Huntington’s disease is an hereditary neurodegenerative disease featured by alterations in movement, cognitive deficiency and psychiatric disorders resulting from the degeneration of neurons in the striatum nucleus of the brain. A study led by researchers of the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB (UBNeuro) has characterized one of the neuronal circuits involved in the development of the disease: the connection of the secondary motor cortex (M2) in the dorsolateral striatum nucleus (DSL). The study, published in the journal eLife, shows…
A new and efficient way to create nanographene for power and display devices. Nanographene is a material that is anticipated to radically improve solar cells, fuel cells, LEDs and more. Typically the synthesis of this material has been imprecise and difficult to control. For the first time, researchers have discovered a simple way to gain precise control over the fabrication of nanographene. In doing so, they have shed light on the previously unclear chemical processes involved in nanographene production. You…
New method bridges in situ microscopy with single cell omics. Scientists can now select individual cells from a population that grows on the surface of a laboratory dish and study their molecular contents. Developed by University of Toronto researchers, the new tool will enable a deeper study of stem cells and other rare cell types for therapy development. The method is the first to marry cell microscopy with omics platforms to link the cells’ physical parameters that are visible by…
New complex for damage detection in DNA identified Our body can repair damage to our DNA that can lead to the development of cancer by means of repair complexes. But how does the repair machinery recognize the damage? Scientists from the University of Würzburg and the University of Kent have now identified a complex that plays an important role in damage recognition in nucleotide excision repair. Due to its key position, the complex represents a starting point for research on…
In October 2019, the EU-funded initiative “Switch2Save” (grant agreement No. 869929) was launched to improve the availability and affordability of electrochromic and thermochromic smart glass technologies. About one year later, the first project results show that the use of these technologies in combination with intelligent switching protocols can reduce the primary energy use of extensively glazed buildings by up to 70%. Smart Glass Solutions – such as electrochromic (EC) and thermochromic (TC) windows and glass façades – control the radiation…
Researchers have developed a tiny device that paves the way for higher performance quantum computers and quantum communications, making them significantly faster than the current state-of-the-art. Bristol researchers have developed a tiny device that paves the way for higher performance quantum computers and quantum communications, making them significantly faster than the current state-of-the-art. Researchers from the University of Bristol’s Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QET Labs) and Université Côte d’Azur have made a new miniaturized light detector to measure quantum features…
A research team has developed a new method for creating metal-organic framework (MOF) thin films that can be applied to sensors and electric devices. Like sponges, porous materials contain pores. The pore size affects the property of the material. For example, small pores create more absorbent surface areas. Silica gel, which is often used in food packaging to soak up moisture, is one typical example. Recent studies on porous materials have led to the development of new materials with designable…
Whether axions exist is still up for debate. If they do exist, two open questions in particle physics could be resolved: The puzzle of what dark matter is made of – and the question of why the strong interaction, one of the four known forces in the universe, has a particular characteristic. The international MADMAX collaboration, is developing a search engine for these previously purely hypothetical particles under the leadership of the Max Planck Institute for Physics. The collaboration has…
Among the most damaging natural hazards, earthquakes are still today one of the least understood phenomena in Earth Sciences. Earthquakes happen when rocks on either side of a tectonic fault slide. The sliding, however, does not occur along the whole fault at once but starts at one point, the hypocenter, and then spreads over the entire fault at a speed known as the “rupture speed” of the earthquake. Geophysicists are particularly interested in rupture speeds because the faster they are,…
Biologists study social responsiveness in fish In order to escape predators, many fish – including insects, fish and birds – have developed strategies for rapidly transmitting information on threats to others of their species. This information is transmitted within a group of hundreds, or even thousands, of individuals in (escape) waves. This collective response is also, in the case of fish, known as shoal behaviour. Special parasites can, however, manipulate such a survival strategy. Researchers at the University of Münster…
Bacteria are considered to be true experts in survival. Their rapid adaptive response to changing environmental conditions is based, among other things, on two competing signaling molecules. As the “Yin and Yang” of metabolic control they decide on the lifestyle of bacteria, as reported by researchers from the University of Basel. The new findings also play a role in the context of bacterial infections. Whether they are pathogens, deep-sea microbes or soil-dwelling organisms, in order to survive, microorganisms must be…
Complex 3D nanoscale architectures based on DNA self-assembly can conduct electricity without resistance and may provide a platform for fabricating quantum computing and sensing devices. Three-dimensional (3-D) nanostructured materials–those with complex shapes at a size scale of billionths of a meter–that can conduct electricity without resistance could be used in a range of quantum devices. For example, such 3-D superconducting nanostructures could find application in signal amplifiers to enhance the speed and accuracy of quantum computers and ultrasensitive magnetic field…
Researchers from Osaka University polished the hardest known material without damaging it, which will help accelerate its use in advanced electronics. Silicon has been the workhorse of electronics for decades because it is a common element, is easy to process, and has useful electronic properties. A limitation of silicon is that high temperatures damage it, which limits the operating speed of silicon-based electronics. Single-crystal diamond is a possible alternative to silicon. Researchers recently fabricated a single-crystal diamond wafer, but common…
A genetic disposition that plays a role in the development of the heart in the embryo also appears to play a key role in the human immune system. This is shown by a recent study led by the University of Bonn. A genetic disposition that plays a role in the development of the heart in the embryo also appears to play a key role in the human immune system. This is shown by a recent study led by the University…
New insights into a mechanism that reduces the ice formation ability of bacterial ice-nucleating proteins in an acidic environment. Because of mild winters, ski resorts produce artificial snow to supplement the natural snowfall or extend the ski-season. Ice-nucleating proteins, extracted from the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, can make ice better than any other known material and are already used in snow making. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now unraveled why an acidic environment can inhibit ice…
TU Freiberg develops erosion control blankets, soil additiv Recycling strategies for residues from agricultural production were developed by scientists from TU Bergakademie Freiberg, together with project partners in Vietnam and Germany. The use of rice straw and sugar cane bagasse in erosion control blankets is particularly promising. Moreover, the residues could be used to enrich nutrients in soils or in the form of activated carbons. The team led by Dr Volker Herdegen and doctoral student Katja Schaldach from the Institute…
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