A holistic approach to reach net-zero carbon emissions across the economy. A major approach to achieving net-zero carbon emissions relies on converting various parts of the economy, such as personal vehicles and heating, to run via electricity generated from renewable sources. But carbon cannot be removed from all parts of society. Plastics, ubiquitous in the modern world, cannot be decarbonized because they are made of carbon-based molecules. Led by chemist Wendy Shaw of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a multi-institutional…
Our lungs are bombarded by all manner of different particles every single day. Whilst some are perfectly safe for us, others—known as pathogens—have the potential to make us ill. The immune system trains its response whenever it encounters such a pathogen. Yet researchers at the University of Bonn have now shown that even harmless particles help to improve the immune response and have published their results in the journal “Nature Immunology.” An adult takes around 12 breaths a minute, filling…
Ora Hazak has always been fascinated by plants and is studying the signals that roots send to the rest of the organism. She aims to understand this communication in order to develop climate change-resistant crops. Ora was just three when her mother first asked her to water the plants. It was a request that kindled a passion that has not ebbed since. She was 15 when she first attempted to cross red and white garden balsam, obtaining a mixture of…
Chemical and heat treatment of sewage sludge can recover phosphorus in a process that could help address the problem of diminishing supplies of phosphorus ores. Valuable supplies of phosphorus could be recovered from sewage sludge ash, which remains after the sludge has been burned for electric power generation. The method has been developed by chemical engineers Yuuki Mochizuki and Naoto Tsubouchi at Hokkaido University’s Center for Advanced Research of Energy and Materials. Their work is published in the journal Resources,…
Some families call it a trial of faith. Others just call it a curse. The progressive neurological disease known as spinocerebellar ataxia 4 (SCA4) is a rare condition, but its effects on patients and their families can be severe. For most people, the first sign is difficulty walking and balancing, which gets worse as time progresses. The symptoms usually start in a person’s forties or fifties but can begin as early as the late teens. There is no known cure….
… and generates six-week antibody response equivalent to standard regimen. Study highlights need for defined markers of mpox immunity to inform public health use. A dose-sparing intradermal mpox vaccination regimen was safe and generated an antibody response equivalent to that induced by the standard regimen at six weeks (two weeks after the second dose), according to findings presented today at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Global Congress in Barcelona. The results suggest that antibody responses contributed…
The chemical industry has been using a reaction with explosive chemicals for over 100 years – now Mülheim scientists have discovered a safer alternative. The Ritter Group of the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim/Ruhr has recently published an exciting paper about Aryldiazonium with “Science”. Explosions and poisoning. Serious injuries and even deaths. In the history of the chemical industry there have been repeated accidents, sometimes fatal, often caused by dangerous and explosive chemicals that are required for certain…
Cichlid fishes exhibit differing degrees of curiosity. The cause for this lies in their genes, as reported by researchers from the University of Basel in the journal Science. This trait influences the cichlids’ ability to adapt to new habitats. Exploratory behavior is one of the fundamental personality traits of animals – and these traits influence their probability of survival, among other things. For example, curious individuals can inhabit different areas in their habitats compared to more cautious conspecifics. At the…
SpatialData is a freely accessible tool to unify and integrate data from different omics technologies accounting for spatial information, which can provide holistic insights into health and disease. Biological processes are framed by the context they take place in. A new tool developed by the Stegle Group from EMBL Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) helps put molecular biology research findings in a better context of cellular surroundings, by integrating different forms of spatial data. In a tissue,…
The magnetic sense of migratory birds is probably based on the protein cryptochrome 4, and a genetic study has now provided further support for this theory. A team of researchers from the University of Oldenburg and the Institute of Avian Research in Wilhelmshaven compared the genomes of several hundred bird species and found that the gene sequence for cryptochrome 4 has changed considerably during evolution. This suggests that cryptochrome 4 was selected to adapt to different environmental conditions. A possible…
Traditional non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, but their safety is compromised due to the flammable organic electrolytes they utilize. Aqueous batteries use water as the solvent for electrolytes, significantly enhancing the safety of the batteries. However, due to the limited solubility of the electrolyte and low battery voltage, aqueous batteries typically have a lower energy density. This means that the amount of electricity stored per unit volume of aqueous battery is relatively low. In a new study…
LMU researchers have developed a method to determine how reliably target proteins can be labeled using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Modern microscopy techniques make it possible to examine the inner workings of cells in astonishing detail. “We can now observe the arrangement and interaction of individual proteins under the microscope,” says Professor Ralf Jungmann, Chair of Molecular Physics of Life at LMU and Max Planck Fellow at the MPI of Biochemistry. The biophysicist’s team recently developed the revolutionary RESI (Resolution Enhancement…
Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have uncovered a way to unleash in blood vessels the protective effects of a type of fat-related molecule known as a sphingolipid, suggesting a promising new strategy for the treatment of coronary artery disease. In the study, published March 8 in Circulation Research, the researchers showed that boosting levels of a sphingolipid called S1P in artery-lining endothelial cells slows the development and progression of coronary artery disease in an animal model. The lead author was Dr. Onorina Laura…
As our battle against cancer rages on, the quest for more sophisticated and realistic models to study tumor development has never been more critical. Until now, research has relied on animal models and simplified cell culture methods, which are valuable but cannot fully capture the complex interplay of factors involved in tumor development. Even newer, more advanced models for studying cancer, such as organoids – tiny, lab-grown versions of organs – do not faithfully replicate the cell behaviors and tissue…
Storing and utilising energy with innovative sulphur-based cathodes. HU research team develops foundations for sustainable battery technology Electric vehicles and portable electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones are unthinkable without lithium-ion batteries. The problem: highly toxic materials such as cobalt are often used for the cathodes of these batteries, which jeopardise the environment and the health of people in the countries where they are mined. In addition, the reserves of these metals are very limited. Sustainable and powerful…
After stroke and heart attack: Every year, between 250,000 and 300,000 people in Germany suffer from a stroke or heart attack. These patients suffer immune disturbances and are very frequently susceptible to life-threatening bacterial infections. Until now, little was known about the underlying mechanisms of this immune dysfunction. Research teams from the Faculty of Medicine at the University Hospital of the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences in Dortmund have now uncovered a previously unknown cause…
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