In the COVID-19 pandemic, 57 million people have already been infected worldwide. In the search for vaccines and therapies, a precise understanding of the virus, its mutations and transmission mechanisms is crucial. A recent study by the research group of Principal Investigator Andreas Bergthaler at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in the renowned journal Science Translational Medicine, makes an important contribution to this. The high quality of epidemiological data in Austria, together…
In future, commercial vehicles will not only have to emit less CO2 but also meet stricter exhaust emission limits. Many experts expect that this could herald the end for fossil diesel. One possible alternative is dimethyl ether: The highly volatile substance burns very cleanly and can be produced from renewable energy. Empa is investigating this new powertrain concept using a special test engine. Operating a fleet of trucks is a tough business. Forget trucker romance; strong competition and high price…
Yes, we quant! Researchers at Fraunhofer IZM want to bring quantum physics from the textbooks to reality. Using optical glass-integrated waveguides, they are developing a universal platform that enables the setup of solutions for tap-proof quantum communication and high-precision quantum sensors in miniaturized form, quickly and according to customer requirements. Why the combination of photonics and quanta is particularly well suited and which future fields are opening up thanks to quantum technologies. Schrödinger’s cat is in a box – is…
Rice scientists’ atomic resolution protein models reveal new details about protein binding. Knowing precisely where proteins are frustrated could go a long way toward making better drugs. That’s one result of a new study by Rice University scientists looking for the mechanisms that stabilize or destabilize key sections of biomolecules. Atom-scale models by Rice theorist Peter Wolynes, lead author and alumnus Mingchen Chen and their colleagues at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics show that not only are some specific…
Imperfect electrode proves more efficient Resistive switching memory devices offer several advantages over the currently used computer memory technology. Researchers from the MIPT Atomic Layer Deposition Lab have joined forces with colleagues from Korea to study the impact of electrode surface morphology on the properties of a resistive switching memory cell. It turned out that thicker electrodes have greater surface roughness and are associated with markedly better memory cell characteristics. The research findings were published in ACS Applied Materials &…
Astrophysicists reconstruct the galaxy merger history of our home galaxy. Galaxies like the Milky Way formed by the merging of smaller progenitor galaxies. An international team of astrophysicists led by Dr Diederik Kruijssen from the Centre for Astronomy at Heidelberg University has succeeded in reconstructing the merger history of our home galaxy, creating a complete family tree. To achieve this, the researchers analysed the properties of globular clusters orbiting the Milky Way with artificial intelligence. Their investigations revealed a previously…
Bioinformaticians at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany together with colleagues from Finland and the USA, have now developed a unique method with which all metabolites in a sample can be taken into account, thus considerably increasing the knowledge gained from examining such molecules. The team reports on its successful research in the renowned scientific journal “Nature Biotechnology”. Everything that lives has metabolites, produces metabolites and consumes metabolites. These molecules arise as intermediate and end products from chemical processes in an…
Scientists are working on new materials to create neuromorphic computers, with a design based on the human brain. A crucial component is a memristive device, the resistance of which depends on the history of the device – just like the response of our neurons depends on previous input. Materials scientists from the University of Groningen analysed the behaviour of strontium titanium oxide, a platform material for memristor research and used the 2D material graphene to probe it. On 11 November…
Some viruses can get inside cells via a mechanism that involves sulfur organic molecules. Chemists at UNIGE have discovered effective inhibitors and blocked the uptake of SARS-CoV-2. The cell membrane is impermeable to viruses: to get inside and infect a cell, they use a range of strategies to exploit the cellular and biochemical properties of the membranes. The thiol-mediated uptake of organic molecules similar to alcohols, where oxygen is replaced by a sulphur atom, is one of the entry mechanisms,…
A better understanding of iceberg melting and lake ice formation could provide new indicators of climate change. Eric Hester has spent the last three years chasing icebergs. A mathematics graduate student at the University of Sydney in Australia, Hester and researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts are studying how the shape of an iceberg shapes the way it melts. “Ice deforms as it melts,” said physical oceanographer Claudia Cenedese, who has worked with Hester on the project. “It…
In response to the critical shortage of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Radiology at University of South Florida (USF) Health in Tampa set out to design, validate and create NP swabs using a point-of-care 3D printer. Results of the first clinical trial of 3D-printed NP swabs for COVID-19 testing are being presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). “To date, USF Health has printed more than 100,000 3D…
A chance discovery leads to a simple process that can introduce ‘oxygen-missing layers’ into perovskite oxynitrides, changing their properties. Japanese scientists have stumbled onto a simple method for controlling the introduction of defects, called ‘vacancy layers’, into perovskite oxynitrides, leading to changes in their physical properties. The approach, published in the journal Nature Communications, could help in the development of photocatalysts. Oxynitrides are inorganic compounds formed of oxygen, nitrogen and other chemical elements. They have gained much attention in recent…
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is indispensable in medical diagnostics. However, MRI units are large and expensive to acquire and operate. With smaller and cost-efficient systems, MRI would be more flexible and more people could benefit from the technique. Such mini MRI units generate a much weaker signal that is difficult to analyze, though. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry and the Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration have now developed a method amplifying the signal so…
Physicists at Münster University have succeeded in fully integrating nanodiamonds into nanophotonic circuits and at the same time addressing several of these nanodiamonds optically. The study creates the basis for future applications in the field of quantum sensing schemes or quantum information processors. The results have been published in the journal “Nano Letters”. Using modern nanotechnology, it is possible nowadays to produce structures which have a feature sizes of just a few nanometres. This world of the most minute particles…
Catching deadly diseases like cancer early on is key to improving patient survival odds. However, diseases are much harder to diagnose in their preliminary stages because people often haven’t developed symptoms yet and only trace amounts can be found in their bodies. Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering want to make it easier to catch diseases earlier in the process, improving patient outlooks and taking some of the load off the medical system. The researchers have created an approach…
Researchers have developed a chip that is powered wirelessly and can be surgically implanted to read neural signals and stimulate the brain with both light and electrical current. The technology has been demonstrated successfully in rats and is designed for use as a research tool. “Our goal was to create a research tool that can be used to help us better understand the behavior of different regions of the brain, particularly in response to various forms of neural stimulation,” says…
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