Properties of heaviest element studied so far measured at GSI/FAIR. An international research team has succeeded in gaining new insights into the chemical properties of the superheavy element flerovium — element 114 — at the accelerator facilities of the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt. The measurements show that flerovium is the most volatile metal in the periodic table. Flerovium is thus the heaviest element in the periodic table that has been chemically studied. With the results, published in the…
In the FOXIP project, researchers form Empa, EPFL and the Paul Scherrer Institute attempted to print thin-film transistors with metal oxides onto heat-sensitive materials such as paper or PET. The goal was ultimately not achieved, but those involved consider the project a success – because of a new printing ink an a transistor with “memory effect”. The bar was undoubtedly set high: In the research project Functional Oxides Printed on Polymers and Paper – FOXIP for short – the goal…
Strong alternating magnetic fields can be used to generate a new type of spin wave that was previously just theoretically predicted. This was achieved for the first time by a team of physicists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). They report on their work in the scientific journal “Nature Communications” and provide the first microscopic images of these spin waves. The basic idea of spintronics is to use a special property of electrons – spin – for various electronic applications…
Malnutrition is a key challenge not only in African countries. As an international study led by Veronika Somoza now shows, egg powder is a food with great potential to improve the nutritional situation of children in deprived areas. Compared to pasteurized whole egg, the powder contains lower amounts of essential fatty acids, but still provides many vitamins, indispensable amino acids and important trace elements. In addition, it has a long shelf life without additional preservatives, is easy to transport over…
Methanol plays an important role for industry as a commodity chemical and is presently considered one of the key energy carriers in the rising hydrogen economy. However, conventional methanol production from coal and natural gas generates large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. With the project Carbon2Chem®, partners from industry, research and academia have made it their mission to explore processes for producing methanol from industrial waste gases using the steel industry as an example. For the first time, the long-term…
When two drugs were delivered in one nanoparticle rather than separately, the treatment worked better in mice. Over the past 30 years, progress in early detection and treatment of cancer has helped reduce the overall death rate by more than 30%. Pancreatic cancer, however, has remained difficult to treat. Only 1 in 9 people survive five years after diagnosis, in part because this cancer is protected by biological factors that help it resist treatment. In hopes of turning the tide,…
Research team investigates reactivity of single molecules under controlled microscopic conditions. Researchers around the world are working to develop efficient materials to convert CO2 into usable chemical substances – work that is particularly pressing in view of global warming. A team from the University of Göttingen, Germany, and the Ulsan National Institute for Science, South Korea, has discovered a new and promising approach: catalytically active molecules are nanoconfined – meaning they are put into an environment that leaves very little space…
New physics discovered where crystal patterns match weave of traditional baskets. Physicists have discovered a material in which atoms are arranged in a way that so frustrates the movement of electrons that they engage in a collective dance where their electronic and magnetic natures appear to both compete and cooperate in unexpected ways. Led by Rice University physicists, the research was published online today in Nature. In experiments at Rice, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Lawrence…
A weak proton emission following beta decay constrains the formation of elements in stellar nova explosions and determines their peak temperature. The Science Energy released by nuclear reactions drives exploding stars such as novae. To simulate novae accurately on computers, researchers need accurate inputs for the rates of nuclear reaction. The unknown rates of some nuclear reactions dramatically influence nova simulations. Nuclear physicists have now determined an important and challenging proton-capture reaction rate. Proton capture involves the collision of an…
Using satellites, we are now able to measure the ice thickness – also in the summer. This is of great importance for the shipping in Arctic and future weather and climate forecasts. The solution is developed by an international team, led by researchers at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the University of Bristol. “The Arctic ice is melting faster than ever. We need knowledge about the thickness of the sea ice, both to reduce safety risks for businesses…
Large study aims to clarify whether therapeutic plasma exchange increases the survival rate of those affected. Sepsis is the most common cause of death in infections. In Germany alone, around 75,000 people die from it every year. The most severe form of sepsis leads to circulatory failure, which experts refer to as septic shock. 60 percent of cases are fatal. So far, there is no specific therapy for septic shock – but that could soon change. An interdisciplinary team of…
New studies by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology show that competition between different evolutionary developmental stages of multicellular life cycles can be important for the development of an entire population. Without direct competition, only the growth rate of a population determines which life cycle prevails. Ecological competition, on the other hand, can lead to the selection of completely different life cycles. The evolution of multicellular organisms is a central process in the course of the origin of life….
In the cultivation of organic cacao, many factors determine the yield. An international research team with scientists from the universities of Würzburgh and Göttingen has now identified important players and their combined effects. It’s not possible to grow cacao without insects – that’s logical. After all, they ensure that the flowers are pollinated and that the valuable cacao fruits, a sought-after material for the food industry, develop. Studies in Indonesia had shown in the past that birds and bats also…
Early warning system for environmental changes. How can a vulture in a Berlin Zoo help its conspecifics and their habitats in Namibia? As a model and patron for a new generation of animal tags: The prototype of an innovative animal tag system developed by the Leibniz-IZW and the Fraunhofer IIS completed its maiden flight on a vulture at Tierpark Berlin today. The tags will be equipped with sensor-based artificial intelligence (AI), a camera, energy-efficient electronics and satellite-based communication technology. This…
Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) – the stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), Greifswald – has been significantly improved and will resume scientific experiments in autumn 2022. Featuring 6.8 kilometres of cooling pipes, doubly powerful heaters and 40 new diagnostics, the fusion facility, within a few years, should enable plasma operations lasting for up to 30 minutes. In the last three years, engineers and technicians controlled the operations while learning how to use W7-X. Their aim was to…
Microbial proteins around a sexually transmitted infection allow pathogen to hide undetected inside host cells. Chlamydia, the leading cause of sexually transmitted bacterial infections, evades detection and elimination inside human cells by use of a cloaking device. But Duke University researchers have grasped the hem of that invisibility cloak and now hope they can pull it apart. To enter the cell and peacefully reproduce, many pathogenic bacteria, including Chlamydia, cloak themselves in a piece of the cell’s membrane, forming an…
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