news 2017

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to Support Junior Research Group of Marcelo Calderón for Two Additional Years â?- 140/2017 from May 31, 2017 A research project based at Freie Universität Berlin to investigate the use of thermoresponsive nanogels for the treatment of skin diseases and tumors is being sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for an additional two years.

The role of microglial cells in neurodegenerative disease is not fully understood. But new results from researchers in Munich and Basel suggest that stimulation of this arm of the immune system might well delay the onset of such disorders. The precise impact of the microglia in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's remains unclear.

With their long processes - the axons and dendrites - nerve cells connect with each other and thus pass on signals. These connections can degenerate - not only in the case of diseases of the nervous system, but also when an organism develops normally. But what are the mechanisms behind this' Researchers at the Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence have now discovered a physiological process which plays an important role in the degeneration of neuron cell processes.

To localize sounds, particularly low-frequency sounds, mammals must perceive minimal differences in the timing of signal reception between the two ears. LMU researchers now describe a unique feature of the neurons responsible for this task. In the mammalian auditory system, sound waves impinging on the tympanic membrane of the ear are transduced into electrical signals by sensory hair cells and transmitted via the auditory nerve to the brainstem.

Heidelberg University succeeded in gaining support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the latest approval round, winning funding for two major collaborative research centres. Researchers in the natural sciences, life sciences and medicine will investigate the function of a fundamental signaling pathway in the 'Mechanisms and functions of WNT signaling' CRC (CRC 1324).

A new Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) will investigate the function of a fundamental cellular signaling pathway. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the CRC will start its work at Heidelberg University. After successful review, the DFG approved approximately 8,5 million euros in funding for the next four years.

An international team of physicists has monitored the scattering behavior of electrons in a non-conducting material in real-time. Their insights could be beneficial for radiotherapy. We can refer to electrons in non-conducting materials as 'sluggish'. Typically, they remain fixed in a location, deep inside an atomic composite.

Scientists from Freie Universität, University of Innsbruck, University of Cologne, and University of Sydney Developed New Method ' 123/2017 from May 17, 2017 Together with colleagues from Germany, Austria, and Australia, scientists from Freie Universität Berlin developed a new method for investigating quantum mechanical processes, and they tested their method experimentally.

Research news Dental plaque and the viscous brown slime in drainpipes are two familiar examples of bacterial biofilms. Removing such bacterial depositions from surfaces is often very difficult, in part because they are extremely water-repellent. A team of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now been able to show how such biofilms adapt their surface texture to repel water - similar to leaves.

Scientists from Freie Universität Involved in New EU Research Project on Processing Mass Data â?- 120/2017 from May 15, 2017 Scientists from the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at Freie Universität Berlin are involved in a new project being funded by the European Union to investigate the distortions of "big data" approaches in information processing.

Tomorrow's computers will run on light, and gold nanoparticle chains show much promise as light conductors. Now LMU scientists have demonstrated how tiny spots of silver could markedly reduce energy consumption in light-based computation. Today's computers are faster and smaller than ever before. The latest generation of transistors will have structural features with dimensions of only 10 nanometers.

Research news Tumors, inflammation and circulatory disorders locally disturb the body's acid-base balance. These changes in pH value could be used for example to verify the success of cancer treatments. Up to now, however, there has been no imaging method to render such changes visible in patients. Now a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a pH sensor that renders pH values visible through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - in a non-invasive, radiation-free manner.

Research news Architecture clearly reflects societal developments. Prof. Stephan Trüby explains in an interview how financial markets influence the shape of bank buildings and what the impact of digitalization on individual architectural elements is. As a professor for Architectural and Cultural Theory, can you tell us about the relationship between these two fields? Stephan Trüby: Architecture is probably the most complex cultural technology that humankind has produced.

Research news Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a holographic imaging process that depicts the radiation of a Wi-Fi transmitter to generate three-dimensional images of the surrounding environment. Industrial facility operators could use this to track objects as they move through the production hall.

In experiments on transport tissues in plants, researchers from Heidelberg University were able to identify factors of crucial importance for the formation of the plant tissue known as phloem. According to Thomas Greb of the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), these factors differ from all previously known factors that trigger the specification of cells.

Research news In addition to essential metabolic functions, the level of zinc in the body also affects the heart muscle. When oxidative stress occurs, it may be due to a shortage of zinc, which can be determined by examining the heart muscle. A study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) shows the relationship between the total amount of zinc in the body and cardiac function.

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded biochemist Ed Hurt a highly endowed ERC Advanced Grant for outstanding research leaders in Europe. The researchers in Prof. Hurt's team want to study the largely unexplored processes that take place in the initial phase of the manufacture of these cellular protein factories.

Two researchers at Heidelberg University have developed a model system that enables a better understanding of the processes in a quantum-physical experiment with ultracold atoms. Using computer-assisted methods, Sandro Wimberger and David Fischer from the Institute for Theoretical Physics discovered physical laws that point to the universal properties of this system.

Subtle cognitive dysfunction and decline in breast cancer patients was largely independent of chemotherapy but associated with cancer-related post-traumatic stress in a German multisite study. Many breast cancer patients report problems of cognitive functioning, and some are considerably burdened by them.

Research news Plant pollen and fungal spores can be found at variable heights in the air, even at elevations up to 2000 meters. This is the conclusion of a report by researchers of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Zentrum München together with Greek colleagues, which was published in the journal 'Scientific Reports'.