news 2017

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Areas of hypoxia, or low oxygen in tissue, are hallmarks of fast-growing cancers and of blockages or narrowing in blood vessels, such as stroke or peripheral artery disease. University of Illinois researchers have developed a way to find hypoxic spots noninvasively in real time.

Berkeley Lab scientists are using powerful X-rays at the Advanced Light Source to study how gas mask filters handle chemical warfare agents. The work could eventually lead to more advanced gas masks for both military and civilian applications.

A team of scientists using a state-of-the-art UCLA instrument reports the discovery of a planetary-scale "tug-of-war" of life, deep Earth and the upper atmosphere that is expressed in atmospheric nitrogen. The Earth's atmosphere differs from the atmospheres of most other rocky planets and moons in our solar system in that it is rich in nitrogen gas, or N2; the Earth's atmosphere is 78 percent nitrogen gas.

Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin and Ruhr-Universität Bochum investigate biological production of "energy source of the future" No 337/2017 from Dec 06, 2017 Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin and the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have uncovered a crucial reaction principle of hydrogen-producing enzymes.

Research news When lithium-ion batteries are charged too quickly, metallic lithium gets deposited on the anodes. This reduces battery capacity and lifespan and can even destroy the batteries. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich have now presented a process that, for the first time ever, allows this so-called lithium plating process to be investigated directly.

Cells - the building blocks of our bodies - are encapsulated by membranes. The same goes for the specialized compartments within our cells. These membranes are extremely thin, oily films, containing proteins and fatty molecules called lipids. For decades, scientists have argued about how cell membranes organize and maintain distinct regions enriched in particular protein and lipid types.

During cold-start, a car engine emits far more particulate matter and other pollutants than during warm conditions. This is because a cold catalytic converter is much less efficient at low exhaust gas temperatures. So what's the answer? Preheat the cat with microwaves. Empa scientists have developed the first microwave converter heating for passenger car applications.

Molecular electronics is a growing research area where scientists study electrical properties of the molecules with a chemically programmed function. Molecules can function as diodes, switches and transistors, all with a typical length of few nanometers. An international group of scientists from University of Bern, Leiden University, Delft University of Technology, and Chuo University has developed the first switchable molecular diode.

Three years ago, Pierre Sonveaux, a researcher at the UCL Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, and his team discovered that when the mitochondria (the power plants) of tumour cells are impaired, they promote the formation of metastases. Subsequently, the researchers verified a molecule, MitoQ, as capable of preventing these impairments and thus tumour metastases.

Research news Antibodies defend our bodies against intruders. These molecules consist of proteins with attached sugars. However, the blueprint directing the processing of these sugars on the protein was not well understood until now. Scientists from the Technical University of Munich and the Helmholtz Zentrum München used computer analysis to complete this blueprint and confirmed their findings in the laboratory.

Using a molecule designed to overcome a roadblock formed by a common type of genetic flaw, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have made progress towards novel molecular treatments for Friedreich's ataxia - a rare but fatal disorder - in the laboratory dish and in animals. Friedreich's, like at least 40 other genetic diseases, is caused by stretches of repetitive DNA that prevent protein from forming correctly.

Research news Key processes in the body are controlled by the concentration of calcium in and around cells. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München have developed the first sensor molecule that is able to visualize calcium in living animals with the help of a radiation-free imaging technique known as optoacoustics.

A new study by the Institute of Plant Sciences of the University of Bern and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology shows how the Western corn rootworm puts the maize plants' defense strategies out of action. The results explain why biological control of the crop pest has not been efficient. The Western corn rootworm continues to be on the rise in Europe.

BERKELEY, CA / ARGONNE, IL - A team of Department of Energy (DOE) scientists at the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) has discovered the fastest magnesium-ion solid-state conductor, a major step towards making solid-state magnesium-ion batteries that are both energy dense and safe. The electrolyte, which carries charge back and forth between the battery's cathode and anode, is a liquid in all commercial batteries, which makes them potentially flammable, especially in lithium-ion batteries.

New King's College London research, published today in eLife , shows that adults born prematurely - who also suffered small brain injuries around the time of birth - have lower levels of dopamine in the brain. This chemical change has been linked to lack of motivation and enjoyment in normal life, and changes to attention and concentration, which could all be early signs of more serious mental health issues such as substance dependence and depression.

MIT researchers have developed a new system that could potentially be used for converting power plant emissions of carbon dioxide into useful fuels for cars, trucks, and planes, as well as into chemical feedstocks for a wide variety of products. The new membrane-based system was developed by MIT postdoc Xiao-Yu Wu and Ahmed Ghoniem, the Ronald C. Crane Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and is described in a paper in the journal ChemSusChem .

To solve mysteries about ancient works or authenticate heritage objects, specialists often need support from science. Since 1988, AGLAÉ has been installed at the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF, Palais du Louvre). It is the only particle accelerator in the world that is exclusively dedicated to studying heritage objects.

Research news Cardiac fibrosis involves an increase of connective tissue in the cardiac muscle, causing a loss of function. A team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now discovered that microRNA 29 (miR-29) plays an important role in the formation of tissue fibrosis. They occur less frequently when miR-29 is suppressed in cardiac muscle cells.

After a flu virus infects a host cell and hijacks its inner workings to create copies of itself, these copies gather into viral buds that break free from the host cell to infect again. A new study from MIT now provides the clearest picture yet of how the buds are pinched off from the host cell membrane.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Specially tailored, ultrafast pulses of light can trigger neurons to fire and could one day help patients with light-sensitive circadian or mood problems, according to a new study in mice at the University of Illinois. Chemists have used such carefully crafted light beams, called coherent control, to regulate chemical reactions, but this study is the first demonstration of using them to control function in a living cell.