news 2016

Cells of the immune system can distinguish between protein molecules that are "self" and "non-self". ­For example, if we are exposed to pathogens such as bacteria or viruses that carry foreign molecules on their surface, the body reacts with an immune response. In contrast, cells are "tolerant" of the body's own molecules.

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.

Research news When light strikes electrons in atoms, their state can change unimaginably quickly. Laser physicists in Munich have measured 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.

Research news Before RNA copies of genes can program the synthesis of proteins, the non-coding regions are removed by the spliceosome, a complex molecular machine. The correct regulation of the splicing plays a central role for many cellular processes. By means of nuclear spin measurements and single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, a team of scientists has now discovered an unexpected mechanism in the assembly of the spliceosome.

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 When an electron moves in solid matter, it polarizes its environment. Detailed insight into the interactions between electrons and their environment is the key to better performing future electronics components. However, since these processes transpire within only a few attoseconds, in the past they were practically impossible to investigate.

Optical quantum computers are what people are pinning their hopes on for tomorrow's computer technology - whether for tap-proof data encryption, ultrafast calculations involving enormous quantities of data or so-called quantum simulation, which allows highly complex systems to be reproduced on the computer.

Einstein Foundation Berlin Announced Support for Cross-institutional Centre as of 2018 ' 293/2016 from Sep 07, 2016 The Einstein Foundation Berlin has announced that it will be funding the first Einstein Centre devoted to the humanities as of 2018 in Berlin. The new Einstein Centre will be called Chronoi and will build on the unique cross-institutional cooperation that exists within ancient studies research in Berlin.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

Heidelberg University succeeded in gaining support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the latest approval round, recieving funding for four research networks. The DFG granted funds to the new Transregional Collaborative Research Centre (CRC/TRR) of the Heidelberg Medical Faculty, where researchers from Heidelberg, Freiburg and Munich will investigate viral hepatitis infections.