraunhofer IZM, together with 31 partners from industry and research, have developed a stretchable and wireless patch that can be used to make it possible to conduct diagnostically relevant cardiac monitoring in everyday life. This will reduce the number of inpatient examinations required for high-risk patients. It also boosts the semiconductor value chain for the medical sector in Europe through the development of new tools, methods and processes for series production. Tracking…
SwRI-contributed study suggests impact-driven mixing of mantle materials could create current mantle composition. Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Simone Marchi collaborated on a new study finding the first geophysically plausible scenario to explain the abundance of certain precious metals — including gold and platinum — in the Earth’s mantle. Based on the simulations, or model, scientists found that impact-driven mixing of mantle materials scenario that could prevent the metals from completely sinking into the Earth’s core. Early in its evolution, about…
– the same substance is produced differently by plants. Individual species of very different plant families produce special indole-derived defense compounds called benzoxazinoids. However, the biosynthetic pathway of these compounds was so far only known for grasses such as maize. A team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has now been able to show, by studying two distantly related plant species, the golden dead-nettle and zebra plant, that completely different enzymes are responsible for the formation of these…
Dark excitons emerge exclusively at the top layer of bi-layered transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures when the stacking order of the layers is changed. Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors are special materials that have long fascinated researchers with their unique properties. For one, they are flat, one-atom-thick two-dimensional (2D) materials similar to that of graphene. They are compounds that contain different combinations of the transition metal group (e.g., molybdenum, tungsten) and chalcogen elements (e.g., sulfur, selenium, tellurium). What’s even more fascinating…
Zinc is an important element that is found widely in biological systems, is cheap to manufacture relative to other metals, and has low toxicity. However, unlike other similar metals that exhibit a variety of vibrant colors in metal complexes, seeing different colors for zinc materials was not thought possible. In a study published recently in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, have synthesized a complex with two zinc ions that does…
The intricate control of cellular metabolism relies on the coordinated and harmonious interplay between the nucleus and mitochondria. On the one hand, mitochondria are the hub for the production of essential metabolites, which aside from being required to meet the energy demands of the cell, also serve as the building blocks for constructing both genetic and epigenetic landscapes in the nucleus. On the other hand, the majority of mitochondrial metabolic enzymes are encoded by the nuclear genome, making the function…
Biology: Publication in PNAS. Fungal infections pose a threat to humans, animals and plants, with in part serious consequences. Together with colleagues from Frankfurt/Main and Aachen, a research team from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has now clarified an important mechanism in how such infections are regulated at molecular level. In the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they describe how this discovery may lead to the development of new antifungal agents. As pathogenic agents, fungi…
A new software framework is to make it easier for companies to approve or audit applications based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The framework is being jointly developed by Fraunhofer IPA in conjunction with the Institute of Industrial Manufacturing and Management IFF at the University of Stuttgart as part of the “AIQualify” research project of the German Association for Quality (DGQ). AI-based applications are gaining ground, especially in the fields of industrial image processing and quality control. Such applications can now…
Due to intensive research and development activities in recent years, quantum technologies are well on the way towards application. Fraunhofer IAF will present its latest research results in the fields of quantum sensing as well as quantum computing hardware and software at the first edition of the Quantum Effects trade fair on October 10 and 11, 2023. Experts from research and research management will present the opportunities of quantum technologies to an international audience by means of demonstrators, lectures and…
CISPA researcher conducts self-experiment… Messenger services offer a relatively high level of security through standard end-to-end encryption. However, that’s only true as long as the real person is actually the one doing the chatting on the other end. Few people realize that authentication of chat partners is crucial to prevent attacks on the messaging process. In a self experiment, Matthias Fassl from the research group of CISPA Faculty Dr. Katharina Krombholz examined why people rarely take these extra steps. The…
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