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Physicists at the University of Würzburg have succeeded in making a new imaging technique ready for use on humans. Radioactive markers and radiation are not necessary for this. Imaging techniques such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and ultrasound have become indispensable in the medical world.

Automated analysis of microplastics How high are concentrations of microplastics in the environment, in our drinking water or in foods? Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed an automated analysis method for the identification and quantification of particles. Microplastics are everywhere in the environment.

Researchers develop new algorithm to effectively study long-range interacting systems. Researchers at the University of Leipzig have developed an extremely efficient method for studying systems with long-range interactions that have been very puzzling to experts until now. These systems can be gases or even solid materials such as magnets, whose atoms interact not only with their neighbors, but much more widely.

Researchers have created a quantum superposition state in a semiconductor nanostructure that might serve as a basis for quantum computing. The trick: two optical laser pulses that act as a single terahertz laser pulse. A German-Chinese research team has successfully created a quantum bit in a semiconductor nanostructure.

James Webb Space Telescope observations find water for the first time in the inner disk around a young star with giant planets. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the MPIA-led MINDS research collaboration discovered water in the inner region of a disk of gas and dust around the young star PDS 70.

The star could be a magnetar with properties that have yet to be explained A new type of stellar object could challenge our understanding of neutron stars. An international team, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, has discovered a celestial body in the constellation Shield (Scutum) that could be an ultralong-period magnetar, a rare type of star with extremely strong magnetic fields that can produce violent bursts of energy.

The new sensor design resembles a molecular toolbox that can be used to quickly assemble sensors for a variety of purposes. An interdisciplinary research team from Bochum, Duisburg and Zurich has developed a new approach to construct modular optical sensors which are capable of detecting viruses and bacteria.

The ordered areas of proteins are readily studied. Consequently, a great deal is known about the role of these areas in the biological function of the respective proteins. However, an international research team led by biochemist Ute Hellmich has shown that disordered areas are also pivotal. Their comprehensive examination of the disordered area of a receptor channel protein has been published in the renowned scientific journal "Nature Communications." The group demonstrated through eleven different methods how this area influences the function of the entire protein.

Ultra-smooth interactions can be detected through high-speed measurement and frequency analysis Is it possible that in most measurements in the field of life sciences, important interactions remain hidden inside the cell or at the cell surface?  This question has puzzled the team of laserand bio-physicist Alexander Rohrbach from the University of Freiburg for years.

An international team of scientists has succeeded in experimentally confirming a characteristic of topological materials. The Universities of Würzburg and the Dresden with their Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat were involved. They are seen as a beacon of hope for energy-saving electronics and the high-tech of the future: topological quantum materials.

Scientists at Leipzig University, in collaboration with colleagues at Vilnius University in Lithuania, have developed a new method to measure the smallest twists and torques of molecules within milliseconds. The method makes it possible to track the gene recognition of CRISPR-Cas protein complexes, also known as -genetic scissors-, in real time and with the highest resolution.

Physicists from Heidelberg and Innsbruck develop technique for cooling negatively charged molecules Molecular anions, negatively charged molecules, are difficult to cool due to their specific electronic configuration. A team of physicists led by Matthias Weidemüller from Heidelberg University's Institute for Physics and Roland Wester from the Department of Ion Physics and Applied Physics at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) have now developed a new method for cooling molecular anions to below three Kelvin, i.e. approximately minus 270 degrees Celsius, in a short time.

For the first time, the scientists of the international IceCube Collaboration have succeeded in detecting neutrinos from the Milky Way. The analysis of ten years of observation data using machine learning methods led to the success for which ORIGINS scientist Elisa Resconi's group at the Technical University of Munich provided important preliminary work.

Interfaculty collaboration under one roof / State-of-the-art equipment and technology for biomedical imaging For any visitor walking through the atrium of the research building at the University of Münster - the Multiscale Imaging Centre (MIC) - there are two things which they notice especially: the large window fronts on several sides make it full of light, and on the left side the striking wall installation entitled "Auf Lösung".

Data collected over 15 years provide the first compelling evidence for the existence of a low-frequency background noise from gravitational waves in the universe / Physicist Kai Schmitz from Münster University member of the collaboration For the first time, astrophysicists have found compelling evidence for the existence of gravitational waves which oscillate with periods ranging from years to decades.

Data from 15 years provide first convincing evidence for the existence of low-frequency background noise from gravitational waves in the universe / Physicist Kai Schmitz from the University of Münster involved in consortium Astrophysicists have for the first time found convincing evidence for the existence of gravitational waves that oscillate with periods ranging from years to decades.

Photocatalytic process enables water to be activated Hydrogen is seen as an energy source of the future - at least, when it is produced in a climate-friendly way. Hydrogen can also be important for the production of active ingredients and other important substances. To produce hydrogen, water (H2O) can be converted into hydrogen gas (H2) by means of a series of chemical processes.

Light-switchable molecules in membranes enable different forms of living cells to be studied Membranes fulfil a variety of tasks in living cells: for example, they separate the cells from their surroundings and thus protect them. Also, by means of transport proteins they convey the necessary nutrients to the interior.

News from Living organisms use powerful physical principles to control interactions at their surfaces. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Leipzig University and TU Dresden have now discovered why cholesterol-containing surfaces can exhibit greatly reduced attachment of proteins and bacteria.

Team led by biologist Carsten Grashoff from the University of Münster has developed a new method for examining mechanical processes in cells / Study published in Science Advances The cells in our body are continuously exposed to mechanical forces that are either externally applied or generated by the cells themselves.