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Materials Science - 29.10.2020
Life Sciences - 21.10.2020 
Animal-based research: Scientists develop new experimental design for an improved reproducibility
In research, the results of studies must be precise and reproducible. For this reason, researchers carried out experiments under strictly standardized laboratory conditions. However, despite the high standards applied, results from individual studies cannot always be reproduced in practice. Especially in cases in which animals are used for research purposes and the original study cannot be repeated, this raises severe ethical questions.
Environment - 09.10.2020 
Researching ecosystems from the air
It looks absolutely idyllic, watching the Heck cattle and Konik horses grazing in the meadows in the Emsaue wet meadows near the village of Vadrup. This pasture landscape, covering an area of 33 hectares and used all year round, lies in the Emsaue nature conservation area and was set up in 2004 as part of the implementation of the plan to protect the wet meadows by the River Ems.
Health - Life Sciences - 08.10.2020 
Understanding the course of viral infections
It is only 120 millionths of a millimetre in size but can bring entire countries to a standstill: the Corona virus. Even if it were to disappear one day, viral infections will still be among the most frequent and difficult-to-treat diseases in humans. Even decades of research have only produced a few standardized vaccines and strategies for treatment to combat just a small number of viruses.
Chemistry - Physics - 07.10.2020 
Molecular swarm rearranges surface structures atom by atom: New study
Much like a zipper, carbene molecules cooperate on a gold surface to join two rows of atoms into one row, resulting - step by step - in a new surface structure. The surface of metals plays a key role in many technologically relevant areas, such as catalysis, sensor technology and battery research. For example, the large-scale production of many chemical compounds takes place on metal surfaces, whose atomic structure determines if and how molecules react with one another.
Life Sciences - Health - 28.09.2020 
Looking at evolution’s genealogy from home
As the developers of 2-n-way, Dr. Jürgen Schmitz, Dr. Liliya Doronina, Norbert Grundmann, Fengjun Zhang and Dr. Gennady Churakov (from left) are delighted at the publication of their project in the specialist press. Evolution leaves its traces in particular in genomes. Pinpointing its influence is a laborious process - but one in which Dr. Jürgen Schmitz and his team at the University of Münster are at home.
Health - Chemistry - 15.09.2020 
Newly discovered mechanism regulates myocardial distensibility
Immunofluorescence staining of the muscle tissue of a chronically diseased human heart under the confocal microscope. Two proteins in the sarcomeres, which give the tissue the characteristic striation pattern, were marked with antibodies and visualized by different fluorophore-conjugated antibodies: titin appears red and actinin green; the nuclei were stained blue.
Life Sciences - 08.09.2020 
Glial cells play an active role in the nervous system
View of a Drosophila larva (with the head turned to the left). The surrounding glial cells in the peripheral nervous system have been depicted in individual colours by using a genetic trick. To this end, a random combination of a certain set of fluorescent proteins is induced in the surrounding glial cells by means of a systematic expression of a recombinase so that each cell expresses its own colour code and, as a result, becomes visible under the microscope.
Materials Science - Chemistry - 03.09.2020 
New Analytical Methods for Longer-Lasting Lithium-ion Batteries
How can the lithium-ion battery (LIB) be further improved? To answer this question, MEET scientists around Lenard Hanf developed new methods for capillary electrophoresis. For the first time, this enables a detailed analysis of the transition metal dissolution from LIB cathode materials or the current collector - such as manganese or copper.
Life Sciences - Health - 27.08.2020 
Decoded: the structure of the barrier between three cells
Organs in animals and in humans have one thing in common: they are bounded by so-called epithelial cells. These, along with the muscle, connective and nervous tissues, belong to the basic types of tissue. Epithelial cells form special connections with one another in order to prevent substances or pathogens from passing between the cells, i.e. they have a protective and sealing function for the body.
Environment - 27.08.2020 
Rapid evolution under climate change
Ecosystems are threatened worldwide by rapid climate change. Plants play a critical role in all ecosystems because they are at the basis of all food webs. For many regions that are already very dry today, such as deserts or semi-deserts, climate scenarios predict even lower precipitation levels. A team of researchers led by Katja Tielbörger from the University of Tübingen has now discovered that certain plant species can evolve very quickly under drought conditions.
Environment - 24.08.2020 
Biodiversity: Findings of experimental sites are reliable
Much of our knowledge of how biodiversity benefits ecosystems comes from experimental sites. These sites contain combinations of species that are not found in the real world, which has led some ecologists to question the findings from biodiversity experiments. But the positive effects of biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems are more than an artefact of experimental design.
Life Sciences - Environment - 14.08.2020 
Watching changes in plant metabolism - live
Young thale cress seedling (Arabidopsis thaliana) with the fluorescent biosensor in its cells. The false colour image shows the redox status of the NAD pool in the cells and tissue. Rainbow scale from blue (oxidized NAD pool) to red (reduced NAD pool). Almost all life on Earth, in particular our food and our health, depend on metabolism in plants.
