At TU Wien (Vienna), it was now possible to explain how a chemical reaction takes place that, at first glance, should not be possible at the temperatures observed. What happens when a cat climbs onto a sunflower? The sunflower is unstable, will quickly bend, and the cat will fall to the ground. However, if the cat only needs a quick boost to catch a bird from there, then the sunflower can act as a “metastable intermediate step”. This is essentially…
KIT Researchers use CRISPR-Kill to prevent the formation of specific organs during plant development. With the help of the CRISPR/Cas molecular scissors, genetic information in a plant can be modified to make the latter more robust to pests, diseases, or extreme climatic conditions. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed this method further to eliminate the complete DNA of specific cell types and, thus, prevent their formation during plant development. This will also help to better understand…
Scientists in Japan have found a common substance that can reversibly and rapidly store and release relatively large amounts of low-grade heat without decomposing. The research could lead to more efficient reuse of industrial waste heat. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications and were a collaboration between scientists at Tohoku University’s Institute for Materials Research and Rigaku Corporation, a company that designs and manufactures X-ray-based measurement and thermal analysis tools. In their investigations, the researchers used a…
Some jellyfish have simple eyes; some have complex ones. Other jellyfish have no eyes at all. Indeed, recent research has shown jellyfish eyes in different species have evolved separately and independently many times in different ways over many millennia, making them an ideal model to better understand how the trait expresses itself genetically. Now, a team of researchers that includes Paulyn Cartwright, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas; Maria Pia Miglietta of Texas A&M University,…
NASA’s airborne Lunar Spectral Irradiance, or air-LUSI, flew aboard NASA’s ER-2 aircraft from March 12 to 16 to accurately measure the amount of light reflected off the Moon. Reflected moonlight is a steady source of light that researchers are taking advantage of to improve the accuracy and consistency of measurements among Earth-observing satellites. “The Moon is extremely stable and not influenced by factors on Earth like climate to any large degree. It becomes a very good calibration reference, an independent…
The birds and the bees… Study calculates winged helpers’ effects on coffee—while pioneering a better way to measure nature’s ‘unpaid labor’. A groundbreaking new study finds that coffee beans are bigger and more plentiful when birds and bees team up to protect and pollinate coffee plants. Without these winged helpers, some traveling thousands of miles, coffee farmers would see a 25% drop in crop yields, a loss of roughly $1,066 per hectare of coffee. That’s important for the $26 billion…
A new AWI-led study shows: there is now a concerning degree of plastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean. Even the High North can’t escape the global threat of plastic pollution. An international review study just released by the Alfred Wegener Institute shows, the flood of plastic has reached all spheres of the Arctic: large quantities of plastic – transported by rivers, the air and shipping- can now be found in the Arctic Ocean. High concentrations of microplastic can be found…
The research network “TrinkXtrem” wants to improve the forecast quality of groundwater models during extreme weather events. Ensuring the supply of drinking water during extreme weather events such as a long drought or heavy rainfall – this is the overarching goal of a new research project named TrinkXtrem. In this project, which starts with a kickoff meeting on April 12 and 13, 2022, water supply companies from various regions in Germany are cooperating with research institutions of the federal government…
University of Jena research team studies molecular components of the endogenous clock in the green lineage. Life on Earth runs in 24-hour cycles. From tiny bacteria to human beings, organisms adapt to alterations of day and night. External factors, such as changes in light and temperature, are needed to entrain the clock. Many metabolic processes are controlled by the endogenous clock. Scientists at the University of Jena have now studied the molecular rhythms of the endogenous clock in the “green…
New technologies for use in next-generation photovoltaic inverters are in development and undergoing practical testing as part of the GaN-HighPower project. Photovoltaics (PV) is becoming increasingly relevant as a sustainable and affordable supply of energy in the wake of the global energy transition. In addition to the ongoing need for cost reductions, there is also a growing requirement for the increased functionality of devices against this backdrop. By way of example, technological solutions are required for this, which — alongside…
A new tool speeds up development of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products by more than one million times while minimizing costs. In search of pharmaceutical agents such as new vaccines, industry will routinely scan thousands of related candidate molecules. A novel technique allows this to take place on the nano scale, minimizing use of materials and energy. The work is published in the prestigious journal Nature Chemistry. More than 40,000 different molecules can be synthesized and analyzed within an area…
Until now, wastewater treatment plants have not been able to sufficiently filter out tiny microplastics in wastewater, but this could soon change: The first laser-drilled microplastic filter is being tested in a wastewater treatment plant. It contains sheets with extremely small holes just 10 micrometers in diameter. The technology to efficiently drill millions of such holes was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, and now the institute’s engineers are scaling up ultrashortpulse (USP) laser technology in the…
Fraunhofer FHR shows state-of-the-art radar technology at European Microwave Week in London. Future technology on the Thames: the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR will present the wide range of its capabilities at the 24th European Microwave Week 2021 (EuMW), which will take place in London from April 2 to 7, 2022 after being postponed due to the pandemic. Industry and science will now come together again on site at Europe’s leading trade fair and conference…
The presence of dendritic cells, so-called ‘sentinel’ immune cells, is vital to maintain and regulate the balance of the body’s immune response. Researchers have discovered an essential role of these cells in the treatment of cancer and severe viral infections. Chronic viral infections and cancers can cause a permanent impairment to the immune system, reducing the ability of immune killer T cells to remove tumour cells, or those infected by a virus – this is referred to as ‘immune exhaustion’….
A step closer towards high-performance organic thermoelectrics. Researchers from TU Dresden introduce a new path towards superior organic thermoelectric devices: highly efficient modulation doping of highly ordered organic semiconductors under high doping concentrations. The results have now been published in the renowned journal “Science Advances”. Can you image charging your mobile phone by simply using your body heat? It may still sound rather futuristic, but thermoelectrics certainly can do. Thermoelectrics is all about transforming heat into useful energy, mostly using…
For 50 years, interplanetary probes have returned thousands of striking images of the surface of Mars, but never a single sound. Now, NASA’s Perseverance mission has put an end to this deafening silence by recording the first ever Martian sounds. The scientific team1 for the French-US SuperCam2 instrument installed on Perseverance was convinced that the study of the soundscape of Mars could advance our understanding of the planet. This scientific challenge led them to design a microphone dedicated to the…
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