Organic redox-active molecules (ORAMs) are abundant and diverse, offering significant potential for cost-effective and sustainable energy storage, particularly in aqueous organic flow batteries (AOFBs). However, ensuring the stability of the ORAMs during the charge and discharge process is critical, as side reactions can deactivate them and eliminate their redox activity. Air stability remains a challenge for many ORAMs, complicating their practical use. A pilot-scale naphthalene-based flow stack. Credit: DICP Recently, a research group led by Prof. LI Xianfeng and Prof….

Converting brain activity to text on one extremely small integrated system. Researchers from EPFL have developed a next-generation miniaturized brain-machine interface capable of direct brain-to-text communication on tiny silicon chips. Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have emerged as a promising solution for restoring communication and control to individuals with severe motor impairments. Traditionally, these systems have been bulky, power-intensive, and limited in their practical applications. Researchers at EPFL have developed the first high-performance, Miniaturized Brain-Machine Interface (MiBMI), offering an extremely small, low-power, highly accurate, and versatile…

As electronic devices continue to get smaller and smaller, physical size limitations are beginning to disrupt the trend of doubling transistor density on silicon-based microchips approximately every two years according to Moore’s law. Molecular electronics—the use of single molecules as the building blocks for electronic components—offers a potential pathway for the continued miniaturization of small-scale electronic devices. Devices that utilize molecular electronics require precise control over the flow of electrical current. However, the dynamic nature of these single molecule components…

MHH is participating in a BMBF project and wants to build a comprehensive database. Endometriosis is a benign but chronic disease. About ten to 15 per cent of all women of childbearing age are affected. In these women, tissue that resembles the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. While some patients are completely unaware of their condition, others suffer from severe pain or a range of other symptoms. Because endometriosis is difficult to diagnose, it is often referred…

Scientists uncover an ancient immune-evading strategy shared by animal viruses and viruses that infect bacteria; findings may help in the development of new antiviral therapies. Viruses are tricky to keep up with. They evolve quickly and regularly develop new proteins that help them infect their hosts. These rapid shifts mean that researchers are still trying to understand a multitude of viral proteins and precisely how they increase viruses’ infecting abilities—knowledge that could be crucial for developing new or better virus-fighting…

New AI-based digital platform enables extremely fast and accurate analysis of tissue sections from lung cancer patients / publication in ‘Cell Reports Medicine’. A team of researchers from the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, led by Dr Yuri Tolkach and Professor Dr Reinhard Büttner, has created a digital pathology platform based on artificial intelligence. The platform uses new algorithms developed by the team and enables fully automated analysis of tissue sections from lung cancer patients….

Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey have discovered that a protein produced by parasitic worms in the gut enhances wound healing in mice. The study, to be published August 23 in the journal Life Science Alliance (LSA), reveals that applying the protein to skin wounds speeds up wound closure, improves skin regeneration, and inhibits the formation of scar tissue. Whether the protein can be harnessed to enhance wound healing in human patients remains to be seen. Skin wounds must…

In a world overrun by petroleum-based plastics, scientists are searching for alternatives that are more sustainable, more biodegradable and far less toxic to the environment. Two new studies by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis highlight one potential source of game-changing materials: purple bacteria that, with a little encouragement, can act like microscopic factories for bioplastics. A study led by graduate student Eric Conners found that two relatively obscure species of purple bacteria have the ability to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), natural…

Researchers from Charité are developing new methods to use the internal clock inside tumor cells to optimize cancer therapies. How effective medications are depends on various factors, including the time of day when they are administered. Why? Because our bodies don’t always function exactly the same. Instead, they follow the cycle set by their internal clock, otherwise known as circadian rhythm. But since each person’s circadian rhythm is different and depends on a number of different factors, it is difficult…

The elimination of damaged cell components is essential for the maintenance of the body’s tissues and organs. An international research team led by the University of Bonn has made significant findings on mechanisms for the clearing of cellular wastes, showing that strength training activates such mechanisms. The findings could form the basis for new therapies for heart failure and nerve diseases, and even afford benefits for manned space missions. A corresponding article has been published in the latest issue of…

Chlamydiae are sexually transmitted pathogens that can apparently survive in the human gut for a long time. Researchers from Würzburg and Berlin report this in the journal PLOS Pathogens. People who are infected with chlamydia can transmit these bacteria to other people during unprotected sex. The pathogens usually cause no or only mild symptoms at first, such as itching in the vagina, penis or anus. If the infection is noticed, it can be easily treated with antibiotics. If this does…

Primate ornamentation plays a crucial role in communication not only within social groups but also between them, according to a new study. The research reveals that the males of species with overlapping home ranges often display vibrant colors or elaborate features, traits that may help reduce intergroup aggression by enabling quick assessments of potential rivals. Ornaments are sexually selected traits that serve as powerful signals, often indicating an individual’s genetic quality, health or physical strength. These differences in appearance between…

A chemistry PhD student is stranded at the Leibniz-HKI in Jena and uses the time for research on Candida albicans. Combined with antifungal drugs, synthetic polymers are particularly effective against Candida albicans. This was discovered by a German-Australian research team, who also elucidated the mechanism of action behind this. The researchers presented their findings in Nature Communications. The international collaboration came about by chance through an unplanned research stay that initiated the study at the Leibniz-HKI in Jena. Every year,…

Scientists demonstrate highly selective catalyst for low-temperature, direct conversion of natural gas to liquid fuel. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborating institutions have engineered a highly selective catalyst that can convert methane, a major component of natural gas, into methanol, an easily transportable liquid fuel, in a single, one-step reaction. As described in a paper just published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, this direct process for methane-to-methanol conversion runs at a…

Bonn researchers clarify self-regulation of the immune response in the CRISPR bacterial defense system: CRISPR gene scissors, as new tools of molecular biology, have their origin in an ancient bacterial immune system. But once a virus attack has been successfully overcome, the cell has to recover. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in cooperation with researchers from the Institut Pasteur in France, have discovered a timer integrated into the gene scissors that enables the…

Bonn researchers clarify the influence of treatment with tetrahydrocannabinol on the metabolic switch mTOR: A low-dose long-term administration of cannabis can not only reverse aging processes in the brain, but also has an anti-aging effect. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn together with a team from Hebrew University (Israel) have now been able to show this in mice. They found the key to this in the protein switch mTOR, whose signal strength has an…