Inactivation of the X chromosome is dynamic and complex. Female mammals switch off one of their two X chromosomes during early stages of embryonic development. But how the cells decide which chromosome to turn off is still a mystery. The sequencing and analysis of thousands of single cultured cells now revealed more about the initial phase of this process. Apparently, in some cases both chromosomes will start the inactivation process before only one is activated again and emerges as the…
Goodbye, bulky components and connectors: A team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany and at the University of Boulder in Colorado in the US has now found a new way to exploit the principles of spiders’ joints to create lightweight robots. It is not the first time that spiders have served as biological models in the research field of soft robotics. The hydraulic actuation mechanisms they apply to move their limbs when weaving their…
Oldenburg study finds new explanation for why organic compounds accumulate in oxygen-depleted marine environments. The Black Sea is an unusual body of water: below a depth of 150 metres the dissolved oxygen concentration sinks to around zero, meaning that higher life forms such as plants and animals cannot exist in these areas. At the same time, this semi-enclosed sea stores comparatively large amounts of organic carbon. A team of researchers led by Dr Gonzalo Gomez-Saez and Dr Jutta Niggemann from…
The University of Bayreuth is a partner in the new European “PAPILLONS” consortium for micro- and nanoplastics research in agriculture. 20 universities and research institutions from 12 countries will jointly investigate the sustainability of plastic use in European agriculture. The focus is on the input of plastic particles and chemical additives into arable land, and their possible ecological and socio-economic effects. The European Union is funding the project until 2025 to the tune of € 7.2 million in total, of…
The traits of coral species that have become extinct during the last few million years do not match those of coral species deemed at risk of extinction today. In a recently published article in the journal ‘Global Ecology and Biogeography’, a research team at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) is therefore proposing that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revises its Red List of Threatened Species for coral. The list categorises around a third of all 845 coral species…
Helmholtz Association funds project for data acquisition using neural networks. In addition to experimentally generated data, fundamental research in physics also works with synthetically generated data. Acquisition of such data with currently available simulation methods is, however, time consuming and ties up immense computer capacity. A new project by DESY, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS, Görlitz) at the HZDR, is testing an approach with which data on physical systems behavior can be generated…
Educational scientists at the University of Jena study the use of VR headsets in teacher training. Educational scientists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena are working on a new project studying how virtual reality can enrich teacher training – and thus also enhance teaching in schools. Digital learning has received a lot of attention and valuable input during the coronavirus pandemic, both in schools and universities. This topic must now be pursued further to develop, test and ultimately apply new methods….
Human microRNA-506-Quaking axis as a master switch. A team of scientists of the Fraunhofer ITEM, the Hannover Medical School and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg has discovered a novel molecular regulatory axis that plays a decisive role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The focus is on the RNA-binding protein Quaking and its functional interplay with microRNAs. In-silico as well as in-vitro experiments in human lung fibroblasts revealed a novel regulatory microRNA-506-Quaking axis that contributes to IPF pathogenesis. The study has…
In battery-powered applications, in the automotive sector and in IT infrastructures 48 V technology is on the rise. In this voltage class, gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors offer the best compromise between safety, compactness and efficiency. Now, scientists at Fraunhofer IAF have presented pioneering integration concepts with GaN-based integrated circuits (ICs) for low-voltage applications. Whether battery-powered applications such as e-bikes, robotics or drones, drive and board systems in mobility, or IT infrastructures—all these sectors rely on cost-effective, efficient and compact…
Photoemission is a property of metals and other materials that emit electrons when struck by light. Electron emission after light absorption was already explained by Albert Einstein. But since this effect is a highly complex process, scientists have still not been able to fully elucidate its details. Prof. Dr. Bernd von Issendorff and his team at the University of Freiburg’s Institute of Physics have now succeeded in detecting a previously unknown quantum effect in the angular distributions of photoelectrons from…
MHH neuroradiologist develops international guidelines for MRI imaging. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system in younger adults. According to the German Multiple Sclerosis Society, about 250,00 people in Germany suffer from MS, with more than 10,000 new cases every year. MS can be treated well, but there is no cure. Even a diagnosis can be difficult because most of the initial symptoms also correspond to those of other diseases. Magnetic resonance…
The influx of warmer water masses from the North Atlantic into the European marginal seas plays a significant role in the marked decrease in sea-ice growth, especially in winter. Sea-ice physicists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), together with researchers from the US and Russia, now present evidence for this in two new studies, which show that heat from the Atlantic has hindered ice growth in the Barents and Kara Seas for years….
A team of international researchers from the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society developed a new DNA sequencing method that provides fast and efficient tracking of genetic information. Their new technique called haplotagging now enables scientists to quickly and precisely trace and match genome data. Haplotagging delivers rich genome information and facilitates accurate determination of our genetic make-up. This allows for fast genetic analyses in human populations or reveals previously unsuspected mixing of species in nature. The results…
At a classical second-order phase transition, condensed matter systems acquire long-range order upon cooling below the transition temperature, and the properties near the transition are driven by thermal fluctuations. These behaviors have been long explained by the Landau theory of phase transitions, which leads to the notion of universality, whereby systems with very different microscopic constituents exhibit certain universal macroscopic behaviors close to a phase transition. Some condensed matter systems however can be tuned so that the phase transition is…
The cosmic mass monsters clear the way for the formation of new suns in satellite galaxies. Research combining systematic observations with cosmological simulations has found that, surprisingly, black holes can help certain galaxies form new stars. On scales of galaxies, the role of supermassive black holes for star formation had previously been seen as destructive – active black holes can strip galaxies of the gas that galaxies need to form new stars. The new results, published in the journal Nature,…
New physics revealed by UC Riverside-led research could improve understanding of moiré superlattices. When two similar atomic layers with mismatching lattice constants — the constant distance between a layer’s unit cells — and/or orientation are stacked together, the resulting bilayer can exhibit a moiré pattern and form a moiré superlattice. Moiré patterns are interference patterns that typically arise when one object with a repetitive pattern is placed over another with a similar pattern. Moiré superlattices, formed by atomic layers, can…
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