Engineering quantum states of molecules on surfaces. Scaling down information devices to the atomic scale has brought the interest of using individual spins as a basic unit for data storage. This requires precise detection and control of spin states and a better understanding of spin-spin interactions. For the first time ever, scientists at the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience at Ewha Womans University (QNS) have imaged the spin of an individual molecule using electron spin resonance in a scanning tunneling…

Vibrationally excited molecular hydrogen is an essential species for determining the chemical composition in the interstellar medium. Vibrational excited interstellar H2 has been detected in shock-heated gas and in photodissociation regions (PDRs) near hot stars, which was formed by collisions and fluorescence excitation in PDRs. Recently, a research group led by Prof. YUAN Kaijun and Prof. YANG Xueming from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) demonstrated vibrationally excited H2 production from water photochemistry using the Dalian Coherent Light…

A peptide sensor to detect water-soluble polymers in wastewater, a major contributor to pollution on par with microplastics, has been developed by scientists from Tokyo Institute of Technology. The new technique takes advantage of the bonding that occurs between peptides and different polymers to train a machine learning algorithm that can both identify and quantify a large number of pollutants in a single solution. From dying coral reefs to diminishing fish populations, marine pollution due to plastics is a growing…

When crucial connections are missing. Research team led by University of Göttingen investigates the importance of “tight junctions” for cell movement. The ability of cells to move together in harmony is crucial for numerous biological processes in our body, for example wound healing, or the healthy development of an organism. This movement is made possible by the connections between individual cells. These connections, in turn, are established by various protein molecules which transfer the necessary forces and information between neighbouring…

MHH cardiology investigates the effect of digitoxin. Researchers include the 1000th patient in multicentre study. Can digitoxin, an active ingredient from foxglove leaves, help patients with heart failure? Many things point to this, but it has not yet been scientifically investigated and proven. Researchers have been investigating this question since 2015 in the large-scale DIGIT-HF study. The study, which involves 50 centres in Germany, Austria and now also Serbia, is coordinated by the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at Hannover…

The new science of heart health uses AI and algorithms to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and stress. When you’re staring petrified at the new Resident Evil movie, or breathlessly following along to a vintage Jane Fonda aerobics video, what happens to your blood flow? PhD candidate Joseph C. Muskat and a group from Purdue University created algorithms that model how healthy young adults respond to fear- and exercise-induced stress. The simulations allow scientists to probe parts of the cardiovascular system individually and…

An INRS team succeeds in measuring temperature in 2D, without contact, with an ultrafast single-shot camera. A new imaging technique, developed by the teams of Professors Jinyang Liang and Fiorenzo Vetrone at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), can measure temperature in 2D, without contact, and in just a snap. The results of their research were published in the journal Nature Communications. This accurate real-time temperature detection could one day improve photothermal therapy and help in the early…

Scientists at UNIGE show that during development, the different populations of neurons needed for connections between brain areas share similar genetic programs, but which unfold at different speeds. The cerebral cortex, located at the surface of the brain, handles the cognitive, language, and complex functions that allow us to represent the world or project ourselves into the future. By being able to categorize and associate the stimuli it receives from our five senses, the cortex links this information together to…

How intestinal bacteria communicate with the body. Bacteria in the intestine pack a wide spectrum of their biomolecules into small capsules. These are transported via the bloodstream to various organs in the body and even absorbed and processed by nerve cells in the brain. This has now been shown for the first time by a team of researchers from Goethe University, FAU (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) and the University of California in San Francisco. The newly established research method will help…

Studies of common copper-zinc oxide catalyst suggest strategies for improving water-free conversion. Chemists have been searching for efficient catalysts to convert methane—a major component of abundant natural gas—into methanol, an easily transported liquid fuel and building block for making other valuable chemicals. Adding water to the reaction can address certain challenges, but it also complicates the process. Now a team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory has identified a new approach using a common industrial catalyst that…

Many insect species are currently expanding their geographical ranges in response to climate change. In the northern hemisphere, most of these species are moving northward, to escape the warming climate in the south. New habitat colonisation occurs first with only a few establishing individuals. Consequently, the new populations are usually genetically poorer than the more central populations. Other factors can also lead to genetic diversity loss. One of these may be the spread of the symbiotic bacterium Wolbachia in the…

What sponges can tell us about the evolution of the brain. As you read these lines the highly sophisticated biological ‘machine’ that is your brain is at work. The human brain is made up of approximately 86 billion neurons and controls not only our bodily functions from vision to movement but also provides consciousness and understanding. Despite its central importance the brain’s origins have not yet been uncovered. The first animal brains appeared hundreds of millions of years ago. Today,…

Study suggests a way to curb clonal hematopoiesis — and prevent leukemia — by targeting rogue clones’ anti-inflammatory defenses. As we age, many of us acquire mutations that cause some of our blood stem cells to multiply faster than others, forming their own distinct populations or “clones.” This is known as clonal hematopoiesis. In some cases, a single clone originating from a single genetically altered or mutated stem cell can expand to make up as many as 30 percent of…

Using nanopore DNA sequencing technology, researchers from TU Delft and the University of Illinois have managed to scan a single protein: by slowly moving a linearized protein through a tiny nanopore, one amino acid at the time, the researchers were able to read off electric currents that relate to the information content of the protein. The researchers published their proof-of-concept in Science today. The new single-molecule peptide reader marks a breakthrough in protein identification, and opens the way towards single-molecule…

A team of researchers led by Nicole Pogodalla and Prof. Dr. Christian Klämbt from the Institute of Neuro- and Behavioral Biology at University of Münster now demonstrated for the first time an internal diffusion barrier in the brain of fruit flies – in addition to the already known blood-brain barrier. The neurons, located in the brain are interconnected in a complex pattern and establish special communication points, the synapses. All neurons require a constant environment in order to function reliably….

Research team confirms blood vessel changes caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2. When the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus enters the lung, it causes massive tissue damage. A characteristic consequence of the infection is, among other things, the blockage of the pulmonary vessels due to a locally excessive blood clotting. Now, an international research team led by Professor Dr. Danny Jonigk and Christopher Werlein from the Institute of Pathology at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) and PD Dr. Max Ackermann from the University Medical…