Novel method simulates tens of thousands of bubbles in foamy flows. Bubbles aren’t just for bath time. Bubbles, specifically bubbles in foamy flows, are critical for many industrial processes, including the production of food and cosmetics and drug development and delivery. But the behavior of these foamy flows is notoriously difficult to compute because of the sheer number of bubbles involved. Previous attempts to simulate foamy flows have relied on the time-consuming and computationally expensive process of tracking the bubbles…
When non-uniform force is applied to a material, it exhibits spontaneous electrical polarization induced by a strain gradient. This phenomenon is called flexoelectricity. There is no need to apply an electric field when utilizing this property and therefore, it shows promising device applications in smartphones, generators, and actuators. Recently, a Korean research team has developed a method to control the flexoelectricity of nanometer-sized (one-billionth of a meter) materials by pressing with the AFM tip. A joint team of researchers led…
… tethering of viral particles at the surface of cells. Teams at the Institut Pasteur, CNRS, Vaccine Research Institute (VRI) and Université de Paris have discovered a new function of anti-HIV-1[1] antibodies by applying cutting-edge microscopy techniques to in vitro viral cultures. The scientists found that certain antibodies already known for effectively targeting HIV-1 envelope (Env) protein can prevent infected cells from releasing viral particles, thus halting viral spread. The antibodies are Y-shaped, enabling them to attach themselves between the…
Researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Regensburg have elucidated the structure of a central cellular inflammatory switch. Their work shows which site of the giant protein called NLRP3 inhibitors can bind to. This opens the way to develop new pharmaceuticals that could target inflammatory diseases such as gout, type 2 diabetes or even Alzheimer’s disease. The results are published in the journal Nature. In their study, the researchers investigated a protein molecule with the cryptic abbreviation NLRP3. This is…
Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-β) is a signalling protein whose dysregulation can cause developmental disorders and cancer. Dr Xinlai Cheng and his colleagues at the Goethe University Frankfurt have discovered how a tumour suppressor known as pVHL influences signal transmission involving TGF-β. Their findings suggest possible starting points for developing new drugs. Signal transmission inside cells is a complex process. TGF-β, for example, regulates many cell functions during the early development of both humans and animals, but also in adult…
»SCIP Plastics« Project Worth Millions Launches in Weimar and Bangladesh. Approximately 480 tonnes of waste end up of the streets of Khulna, the largest city in the densely populated Ganges Delta, every day. This waste includes huge quantities of plastic, which then makes it way into the ocean via the adjacent waterways. If nothing is done to stop this, ocean contamination will continue to increase. The goal of this joint project is to establish a sustainable waste management system in…
Scientists at the University of Cologne show in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that intestinal cells check the quality of oocytes and intervene when they detect defects / Publication in ‘Nature Communications’. Inheriting a normal and intact number of chromosomes in germ cells, egg and sperm, is essential for the preservation of all species. With increasing age, the risk of the egg cell not inheriting the normal set of chromosomes increases. This results in so-called aneuploidy, which can mean either too…
A molecular movie shot at PSI reveals the mechanism of a light-driven chloride pump. Many bacteria and unicellular algae have light-driven pumps in their cell membranes: proteins that change shape when exposed to photons such that they can transport charged atoms in or out of the cell. Thanks to these pumps, their unicellular owners can adjust to the environment’s pH value or salinity. One such bacteria is Nonlabens marinus, first discovered in 2012 in the Pacific Ocean. Among others, it…
Astrophysicists including Axel Weiß/MPIfR, have developed a new method of measuring the cosmic microwave background temperature only 880 million years after the Big Bang. It is the first time that the temperature of the radiation has been measured at such an early epoch. The prevailing cosmological model assumes that the Universe has cooled off since the Big Bang. The model also describes how the cooling process should proceed, but so far it has been directly confirmed only for relatively recent…
Melting and sublimation on Mount Everest’s highest glacier due to human-induced climate change have reached the point that several decades of accumulation are being lost annually now that ice has been exposed, according to a University of Maine-led international research team that analyzed data from the world’s highest ice core and highest automatic weather stations. The extreme sensitivity of the high-altitude Himalayan ice masses in rapid retreat forewarns of quickly emerging impacts that could range from increased incidence of avalanches…
According to experts, bringing an end to the pandemic will require rapid screening of people attending large gatherings, such as conferences and weddings. Even those who are asymptomatic can still transmit COVID-19 to others, making it important to identify and isolate them until they are no longer contagious. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a prototype “breathalyzer” that can sensitively and accurately diagnose COVID-19, even in asymptomatic individuals, in less than 5 minutes. Currently, the “gold standard” for…
Metamaterials, made up of small, repeated structures, engineered to produce desired interactions with light or sound waves, can improve optical devices used in telecommunications, imaging and more. But the functionality of the devices can be limited by the corresponding design space, according to Lei Kang, assistant research professor of electrical engineering at Penn State. Kang and interdisciplinary collaborators from Penn State and Sandia National Laboratories leveraged three dimensions of design space to create and test a metamaterial with robust optical…
An Indo-Swiss research team led by Empa researchers is developing an ecological and solidarity-based business model that reduces the environmental impact of e-waste recycling. In this way, micro-entrepreneurs without investment capital are to be integrated into the value chain. In India, more than 90% of e-waste is handled by the informal sector. While this provides income for many families, it also often has a negative impact on the environment and on workers’ health. Introducing and enforcing standards is difficult because…
Making human-machine interaction more efficient and safer with the help of innovative 3D technologies – that was the goal of the “3Dsensation” research alliance. After eight years, the joint project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF) with 45 million euros, is now coming to an end. Together, the partners from research, industry and business can look back on groundbreaking developments within the alliance – such as health monitoring for newborns, forgery-proof personal identification or merchandise…
A research team from the University of Jena and the Helmholtz Institute Jena sheds light on the best way to generate high-energy proton radiation using laser-plasma interaction. Proton therapy is a precise and effective treatment for tumours in sensitive areas of the body, such as the brain or the eyes, with the advantage that it spares healthy tissue. In this procedure, protons (positively charged particles) are strongly accelerated and directed with precision into the tumour tissue, which is destroyed in…
AWI study provides the basis for reliable projections of the impacts of climate change in the Antarctic. Despite global warming and the sea-ice loss in the Arctic, the Antarctic sea-ice extent has remained largely unchanged since 1979. However, existing climate model-based simulations indicate significant sea-ice loss, contrary to actual observations. As experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute have now shown, the ocean may weaken warming around Antarctica and delay sea-ice retreat. Given that many models are not capable of accurately…
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