One of the biggest mysteries in science – dark energy – doesn’t actually exist, according to researchers looking to solve the riddle of how the Universe is expanding. For the past 100 years, physicists have generally assumed that the cosmos is growing equally in all directions. They employed the concept of dark energy as a placeholder to explain unknown physics they couldn’t understand, but the contentious theory has always had its problems. Now a team of physicists and astronomers at…
Rising water temperatures undermine nutrient reduction efforts. Eutrophication and rising water temperatures are taking an increasing toll on the Baltic Sea, leading to dangerous oxygen depletion in deeper water layers and threatening many marine organisms. Despite successful efforts to reduce nutrient inputs, rising temperatures are preventing the ecosystem from recovering. Researchers at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have used long-term measurements to investigate how environmental conditions have changed in recent decades. Their findings have now been published…
New technique reveals complex spin structures at femtosecond timescales. Plasmons are collective oscillations of electrons in a solid and are important for a wide range of applications, such as sensing, catalysis, and light harvesting. Plasmonic waves that travel along the surface of a metal, called surface plasmon polaritons, have been studied for their ability to enhance electromagnetic fields. One of the most powerful tools for studying these waves is time-resolved electron microscopy, which uses ultrashort laser pulses to observe how…
A team led by plant biotechnologist Prof Markus Schwarzländer from the University of Münster and biochemist Prof Bruce Morgan from Saarland University has developed new biosensors with which the ratio of NADPH to NADP⁺ can be measured in living cells in real time for the first time. Biological cells have many vital functions in the organism. For example, they produce proteins, carbohydrates and fats. But they are also responsible for detoxifying harmful molecules and transmitting signals and immune defence steps….
A new method of scanning lungs is able to show the effects of treatment on lung function in real time and enable experts to see the functioning of transplanted lungs. This could enable medics to identify sooner any decline in lung function. The scan method has enabled the team, led by researchers at Newcastle University, UK, to see how air moves in and out of the lungs as people take a breath in patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease…
Grapes show promise for quantum sensing breakthrough. Macquarie University researchers have demonstrated how ordinary supermarket grapes can enhance the performance of quantum sensors, potentially leading to more efficient quantum technologies. The study, published in Physical Review Applied on 20 December 2024, shows that pairs of grapes can create strong localised magnetic field hotspots of microwaves which are used in quantum sensing applications – a finding that could help develop more compact and cost-effective quantum devices. “While previous studies looked at…
Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia have developed novel 3D printed PLA-CaP scaffolds that promote blood vessel formation, ensuring better healing and regeneration of bone tissue. Bone is a highly vascularized tissue, and the link between angiogenesis -blood vessel formation- and bone healing has long been discussed by the scientific community, with several studies describing the impairment of bone healing because of lack of or diminished angiogenesis. Traditional approaches like grafting often result in complications due to an…
ASU- and Banner Alzheimer’s Institute-led study implicates link between a common virus and the disease, which travels from the gut to the brain and may be a target for antiviral treatments. Arizona State University and Banner Alzheimer’s Institute researchers, along with their collaborators, have discovered a surprising link between a chronic gut infection caused by a common virus and the development of Alzheimer’s disease in a subset of people. It is believed most humans are exposed to this virus — called…
How deubiquitinases USP53 and USP54 cleave long polyubiquitin chains and how the former is linked to liver disease in children. Deubiquitinases (DUBs) are enzymes used by cells to trim protein modifications made from the protein ubiquitin, and thereby regulate proteins. Malfunctioning of DUBs could lead to diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. A protein called USP53 has been recently linked with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, a hereditary liver disease in children, yet its mechanism of action has remained elusive. While…
Conceptual blueprint to analyze experimental catalyst data. Machine learning (ML) models have recently become popular in the field of heterogeneous catalyst design. The inherent complexity of the interactions between catalyst components is very high, leading to both synergistic and antagonistic effects on catalyst yield that are difficult to disentangle. Therefore, the discovery of well-performing catalysts has long relied on serendipitous trial and error. BIFOLD researcher Parastoo Semnani from the Machine Learning group of BIFOLD Co-Director Klaus-Robert Müller and a team…
8,000 open source models for sustainable mobility. Designing new cars is expensive and time consuming. As a result, manufacturers tend to make only minor changes from one model generation to the next. With DriverAerNet++, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now developed the largest open-source database for aerodynamic car design. More than 8000 models representing the most common vehicle types will make it possible to create more efficient designs with…
The identification of genes involved in diseases is one of the major challenges of biomedical research. Researchers at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have developed a method that makes their identification much easier and faster: they light up genome sequences in the cell nucleus. In contrast to complex screenings using established methods, the NIS-Seq method can be used to investigate the genetic determinants of almost any biological process in human cells. The study has now…
Good news for the German research fleet, German shipbuilding, and international polar research alike: the new Polarstern will be constructed in Wismar by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. The company received the official contract to construct a new research icebreaker from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) today, marking the end of a two and a half-year-long Europe-wide call for tenders. The new flagship of German climate research will cost an estimated 1.185 billion euros. Following five years of construction, she is to…
Repairable and exchangeable skeleton modules with open load-bearing structures enable different types of use and uncomplicated adaptations in the event of future changes. Building heights of up to 24 storeys are possible. The operating life and life span of buildings are often far apart. If a property is no longer fit for purpose, it is usually demolished even though it would still be perfectly usable. Even in the event of damage to individual parts of the building, the entire building…
The evolution of the lunar dynamo is crucial for understanding the Moon’s deep interior structure, thermal history, and surface environment. A recent study by Chinese scientists conducted paleomagnetic analyses on basalts returned by the Chang’e-6 mission and revealed a significant reinforcement of the lunar dynamo approximately 2.8 billion years ago (Ga). This groundbreaking work was published in Nature. Previous paleomagnetic studies of nearside lunar samples have established a general timeline for the evolution of the Moon’s magnetic field. However, limited spatial…
Academics from Northumbria University are part of an international research team which has used data from satellites to track changes in the thickness of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Global warming is causing the Ice Sheet to melt and flow more rapidly, raising sea levels and disturbing weather patterns across our planet. Because of this, precise measurements of its changing shape are of critical importance for tracking and adapting to the effects of climate warming. Scientists have now delivered the first…
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