Fraunhofer IWM presents the »Triboepitaxy« concept… Four scientists from Freiburg have succeeded for the first time to simulate the localized growth of silicon crystals using shear-induced amorphization and recrystallization. In the future, experts could use this concept to tailor crystalline silicon structures for nanotechnology applications, such as nanoelectronics. “Triboepitaxy”, the fundamental idea that could make this possible, is presented by the team in the journal “Physical Review Letters”. Silicon is the most important material in micro- and nanoelectronics. Yet it…
Demonstrator high-rise impresses with its active elements. The opening ceremony for the world’s first adaptive high-rise building took place on the University of Stuttgart’s Campus Vaihingen on October 5, 2021, in the presence of Theresia Bauer, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Science. Here, scientists are investigating how buildings can actively adapt to changing environmental influences under real conditions and on a 1:1 scale. The prototype is being built as part of the Collaborative Research Center 1244 “Adaptive Building Skins and Structures for…
Cachexia is the name of a syndrome that is associated with numerous chronic diseases. Although the occurrence of cachexia can have serious implications on patients’ health and survival, there are many aspects of this syndrome that are unknown and therapeutic options remain very limited. Scientists from Andreas Bergthaler’s research group at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences emphasize the need for more research into cachexia in their recent publication in Nature Reviews Immunology….
A specific wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) light is not only extremely effective at killing the virus which causes COVID-19, but is also safer for use in public spaces, finds new University of Colorado Boulder research. The study, published this month in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, is the first to comprehensively analyze the effects of different wavelengths of UV light on SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, including the only wavelength safer for living beings to be exposed to without protection. The…
Automated vehicles could be made more pedestrian-friendly thanks to new research which could help them predict when people will cross the road. University of Leeds-led scientists investigating how to better understand human behaviour in traffic say that neuroscientific theories of how the brain makes decisions can be used in automated vehicle technology to improve safety and make them more human-friendly. The researchers set out to determine whether a decision-making model called drift diffusion could predict when pedestrians would cross a road in…
A remarkable number of life-threatening diseases manifest more severely in males than in females. One current example is COVID-19 caused by SARS CoV-2. Another example is the significantly higher risk of severe cancer progression for men. A research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now discovered a molecular cause for this difference between sexes. Compared to women, men have a higher risk of experiencing severe progression of life-threatening diseases such as cancer. For example in Germany, every…
In January 2021, Empa and BASE (Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy) were among the winners of the prestigious Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge by data.org, a platform for partnerships committed to build the field of data science for social impact. In their project, the team is developing a mobile app that aims to give smallholder farmers in rural India advice on how to better store their fresh foods and when to sell them. Eight months into the project, the team…
DFKI presents groundbreaking solution for AI-based system development. Whether in the factory, in the operating room or on Mars – the areas of application for modern robots are extremely diverse. This places enormous demands on the capabilities of the systems and leads to increasingly complex development processes. With the completion of the Q-Rock project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Robotics Innovation Center of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) presents a…
The Forum Plastic Recyclates will now be operating, with immediate effect, under new management: All rights associated with the event have been transferred from Hanser Publications to the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt. Fraunhofer LBF will now be assuming responsibility for operative planning of the event and will put together the conference program along with the experienced advisory committee. The fourth Plastic Recyclates Forum will be held on March 24, 2022. As before, the…
A discovery by Tel Aviv University researchers may help the war against cancer. A new Tel Aviv University study examined for the first time the development of a glioblastoma cancerous tumor in animal models with a normal immune system, in order to best simulate the development of the tumor in humans. The findings of the study showed that there are immune system cells that, despite the fact that their primary function is to attack and kill the cancer cells, actually…
The mechanism of molecular self-organization was assessed in a new model by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS). In their study, they simulated how environmental factors such as temperature influence the size of oil droplets in elastic matrices. The study will also help understanding droplet formation in biological cells, where biological molecules self-organize in condensates. The full paper was recently published in the renowned journal PNAS. In biology, proper regulation of the cell’s interior is…
Quantum computer experiments at UMD show that combining quantum computer pieces doesn’t have to mean combining their error rates. Pobody’s nerfect—not even the indifferent, calculating bits that are the foundation of computers. But JQI Fellow Christopher Monroe’s group, together with colleagues from Duke University, have made progress toward ensuring we can trust the results of quantum computers even when they are built from pieces that sometimes fail. They have shown in an experiment, for the first time, that an assembly…
New measurement method promises spectacular insights into the interior of planets. At the heart of planets, extreme states are to be found: temperatures of thousands of degrees, pressures a million times greater than atmospheric pressure. They can therefore only be explored directly to a limited extent – which is why the expert community is trying to use sophisticated experiments to recreate equivalent extreme conditions. An international research team including the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has adapted an established measurement method to…
Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) in Halle have recently created purple tomatoes using Genetic Engineering methods. To do so, they inserted the genes responsible for the biosynthesis of betanin into the plants and activated these in the ripening fruit. Betanin isn’t normally produced by tomatoes, but rather extracted from red beets and used as a natural food dye. These sorts of Genetic Engineering methods of producing substances in specially developed plant production systems will play an…
Researchers from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Florida have developed a sensor that could diagnose a heart attack in less than 30 minutes, according to a study published in Lab on a Chip. Currently, it takes health care professionals hours to diagnose a heart attack. Initial results from an echocardiogram can quickly show indications of heart disease, but to confirm a patient is having a heart attack, a blood sample and analysis is required. Those results can…
A team of scientists from Germany, Sweden and China has discovered a new physical phenomenon: complex braided structures made of tiny magnetic vortices known as skyrmions. Skyrmions were first detected experimentally a little over a decade ago and have since been the subject of numerous studies, as well as providing a possible basis for innovative concepts in information processing that offer better performance and lower energy consumption. Furthermore, skyrmions influence the magnetoresistive and thermodynamic properties of a material. The discovery…
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