news 2016

Research news G proteins are molecular switches on the insides of cell membranes. They convey important signals to the inner workings of the cells. The associated receptors are targeted by all kinds of medications. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are now shedding light on precisely how the individual amino acids of the G protein move during the switching process.

Research news The more it swarms, crawls and flies the better it is for humans. This is the finding of a study published in 'Nature'. More than 60 researchers from a number of universities were involved, including the Technical University of Munich, the Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt.

A new Emmy Noether junior research group at Heidelberg University's Institute of Earth Sciences will delve into the central questions of climate history. The research team led by Dr. Jörg Lippold will study the history of ocean currents over the last 30,000 years in an attempt to uncover key parameters for understanding future climatic changes.

A research group led by LMU physicist Nico Hamaus is calculating the dynamics of cosmic voids and deriving new insights into our entire universe. Much of our universe is taken up by vast, hollow regions of empty space, which we call cosmic voids. They are forever expanding as the tiny amounts of matter they contain are striving to reach the outer edges, attracted by the gravity of the denser regions surrounding them.

Research news Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) discovered that our brain actively takes sugar from the blood. Prior to this, researchers around the world had assumed that this was a purely passive process. An international team led by diabetes expert Matthias Tschöp reported in the journal 'Cell' that transportation of sugar into the brain is regulated by so-called glia cells that react to hormones such as insulin or leptin; previously it was thought that this was only possible for neurons.

Research news Mouse models are extensively used in pharmaceutical and medical research, and it is known that the communities of microbes in their intestine. can have a significant impact on the research output. However, there is still insufficient information available about many bacteria inhabiting the intestine of mice.

For the first time ever, laser physicists have recorded an internal atomic event with an accuracy of a trillionth of a billionth of a second. When light strikes electrons in atoms, their states can change unimaginably quickly. Laser physicists at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) have now measured the duration of such a phenomenon - namely that of photoionization, in which an electron exits a helium atom after excitation by light - for the first time with zeptosecond precision.

Scientists at Freie Universität Publish New Findings of a Study on Effects of Anti-Inflammatory Peptides in Skin Cells ' 274/2016 from Aug 11, 2016 Scientists at Freie Universität have investigated the effect of synthetic peptides. "We were able to demonstrate that peptides developed by the Research Center Borstel - Leibniz Center for Medicine and Biosciences have a very good anti-inflammatory effect in different cell types of human skin," said Günther Weindl at the Institute of Pharmacy, Pharmacology, and Toxicology, Freie Universität, who led the experiment.

Biologists at Freie Universität Discovered a New Form of Stress in Plants ' 272/2016 from Aug 08, 2016 Scientists at the Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences (DCPS), Freie Universität, discovered a new form of stress in plants that they have named circadian stress. The findings indicate that it is caused by a change in the day-night rhythm.

LMU researchers have shown that circadian oscillations in the influx of immune cells into the damaged tissue play a crucial role in exacerbating the effects of an acute heart attack in the early morning hours. The extent of the inflammatory reaction triggered by an acute heart attack, and of the resulting damage to the heart muscle, varies depending on the time of day at which the infarct occurs.

For the first time, researchers from Heidelberg University have deciphered the function of the so-called decapping enzyme in bacteria. These molecular helpers remove the protective cap at the start of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules. This decapping destabilises the ribonucleic acid, thus allowing degradation to begin in the cells.

Geoscientists from Heidelberg University have discovered accumulations of magma in the Andes sufficient to have set off a super-eruption but which, in fact, did not. Such eruptions, which expel enormous quantities of magma, are the largest volcanic events on earth. Together with colleagues from the USA, researchers from the Institute of Earth Sciences discovered that magma volumes of supervolcanic proportions have been continuously accumulating in the Altiplano-Puna region since the last super-eruption nearly 2.9 million years ago.

Research news Modern imaging methods greatly exceed the possibilities of X-rays. Vasilis Ntziachristos holds the Chair of Biological Imaging at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and is Director of the Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging at the Helmholtz Centre in Munich. In this , he talks about the fascination of imaging techniques and about finding a common language for engineers and doctors.

Research news Learning how to look inside a body without having to cut it open is still an important part of medical research. One of the great challenges in imaging remains the visualization of oxygen in tissue. A team led by Prof. Vasilis Ntziachristos, Chair for Biological Imaging at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Director of the Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging at the Helmholtz Centre in Munich , has developed a new approach to this task.

Research news Moisture can destroy mortar over time - for example when cracks form as a result of frost. A team of scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has found an unusual way to protect mortar from moisture: When the material is being mixed, they add a biofilm - a soft, moist substance produced by bacteria.

Munich physicists have developed a novel electron microscope that can visualize electromagnetic fields oscillating at frequencies of billions of cycles per second. Temporally varying electromagnetic fields are the driving force behind the whole of electronics. Their polarities can change at mind-bogglingly fast rates, and it is difficult to capture them in action.

Research news About one-third of the fatal cases of liver cirrhosis are attributable to bacterial infections. The damage to the liver cells not only impedes the function of the organ but also weakens the immune response. Scientist at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the University of Bonn have now found out the reason for incapacitation of the immune system.

Research news An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has studied the metabolism of women with gestational diabetes after giving birth. Along with partners at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), they were able to show that breastfeeding for more than three months brings about long-term metabolic changes.

Research news Together with colleagues from the ETH Zürich, scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a software that allows observing cells for weeks while also measuring molecular properties. The software is freely available and has now been introduced in 'Nature Biotechnology'.

A type of scaffolding on which specialised workers ply their trade helps in the manufacturing process of the two subunits from which the ribosome - the protein factory of the cell - originates. Biochemists at Heidelberg University discovered it after succeeding in getting a peek into the ribosomal 'birthing room'.