Scientists from UNIGE and UZH have used a statistical physics approach to identify the lengthscales of key intercellular interactions which govern tissue healing. In material physics understanding how systems interact across the interfaces separating them is of central interest. But can physical models clarify similar concepts in living systems, such as cells? Physicists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the University of Zurich (UZH), used the framework of disordered elastic systems to study the process of wound…
Scientists have revealed how an antibiotic of ‘last resort’ kills bacteria. The findings, from Imperial College London and the University of Texas, may also reveal a potential way to make the antibiotic more powerful. The antibiotic colistin has become a last resort treatment for infections caused by some of the world’s nastiest superbugs. However, despite being discovered over 70 years ago, the process by which this antibiotic kills bacteria has, until now, been something of a mystery. Now, researchers have…
Detection innovation could enhance drug development and cancer research. Small changes in the structure of DNA have been implicated in breast cancer and other diseases, but they’ve been extremely difficult to detect — until now. Using what they describe as a “chemical nose,” UC Riverside chemists are able to “smell” when bits of DNA are folded in unusual ways. Their work designing and demonstrating this system has been published in the journal Nature Chemistry. “If a DNA sequence is folded,…
At the University Hospital of Tübingen, a clinical trial led by Professor Dr. Peter Kremsner, Director of the Institute for Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine and Human Parasitology and Dr. Rolf Fendel, Research Group Leader at the Institute of Tropical Medicine partnered with the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), was able to show that the vaccine, “Sanaria PfSPZ-CVac”, which is being developed in Tübingen together with the biotechnology company Sanara Inc., provides 77 percent cross-train protection against malaria parasites. The…
Certain immune cells can cause damage to the aging central nervous system, according to a novel study by scientists of the University Hospital and the University of Würzburg. Aging is the biggest risk factor for perturbation of the nervous system, even in the absence of distinct disease or trauma. For yet unknown reasons, the impulse conducting, myelinated projections and synaptic connections between nerve cells are especially vulnerable to aging-related degeneration. These pathological alterations often manifest as cognitive, sensory, and motor…
University of Rochester researchers combine freeform optics and a metasurface to avoid ‘bug eyes’. “Image” is everything in the $20 billion market for AR/VR glasses. Consumers are looking for glasses that are compact and easy to wear, delivering high-quality imagery with socially acceptable optics that don’t look like “bug eyes.” University of Rochester researchers at the Institute of Optics have come up with a novel technology to deliver those attributes with maximum effect. In a paper in Science Advances, they…
In a recent article in Sustainability, scientists from Reykjavik University (RU), the University of Gothenburg, and the Icelandic Meteorological Office describe their finding of microplastic in a remote and pristine area of Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland, Europe’s largest ice cap. Microplastics may affect the melting and rheological behaviour of glaciers, thus influencing the future meltwater contribution to the oceans and rising sea levels. This is the first time that the finding of microplastic in the Vatnajökull glacier is described. The…
Silicon carbide power modules… If electric vehicles are to achieve greater distances, it’s not only a matter of optimizing their batteries. Instead, the entire power train has to be improved. A Fraunhofer team is therefore developing electronic control units, so-called power inverters, which convert the energy between battery and motor much more efficiently than is the case today. When it comes to an electric car’s range, many of us automatically think of the battery. The more energy a battery can…
Additive manufacturing … House key, wallet, health insurance card, hotel key card — a smart finger ring could replace all these in the future. Produced by a 3D printing process, the ring has an integrated RFID chip, tamper-proof, sealed and invisible. The technology of integrating electronics during 3D printing can of course be used for other applications too. The multifunctional ring was developed by a research team at Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV. Now, where’s my…
Fraunhofer program to fight against the pandemic … The disinfection robot BALTO — named after a sled dog who carried urgently needed vaccines to a highly inaccessible region of Alaska a hundred years ago — is capable of disinfecting door knobs and similar objects. It does this autonomously, reacting to human beings in the surrounding area at the same time. An interface with the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process makes this possible. Never before has hygiene attracted so much attention…
Renewable energies and hydrogen technology The idea is that private customers will, in the future, be able to produce the hydrogen they need using small wind turbines. Lightweight construction experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, at BTU Cottbus and an industrial partner are now developing the key technologies required: small, efficient rotors and safe tanks. According to data from the German Environment Agency, private households currently are responsible for about a quarter of Germany’s energy consumption…
Salk researchers and collaborators show how the protein damages cells, confirming COVID-19 as a primarily vascular disease. Scientists have known for a while that SARS-CoV-2’s distinctive “spike” proteins help the virus infect its host by latching on to healthy cells. Now, a major new study shows that they also play a key role in the disease itself. The paper, published on April 30, 2021, in Circulation Research, also shows conclusively that COVID-19 is a vascular disease, demonstrating exactly how the…
New optical diffraction tomography method increases imaging speed and resolution for improved diagnostics in histopathology. Histology is the study of biological tissues at a microscopic level. Also called microscopic anatomy, histology is widely used to provide diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. For example, tissue samples obtained during surgery might help to determine whether further surgical action is needed, and further surgery may be avoided if a diagnosis can be rapidly obtained during an operation. Traditional methods in histopathology are…
The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden has been developing robust, reliable and versatile ultrasonic sensors for many years. Due to their small size, the so-called MUTs, Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers, enable energy-saving, multifunctional, environmentally friendly and extremely compact sensor systems. At the digital trade fair SENSOR+TEST, the world’s leading forum for sensor, measurement and testing technology, which is free of charge for visitors, the institute will present its latest developments to the public from May 4 – 6,…
A new method facilitates accurate analysis of magnetic field effects inside complex nanostructures. Researchers in the Nanoscience Center of University of Jyvaskyla, in Finland and in the Guadalajara University in Mexico developed a method that allows for simulation and visualization of magnetic-field-induced electron currents inside gold nanoparticles. The method facilitates accurate analysis of magnetic field effects inside complex nanostructures in nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and establishes quantitative criteria for aromaticity of nanoparticles. The work was published 30.4.2021 as an Open…
Fraunhofer SCAI has greatly improved its successfully marketed AutoPanelSizer software. The new version now optimizes plans for cutting rectangular parts much faster. New features and the utilization of multiple processor cores ensure even more efficient cutting plans. As a pure optimization kernel, the software can be integrated into existing plant control systems or ERP/MES systems. Cutting panels into smaller rectangular parts belongs to the daily routine in many factories. In the woodworking industry and in industries requiring metal or glass…
Feedback
