news 2017

Research news More than 125 years ago, Otto Lilienthal laid the foundation for modern aviation with his innovative gliding apparatus, the "Normal Segelapparat". Only four specimens of the gliding apparatus have survived to this day, one of them at home in Deutsches Museum in Munich. Computer tomography investigations carried out by researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in collaboration with Airbus have for the first time provided a glimpse into the inner workings of the construction design.

Researchers from the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have investigated the mode of action of a molecular chaperone vital to protein synthesis. Together with colleagues from the University of Cologne and the Penn State University (USA), they were able to demonstrate that the speed of protein synthesis is associated with the function of the Ssb chaperone.

Research news After a stroke, many people are unable to successfully perform basic hand movements in everyday life. The reason are symptoms of hemiparesis resulting from damage to the brain. These very frequently affect fine motor skills. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is now paving the way to better diagnosis and more targeted therapy.

Research news Chemistry live: Using a scanning tunneling microscope, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) were able for the very first time to witness in detail the activity of catalysts during an electro-chemical reaction. The measurements show that the surface structure of the catalyst has a strong influence on their activity.

Research news How do cells work together and use their genome to develop into human liver tissue? An international research team from the Max Planck Institute, headed by Prof. Barbara Treutlein from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has applied this question by using novel technologies of genomics and stem cell research.

When researchers and physicians analyse tissue, for example in order to investigate any pathological changes, they often look at the tissue samples under the light microscope. However, producing meaningful images is not always easy. Researchers at the Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence at the University of Münster and at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster have now developed a new method which, in the case of lymphoedema, can create digital 3D images of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels of entire tissue biopsies.

A prehistoric human skeleton found on the Yucatán Peninsula is at least 13,000 years old and most likely dates from a glacial period at the end of the most recent ice age, the late Pleistocene. A German-Mexican team of researchers led by Wolfgang Stinnesbeck and Arturo González González has now dated the fossil skeleton based on a stalagmite that grew on the hip bone.

Research news Six young scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) will receive Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). The prestigious awards have been granted to two projects in cardiology and neurosciences, which are key research areas of the TUM School of Medicine , to a physics project related to a special form of plasma, and one on the structure of chromosomes.

Research news Each atomic layer thin, tear-resistant, and stable. Graphene is seen as the material of the future. It is ideal for e.g. producing ultra-light electronics or highly stable mechanical components. But the wafer-thin carbon layers are difficult to produce. At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Jürgen Kraus has manufactured self-supporting graphene membranes, and at the same time systematically investigated and optimized the growth of the graphene crystals.

Physicist at Freie Universität Berlin Receives Freigeist Fellowship from the Volkswagen Foundation No 225/2017 from Aug 24, 2017 The physicist Dr. Andreas Elsaesser from Freie Universität Berlin has been granted a Freigeist Fellowship from the Volkswagen Foundation for his research project "Finding Life: Spectral Biomarkers in Planetary Atmospheres.

Research news When bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, treatment with these medications becomes ineffective. Similarly, tumor cells can also change in such a way that renders them resistant to particular medications. This makes it vitally important for cancer patients and their doctors to determine as early as possible whether a specific therapy is working or not.

Very large yet faint galaxies have been found where no one would have expected them - in the middle of a giant galaxy cluster. Heidelberg astronomers discovered the extremely-low-density galaxies, known as ultra-diffuse galaxies, a find that is "both remarkable and puzzling", states Dr Thorsten Lisker.

Automated Theorem Prover (ATP) Leo-III Developed at Freie Universität Berlin Took Second Place in Higher-Order Logic Category in World Championship No 223/2017 from Aug 21, 2017 The Leo-III computer system has been under development since 2014 by researchers Alexander Steen and Max Wisniewski under the direction of Dr. Christoph Benzmüller at the Dahlem Center for Machine Learning and Robotics at the Institute of Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin.

Young Researchers at Freie Universität Win ERC Starting Grants No 224/2017 from Aug 21, 2017 Four researchers at Freie Universität Berlin have won ERC Starting Grants. The grants were awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) in amounts up to 1.5 million euros over a five-year period. The winning projects at Freie Universität are in the fields of Arabic studies, computer science, neuroscience, and political science.

Research news Inflammatory processes in the liver lead to elevated cholesterol levels in people with diabetes, thus promoting subsequent vascular diseases. This is the result of a study by scientists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Helmholtz Zentrum München, and the Collaborative Research Center SFB 1118 at Heidelberg University Hospital.

Research news After a long day of working at the computer, scratchy contact lenses are not only painful, over longer periods of time they can also damage ocular tissue. Relief may be in sight from a natural mucus component referred to as a mucin. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now succeeded in demonstrating that contact lenses coated with purified porcine gastric mucin do not cause damage to the eye anymore.

Research news When'T cells encounter an antigen, they proliferate and produce various types of daughter cells. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now refuted the prevailing hypothesis that this immune response is largely predetermined by the individual structure of the'T cell receptor.

Research news The protein amyloid beta is believed to be the major cause of Alzheimer's disease. Substances that reduce the production of amyloid beta, such as BACE inhibitors, are therefore promising candidates for new drug treatments. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has recently demonstrated that one such BACE inhibitor reduces the amount of amyloid beta in the brain.

Light-matter quasi-partic­les can be generated electrically in semiconducting carbon nanotubes. Material scientists and physicists from Heidelberg University (Germany) and the University of St Andrews (Scotland) used light-emitting and extremely stable transistors to reach strong light-matter coupling and create exciton-polaritons.

Research news It is a forerunner of bread wheat which man has been cultivating for a hundred years: For the first time, an international team succeeded in deciphering the genome sequence of the Wild Emmer. The results have been published in "Science". They could contribute to the cultivation of more resistant wheat varieties - and support global food production.