Search Latest News

Latest news from laboratory, environment, chemistry, life science and quality control

• Hidden order and 5f electron density
  URu₂Si₂ is a mysterious quantum material. Thirty years ago an ordering transition was found at 17 degrees above absolute zero temperature from specific heat (entropy) measurements. Since then, this...
• The decline in emissions also has negative implications
  In large parts of Europe and North America, the decline in industrial emissions over the past 20 years has reduced pollution of the atmosphere and in turn of soils and water in many natural areas. ...
• New structural insights into RNA Polymerase I
  Research sheds light on the workings of RNA Polymerase I (Pol I). Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo EM) techniques, scientists from the Müller and Sachse groups at EMBL have now resolved the str...
• New method for non-destructive testing with ultrasound
  Non-destructive testing methods play a major role in guaranteeing quality and safety, driving substantial interest in refined methodologies. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) ...
• Data on nanomaterials need to be fit for the intended purpose
  The JRC contributed to a review and survey of key nanomaterial data, resulting in recommendations concerning the central question on how the completeness and quality of curated nanomaterials data s...
• Improving data analysis in imaging mass spec
  Scientists in Theodore Alexandrov's lab at EMBL have developed the first bioinformatics framework for finding metabolites in large datasets from imaging mass spectrometry. The framework and open-so...
• X-ray experiment opens new route to study biochemical reactions
  With a powerful X-ray camera, scientists have watched a genetic switch at work for the first time. The study led by Yun-Xing Wang from the National Cancer Institute of the U.S. reveals the ultrafas...
• Understanding the stability, behaviour and surface properties of nanoparticles and quantum dots
  Devices based on quantum dots and smart nanoparticles are currently getting a lot of attention. For instance, the colours, contrast and brightness of displays based on quantum dots provide benefits...
• Exotic property of salty solutions discovered
  Water and aqueous solutions can behave strangely under pressure. Experiments carried out at the GFZ using Raman spectroscopy and a diamond anvil cell showed that magnesium sulfate dissolved in wate...
• Innovation Award for new flame retardant
  The Empa Innovation Award 2016 went to chemist Sabyasachi Gaan and his team. The researchers were recognized for the development of new, non-toxic and environmentally friendly fireproofing agents f...
• Innovative process chain for Methanol Synthesis from renewables
  To reduce the consumption of fossil materials in the future, renewable resources are planned to supply basic substances for chemical industry. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) now cooperates...
• Computer simulations provide insight into the function of proteins
  Cholesterol can bind important molecules into pairs, enabling human cells to react to external signals. Researchers at FAU's Chair of Biotechnology have studied these processes in more detail using...
• Chemistry driven by the sun, for a sustainable future
  A group of European chemists including Prof. Joost Reek of the University of Amsterdam's research priority area Sustainable Chemistry has recently published a whitepaper on Solar-Driven Chemistry. ...
• Real-time 3D imaging of living organisms at sub-cellular resolution
  SCAPE (swept confocally aligned planar excitation) microscopy forms 3D images of living samples by scanning them with a sheet of laser light. SCAPE's unique capabilities allow scientists to perform...
• Detection and sizing of nanoparticles in food additive E551
  JRC scientists have proposed a systematic, sequential evaluation scheme involving the use of different techniques for the assessment of the presence of nanoparticles (NPs) in food-grade synthetic a...
• Eppendorf acquires Calibration Technology Ltd
  Eppendorf has acquired Calibration Technology Ltd, headquartered in the National Technology Park Limerick, Ireland, on November 1. 2016. The company will continue to be managed as a wholly owned su...
• Live imaging of large living organisms
  Light-sheet microscopy is one of the most powerful methods for imaging the development and function of whole living organisms. However, achieving high-resolution images with these microscopes requi...
• Cause of high cadmium content in cocoa from Latin America
  A few years ago, the press picked up on worrying reports by German scientists that dark chocolate can sometimes contain significant amounts of cadmium, a poisonous heavy metal. Cocoa beans from Lat...
• Life-ScienceStyle Magazine - Information and entertainment on life in the laboratory
  The new Eppendorf LifeScienceStyle Magazine "Off the Bench" will be published twice a year with a varied mix of informative and entertaining topics that focus on life in the laboratory. This new ma...
• Bromate formation: a problem for wastewater ozonation?
  In the coming years, around a hundred wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Switzerland are to be upgraded with an additional treatment step in order to eliminate micropollutants. The method o...
• Iron-munching microbe discovered
  A microbe that 'eats' both methane and iron: microbiologists have long suspected its existence, but were not able to find it - until now. Researchers at Radboud University and the Max Planck Instit...