Astronomy / Space Science - 10.08.2020 
Dwarf Planet Ceres: Evidence of Active Cryovolcanism
Until a million years ago, dwarf planet Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt, was the scene of cryovolcanic eruptions: below the Occator Crater, subsurface brine pushed upward; the water evaporated, leaving behind bright, salty deposits. This process is probably still ongoing. A team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany comes to these conclusions after evaluating high-resolution camera images of Ceres from the final phase of NASA's Dawn mission.
Materials Science - Chemistry - 05.08.2020 
Battery Research Centre: new international research school opened
Longer ranges for electric vehicles and the effective storage of electricity from renewable energies - these are research topics for the future which PhD students in Münster will be working on in a new international Graduate School. The research centre for "Battery Chemistry, Characterization, Analysis, Recycling and Application" (BACCARA for short) was officially opened on August 5 at the MEET Battery Research Centre at the University of Münster.
Physics - Materials Science - 29.07.2020 
Tailored light inspired by nature
Researchers develop for the first time light fields using caustics that do not change during propagation / Study in "Nature Communications" Modern applications as high resolution microsopy or microor nanoscale material processing require customized laser beams that do not change during propagation. This represents an immense challenge since light typically broadens during propagation, a phenomenon known as diffraction.
Environment - 22.07.2020 
Restoring Nature
An abandoned space in the middle of Münster: in the historic medicinal plant garden, which hasn't been in use since 2016, nature can pretty much do what it likes. At least, it almost can - anyone who fights their way through an overgrown meadow between Einsteinstraße and Schlossgräfte will come across a clearing, about 50 square metres in size, on which meadow plants are arranged in rows of pots standing on black groundsheets.
Astronomy / Space Science - 21.07.2020 
Largest stony meteorite of Germany found: Researchers at the University of Münster confirm
Even in science, chance sometimes produces more thrilling discoveries that the most ambitious plans. In 1989, a homeowner was digging a cable trench on his property in Blaubeuren, in the German region of Swabia, when his spade hit a rock measuring 28 by 25 by 20 centimetres. Upon lifting it half a metre to the surface, he found that it was remarkably heavy.
Environment - Health - 21.07.2020 
Cavefish have fewer cells of the innate immune system
Adaptation of cavefish to low-parasite environment may provide autoimmune disease insight / Study published in "Nature Ecology & Evolution" Cavefish are small, live in tucked away places humans rarely go, and they're common enough that you can find them on every continent except Antarctica. But they also have another characteristic that seems surprising at first glance: They can tell researchers something about the occurrence of autoimmune diseases in humans.
Life Sciences - 20.07.2020 
Reproductive genetics: New gene for male infertility discovered
Impairment of sperm formation: male infertility is not only a concern for those affected but is also something which the working group led by Prof. Frank Tüttelmann is researching into. The Reproductive Genetics team at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Münster is running a multitude of projects as it attempts to get to the bottom of further causes of male infertility.
University of Münster
Results 121 - 140 of 270.
Knowledge Modules for Battery Cells "Made in Germany"
The production of battery cells includes many consecutive process steps. There is mixing, stirring, coating, rolling, cutting and stacking. Scientists at ProZell work to improve the quality of the final product, make production more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. The competence cluster for battery cell production, in which MEET Battery Research Center of University of Münster and Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS) of Forschungszentrum Jülich participate, is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
The production of battery cells includes many consecutive process steps. There is mixing, stirring, coating, rolling, cutting and stacking. Scientists at ProZell work to improve the quality of the final product, make production more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. The competence cluster for battery cell production, in which MEET Battery Research Center of University of Münster and Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS) of Forschungszentrum Jülich participate, is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
In research, the results of studies must be precise and reproducible. For this reason, researchers carried out experiments under strictly standardized laboratory conditions. However, despite the high standards applied, results from individual studies cannot always be reproduced in practice. Especially in cases in which animals are used for research purposes and the original study cannot be repeated, this raises severe ethical questions.
It looks absolutely idyllic, watching the Heck cattle and Konik horses grazing in the meadows in the Emsaue wet meadows near the village of Vadrup. This pasture landscape, covering an area of 33 hectares and used all year round, lies in the Emsaue nature conservation area and was set up in 2004 as part of the implementation of the plan to protect the wet meadows by the River Ems.
It is only 120 millionths of a millimetre in size but can bring entire countries to a standstill: the Corona virus. Even if it were to disappear one day, viral infections will still be among the most frequent and difficult-to-treat diseases in humans. Even decades of research have only produced a few standardized vaccines and strategies for treatment to combat just a small number of viruses.
Much like a zipper, carbene molecules cooperate on a gold surface to join two rows of atoms into one row, resulting - step by step - in a new surface structure. The surface of metals plays a key role in many technologically relevant areas, such as catalysis, sensor technology and battery research. For example, the large-scale production of many chemical compounds takes place on metal surfaces, whose atomic structure determines if and how molecules react with one another.
