news 2016

Research news When adults develop blood cancer, they are frequently diagnosed with what is referred to as acute myeloid leukemia. The disease is triggered by pathological alterations of bone marrow cells, in which, in addition, an important mechanism is out of action: these cells do not die when they are damaged.

Research news Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in men. Even after surgical removal of the prostate gland, there is still a possibility of new metastases forming in lymph nodes in the pelvis. Researchers from the School of Medicine and the Department of Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have teamed up to develop a method to visualize and remove these metastases while they are still very small.

Research news Unlike classical crystals, quasicrystals do not comprise periodic units, even though they do have a superordinate structure. The formation of the fascinating mosaics that they produce is barely understood. In the context of an international collaborative effort, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now presented a methodology that allows the production of two-dimensional quasicrystals from metal organic networks, opening the door to the development of promising new materials.

Research news The marker Flattop subdivides the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas into those that maintain glucose metabolism and into immature cells that divide more frequently and adapt to metabolic changes. This could provide a starting point for regenerative diabetes therapies, as scientists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in collaboration with colleagues of Helmholtz Zentrum München and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), report in the journal 'Nature'.

Campus news The Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Nutritional Medicine (EKFZ), which has been part of the Technical University of Munich for the past ten years, has played a major role in transforming nutritional sciences in Germany: the combination of the bio-scientific discipline with medicine was a trailblazing approach in the German university landscape in the year the Center was founded.

Research news Boosting food production with limited water availability is of great importance to humanity. However, our current water usage is already unsustainable today. The fact that plant leaves lose a great deal of water through photosynthesis is the greatest limiting factor for larger harvests worldwide.

Three Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin Newly Appointed to DFG Senate ' 248/2016 from Jul 07, 2016 Three scholars at Freie Universität Berlin have been newly appointed to the Senate of the German Research Foundation (DFG). They are Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Professor Dr. Peter Geimer, and Thomas Risse.

Research news Since the completion of the human genome an important goal has been to elucidate the function of the now known proteins: a new molecular method enables the investigation of the function for thousands of proteins in parallel. Applying this new method, an international team of researchers with leading participation of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) was able to identify hundreds of previously unknown interactions among proteins.

Research news Fog, blizzards, gusts of wind - poor weather can often make the operation of rescue helicopters a highly risky business, and sometimes even impossible. A new helmet-mounted display, developed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), may in the future be able to help pilots detect hazards at an early stage, even when their visibility is severely impaired: the information required to do this is created in an on-board computer and imported into digital eye glasses.

Researchers reveal geographic distribution of emerging viral variants No 233/2016 from Jun 29, 2016 According to an international research group, a genetic variant of the deformed wing virus (DWV) is more dangerous to honeybees than the original virus strain. The consortium of researchers is based at Freie Universität Berlin and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

Research news In Europe, almost one in three schoolchildren under the age of ten is overweight, if not obese. In the search for the cause of this phenomenon, fetal programming inside a mother's womb was put under scrutiny as a potential culprit for this "heavy issue".

Research news Based on genome data, breeders and scientists are able to determine which hereditary factors and which genetic diseases cattle pass on to their offspring. A mutation located on chromosome 19, for example, is responsible for recurring respiratory diseases and juvenile mortality in calves.

Research news Defined metal surfaces support the formation of two dimensional nanostructures. It is very difficult, however, to transfer these ultimately thin structures to other surfaces. Within an international cooperation project, scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) found an elegant way to decouple the nanostructures from the substrate: Iodine atoms creep between the network of organic molecules and the metal surface.

Research news Scientists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry have identified four new risk genes that are altered in German patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The results point to a possible involvement of cellular mechanisms in the development of the disease, through which environmental influences affect gene regulation.

Research news In the 1950s, thalidomide (Contergan) was prescribed as a sedative drug to pregnant women, resulting in a great number of infants with serious malformations. Up to now, the reasons for these disastrous birth defects have remained unclear. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have at last identified the molecular mechanism of thalidomide.

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a highly endowed grant - an ERC Advanced Grant for leading researchers in Europe - to Heidelberg physicist Markus Oberthaler. The five-year endowment will fund a Heidelberg University research project to explore the generation of quantum mechanical properties in complex systems.

Research news The trace element zinc has an impact on the essential metabolic functions of most living organisms. New research carried out by the Chair of Animal Nutrition at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has found that even minimal zinc deficiency impairs digestion, albeit without any typical symptoms such as skin problems or fatigue.

Research news For a long time dismissed as "junk DNA", we now know that also the regions between the genes fulfil vital functions. Mutations in those DNA regions can severely impair development in humans and may lead to serious diseases later in life. Until now, however, regulatory DNA regions have been hard to find.

Research news Light waves might be able to drive future transistors. The electromagnetic waves of light oscillate approximately one million times in a billionth of a second, hence at petahertz frequencies. In principle future electronics could reach this speed and become 100.000 times faster than current digital electronics.

Study by Social Scientists of Freie Universität Berlin with Support of the Bertelsmann Foundation No 187/2016 from Jun 02, 2016 Corporations from OECD countries are increasing their corporate responsibility efforts according to a study by researchers at Freie Universität Berlin. Prof. Gregory Jackson und Julia Bartosch have created a new Corporate Responsibility Social Index, showing that corporations from Spain and the UK are among the leaders, whereas German firms fall on average into the intermediate range compared to other countries.