First successful demonstration of a dual-media NV diamond laser system. Measuring tiny magnetic fields, such as those generated by brain waves, enables many new novel opportunities for medical diagnostics and treatment. The research team led by Dr. Jan Jeske at Fraunhofer IAF is working on a globally innovative approach to precise magnetic field measurements: Laser Threshold Magnetometry. The researchers have now combined an NV diamond and a laser diode in a resonator, successfully demonstrating the sensor system with two active…
An efficient way to hydrogenate nitrogen-containing aromatic compounds has been developed. Successful reduction of the chemical manufacturing industry’s environmental impact relies on finding a greener way to make the chemical building blocks for common and massively consumed compounds. It’s no secret manufacturing processes have some of the most impactful and intense effects on the environment, with the chemical manufacturing industry topping the charts for both energy consumption and emissions output. While this makes sense thanks to the grand scale in…
Boron could help the tungsten wall inside a tokamak keep its atoms to itself. Fusion researchers are increasingly turning to the element tungsten when looking for an ideal material for components that will directly face the plasma inside fusion reactors known as tokamaks and stellarators. But under the intense heat of fusion plasma, tungsten atoms from the wall can sputter off and enter the plasma. Too much tungsten in the plasma would substantially cool it, which would make sustaining fusion reactions very challenging. Now, researchers at…
Investigation of the symbiosis between bacteria and birds leads to the discovery of new natural products with antimicrobial properties. Bacteria are a valuable source for the discovery of natural products that can be used for the development of new drugs. A HIPS research team has now identified two new classes of active substances with antimicrobial properties from bacteria that live in symbiosis with a toxic bird. This strategy and the substances discovered offer promising avenues towards the development of new…
WMO report on global water resources: Third State of Global Water Resources report published / Unparalleled low water levels in the river basins of the Mississippi and the Amazon. Not only was 2023 characterized by unprecedentedly high temperatures but also by excessive droughts in many parts of the world as well as floods in other areas. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has now presented its third report on the status of global water resources. According to the report, 2023 was…
Pesticides aren’t always necessary: researchers at the University of Zurich have conducted a comprehensive field study showing that damage from herbivores can be reduced by using biodiversity within a plant species. Different plant genotypes can cooperate to help fend off herbivorous insects. Just like humans, plants interact with the individuals around them. For example, if the people around you are more susceptible to infections, your own risk of getting infected increases, and vice versa. The same is true for plants….
Researchers at the University of Bayreuth and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf have described a previously unknown mechanism in the perception of light and heat in plants. The results contribute to a better understanding of plant physiological processes. The researchers report on their findings in the journal “The Plant Cell”. What for? Plants can perceive light and heat via so-called phytochromes and use these pigments to trigger vital reactions such as growth. Climate change and steadily rising temperatures can disrupt plant…
EU project “MiCCrobioTAckle” studies the gut microbiome in cancer and promotes young scientists for microbiota medicine. By Friederike Gawlik The new EU-funded international research network “MiCCrobioTAckle” will investigate the role of the gut microbiome in tumor cachexia and develop new treatment approaches. Twelve doctoral candidates will receive comprehensive training from research and industry to become experts in the microbiota. The Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz-HKI) is coordinating the consortium and leading…
MPI scientists from Dortmund unveiled the role of enzyme PLK1 in regulating centromeres’ restoration after cell division, a process at the basis of life. A centromere is a specialized location in the DNA that functions as the control centre of cell division and is maintained, unchanged, across generations of cells. It is characterized by a special protein, called centromeric protein A (CENP-A), which marks the centromere and mobilizes other players necessary for cell division. “One of the fundamental questions of…
A protein determines the shape of bacteria. Bacteria come in a wide variety of shapes, which are important for their fitness in their respective ecological niches. However, despite intensive research, the factors that determine the shape of bacterial cells remain, in many cases, unknown. A team of researchers led by Martin Thanbichler has now discovered the mechanism that determines the spiral shape of Rhodospirillum, shedding new light on the link between cell shape and fitness. Bacteria come in a surprising…
NASA’s Curiosity rover, currently exploring Gale crater on Mars, is providing new details about how the ancient Martian climate went from potentially suitable for life – with evidence for widespread liquid water on the surface – to a surface that is inhospitable to terrestrial life as we know it. Although the surface of Mars is frigid and hostile to life today, NASA’s robotic explorers at Mars are searching for clues as to whether it could have supported life in the…
Rice researchers show magnetic relaxation serves as lever for superparamagnetic beads’ self-assembly. Particles larger than ordinary molecules or atoms yet still small enough to be invisible to the naked eye can give rise to many different kinds of useful structures such as tiny propellers for microrobots, cellular probes and steerable microwheels for targeted drug delivery. A team of Rice University chemical engineers led by Lisa Biswal has found that exposing a certain class of such particles ⎯ micron-sized beads endowed with…
Department of Defense-funded research may lead to breakthroughs for Parkinson’s symptom management. Parkinson’s disease is most known for its movement-related symptoms: tremors and rigidity, slowness and falls, caused by the loss of the brain’s dopamine-producing neurons. However, about half of Parkinson’s patients also experience neuropsychiatric problems, including cognitive and sleep issues, depression, anxiety, even psychosis, according to Binghamton University Psychology Professor Christopher R. Bishop. Bishop is part of a collaborative research team that recently received a four-year grant from the…
A multi-country, government-led initiative dedicated to advancing the global transition to a sustainable, bio-based economy, unveiled a new Global Biomass Resource Assessment, providing groundbreaking data on current and future sustainable biomass supplies around the world. The results from this new global sustainable supply assessment will allow scientists, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore potential sources of biomass as a foundation for a circular and sustainable global bioeconomy, supporting clean fuels, chemicals, materials and other products. The assessment was conducted by…
… and how neural circuits adapt to temperature changes. Awardees of the first Kavli-NSF grants in neurobiology and changing ecosystems. The Kavli Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation are collaborating to accelerate research in the emerging field of neurobiology in changing ecosystems, stemming from the foundation’s efforts in this area first announced in 2023. A joint Kavli-NSF grantmaking program was launched in December of 2023. Building on early success of this program, Kavli and NSF announce its continuation with a second call…
Battle for iron in the oceans of the early Earth. Team from the Universities of Tübingen and Bristol hypothesizes the contribution of different bacteria to form today’s deposits of banded iron ores. Early in the Earth’s development, the atmosphere contained no oxygen. Yet the iron dissolved in the oceans was oxidized in gigantic quantities and deposited as rock. It can be seen today, for example, as banded iron ore in South Africa. A new study investigates how various bacteria excrete…
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