As the developers of 2-n-way, Dr. Jürgen Schmitz, Dr. Liliya Doronina, Norbert Grundmann, Fengjun Zhang and Dr. Gennady Churakov (from left) are delighted at the publication of their project in the specialist press. Evolution leaves its traces in particular in genomes. Pinpointing its influence is a laborious process - but one in which Dr. Jürgen Schmitz and his team at the University of Münster are at home.
Immunofluorescence staining of the muscle tissue of a chronically diseased human heart under the confocal microscope. Two proteins in the sarcomeres, which give the tissue the characteristic striation pattern, were marked with antibodies and visualized by different fluorophore-conjugated antibodies: titin appears red and actinin green; the nuclei were stained blue.
View of a Drosophila larva (with the head turned to the left). The surrounding glial cells in the peripheral nervous system have been depicted in individual colours by using a genetic trick. To this end, a random combination of a certain set of fluorescent proteins is induced in the surrounding glial cells by means of a systematic expression of a recombinase so that each cell expresses its own colour code and, as a result, becomes visible under the microscope.
How can the lithium-ion battery (LIB) be further improved? To answer this question, MEET scientists around Lenard Hanf developed new methods for capillary electrophoresis. For the first time, this enables a detailed analysis of the transition metal dissolution from LIB cathode materials or the current collector - such as manganese or copper.
Organs in animals and in humans have one thing in common: they are bounded by so-called epithelial cells. These, along with the muscle, connective and nervous tissues, belong to the basic types of tissue. Epithelial cells form special connections with one another in order to prevent substances or pathogens from passing between the cells, i.e. they have a protective and sealing function for the body.
Ecosystems are threatened worldwide by rapid climate change. Plants play a critical role in all ecosystems because they are at the basis of all food webs. For many regions that are already very dry today, such as deserts or semi-deserts, climate scenarios predict even lower precipitation levels. A team of researchers led by Katja Tielbörger from the University of Tübingen has now discovered that certain plant species can evolve very quickly under drought conditions.
Much of our knowledge of how biodiversity benefits ecosystems comes from experimental sites. These sites contain combinations of species that are not found in the real world, which has led some ecologists to question the findings from biodiversity experiments. But the positive effects of biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems are more than an artefact of experimental design.
Young thale cress seedling (Arabidopsis thaliana) with the fluorescent biosensor in its cells. The false colour image shows the redox status of the NAD pool in the cells and tissue. Rainbow scale from blue (oxidized NAD pool) to red (reduced NAD pool). Almost all life on Earth, in particular our food and our health, depend on metabolism in plants.
Until a million years ago, dwarf planet Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt, was the scene of cryovolcanic eruptions: below the Occator Crater, subsurface brine pushed upward; the water evaporated, leaving behind bright, salty deposits. This process is probably still ongoing. A team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany comes to these conclusions after evaluating high-resolution camera images of Ceres from the final phase of NASA's Dawn mission.
Longer ranges for electric vehicles and the effective storage of electricity from renewable energies - these are research topics for the future which PhD students in Münster will be working on in a new international Graduate School. The research centre for "Battery Chemistry, Characterization, Analysis, Recycling and Application" (BACCARA for short) was officially opened on August 5 at the MEET Battery Research Centre at the University of Münster.
Researchers develop for the first time light fields using caustics that do not change during propagation / Study in "Nature Communications" Modern applications as high resolution microsopy or microor nanoscale material processing require customized laser beams that do not change during propagation. This represents an immense challenge since light typically broadens during propagation, a phenomenon known as diffraction.
An abandoned space in the middle of Münster: in the historic medicinal plant garden, which hasn't been in use since 2016, nature can pretty much do what it likes. At least, it almost can - anyone who fights their way through an overgrown meadow between Einsteinstraße and Schlossgräfte will come across a clearing, about 50 square metres in size, on which meadow plants are arranged in rows of pots standing on black groundsheets.
Even in science, chance sometimes produces more thrilling discoveries that the most ambitious plans. In 1989, a homeowner was digging a cable trench on his property in Blaubeuren, in the German region of Swabia, when his spade hit a rock measuring 28 by 25 by 20 centimetres. Upon lifting it half a metre to the surface, he found that it was remarkably heavy.
Adaptation of cavefish to low-parasite environment may provide autoimmune disease insight / Study published in "Nature Ecology & Evolution" Cavefish are small, live in tucked away places humans rarely go, and they're common enough that you can find them on every continent except Antarctica. But they also have another characteristic that seems surprising at first glance: They can tell researchers something about the occurrence of autoimmune diseases in humans.
Impairment of sperm formation: male infertility is not only a concern for those affected but is also something which the working group led by Prof. Frank Tüttelmann is researching into. The Reproductive Genetics team at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Münster is running a multitude of projects as it attempts to get to the bottom of further causes of male infertility.
