news 2018

Under the leadership of TU Graz, an international research team has developed a contrast medium concept for MRI, promising unprecedented features in medical imaging. Molecular imaging techniques are playing an increasingly important role in medical diagnostics and developing new treatment methods. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the fields of chemistry, material sciences, biomedicine, quantum physics and toxicology has managed to develop the foundations for a novel contrast medium for in the framework of the FET Open EU excellence programme.

Biochips have been developed at TU Wien (Vienna), on which tissue can be produced and examined. This allows supplying the tissue with different substances in a very controlled way. Cultivating human cells in the Petri dish is not a big challenge today. Producing artificial tissue, however, permeated by fine blood vessels, is a much more difficult task.

In an industrial collaboration project, TU Wien has developed a medication that can alleviate or even completely eliminate the symptoms of celiac disease. It should be available as early as 2021. Celiac disease is a fairly common disease, affecting one to two percent of the European population. It is expressed as a hypersensitivity to gluten, a protein found in cereals such as wheat, barley or rye.

The MoreGrasp Horizon2020 research project under the leadership of TU Graz is coming to an end with significant results in the field of thought-controlled grasp neuroprosthetics. A large-scale feasibility study is underway. Additional at the end of the text. The beginning of the MoreGrasp project was marked by the idea of a groundbreaking further development of grasp neuroprosthetics activated by thought control.

Chemists from the University of Vienna finally find a surprisingly simple reaction to make a family of bioactive molecules Many natural products and drugs feature a so-called dicarbonyl motif - in certain cases however their preparation poses a challange to organic chemists. In their most recent work, Nuno Maulide and his coworkers from the University of Vienna present a new route for these molecules.

In order to better understand important biological membranes, it is necessary to explore new methods. Researchers at TU Wien (Vienna) have succeeded in creating an artificial placental barrier on a chip, using a high-resolution 3D printing process. The placenta has an essential and highly complex task: it must ensure the exchange of important substances between the mother and her unborn child, whilst simultaneously blocking other substances from passing through.

What happens when T cells detect suspicious activity in the body? Researchers from the TU Wien and the Medical University of Vienna have revealed that immune receptors of T cells operate in unsuspected ways. Every T cell receptor of the living T cell (left) is marked with a special marker molecule. The bottom part of the cell can be imaged with a highly sensitive microscope.

By Birgit Baustädter Biomechanical engineer Justyna Niestrawska investigates the mechanical behaviour of the aorta at TU Graz and represents it using mathematical formulas. And wins the German Aorta Prize while doing so. What has mechanical engineering got in common with the human body? Can you explain biological processes like the operations of a machine? The biomechanical engineer Justyna Niestrawska can answer these questions - straight out of her daily work.

Writing in Water Research, researchers from TU Graz and the University of Graz discuss new materials that prevent damage from microbial induced concrete corrosion. More pictures available at the end of the text Wastewater systems are integral to infrastructure in every community. In an ideal world, they operate smoothly and are long-lasting.