news 2016

Findings of Study by Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin and Utrecht University Published in "Nature Geoscience" ' 444/2016 from Dec 29, 2016 Earth scientists from among others Utrecht University and Freie Universität Berlin have found new clues how water moves inside the Earth's deep subsurface layers and ultimately back to the surface through volcanic activity.

Research news For years, small rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have reliably supplied billions of portable devices with energy. But manufacturers of high-energy applications such as electric cars and power storage systems seek for new electrode materials and electrolytes. Michael Metzger, researcher at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has now developed a new battery test cell allowing to investigate anionic and cationic reactions separately.

With their research on nanomaterials for optoelectronics, scientists from Heidelberg University and the University of St Andrews (Scotland) have succeeded for the first time to demonstrate a strong interaction of light and matter in semiconducting carbon nanotubes. Such strong light-matter coupling is an important step towards realising new light sources, such as electrically pumped lasers based on organic semiconductors.

Physicists at LMU have developed a novel nanotool that provides a facile means of characterizing the mechanical properties of biomolecules. Faced with the thousands of proteins and genes found in virtually every cell in the body, biologists want to know how they all work exactly: How do they interact to carry out their specific functions and how do they respond and adapt to perturbations? One of the crucial factors in all of these processes is the question of how biomolecules react to the minuscule forces that operate at the molecular level.

Research news Imiquimod is a medication successfully used in the treatment of skin diseases. In addition to its known mechanism of action, it also triggers other processes in the body. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded in explaining the molecular fundamentals of these additional effects.

Research news Scientists from Technical University of Munich have used the accurate x-ray vision provided by DESY's radiation source PETRA III to observe the degradation of polymer solar cells. Their study suggests an approach for improving the manufacturing process to increase the long-term stability of such organic solar cells.

Scientists of Freie Universität and Max Planck Society succeed in worldŽs first structural analysis of aggregates believed to be cause of AlzheimerŽs disease ' 315/2016 from Sep 26, 2016 Scientists of Freie Universität Berlin und the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society made a major step forward in analyzing the biochemical causes of AlzheimerŽs and ParkinsonŽs disease.

Scientists of Freie Universität and Max Planck Society succeed in worldŽs first structural analysis of aggregates believed to be cause of AlzheimerŽs disease ' 315/2016 from Sep 26, 2016 Scientists of Freie Universität Berlin und the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society made a major step forward in analyzing the biochemical causes of AlzheimerŽs and ParkinsonŽs disease.

Research news DNA, our genetic material, normally has the structure of a twisted rope ladder. Experts call this structure a double helix. Among other things, it is stabilized by stacking forces between base pairs. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded at measuring these forces for the very first time on the level of single base pairs.

German Research Foundation (DFG) Approved Funding for New High-performance Microscope at Freie Universität Berlin ' 288/2016 from Sep 02, 2016 The German Research Foundation has designated 2.3 million euros for a new cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) at Freie Universität Berlin.

Research news It is the double helix, with its stable and flexible structure of genetic information, that made life on Earth possible in the first place. Now a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered a double helix structure in an inorganic material. The material comprising tin, iodine and phosphorus is a semiconductor with extraordinary optical and electronic properties, as well as extreme mechanical flexibility.

Forschen Proteins fulfill vital functions in our body. They transport substances, combat pathogens, and function as catalysts. In order for these processes to function reliably, proteins must adopt a defined three-dimensional structure. Molecular "folding assistants", called chaperones, aid and scrutinize these structuring processes.

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.

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 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 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 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.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved funding for two new Collaborative Research Centers (CRC) at Freie Universität Berlin, as well as funding extensions for two others already established at Freie Universität. The new CRCs, to be funded for four years, are "Entangled States of Matter," Transregio (TRR) 183, in cooperation with the University of Cologne, and CRC/TRR 186, "Molecular Switches: Spatio-Temporal Control of Cellular Signal Transmission," in cooperation with the University of Heidelberg.

Biological evolution was preceded by a long phase of chemical evolution during which precursors of biopolymers accumulated. LMU chemists have discovered an efficient mechanism for the prebiotic synthesis of a vital class of such compounds. How did life originate on Earth and what were its chemical building-blocks? One possible source of answers to these questions can be found in outer space.

Using ultrashort laser pulses an international team at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics has managed to manipulate the positions of atoms in hydrocarbon molecules in a targeted fashion. Laser physicists steer atoms in molecules with light: A laser pulse removed an outer hydrogen atom from one side of a hydrocarbon molecule and directed it to the opposite side, where it reattached.