Diabetes: Risk Factor Air Pollution
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- Written by Helmholtz Zentrum München - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt
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Exposure to air pollution at the place of residence increases the risk of developing insulin resistance as a pre-diabetic state of type 2 diabetes. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München, in collaboration with colleagues of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), reported these results in the journal ‘Diabetes’.
Improving heating-based components with foam
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- Written by FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz-Institut für Informationsinfrastruktur GmbH
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The energy efficiency of heat exchangers, convectors and cooling elements can be improved even further. Open-pore structures made of metal foam, which have good thermal conductivity and a large surface, offer interesting possibilities here. The BINE Projektinfo brochure entitled "Metal foam – a material for heat engineering" (11/2016) presents the development work for these materials. The aim is to optimise the manufacturing process, reduce costs and test the materials on test rigs. The material properties of the different alloys will be recorded in a database.
Breakthrough in materials science: Kiel research team can bond metals with nearly all surfaces
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- Written by Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
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How metals can be used depends particularly on the characteristics of their surfaces. A research team at Kiel University has discovered how they can change the surface properties without affecting the mechanical stability of the metals or changing the metal characteristics themselves. This fundamentally new method is based on using an electro-chemical etching process, in which the uppermost layer of a metal is roughened on a micrometer scale in a tightly-controlled manner. Through this “nanoscale-sculpturing” process, metals such as aluminium, titanium, or zinc can permanently be joined with nearly all other materials, become water-repellent, or improve their biocompatibility.
Aachen – The 3D Valley
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Lasertechnik ILT
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Major players in the aerospace and automotive sectors are modifying 3D printing processes for use in large-scale production, while small and medium-sized companies also increasingly recognize the technology’s huge potential. However, the costs and know-how associated with 3D printing still represent major obstacles to its introduction. Now researchers and manufacturers have joined forces in Aachen to offer users customized solutions.
Virtual Reality: Tile Based HEVC Video – Enabler for high quality VR streaming from Fraunhofer HHI
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Nachrichtentechnik Heinrich-Hertz-Institut
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High-resolution content is required to foster a sense of immersion in VR video applications, but the large amount of data poses a challenge to established transport means and the limits of video decoders. Lightweight merging of HEVC Tiles allows to easily adapt the 360 degree video data stream to the current VR user viewport without transcoding to significantly reduce the required data rates. At this year’s trade fair IBC in Amsterdam the Fraunhofer HHI will show this technology (Hall 8, Booth B80).
Effect of humidity on graphene sensors demistified
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- Written by Graphenea Inc.
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Graphene produced with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) will form the cornerstone of future graphene-based chemical, biological, and other types of sensors. Graphene, however, is extremely sensitive to air, in particular to humidity. To avoid unwanted background coming from humidity and to calibrate future sensors, it is highly important to investigate the mechanisms by which water (in the form of environmental humidity) affects graphene sheets.
Nanotechnology Supports Treatment of Malignant Melanoma
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- Written by Universität Basel
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Changes in the genetic make-up of tissue samples can be detected quickly and easily using a new method based on nanotechnology. This report researchers from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute, the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel in first clinical tests with genetic mutations in patients with malignant melanoma. The journal Nano Letters has published the study.
Helpers for energy acquisition from plants
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- Written by Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
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Research into plant cells is far from complete. Scientists under the biochemist Professor Peter Dörmann at Universität Bonn have now succeeded in describing the function of chloroplasts in more detail. These are plant and algal cell structures that are responsible for photosynthesis. The results have now been published in the scientific journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA" (PNAS).
Aerobic processes compete for nitrogen in oxygen minimum zones
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für marine Mikrobiologie
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At the margins of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) at ultralow oxygen concentrations, aerobic ammonium and nitrite oxidizers compete for nitrogen with anaerobic microorganisms. Thus they play an important but so far overlooked role in controlling nitrogen loss in OMZs.
Circulating Immune Cells as Biomarkers for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
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- Written by Helmholtz Zentrum München - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt
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Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München, a partner in the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), have discovered that the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) is increased in the blood of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The higher the number of MDSC, the more limited the lung function. The findings on this new biomarker have now been published in the ‘European Respiratory Journal’.
New techniques and opportunities for 3D component coating
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Organische Elektronik, Elektronenstrahl- und Plasmatechnik FEP
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The Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, one of the leading research and development partners for development of surface technologies, is introducing its new 3D electron beam deposition equipment named NOVELLA following its successful commissioning. NOVELLA offers new avenues and opportunities for efficient high-rate electron beam deposition of 3D components.
SES and Fraunhofer HHI demonstrate Virtual Reality via satellite
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Nachrichtentechnik Heinrich-Hertz-Institut
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R&D showcase at IBC will offer viewers a fully immersive virtual reality experience
DNA structure influences the function of transcription factors
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Genetik
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Spatial arrangement of the binding site and neighbouring segments modulates gene activity
Ultrashort and Extremely Precise
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- Written by Universität Innsbruck
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A group of theoretical physicists headed by Oriol Romero-Isart from the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information and the University of Innsbruck observes a surprising quantum effect when short light pulses interact with matter. In the future, this effect may be used for developing a completely new type of far-field light nanoscopes.
CRISPR/Cas9 technology to inactivate cancer mutations
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- Written by Technische Universität Dresden
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As for many other biomedical and biotechnology disciplines, the genome scissor “CRISPR/Cas9” also opens up completely new possibilities for cancer research. Scientists of the National Center for Tumor Disease (NCT), the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) and the Medical Faculty of the TU Dresden have shown that mutations that act as cancer drivers can be targeted and repaired. The most relevant mutations could therefore be diagnosed faster, improving personalized therapies.
Secure networks for the Internet of the future
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- Written by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
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Two new projects at the University of Würzburg's Institute of Computer Science receive nearly EUR 750,000 worth of funding. The institute is working to make secure and efficient networks for the Internet of the future happen.