What does the internal structure of atomic nuclei look like? Physicists can approach this question by using precision measurements of the weight, size, and shape of atomic nuclei. An international research team, including physicists from Greifswald, has now studied the short-lived mercury isotopes 207Hg and 208Hg. For this purpose, they conducted laser-spectroscopy measurements at the European research centre CERN. Based on these measurements, researchers are able to confirm predictions about the forces and structures in these nuclei. The results of…
UCC palaeontologists have discovered new evidence that the fate of vertebrate animals over the last 400 million years has been shaped by microscopic melanin pigments. UCC palaeontologists have discovered new evidence that the fate of vertebrate animals over the last 400 million years has been shaped by microscopic melanin pigments. This new twist in the story of animal evolution is based on cutting-edge analyses of melanin granules – melanosomes – in many different fossil and modern vertebrates, including fish, amphibians,…
Short flashes of light with sustaining impact Superconductivity – the ability of a material to transmit an electric current without loss – is a quantum effect that, despite years of research, is still limited to very low temperatures. Now a team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg has succeeded in creating a metastable state with vanishing electrical resistance in a molecular solid by exposing it to finely tuned pulses…
Today’s quantum computers contain up to several dozen memory and processing units, the so-called qubits. Severin Daiss, Stefan Langenfeld, and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching have successfully interconnected two such qubits located in different labs to a distributed quantum computer by linking the qubits with a 60-meter-long optical fiber. Over such a distance they realized a quantum-logic gate – the basic building block of a quantum computer. It makes the system the worldwide first…
For the first time, researchers at the University of Rochester have developed an optical coating that can simultaneously reflect and transmit the same wavelength, or color. For more than a century, optical coatings have been used to better reflect certain wavelengths of light from lenses and other devices or, conversely, to better transmit certain wavelengths through them. For example, the coatings on tinted eyeglasses reflect, or “block out,” harmful blue light and ultraviolet rays. But until now, no optical coating…
Competition among sperm cells is fierce – they all want to reach the egg cell first to fertilize it. A research team from Berlin now shows in mice that the ability of sperm to move progressively depends on the protein RAC1. Optimal amounts of active protein improve the competitiveness of individual sperm, whereas aberrant activity can cause male infertility. It is literally a race for life when millions of sperm swim towards the egg cells to fertilize them. But does…
How new optical imaging strategies help to improve cancer diagnostics. A new book provides in-depth description of state-of-the-art optical approaches for the enhancement of earlier cancer detection and classification Cancer — this diagnosis is hitting more and more people in our aging society. But the earlier the disease is detected, the greater the likelihood that it can be treated effectively. Modern light-based technologies can help to decisively improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, because they can produce diagnostically relevant…
Powerful X-rays watch solid state batteries charging and discharging Despite worldwide use of lithium batteries, the exact dynamics of their operation has remained elusive. X-rays have proven to be a powerful tool for peering inside of these batteries to see the changes that occur in real time. Using the ultrabright X-rays of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, a research team recently observed the…
The SKA Observatory, a new intergovernmental organisation dedicated to radio astronomy, was launched today following the first meeting of the Observatory’s Council. The new Observatory, known as SKAO, is the world’s second intergovernmental organisation to be dedicated to astronomy. Headquartered in the UK on the grounds of the Jodrell Bank UNESCO World Heritage Site with sites in Australia and South Africa, SKAO is tasked with building and operating the two largest and most complex radio telescope networks ever conceived to…
Scientists from Alfred Wegener Institute: “We need to have a fresh look at the role of the Arctic Ocean.” The Arctic Ocean was covered by up to 900 m thick shelf ice and was filled entirely with freshwater at least twice in the last 150,000 years. This surprising finding, reported in the latest issue of the journal Nature, is the result of long-term research by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute and the MARUM. With a detailed analysis of the…
Research project He has been in hibernation since October and seemingly nothing can wake him up. But his inner clock is ticking, inevitably signalling the approaching end of the winter. For the edible dormouse (Glis glis), hibernation is an adaptive mechanism to deal with the cold season when food is scarce. But what effect does the months-long slowdown of almost all metabolic processes have on the little rodent’s memory, spatial orientation and cognition? A team of researchers led by Claudia…
Scanning probe microscopes – like the scanning tunneling microscope, and the atomic force microscope – give us valuable information about individual molecules. One of the most interesting areas of research are molecular switches, which can be switched from one configuration to another. Phycisists at the University of Regensburg provided the first demonstration of lateral force microscopy capturing the “snapshot” of a molecular switch, and the team believes this technique will be applied to more systems to better understand the dynamics…
A team of scientists at the Institute for Molecular and Clinical Immunology at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg unravels a crucial mechanism of cell-cell-communication during the defense against pathogens. In order to fight pathogens, mast cells regulate inflammatory reactions of the immune system. Both mast cells and neutrophils are white blood cells and are critical for the body’s immune defense. A team of scientists around the immunologist Prof. Dr. Anne Dudeck and the bioengineer Jan Dudeck has discovered a crucial aspect…
AI in urban test: Fraunhofer IAO and the City of Karlsruhe explore the management of parking in residential areas How many cars park on a street at any one time? Are there enough spaces for all the cars that habitually park there? Or might it be an idea to create a residential parking zone? To answer these questions, municipalities have to invest a lot of time and effort in counting vehicles and investigating the situation on the ground. In a…
Secure human-robot collaboration thanks to radar A breakthrough in collaborative robotics is within reach thanks to a joint project coordinated by Fraunhofer IAF. In the project “RoKoRa – Safe Human-Robot Collaboration using High-Resolution Radars”, researchers have succeeded in developing an innovative radar technology. It is an enabling technology for functional safety in various robot systems and applications, including high-performance robots. With the goal of safe human-robot collaboration (HRC), the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF and six partners…
Researchers develop low-cost artificial robotic skin with high-performance, vision-guided sensing, opening the doors to large-scale tactile sensing technology. Modern-day robots are often required to interact with humans intelligently and efficiently, which can be enabled by providing them the ability to perceive touch. However, previous attempts at mimicking human skin have involved bulky and complex electronics, wiring, and a risk of damage. In a recent study, researchers from Japan sidestep these difficulties by constructing a 3D vision-guided artificial skin that enables…
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