University of Delaware researchers advance drug delivery systems to treat connective tissue disorders. University of Delaware Professor Kristi Kiick is leading collaborative research to create new drug delivery systems with the potential to improve treatment for diseases that affect connective tissues, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease. The UD researchers have devised tiny cargo-carrying systems many times smaller than a human hair. These systems, or carriers, are made from molecules called peptides that help provide…
Duplications and inversions of DNA segments lead to the masculinization of female moles. Female moles not only have ovarian, but also testicular tissue that produces male sex hormones – which lets them diverge from the categorization into two sexes. A team led by Berlin researchers Stefan Mundlos and Darío Lupiáñez describes in “Science” which genetic modifications contribute to this singular development. Moles are special creatures that roam in an extreme habitat. As mammals that burrow deep into the earth, they…
Heidelberg University neurobiologists have uncovered how a special receptor can lead to cell death. Their fundamental findings on neurodegenerative processes simultaneously led the researchers to a completely new principle for therapeutic agents. In their experiments on mouse models, they discovered a new class of highly effective inhibitors for protecting nerve cells. This novel class of drugs opens up perspectives to combat currently untreatable diseases of the nervous system. New Class of Highly Effective Inhibitors Protects against Neurodegeneration Heidelberg neurobiologists decode…
Deep-seabed mining is considered a way to address the increasing need of rare metals. However, the environmental impacts are considered to be substantial but remain largely unknown and clear regulatory standards are lacking. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, together with colleagues from The Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Germany and the UK, now describe that mining-related disturbances have a long-term impact on carbon flow and the microbial loop at the deep seafloor. They present their…
The precisely controlled photon source, made from an atomically thin semiconducting material, could aid the development of advanced quantum communication. Secure telecommunications networks and rapid information processing make much of modern life possible. To provide more secure, faster, and higher-performance information sharing than is currently possible, scientists and engineers are designing next-generation devices that harness the rules of quantum physics. Those designs rely on single photons to encode and transmit information across quantum networks and between quantum chips. However, tools…
This work, which verifies one of the predictions of Einstein’s General Relativity, is to be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The General Theory of Relativity, published by Albert Einstein between 1911 and 1916, introduced a new concept of space and time, by showing that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time which is felt as gravity. In this way, Einstein’s theory predicts, for example, that light travels in curved paths near massive objects, and one consequence is the…
Samples from the lungs of patients show a runaway immune system reaction could be one mechanism behind severe COVID-19 cases. When infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, many people experience mild and moderate symptoms, but for some people infection can be severe or fatal. Scientists are urgently seeking to understand how COVID-19 can become severe. Now, a study led by Imperial College London researchers has revealed how an overreaction of part of the immune system could be linked to severe cases…
HKU Engineering team develops novel miniaturised organic semiconductor, an important breakthrough essential for future flexible electronic devices. Field Effect Transistors (FET) are the core building blocks of modern electronics such as integrated circuits, computer CPUs and display backplanes. Organic Field Effect Transistors (OFETs), which use organic semiconductor as a channel for current flows, have the advantage of being flexible when compared with their inorganic counterparts like silicon. OFETs, given their high sensitivity, mechanical flexibility, biocompatibility, property tunability and low-cost fabrication,…
Interdisciplinary research team of Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute and Jena University Hospital receives 4.5 million euros in funding from the Carl Zeiss Foundation As the saying goes: “You’re only as old as you feel”, suggesting that it is not simply the number of years lived that determines a person’s age. Biological age depends on many factors and is also subject to psychological influences. It is perfectly possible for contemporaries to differ…
New clues deciphering the shape of black holes Black holes are one the most fascinating objects in the Universe. At their surface, known as the ‘event horizon’, gravity is so strong that not even light can escape from them. Usually, black holes are quiet, silent creatures that swallow anything getting too close to them; however, when two black holes collide and merge together, they produce one of the most catastrophic events in Universe: in a fraction of a second, a…
The powerful electronics packed inside the latest smartphones can be a significant challenge to keep cool. KAUST researchers have developed a fast and efficient way to make a carbon material that could be ideally suited to dissipating heat in electronic devices. This versatile material could also have additional uses ranging from gas sensors to solar cells. Many electronic devices use graphite films to draw away and dissipate the heat generated by their electronic components. Although graphite is a naturally occurring…
An international team of researchers succeeded in recording photons in the ultraviolet range in real time. The team of Professor Jinyang Liang, a specialist in ultrafast imaging at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), in collaboration with an international team of researchers, has developed the fastest camera in the world capable of recording photons in the ultraviolet (UV) range in real time. This original research is featured on the front cover of the 10th issue of the journal…
2D materials – nanosheets with atomic thickness – have enormous potential for a wide variety of applications. For instance, combined with optical fibres, 2D materials can enable novel applications in the areas of sensors, non-linear optics, and quantum technologies. However, combining these two components has so far been very laborious. Typically, the atomically thin layers had to be produced separately before being transferred by hand onto the optical fibre. Together with Australian colleagues, Jena researchers have now succeeded for the…
Modern hydroelectric power plants do not always protect fish better than conventional ones. In addition to the technologies employed, the specific location of the plant and the fish species being present at that location also play a role in fish protection. A research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has systematically studied how different types of power plants affect various fish species and their habitats. Detailed findings can improve future planning as well as retrofitting of existing plants….
Traditionally, neuroscience regards the brain as being made up of two basic tissue types. Until very recently, not much was known about the interface between the white and grey matter – the so-called superficial white matter. Little was known about this thin region linking the grey and white matter because methods were lacking to study it in living human brains. Yet, previous investigations had suggested the region to be implicated in devastating conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and autism. Now…
A team of researchers at the Institute for the Genetics of Heart Diseases at Münster University created a viral expression model that can be used to simulate and analyse a large number of viral infections – including the one with SARS-CoV-2. The results are published in the journal “Scientific Reports”. It is only 120 millionths of a millimetre in size but can bring entire countries to a standstill: the Corona virus. Even if it were to disappear one day, viral…
Feedback
