Advance could lead to new generation of ultrafast computer chips that retain data even when there is no power. Spintronic devices are attractive alternatives to conventional computer chips, providing digital information storage that is highly energy efficient and also relatively easy to manufacture on a large scale. However, these devices, which rely on magnetic memory, are still hindered by their relatively slow speeds, compared to conventional electronic chips. In a paper published in the journal Nature Electronics, an international team…
Research presented at the 2020 GSA Annual Meeting. If you’ve visited the beach recently, you might think sand is ubiquitous. But in construction uses, the perfect sand and gravel is not always an easy resource to come by. “Not all sand is equal in terms of what it can be used for,” notes Zack Sickman, coauthor of a new study to be presented on Thursday at the Geological Society of America annual meeting. He says concrete aggregate needs sand with…
Nearly 75% of the world’s coral reefs are under threat from global stressors such as climate change and local stressors such as overfishing and coastal development. Those working to understand and protect coral reefs are building the know-how to mitigate the damage but doing so requires first knowing where reefs are located. Many approaches, such as diver-based observation and satellite imagery, have been used to estimate the distribution of coral reefs around the world, but past approaches have led to…
On the track of evolution: a catalytically active RNA molecule that specifically attaches methyl groups to other RNAs – a research group from the University of Würzburg reports on this new discovery in “Nature”. Enzymes enable biochemical reactions that would otherwise not take place on their own. In nature, it is mostly proteins that function as enzymes. However, other molecules can also perform enzymatic reactions – for example ribonucleic acids, RNAs. These are then called ribozymes. In this field, the…
Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a precisely controllable system for mimicking biochemical reaction cascades in cells. Using microfluidic technology, they produce miniature polymeric reaction containers equipped with the desired properties. This “cell on a chip” is useful not only for studying processes in cells, but also for the development of new synthetic pathways for chemical applications or for biological active substances in medicine. In order to survive, grow and divide, cells rely on a multitude of different…
Nature Communications: KIT researchers identify a new mechanism to control endothelial cell size and arterial caliber – basis for better treatment of heart infarct and stroke. Upon a heart infarct or stroke, rapid restoration of blood flow, and oxygen delivery to the hypo perfused regions is of eminent importance to prevent further damage to heart or brain. Arterial diameter is a critical determinant of blood flow conductance. Scientists of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now discovered a novel…
Climate change is leaving its mark on the bog complexes of the German Black Forest. Due to rising temperatures and longer dry periods, two plant species have already gone extinct over the last 40 years. The populations of many others have decreased by one third. In the next couple of decades ten more species could become extinct, researchers from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) write in “Diversity and Distributions”. There are…
Researchers proposed a new approach to describe the interaction of metals with electromagnetic fluctuations (i.e., with random bursts of electric and magnetic fields). Researchers from Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) proposed a new approach to describe the interaction of metals with electromagnetic fluctuations (i.e., with random bursts of electric and magnetic fields). The obtained results have great potential for application in both fundamental physics and for creating nanodevices for various purposes. The article was published in the International…
EU project CONFER started – precipitation forecasts reduce the impacts of droughts and floods in East Africa. Developing more precise seasonal forecasts to improve food supply for a total of 365 million people in eleven countries in East Africa, this is the goal of the new CONFER project funded by the EU. In particular, more precise precipitation forecasts are deemed important to increase agricultural yields. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is one of nine partners of this international project that…
Humankind’s next giant step may be onto Mars. But before those missions can begin, scientists need to make scores of breakthrough advances, including learning how to grow crops on the red planet. Practically speaking, astronauts cannot haul an endless supply of topsoil through space. So University of Georgia geologists are figuring out how best to use the materials already on the planet’s surface. To do that, they developed artificial soil mixtures that mimic materials found on Mars. In a new…
A joint research group led by Prof. Jens Eisert of Freie Universität Berlin and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has shown a way to simulate the quantum physical properties of complex solid state systems. This is done with the help of complex solid state systems that can be studied experimentally. The study was published in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). “The real goal is a robust quantum computer that generates…
Continued climate change could spell disaster for many species. A new study from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology confirms that most birds–but not all–synchronize their migratory movements with seasonal changes in vegetation greenness. This is the first study of its kind to cover the Western Hemisphere during the year-long life cycle of North American migratory birds that feed on vegetation, seeds, nectar, insects, or meat. The findings were published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology. “As you might expect,…
A collaboration of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Germany and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have recently scrutinized organic solar cells and derived design rules for light-absorbing dyes that can help to make these cells more efficient, while tailoring the absorption spectrum of the cells to the needs of the chosen application. Most of us are familiar with silicon solar cells, which can be found on the…
TU Graz algorithm-based method provides a basis for decisions on the correct amount of tamping measures on tracks, thus reducing their life-cycle costs by up to 20 per cent. Train journeys should be safe and comfortable, and track systems are crucial to this. So-called “tamping” (positioning, compacting and stabilizing) of the ballast in the track bed is one of the most important maintenance tasks in the railway industry. Special tamping machines lift the tracks, align them precisely and tamp the…
Freiburg researchers develop guidelines to standardize analysis of electrodes How can scientists measure and define the performance of neural electrodes if there are no uniform standards? Freiburg microsystems engineer Dr. Maria Asplund together with Dr. Christian Böhler and Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz, as well as Prof. Dr. Luciano Fadiga and Dr. Stefano Carli from the Italian Institute of Technology at the University of Ferrara, Italy, have developed guidelines to standardize the testing of the performance of electrodes for neural interfaces…
Using a new method, physicists at the Heidelberg Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics have investigated the ultrafast fragmentation of hydrogen molecules in intense laser fields in detail. They used the rotation of the molecule triggered by a laser pulse as an “internal clock” to measure the timing of the reaction that takes place in a second laser pulse in two steps. Such a “rotational clock” is a general concept applicable to sequential fragmentation processes in other molecules. [Physical Review…
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