Subsoils are the largest storehouses for carbon, as well as one of the most important sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Global warming is accelerating the decomposition of soil humus. It is also affecting the waxy and woody compounds which help plants store carbon in their leaves and roots and were previously thought to be stable. These are the findings of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich’s Department of Geography in the Sierra Nevada National…
The potential of micro scanners in medical technology is immense. Their small size, low weight and high energy efficiency make them ideal for mobile use. More than 200 different micro scanner designs have been developed at Fraunhofer IPMS to meet customer-specific requirements. The range of services covers the entire value chain, from design and prototype development to pilot production in its own clean room on 8” wafer. Fraunhofer IPMS is continuously expanding the application range of scanner mirror technology with…
“Chiral bose-liquid state” is a new phase of matter, according to UMass Amherst professor. A team of physicists, including University of Massachusetts assistant professor Tigran Sedrakyan, recently announced in the journal Nature that they have discovered a new phase of matter. Called the “chiral bose-liquid state,” the discovery opens a new path in the age-old effort to understand the nature of the physical world. Under everyday conditions, matter can be a solid, liquid or gas. But once you venture beyond…
Research team develops organic redox polymer as positive electrode material for aluminium-ion batteries. Aluminium-ion batteries are seen as a promising alternative to conventional batteries that use scarce and difficult-to-recycle raw materials such as lithium. This is because aluminium is one of the most common elements in the Earth’s crust, is easier to recycle, and is also safer and less expensive than lithium. However, the development of such aluminium-ion batteries is still in its infancy, as suitable electrode materials that provide…
Advancements in meta-holographic display enable ultraviolet domain holograms. The term meta means a concept of transcendence or surpassing, and when applied to materials, metamaterials encompass artificially engineered substances that exhibit properties not naturally found in the environment. Metasurfaces, characterized by their thinness and lightness, have garnered considerable interest as a potential component for incorporation into portable augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices to facilitate holographic generation. Nonetheless, it is important to note that metasurfaces have inherent limitations, such…
Researchers print bacterial biofilms on human lung cells to study chronic lung infections. Some bacterial pathogens form so-called biofilms during infection processes to protect themselves from drugs or cells of the human immune system. Every year, more than 500,000 people die from infections associated with biofilms. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have now developed a novel method to place such biofilms on lung cells in the laboratory. The model system produced by means of “bioprinting”…
All living cells contains proteins with different functions, depending on the type of cell. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered a way to identify proteins even without looking at their structure. Their method is faster, easier and more reliable than previous methods. Currently, the general view is that each protein’s structure is what controls its function in cells. The atomic sequences, meaning how the atoms are arranged in the proteins, create the protein’s structure and shape. But there…
Research team at Freie Universität Berlin increases safety of attenuated live SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. After having successfully tested a mucosal vaccine against coronavirus in animals just months ago, Berlin scientists have now further developed their live SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin have increased the safety of the vaccine, which is administered via the nose. The results of their study on the modified form of the live vaccine have been published in Molecular Therapy (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.05.004). In early April 2023, a…
The EU has taken up the cause of cancer prevention. The MHH is participating in the EU project PIECES and aims to reduce the risk of cancer and improve liver health with personalized exercise programs. About three million people in the European Union are affected by cancer. For 1.34 million of them, the disease is fatal. However, around 40 percent of cancer cases could be prevented through effective prevention strategies such as a healthier lifestyle and early detection. To achieve…
Fluid dynamics simulations show how harmful plastic particles collect inside the nose and at the back of the throat. Research shows humans might inhale about 16.2 bits of microplastic every hour, which is equivalent to a credit card over an entire week. And these microplastics – tiny debris in the environment generated from the degradation of plastic products – usually contain toxic pollutants and chemicals. Inhaled microplastics can pose serious health risks, so understanding how they travel in the respiratory…
… for high-precision quantum frequency converters. Quantum frequency converters enable changing the frequency or wavelength of photons in a targeted manner, to transmit them with low loss in fiber optic networks and to build quantum networks. As a pump source for high-precision quantum frequency converters, Fraunhofer IAF is developing single-mode semiconductor disk lasers in the wavelength range from 2 to 2.2 µm in the BMBF-funded project HIFI. At LASER World of PHOTONICS 2023, Fraunhofer IAF will present a disk laser…
New Collaborative Research Center for Software Methods at KIT – DFG funds excellent KIT research with around EUR 11 million. Cyber-physical systems, such as vehicles, trains, airplanes, smart homes, or production facilities, combine electronic and mechanical elements with software. Development of these systems is highly complex due to the large number of dependencies among the components. “When a car’s wire harness is modified, the diameter of the cable duct also has to be changed,” says Professor Ralf Reussner, Spokesman of…
A new AI-based approach for controlling autonomous robots satisfies the often-conflicting goals of safety and stability. In the film “Top Gun: Maverick,” Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, is charged with training young pilots to complete a seemingly impossible mission — to fly their jets deep into a rocky canyon, staying so low to the ground they cannot be detected by radar, then rapidly climb out of the canyon at an extreme angle, avoiding the rock walls. Spoiler alert: With Maverick’s help, these…
Meacham leads WashU team in creating an acoustic microfluidic device to study swimming microorganisms. A team from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created an acoustic microfluidic method that offers new opportunities to conduct experiments with swimming cells and microorganisms. “The cells that our collaborators study are powerful swimmers for their size, and so the forces needed to trap them are substantial,” said J. Mark Meacham, an associate professor…
PNNL scientists investigate the promising properties of a common, Earth-abundant salt. In a world of continuously warmer temperatures, a growing consensus demands that energy sources have zero, or next-to-zero, carbon emissions. That means growing beyond coal, oil, and natural gas by getting more energy from renewable sources. One of the most promising renewable energy carriers is clean hydrogen, which is produced without fossil fuels. It’s a promising idea because the most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen, found in…
Better living through machine learning. A groundbreaking machine-learning study has unmasked the best drug combinations to prevent COVID-19 from coming back after an initial infection. It turns out these combos are not the same for every patient. Using real-world data from a hospital in China, the UC Riverside-led study found that individual characteristics, including age, weight, and additional illness determine which drug combinations most effectively reduce recurrence rates. This finding has been published in the journal Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. …
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