news 2020

Infrared light can be used to detect molecules - but it is hard to create strong, short laser pulses. A new solution was found at TU Wien. Ordinary solid-state lasers, as used in laser pointers, generate light in the visible range. For many applications, however, such as the detection of molecules, radiation in the mid-infrared range is needed.

By Barbara Gigler SGS and TU Graz announce the opening of Lamarr Security Research, a non-profit research center focusing on information security and establishing trust in digital systems and products. This new research environment is open for partner sponsors to work together, and to make the world a safer place.

By Christoph Pelzl A project jointly initiated by the Austrian Society for Construction Technology (ÖBV), TU Graz and OTH Regensburg provides a more systematic understanding of shotcrete applications and forms the basis for new, even more durable concrete mixes and thus for more durable tunnels. The service life of tunnels today is designed to last at least for one hundred years - in the case of the Brenner basis tunnel it is even 200 years.

By Susanne Eigner The focus of the new CD laboratory is the reduction of interface resistances within the solid-state battery. The aim is to make this particularly safe energy storage system fit for electric vehicles and other high-energy applications. In recent years, intensive research has been carried out on solid-state electrolytes and materials have been developed which have a similarly high ionic conductivity to liquid electrolytes.

The focus of the new CD laboratory is the reduction of interface resistances within the solid-state battery. The aim is to make this particularly safe energy storage system fit for electric vehicles and other high-energy applications. In recent years, intensive research has been carried out on solid-state electrolytes and materials have been developed which have a similarly high ionic conductivity to liquid electrolytes.

By Christoph Pelzl An international team of security researchers from TU Graz, CISPA and University of Birmingham is presenting new side-channel attacks, which use fluctuations in software power consumption to access sensitive data on Intel CPUs. Power side-channel attacks are attacks that exploit fluctuations in power consumption to extract sensitive data such as cryptographic keys.

For years, physicists at TU Wien have been studying strange phenomena - now they have found an explanation that could help to understand unconventional types of superconductivity. Materials can assume completely different properties - depending on temperature, pressure, electrical voltage or other physical quantities.

The sweet taste of sugar, energy intake and the regulatory process of hunger and satiety To date, very little is known about how sweetness perception contributes to satiety. This study, conducted by an Austrian-German team led by chemists Veronika Somoza and Barbara Lieder, provides new insights into the relationship between the sweet taste of sugar, energy intake and the regulatory process of hunger and satiety.

By Christoph Pelzl The role of the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase 3 in the blood pressure-regulating renin-angiotensin system was investigated in the inter-university cooperation project BioTechMed-Graz. The results could pave the way for new therapies for cardio-renal diseases. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) becomes active at low blood pressure and forms angiotensin II, a hormone that causes blood vessels to constrict, causing blood pressure to rise again.

How extremophilic bacteria survive in space for one year Galactic cosmic and solar UV radiation, extreme vacuum, temperature fluctuations: how can microbes exposed to these challenges in space survive? An international team around Space Biochemistry group at the University of Vienna investigated how the space-surviving microbes could physically survive the transfer from one celestial body to another.

By Christoph Pelzl TU Graz algorithm-based method provides a basis for decisions on the correct amount of tamping measures on tracks, thus reducing their life-cycle costs by up to 20 per cent. Train journeys should be safe and comfortable, and track systems are crucial to this. So-called "tamping" (positioning, compacting and stabilizing) of the ballast in the track bed is one of the most important maintenance tasks in the railway industry.

In order to analyze tumors, they have to be cut into thin slices. Now, a new technology has been developed that makes pieces of the tumor visible in 3D without cutting them. After cancer surgery, the crucial question is: Are there possibly cancer cells left behind that can continue to grow, or has the entire tumor actually been removed? To find out, the tumor is examined by pathologists.

Taking a look at generosity within the crow family reveals parallels with human evolution. Working together to raise offspring and increased tolerance towards group members contribute to the emergence of generous behavior among ravens, crows, magpies and company - similarly as it did for our human ancestors.

By Christoph Pelzl Geological investigations of low-temperature young deposits on the Styrian Erzberg provide paleoclimatology with new data on the earth's history and its development. Additional at the end of the text How has the climate changed in the course of the earth's history? Which climatic processes have influenced the earth and its atmosphere? Paleoclimatology seeks answers to such questions in order to better understand climate changes and to derive forecasts for future climate scenarios.

Decades-old data is being used to describe the propagation of tiny droplets. Now a fluid dynamics team has developed new models: Masks and distancing are good, but not enough. 1/2 images Droplets with a viral load [Translate to English:] Tröpfchen haben begrenzte Reichweite, Aeorsole können aber größere Distanzen überbrücken [Translate to English:] Tröpfchen haben begrenzte Reichweite, Aeorsole können aber größere Distanzen überbrücken Wear a mask, keep your distance, avoid crowds - these are the common recommendations to contain the COVID-19 epidemic.

A panoramic view of the nearby Alpha Persei star cluster and its corona. The member stars in the corona are invisible. These are only revealed thanks to the combination of precise measurements with the ESA Gaia satellite and innovative machine learning tools (© Stefan Meingast, made with Gaia Sky) A telescopic view of the star cluster NGC 2516.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can become more efficient and reliable if it is made to mimic biological models. New approaches in AI research are hugely successful in experiments. Artificial intelligence has arrived in our everyday lives-from search engines to self-driving cars. This has to do with the enormous computing power that has become available in recent years.

A human research team and a machine learning algorithm have found that we need to rethink much of what we know about iridium oxide.

By Susanne Eigner Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. TU Graz researchers have presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a supercapacitor in Nature Communications. Additional at the end of the text Limited safety, sustainability and recyclability are key drawbacks of today's lithium-ion battery technology, along with restricted availability of starting materials (e.g.

Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. TU Graz researchers have presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a supercapacitor in Nature Communications. Additional at the end of the text Limited safety, sustainability and recyclability are key drawbacks of today's lithium-ion battery technology, along with restricted availability of starting materials (e.g.