news 2019

Plant seeds may strike the casual observer as unspectacular - but they have properties that are nothing short of superpowers. In a dry state they can store their energy for years and then suddenly release it for germination when environmental conditions are favourable. One striking example is the "super bloom" in the Death Valley National Park, when seeds that have endured the dry and hot desert for decades suddenly germinate at rainfall followed by a rare and spectacular desert bloom several months later.

New deep learning algorithm DeepMACT detects the smallest metastases Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the LMU Munich have developed a new algorithm that automatically detects metastases. The new technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) and even finds single disseminated cancer cells in the body of mice.

If a lie would be bad for their image, people are more likely to ignore financial incentives People are more honest when talking about topics involving high-status knowledge. A new study in the field of behavioral economics shows that this is true even if they have a financial incentive to lie. Questions of trust become more important in business as it becomes more and more difficult to assess statements on increasingly difficult technologies.

From mobile phone photo to static calculations Cracks in the ankles of Michelangelo's David statue, damaged columns in the cistern of the Hagia Tekla Basilica: Are these ancient structures in danger of collapsing? Researchers at Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a new process that makes it possible to assess the mechanical condition of structures based on photographs.

Modified cancer drug effective against multi-resistant bacteria Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasingly the source of deadly infections. A team of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have now modified an approved cancer drug to develop an active agent against multidrug-resistant pathogens.

"You missed something yesterday. Tim fell in our pool!" "Now really @Tim?- Thought you didn't want to drink anything"? "Haha tim :D" What sounds like banal chit-chat among a group of young people about what happened at a party is of great interest to linguists at the Institute of German Language and Literature at the University of Münster.

A team of researchers from Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Bochum, and the University of Linz has succeeded in observing the transfer of protons in a hydrogenase reaction. No 391/2019 from Dec 13, 2019 Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Bochum, and the University of Linz have found evidence for the design of so-called biomimetic catalysts.

Broomrape, rattle, dodder. It's not only the wonderful-sounding names that these plants have in common - it's also the way they live, because they do so at the expense of other plants, robbing them of water and nutrients in order to secure their own existence. And, in doing so, they have exerted a fascination on Dr. Susann Wicke, an associate professor at the University of Münster.

Donut-shaped orbitals and Ising magnetism in Ca3Co2O6 The research teams of Hao Tjeng from the MPI-CPfS, Andrea Severing from the University of Cologne, Antoine Maignan from CRISMAT Laboratory Caen, and Maurits Haverkort from the University of Heidelberg have succeeded in determining the electronic orbital that is responsible for the Ising magnetism in Ca3Co2O6.

Chemists at Münster University develop a synthetic method providing access to different stereoisomers of a molecule / Study published in 'Nature Catalysis' Just as our left hand is not superposable to our right hand, the mirror image of certain molecules cannot be overlapped onto it, even when turned or twisted.

Date: November 26, 2019, No. Researchers of Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics and University of Stuttgart present a new method that shows single neuron data [Picture: whitehoune - stock.adobe.com, Max-Planck-Institut für biologische Kybernetik, Universität Stuttgart. Montage: Martin Vötsch, design-galaxie.de.

DFG funds two new TUM transregional Collaborative Research Centers Regeneration of nerve cells, 3D printing in construction The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft or DFG) is funding two new transregional Collaborative Research Centers (SFB/Transregional research alliance) involving the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

Smaller, faster, more energy-efficient - this is the goal that developers of electronic devices have been working towards for years. In order to be able to miniaturize individual components of mobile phones or computers for example, magnetic waves are currently regarded as promising alternatives to conventional data transmission functioning by means of electric currents.

A natural event of similar magnitude would have devastating consequences today, warn researchers 15-meter high waves that pushed 100 tons boulders inland: This is more or less how one can imagine the tsunami that hit the coast of today's Sultanate of Oman about 1,000 years ago, as concluded by a recent study by the universities of Bonn, Jena, Freiburg and RWTH Aachen.

Aeroelastic wing's first flight at Special Airport Oberpfaffenhofen Super-efficient wing takes off In a joint effort by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), researchers have successfully developed new technologies for lighter aircraft wings that are still extremely stable.

Superconductivity has fascinated scientists for many years both for fundamental reasons and because it offers the potential to revolutionize current technologies. Materials only become superconductors - meaning that electrons can travel in them with no resistance - at very low temperatures. These days, this unique zero resistance superconductivity is commonly found in a number of technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

TUM, Oerlikon and Linde develop high-strength lightweight aluminum-based alloy New research alliance for additive manufacturing Together with the Swiss technology group Oerlikon and the industrial gas manufacturer Linde, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has entered into a research alliance for additive manufacturing (AM).

Research team cultivates marine bacteria that had previously been paid little attention and taps potential source of new antibiotics Life The team led by Prof. Christian Jogler of Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, has succeeded in cultivating several dozen marine bacteria in the laboratory - bacteria that had previously been paid little attention.

Some of the most biologically active molecules, including synthetic drugs, contain a central, nitrogen-containing chemical structure called an isoquinuclidine. This core has a three-dimensional shape which means it has the potential to interact more favourably with enzymes and proteins than flat, two-dimensional molecules.

Theoretical calculations indicate that under certain conditions silicon can endow solar cells with a much higher efficiency. Small silicon clusters may provide a source of accordingly modified silicon. However, to date these clusters have not been accessible in soluble form, a prerequisite for flexible processing.