LIKAT Chemists Reveal the Business Secret of a Catalyst Chemists at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock were able to observe the molecular functioning of the catalyst in a redox reaction and identify important intermediate steps. For this purpose, they coupled, for the first time worldwide, four highly modern measuring methods that work in different wavelength ranges: with infrared, UV and X-ray radiation as well as with microwaves in the magnetic field. In this way, they uncovered the complete…
DSMZ scientist offers new insights into the molecular processes of antibiotic-producing Streptomyces (Braunschweig, 15th October 2020): Researchers led by Prof. Yvonne Mast of the Leibniz-Institute DSZM – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, have for the first time managed to partially decipher the autoregulation of the biosynthesis of pristinamycin. This antibiotic is used as emergency drug against antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria. The researchers recently published their findings in the renowned journal Frontiers in Microbiology (https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.580990). Regulation…
A research group from Würzburg has now been able to clarify the long-standing question of how the protein complex CDK-activating kinase (CAK), which controls the central processes of cell division and transcription, is activated. The group analyzed the active form of the protein/CAK complex and was able to decipher its function on a molecular level. These new findings provide the basis for further research on cancer drugs and were published in the renowned scientific journal PNAS. Cell division and transcription,…
Field-effect transistors are key components of sensors, electrical circuits, or data storage devices. The transistors used to date have been mainly based on inorganic semiconductors such as silicon. More recently, organic materials have emerged, with semiconducting properties that have allowed the fabrication of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The use of organic components as the device active layer brings promising features such as easy processing and low cost. In addition to their device functionalities, OFETs have also developed into an important…
A good ten years ago, research teams discovered the class of semi-organic halide perovskites, which are now making a rapid career as new materials for solar cells. The mixed organic-inorganic semiconductors achieved efficiencies of over 25 percent within a few years. They take their name from their basic structure, which is very similar to that of the mineral perovskite (CaTiO3), but contains other components: halide anions, lead cations and organic molecular cations. In the case of the most important compound…
This new type of quasiparticles could have applications in quantum computing. Our understanding of quantum physics has involved the creation of a wide range of “quasiparticles.” These notional constructs describe emergent phenomena that appear to have the properties of multiple other particles mixed together. An exciton, for example, is a quasiparticle that acts like an electron bound to an electron hole, or the empty space in a semiconducting material where an electron could be. A step further, an exciton-polariton combines…
… but not for the same reasons as on Earth In 2015, the New Horizons space probe discovered spectacular snowcapped mountains on Pluto, which are strikingly similar to mountains on Earth. Such a landscape had never before been observed elsewhere in the Solar System. However, as atmospheric temperatures on our planet decrease at altitude, on Pluto they heat up at altitude as a result of solar radiation. So where does this ice come from? An international team led by CNRS…
Intelligent cameras could be one step closer thanks to a research collaboration between the Universities of Bristol and Manchester who have developed cameras that can learn and understand what they are seeing. Roboticists and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers know there is a problem in how current systems sense and process the world. Currently they are still combining sensors, like digital cameras that are designed for recording images, with computing devices like graphics processing units (GPUs) designed to accelerate graphics for…
If 80,000 of them were piled on top of each other, the stack would only be as high as a flat sheet of paper. Scientists from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and cooperation partners have developed a layer of tungsten disulfide that is just as thin as three atomic layers – and it is luminous, flexible and also withstands external influences. Several square centimeters of this layer have already been embedded in structural components,…
Scientists at Oregon State University have shown that viral infection is involved in coral bleaching – the breakdown of the symbiotic relationship between corals and the algae they rely on for energy. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the research is important because understanding the factors behind coral health is crucial to efforts to save the Earth’s embattled reefs – between 2014 and 2017 alone, more than 75% experienced bleaching-level heat stress, and 30% suffered mortality-level stress. The planet’s largest…
… and temperature variation on distant stars New research is helping to explain one of the big questions that has perplexed astrophysicists for the past 30 years – what causes the changing brightness of distant stars called magnetars. Magnetars were formed from stellar explosions or supernovae and they have extremely strong magnetic fields, estimated to be around 100 million, million times greater than the magnetic field found on earth. The magnetic field generates intense heat and x-rays. It is so…
It might look like a little game at the molecular scale. Filament-like proteins in heart muscle cells have to be exactly the same length so that they can coordinate perfectly to make the heart beat. Another protein decides when the filament is the right size and puts a wee little cap on it. But, if that protein makes a mistake and puts the cap on too early, another protein, leiomodin, comes along and knocks the cap out of the way….
Researchers at Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) have discovered a cost-effective way to tune the spectrum of a laser to the infrared. Researchers at Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) have discovered a cost-effective way to tune the spectrum of a laser to the infrared, a band of great interest for many laser applications. They collaborated with Austrian and Russian research teams to develop this innovation, which is now the subject of a patent application. The results…
4 Million € for European Training Network They can emit, detect, modulate and store light to receive and process high-frequency terahertz radiation – in theory. So far, only individual components of optical chips have been developed; there still remain some challenges before complete circuits based on photons will be available. These challenges are now being met by the European Training Network TERAOPTICS, coordinated by engineers from the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). The EU provides four million euros in funding for…
First scientific description of a previously unknown Streptococcus species of Chacoan peccaries. The species richness of zoo and wild animals is reflected in the diversity of infectious agents they harbour. However, our knowledge is sparse and pathogen detection remains challenging. For streptococci, a bacterial family of importance to human and animal health, wildlife research has taken a step forward: A research team led by Kristin Mühldorfer from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and Tobias Eisenberg from…
From microscopes to data transfer via optical fibres all the way to modern quantum technologies, light plays an important role in science and industry. Particularly methods for changing the colour – and hence the frequency and wavelength – of light are of great importance in modern applications. Those methods require the use of nonlinear crystals. In such crystals, two photons of a particular frequency can, for instance, be turned into one photon having twice that frequency – say, two red…
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