The human immune system is a thing of wonder. Up until now it had been widely assumed that the ability of killer T cells to destroy tumour cells and pathogens would deteriorate with age. It turns out, however, that the opposite is true – they become better killers, the older they get. This surprising finding is the result of research conducted by the pharmaceutical scientist Dr. Annette Lis and molecular biologist Dorina Zöphel at Saarland University. Their work suggests that…
Research team at the University of Jena discovers novel approach to treating certain B-cell lymphomas. Together with researchers from University Hospital Mainz, the University of Regensburg and the IRCM in Montreal (Canada), a research team from Friedrich Schiller University Jena has discovered a novel therapeutic approach for treating malignant tumours of the lymphatic system. The team led by Dr Christian Kosan from Jena University’s Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics shows that treating certain B-cell lymphomas with the enzyme inhibitor “Marbostat…
Fraunhofer IWS developed a laser technology to clean and structure surfaces particularly quickly while protecting the environment. Sandblasting – that was yesterday. Laser beams can clean and structure surfaces more precisely, cost-effectively and in environmental friendlier ways than conventional systems. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden has developed the technology “LIGHTblast” for this purpose which is now being transferred to the semiconductor manufacturing, automotive supply and other industries. The Fraunhofer IWS researchers see considerable ecological…
Computer simulations visualize how an essential stem cell protein opens wrapped DNA. A key protein for converting adult stem cells into cells that resemble embryonic stem cells has been visualized in unprecedented detail by an international team of researchers around Hans Schöler and Vlad Cojocaru of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster. By combing experiments and computer simulations, the team visualized how the Oct4 protein binds and opens short pieces of DNA while wrapped around nuclear storage…
… by the force exerted by light. Chirality is the property that the structure is not superposable on its mirrored image. Chiral materials exhibit the characteristic feature that they respond differently to left- and right-circularly polarized light (optical activity, Figure 1). When a matter is irradiated with strong laser light, optical force exerts on it. It has been expected theoretically that the optical force exerting on chiral materials by left- and right-circularly polarized light would also be different. The research…
New study by international team of scientists reveals an evolving, magnetized environment and surprising source location for deep-space fast radio bursts – observations that defy current understanding. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-long cosmic explosions that each produce the energy equivalent to the sun’s annual output. More than 15 years after the deep-space pulses of electromagnetic radio waves were first discovered, their perplexing nature continues to surprise scientists – and newly published research only deepens the mystery surrounding them. In the…
Scientists identify WASH protein complex as a gatekeeper of neutrophil-driven inflammation. A team led by Scripps Research scientists has uncovered key details of an immune-cell process that frequently underlies excessive inflammation in the body. The findings could lead to new ways of preventing and/or treating inflammation-related conditions such as sepsis, arthritis, and coronary artery disease. In the study, published September 21, 2022 in Nature Communications, the researchers showed that a multi-protein “molecular machine” called WASH has a powerful role in…
… when squished or stretched. Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed soft devices containing algae that glow in the dark when experiencing mechanical stress, such as being squished, stretched, twisted or bent. The devices do not require any electronics to light up, making them an ideal choice for building soft robots that explore the deep sea and other dark environments, researchers said. The work was published recently in Nature Communications. The researchers took their inspiration for…
Theoretical study exploits precision of new heavy ion collision data to predict how gluons are distributed inside protons and neutrons. The Science The nuclei of atoms are made up of protons and neutrons, collectively referred to as nucleons. Nucleons in turn consist of quarks and gluons. Understanding how those inner building blocks are distributed within nuclei can reveal how large protons and neutrons appear when probed at high energy. This work used comparisons between model calculations and new precision data from collisions of heavy…
Until now, it has not been possible to additively manufacture sensors and other electronic devices in a single operation. However, a research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA has now succeeded in doing just that. The key to this achievement? Conductive plastics. In the “Electronic functional integration in additively manufactured components” research project, researchers from the Center for Additive Manufacturing Technologies at Fraunhofer IPA have succeeded in using a 3D printer to produce inductive proximity…
6G mobile communications is expected to pave the way for innovative applications such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Internet of Things in everyday life from 2030. This will require a much higher performance capability than that of the current 5G mobile standard, involving new hardware solutions. At EuMW 2022, Fraunhofer IAF will therefore present an energy-efficient GaN-based transmitter module for the 6G-relevant frequency ranges above 70 GHz, which was developed jointly with Fraunhofer HHI. The high performance of the…
An international research team led by drone expert Mirko Kovac of Empa and Imperial College London has taken bees as a model to develop a swarm of cooperative, 3D-printing drones. Under human control, these flying robots work as a team to print 3D materials for building or repairing structures while flying, as the scientists report in the cover story of the latest issue of Nature. 3D printing is gaining momentum in the construction industry. Both on-site and in the factory,…
New production technology opens the way to quantum light sources with fiber optic compatibility. Across the world, specialists are working on implementing quantum information technologies. One important path involves light: Looking ahead, single light packages, also known as light quanta or photons, could transmit data that is both coded and effectively tap proof. To this end, new photon sources are required that emit single light quanta in a controlled fashion – and on demand. Only recently has it been discovered…
If introns remain in certain RNAs, worms live longer. RNA is an important transmitter of information in our cells and serves as a blueprint for the production of proteins. When freshly formed RNA is processed, so-called introns are cut out to produce the mature mRNA coding for protein. This cutting is called “splicing” and is controlled by a complex called the “spliceosome”. Long-lived worms “We found a gene in worms, called PUF60, that is involved in RNA splicing and regulates…
… regarding next-generation brain-mimicking computing. KIST discovered critical variables to maximize the performance of artificial synaptic devices. Green light for next-generation neuromorphic system development. Neuromorphic computing system technology mimicking the human brain has emerged and overcome the limitation of excessive power consumption regarding the existing von Neumann computing method. A high-performance, analog artificial synapse device, capable of expressing various synapse connection strengths, is required to implement a semiconductor device that uses a brain information transmission method. This method uses signals…
In a recent study on automated driving by TU Dresden and DEKRA, traffic and engineering psychologists analyzed reactions to possible malfunctions of this future human-machine interface. The study of various takeover scenarios shows that people are only partially able to take over the wheel quickly and safely in the event of technical malfunctions. Checking your emails, reading the news or watching a movie while driving. With automated driving, drivers are allowed to perform secondary activities under certain circumstances. At the…
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