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Health - Computer Science - 27.04.2021

Visual analysis for medicine
Cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases are what are known as non-communicable diseases, which are responsible for the majority of deaths worldwide - in Germany, an estimated 91 percent of all deaths are the result of these diseases, and it is a rising trend. Epidemiologists have been studying the development and distribution of these epidemiological diseases, as well as the measures to combat them and what their social consequences are.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 22.04.2021

Scientists provide new insights into the citric acid cycle
High carbon dioxide concentrations are required to allow the central metabolic pathway to run "backwards" / publication in "Nature" The citric acid cycle is an important metabolic pathway that enables living organisms to generate energy by degrading organic compounds into carbon dioxide (CO₂). The first step in the cycle is usually performed by the enzyme citrate synthase, which builds citrate.

Environment - Earth Sciences - 22.04.2021

Plant provenance influences pollinators
Insect decline is one of the greatest challenges facing our society. As a result of the destruction of many natural habitats, bees, bumblebees, butterflies, beetles and the like find less and less food. As a consequence, they are barely able to fulfil their role as pollinators of wild and cultivated plants.

Life Sciences - 07.04.2021

Junctions between three cells enable the transport of substances
Researchers at the University of Münster discover how cell contacts are dynamically remodelled during egg development in fruit flies / Study published in "Developmental Cell" Within multicellular organisms, cells build connections with each other forming cell layers that cover the surfaces of tissues and organs and separate structures in the body.

Chemistry - Physics - 30.03.2021

Researchers first to link silicon atoms on surfaces
Materials such as gallium arsenide are extremely important for the production of electronic devices. As supplies of it are limited, or they can present health and environmental hazards, specialists are looking for alternative materials. So-called conjugated polymers are candidates. These organic macromolecules have semi-conductor properties, i.e. they can conduct electricity under certain conditions.

Chemistry - Pharmacology - 25.03.2021

Chemists achieve breakthrough in the production of three-dimensional molecular structures
A major goal of organic and medicinal chemistry in recent decades has been the rapid synthesis of three-dimensional molecules for the development of new drugs. These drug candidates exhibit a variety of improved properties compared to predominantly flat molecular structures, which are reflected in clinical trials by higher efficacy and success rates.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 23.03.2021

Where and how plants detect the nutrient potassium
Newly discovered group of cells in the root tip reacts to potassium deficiency and directs signalling pathways mediating plant adaptation Potassium is an essential nutrient for all living things. Plants need it in large quantities, especially for growth and in order to withstand stress better. For this reason, they absorb large quantities of potassium from the soil.

Life Sciences - 12.03.2021

New proteins "out of nothing"
Proteins are the key component in all modern forms of life. Haemoglobin, for example, transports the oxygen in our blood; photosynthesis proteins in the leaves of plants convert sunlight into energy; and fungal enzymes help us to brew beer and bake bread. Researchers have long been examining the question of how proteins mutate or come into existence in the course of millennia.

Physics - 01.03.2021

Nanoscale sound waves vibrate artificial atom
A German-polish research team from Augsburg, Münster, Munich and Wrocław successfully mixed nanoscale sound waves and light quanta. In their study published in Optica the scientists use an 'artificial atom' that converts the vibrations of the sound wave to single light quanta - photons - with unprecedented precision.

Materials Science - Environment - 18.02.2021

Three Forward-Looking Research Fields Dominate Battery Research
Smartphones and laptops constantly in use, smart building technology, the expansion of renewable energies, networked charging stations for electric cars or the debate surrounding air taxis: sustainable, safe and efficient batteries are the basis of our lives as well as paving the way for the future.

Physics - Computer Science - 02.02.2021

EU project on development of high-performance photonic processors gets started
Artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as a key technology with fields of application in a wide variety of areas in society. However, researching, developing and, in particular, using AI systems presents enormous challenges for the computing power and storage capacity needed to process large data volumes.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 29.01.2021

Comparative Study on Lithium-ion Battery Series Manufacturing and Alternative Technologies
Research on manufacturing battery cells is gaining momentum - and there is a strong need, considering the future demand for energy storage: For the year 2030, global production of rechargeable batteries will double from today's 750 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year to 1,500 GWh. A recently published review article in the magazine "Nature Energy" on cell production of various battery types suggests that the currently established lithium-ion batteries (LIB) dominate the market of rechargeable high-energy batteries in the coming years.

Environment - Astronomy / Space Science - 20.01.2021

Oldest Carbonates in the Solar System
A meteorite that fell in northern Germany in 2019 contains carbonates that are among the oldest in the solar system; it also evidences the earliest presence of liquid water on a minute planet. The high-resolution Heidelberg Ion Probe - a research instrument at the Institute of Earth Sciences at Heidelberg University - provided the measurements.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 15.01.2021

How plants produce defensive toxins without harming themselves
Plants produce toxic substances to defend themselves against herbivores. In a new study, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena and the University of Münster were able to describe in detail the biosynthesis and exact mode of action of an important group of defensive substances, the diterpene glycosides, in wild tobacco plants.

Life Sciences - Computer Science - 08.01.2021

Schüler und Studierende bauen CERN-Detektor mit Lego nach: Online-Workshop
Spatial and temporal distribution of primordial germ cells (stained in red) in zebrafish embryos. Normally, with the help of an attractant produced in the environment, the cells migrate in a targeted and coordinated manner through the developing embryo and reach the regions where the sex organs are formed (left).

Computer Science - Physics - 06.01.2021

"Wichtig sind Neugier und Interesse, alles andere kann man lernen"
In the digital age, data traffic is growing at an exponential rate. The demands on computing power for applications in artificial intelligence such as pattern and speech recognition in particular, or for self-driving vehicles, often exceeds the capacities of conventional computer processors. Working together with an international team, researchers at the University of Münster are developing new approaches and process architectures which can cope with these tasks extremely efficient.

Chemistry - 04.01.2021

Chemists succeed in synthesis of aminoalcohols by utilizing light
Whether in beta-blockers to treat high blood pressure or in natural products: So-called vicinal aminoalcohols are high-quality organic compounds that are found in many everyday products. However, their production is difficult. For a long time, chemists are trying to develop efficient methods of synthesizing them.

Chemistry - Materials Science - 04.01.2021

Innovative Battery Chemistry Revolutionises Zinc-Air Battery
High-performance, eco-friendly, safe and at the same time cost-effective: the zinc-air battery is an attractive energy storage technology of the future. Until now, the conventional zinc-air battery has struggled with a high chemical instability, parasitic reactions which rooted in the usage of alkaline electrolytes lead to electrochemical irreversibility.

Physics - 30.12.2020

Physicists convince with their study in optics and photonics
A publication by researchers led by physicist Prof. Cornelia Denz is among the world's 30 most groundbreaking papers of 2020, according to the journal Optics & Photonics News. In its special annual end-of-year issue, the journal selects the research highlights of the past year in the fields of optics and photonics.

Physics - Materials Science - 29.12.2020

Detective work in theoretical physics
Scientific articles in the field of physics are mostly very short and deal with a very restricted topic. A remarkable exception to this is an article published recently by physicists from the Universities of Münster and Düsseldorf. The article is 127 pages long, cites a total of 1075 sources and deals with a wide range of branches of physics - from biophysics to quantum mechanics.