Human eggs often contain the wrong number of chromosomes, leading to miscarriages and infertility. A research team led by Melina Schuh at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences has discovered that human eggs are missing an important protein, which acts as a molecular motor. This motor helps to stabilize the machinery that separates the chromosomes during cell division. The researchers’ findings open up new avenues for therapeutic approaches that could reduce chromosome segregation errors in human eggs. A…
Epigenetic data have enormous potential… The cells of our body all have the same genetic material. Their genome is identical, but the cells are different, because their genes are differently active. Chemical marks on the DNA, for example through methylation or modification of histones, control the activity of the genes and shape their cell identity (epigenetics). Using methylation data from great apes, researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, Germany, were able to…
A reduced risk of infection and, as a consequence, a decrease in new infections are goals that have become even more important during the Corona pandemic. One important factor thereby is the cleaning and disinfection of potentially contaminated surfaces. In the “MobDi – Mobile Disinfection” project, 12 Fraunhofer institutes collaborated on the development of new technical solutions for efficient and target-oriented robot-based disinfection. The Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST developed a modular plasma system which can…
Cerebral venous thrombosis is a rare, often severe disease that has been brought to public attention by the Covid 19 pandemic. A research group from Würzburg has now succeeded for the first time in deciphering a molecular cause of this disease. This opens the way to new therapeutic approaches. Published in Nature Cardiovascular Research. Cerebral venous thrombosis is a rare form of cerebral circulatory disorder that, unlike classic stroke, more often affects younger people. For unknown reasons, blood clots (thrombi)…
Heidelberg plant researchers discover cellular mechanism that extends the life of proteins. Plants are tied to one location and need to adjust to their environment, including adverse conditions. Adaptive responses include synthesising new proteins and breaking down those that are no longer needed. For this task, plants use a considerable amount of energy. Thus, regulation of protein turnover in the plant cell has to be appropriately thorough. Researchers at the Centre for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University led by Dr…
A UNIGE team has developed a new material that improves the performance of solid-state sodium batteries, a less dangerous and more durable alternative to lithium. The future of battery technologies lies in sodium. More sustainable than lithium – which currently powers most of our devices and vehicles – sodium is also abundant on the earth’s surface. The only problem is that its ions do not move easily in the liquid electrolyte of conventional batteries, making it less efficient than lithium….
University of Warwick physicists discover presence of a special ferroelectric texture that mirrors the spin crystal phase (checkerboard-like symmetry) in ferromagnets. Ferromagnetic materials have a permanent magnetic field. Ferroelectric materials do the same with an electric field Researchers suggest that at small enough scales, the characteristics of the two could be almost identical, although they are caused by very different physics Both classes of material have uses in electronics, particularly data storage Ferromagnetic materials have a self-generating magnetic field, ferroelectric…
Newly discovered brain circuit in motor learning. Learning new motor skills is a critical aspect of our lives. From playing the piano to riding a bike, it would be difficult to imagine life without it. But how does the brain do it? A new study published today (February 9th) in the scientific journal Science Advances sheds light on a newly discovered brain circuit that may endow us with this remarkable ability. How the Cortex Talks to the Striatum The cortex…
Scientists discover that triggering superconductivity with a flash of light involves the same fundamental physics that are at work in the more stable states needed for devices, opening a new path toward producing room-temperature superconductivity. Much like people can learn more about themselves by stepping outside of their comfort zones, researchers can learn more about a system by giving it a jolt that makes it a little unstable – scientists call this “out of equilibrium” – and watching what happens…
What happens inside neurons when we memorize a password or learn the cello? Some of our basic understanding about learning and memory comes from the study of conditions in which cognitive development is disrupted. For example, FMRP, a protein whose loss causes fragile X syndrome, intellectual disability, and some forms of autism has been shown to play a key role in these brain functions, helping regulate synaptic connections between neurons. A new study now suggests that the role of this…
What otherwise takes hours in the laboratory, involves annoying waiting times and many sources of error, can now be accomplished by a robot in less time, well digitally documented and with high reproducibility. Automation of synthesis processes for nanoparticles can be a milestone for the use of new therapeutic and diagnostic medical devices – and at the same time increase occupational safety and relieve highly qualified laboratory personnel from monotonous routines. Biofunctionalized nanodiagnostics and therapeutics have been predicted for some…
New study confirms decades of indirect evidence for debris from disintegrating planets hurtling into white dwarfs across the galaxy University of Warwick sees X-rays from planetary debris heated to a million degrees as it falls onto the dead core of its host star The moment that debris from destroyed planets impacts the surface of a white dwarf star has been observed for the first time by astronomers at the University of Warwick. They have used X-rays to detect the rocky…
Keeping the balance between quality, production efficiency and costs has always been difficult in the manufacturing of precision optics. To make manufacturing data usable for these purposes by creating a digital twin along the production chain for quick optimization is therefore the goal of the “EverPro” research project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen. The Aachen researchers have now published their findings on the development and implementation of a data structure that can fully describe digital…
Researchers at Leipzig University have succeeded in moving tiny amounts of liquid at will by remotely heating water over a metal film with a laser. The currents generated in this way can be used to manipulate and even capture tiny objects. This will unlock groundbreaking new solutions for nanotechnology, the manipulation of liquids in systems in tiny spaces, or in the field of diagnostics, by making it possible to detect the smallest concentrations of substances with new types of sensor…
PhD thesis investigated application of a special white-light laser for semiconductor industry and microbiology. A new high-performance white-light laser is expected to speed up quality control in the semiconductor industry and provide closer monitoring of toxicity tests in microbiology. In one step, this laser enables the two-sided characterization of surfaces and can be integrated into production chains. The technology has been developed at the Fraunhofer Application Center for Optical Metrology and Surface Technologies (AZOM) and Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau (WHZ) as…
The energy transport between atoms and molecules is the basis of all life. Such transport is based on interatomic forces known as the dipole-dipole interaction. Prof. Dr Herwig Ott’s research group at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (TUK) has now succeeded in reproducing such a transport mechanism in a disordered system. For this purpose, the researchers experimentally observed the quantum mechanical interaction between different Rydberg atoms. This allowed them to understand the influence of disorder on the distribution and mobility of the…
Feedback
