… improves early detection of pancreatic cancer. An experimental blood test detects early-stage pancreatic cancer more effectively than other available tests, reports a new study published in Cancer Letters. The findings pave the way for further evaluation of the test in a clinical setting, an important step toward approval as a potential diagnostic method for pancreatic cancer. “Catching pancreatic cancer early dramatically improves survival, but our current tools for doing so are limited,” said the study’s co-corresponding author Brian Haab,…
Researchers at the University of Bonn and University of Montreal have developed a new type of catalyst and used it in their study to produce methane out of carbon dioxide and water in a highly efficient way using electricity. Methane can be used, for example, to heat apartments or as a starting material in the chemical industry. It is also the main component of natural gas. If it is produced using green electricity, however, it is largely climate neutral. The…
An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Janosch Hennig from the University of Bayreuth has discovered how the TRIM25 protein contributes to defense against RNA viruses whose genetic material is contained as ribonucleic acid (RNA). The results provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the human immune system. The researchers have now reported their findings in Nature Communications. What for? The coronavirus has shown that there is a risk of a pandemic if viruses that are dangerous…
The Hannover Medical School (MHH) is one of the first institutions in Germany to be allowed to perform a new innovative treatment for hemophilia A and B. Cell and gene therapies are on the rise. This is a new ray of hope for people with previously untreatable or hardly treatable diseases. Another novel therapeutic method is now being added: gene therapy for hemophilia. The Hemophilia Center at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) is one of the first in Germany to…
James Webb Space Telescope reveals elusive details in young star systems. Astronomers have discovered new details of gas flows that sculpt planet-forming disks and shape them over time, offering a glimpse into how our own solar system likely came to be. Every second, more than 3,000 stars are born in the visible universe. Many are surrounded by what astronomers call a protoplanetary disk – a swirling “pancake” of hot gas and dust from which planets form. The exact processes that…
LMU researchers demonstrate that certain immune cells already play an important role in the early stages of multiple sclerosis. The researchers compared the CD8 T cells of monozygotic twin pairs, of which one twin suffers from MS while the other is asymptomatic and found specific changes These findings could open new therapeutic avenues and could be used to develop new diagnostic methods Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system….
Major breakthrough for the development of diamond-based quantum computers. Quantum computers and quantum communication are pioneering technologies for data processing and transmission that is much faster and more secure than with conventional computers. Qubits are the basic units of information in quantum computers; they are the quantum mechanical counterparts of the bits in ordinary data processing. Where, for example, laser pulses in a glass fiber transport information from A to B in classical digital communication, quantum mechanics uses individual photons….
Introducing diffraction casting, optical-based parallel computing. Increasingly complex applications such as artificial intelligence require ever more powerful and power-hungry computers to run. Optical computing is a proposed solution to increase speed and power efficiency but has yet to be realized due to constraints and drawbacks. A new design architecture, called diffraction casting, seeks to address these shortcomings. It introduces some concepts to the field of optical computing that might make it more appealing for implementation in next-generation computing devices. Whether…
The tiny device uses a tightly focused beam of light to capture and manipulate cells. MIT researchers have developed a miniature, chip-based “tractor beam,” like the one that captures the Millennium Falcon in the film “Star Wars,” that could someday help biologists and clinicians study DNA, classify cells, and investigate the mechanisms of disease. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the device uses a beam of light emitted by a silicon-photonics chip to manipulate particles millimeters away…
International team produces global maps of coronal magnetic field. For the first time, scientists have taken near-daily measurements of the Sun’s global coronal magnetic field, a region of the Sun that has only been observed irregularly in the past. The resulting observations are providing valuable insights into the processes that drive the intense solar storms that impact fundamental technologies, and thus lives and livelihoods, here on Earth. An analysis of the data, collected over eight months by an instrument called…
DFKI optimizes system development with hybrid AI and human feedback. Recent developments in robotics have brought the vision of robots taking over complex tasks as personal assistants and interaction partners for humans within reach. Researchers at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) have taken an important step in this direction as part of the M-Rock project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Using innovative approaches based on hybrid AI methods and human feedback,…
On September 10 and 11, 2024, the 5th Laser Colloquium Hydrogen 2024 – LKH2 brought together around 60 renowned experts from industry, science and research. The now well-established conference is the ideal platform for discussing the latest developments and applications of laser technology for fuel cell and hydrogen production. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen, the two-day event focused on the continuous production of metallic bipolar plates, process monitoring and the functionalization of surfaces. “With laser…
Found the bacterial needle in the haystack. Imagine a country with a billion people, where every individual has different interests and different goals. You will never know their interests and goals until you ask them, but asking a billion people is not an easy task. This is the same complex scenario that scientists face when we study bacteria. There are about a billion of them in a colony the size of tip of a pencil, but when we look at…
Saarland Remains a Beacon in Biomedical Science. Good news for biomedical research in Saarland: The Leibniz ScienceCampus (LSC) “Living Therapeutic Materials” is entering its second funding phase after four years of successful research. The Leibniz Institute for New Materials (INM), Saarland University (UdS), and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) are starting the next phase of the Leibniz ScienceCampus on October 1. The Leibniz Association and the Saarland government are contributing a total of €1.6 million to fund…
Plastic waste, harmful to the environment, has been increasing continually in Germany in recent years. Packaging generates particularly high volumes of waste. Plant-based coatings for paper packaging could provide a sustainable alternative in the future. In the BioPlas4Paper project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and project partners have used a coating process known as plasma polymerization to create water-repellent and plant-based barrier coatings on paper, thereby im-proving the paper’s resistance to the effects…
The BICAN Rapid Release Inventory provides early access to comprehensive single-cell data, aiming to accelerate brain research. The BRAIN Initiative® Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) has launched its first major data release, marking a significant milestone in the ambitious effort to map the whole human brain. The data, accessible through the BICAN Rapid Release Inventory, includes single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomic and epigenomic profiles from humans, mice, and 10 other mammalian species. Sourced from multiple grants and labs within the consortium, including…
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