Loss of ARID1A causes increased glutamine metabolism, which can be blocked pharmacologically to target ARID1A-mutant tumors. Mutations that inactivate the ARID1A gene in ovarian cancer increase utilization of the glutamine amino acid making cancer cells dependent on glutamine metabolism, according to a study by The Wistar Institute published online in Nature Cancer. Researchers also showed that pharmacologic inhibition of glutamine metabolism may represent an effective therapeutic strategy for ARID1A-mutant ovarian cancer. Up to 60% of ovarian clear cell carcinomas (OCCC)…
Study shows improvements to chemical sensing chip that aims to quickly and accurately identify drugs and other trace chemicals. University at Buffalo researchers are reporting an advancement of a chemical sensing chip that could lead to handheld devices that detect trace chemicals — everything from illicit drugs to pollution — as quickly as a breathalyzer identifies alcohol. The chip, which also may have uses in food safety monitoring, anti-counterfeiting and other fields where trace chemicals are analyzed, is described in…
Max Planck scientists publish their findings in the journals Nature Communications and Nano Energy How to increase the efficiency of solar cells and thus pave the way for a higher usage of green energy in industry? Dr. Torsten Schwarz, senior researcher in the group “Nanoanalytics and Interfaces” at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung, analysed how surface treatments of chalcogenide semiconductors influence their defect concentrations and thus their performance and which adjustments during the manufacturing of solar cells are needed to achieve…
Crash tests are primarily known from traffic safety research. The Austrian Road Safety Board, together with TU Graz, has now investigated tobogganing accidents for the first time in a computer-simulated crash test. With alarming results: Without helmet, fatal head injuries are possible in collisions with trees, for example, even at low speeds. Wearing a helmet and the correct sitting position dramatically reduce the risk of injury for children while tobogganing. More than 2,200 people are injured in toboggan accidents in…
To perform calculations, quantum computers need qubits to act as elementary building blocks that process and store information. Now, physicists have produced a new type of qubit that can be switched from a stable idle mode to a fast calculation mode. The concept would also allow a large number of qubits to be combined into a powerful quantum computer, as researchers from the University of Basel and TU Eindhoven have reported in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Compared with conventional bits,…
In a surprising discovery, Princeton physicists have observed an unexpected quantum behavior in an insulator made from a material called tungsten ditelluride. This phenomenon, known as quantum oscillation, is typically observed in metals rather than insulators, and its discovery offers new insights into our understanding of the quantum world. The findings also hint at the existence of an entirely new type of quantum particle. The discovery challenges a long-held distinction between metals and insulators, because in the established quantum theory…
Researchers in the Oregon State University College of Engineering have developed a battery anode based on a new nanostructured alloy that could revolutionize the way energy storage devices are designed and manufactured. The zinc- and manganese-based alloy further opens the door to replacing solvents commonly used in battery electrolytes with something much safer and inexpensive, as well as abundant: seawater. Findings were published today in Nature Communications. “The world’s energy needs are increasing, but the development of next-generation electrochemical energy…
Concept of high entropy alloys provides a discovery platform for new superconductors. Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University mixed and designed a new, high entropy alloy (HEA) superconductor, using extensive data on simple superconducting substances with a specific crystal structure. HEAs are known to preserve superconducting characteristics up to extremely high pressures. The new superconductor, Co0.2Ni0.1Cu0.1Rh0.3Ir0.3Zr2, has a superconducting transition at 8K, a relatively high temperature for an HEA. The team’s approach may be applied to discovering new superconducting materials with…
Photovoltaic and solar thermal systems are not always considered aesthetically enhancing to a building. The coloured modules, however, being developed at the Fraunhofer ISE are refreshingly challenging this perspective. Inspired by the phenomen that causes the shimmerings shades of blue or green of the wings of the morpho butterfly, the underlying mechanism of spectrally selective reflectance allows the finished modules to be a homogenously uniform colour. Whether you want gorgeous bright tones or more subdued greys it is possible to…
Discovery of a new mechanism for fluorescence in a terrestrial vertebrate Researchers at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (SNSB-ZSM), the LMU and Hochschule München have discovered that the web-footed gecko Pachydactylus rangei from Namibia fluoresces neon-green under UV light in a stripe along its flank and around its eye. These markings, best visible from the perspective of a gecko, presumably serve as a means to recognise geckos in the Namib desert. In their study, the researchers showed that this…
A new era of mobile communication is about to begin: Transmitting a whole terabit of data, one thousand gigabits, per second. Dr. Ivan Ndip, specialist for antenna and high-frequency systems at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin speaks about current progress with 6G and its many possible applications. What does 6G stand for? Dr. Ndip: 6G is the sixth generation of mobile communication. With 5G, we had data rates of up to 20 gigabit per second…
Aneurysm operations in the brain rank among the most delicate procedures in neurosurgery. The highest demands are placed on surgeons when choosing the type of intervention, planning the route and carrying out extremely delicate procedures on the blood vessel. A new training technology co-developed between Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and ARTORG Center of the University of Bern, will further improve patient safety during future procedures: a new 4D simulator enables the planning, testing and optimization of the procedure on an…
People who are required to serve a large number of customers at a checkout or counter are at a particularly high risk of exposure to COVID-19. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, a type of air lock was therefore developed to shield work stations from the surrounding air using constant ventilation. This “protective canopy” will be unveiled to the public from January 13 to 15, 2021, at the online BAU trade fair. The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed…
How different plants can share their genetic material with each other. The genetic material is well protected in the nucleus of cells and stores all the information that forms an organism. For example, information about the size or flower color is predefined here. In addition, cells contain small organelles that contain their own genetic material, including chloroplasts and mitochondria. But is the genetic material actually permanently stored within one cell? No! As known, the genetic material can migrate from cell…
Estimating the cost of a major construction project is complicated and time-consuming. That is why a Fraunhofer team developed a tool that makes the planning process and cost estimates in particular significantly easier – digital interior specifications, which will be exhibited at the online BAU 2021 trade show from January 13 to 15, 2021. It is especially suited for recording the specifications of complex research facilities that do not come off-the-shelf. Constructing a public building and a research institute in…
Promises new approaches to treat diseases The gut plays a central role in the regulation of the body’s metabolism and its dysfunction is associated with a variety of diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, colitis and colorectal cancer that affect millions of people worldwide. Targeting endocrine dysfunction at an early stage by stimulating the formation of specific enteroendocrine cells from intestinal stem cells could be a promising regenerative approach for diabetes therapy. For this, however, a detailed understanding of the intestinal…
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