news 2025

ISTA scientists present new microscopy method to reconstruct mammalian brain tissue Our brain is a complex organ. Billions of nerve cells are wired in an intricate network, constantly processing signals, enabling us to recall memories or to move our bodies. Making sense of this complicated network requires a precise look into how these nerve cells are arranged and connected.

New property of graphene revealed by ultra-clean airless measurement Environment Graphene is a "miracle material": mechanically extremely strong and electrically highly conductive, ideal for related applications. Using a worldwide unique method physicists at the University of Vienna led by Jani Kotakoski have for the first time made graphene drastically more stretchable by rippling it like an accordion.

An international team of scientists led by the Medical University of Vienna has identified similarities in the mechanisms of diabetes and cancer: as the researchers show, the protein PPAR', which is central to the regulation of metabolic processes, can also influence the growth of prostate cancer cells.

A technical trick has been used to simulate a speed of light of only 2 m/s in the laboratory. This made it possible to reproduce the relativistic Terrell-Penrose effect for the first time. When an object moves extremely fast - close to the speed of light - certain basic assumptions that we take for granted no longer apply.

A research team at TU Graz has developed a system for structural monitoring that can be integrated directly into structural management and used sustainably for preventive maintenance planning. The safety and durability of transport and building infrastructure are in the interests of both operators and users.

Concentrations as high as those by a busy road illustrate the importance of solutions Those who climb indoors are doing something for their health. But climbing shoes contain chemicals of concern that can enter the lungs of climbers through the abrasion of the soles. In a recent study, researchers from the University of Vienna and EPFL Lausanne have shown for the first time that high concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals from climbing shoe soles can be found in the air of bouldering gyms, in some cases higher than on a busy street.

Oral mucositis (OM) is an inflammation of the oral mucosa and is a common complication in patients following allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Although the percentage of those affected is around 76 percent, there are currently no strategies for risk assessment. A research team at MedUni Vienna has now comprehensively and systematically analysed the already known link between oral health and the risk of OM for the first time.

Bizarre quantum phenomenon more common than anticipated, ISTA physicists show A surprising quantum phenomenon that goes against the universe's drive for increased chaos might not be all too exotic after all. So far, quantum many-body scars were thought to exist only under specific experimental conditions.

An international team led by Fabian Garmroudi has succeeded in producing new, efficient thermoelectric materials that could compete with state-of-the-art materials, offering greater stability and lower cost. Thermoelectric materials enable the direct conversion of heat into electrical energy. This makes them particularly attractive for the emerging "Internet of Things", for example for the autonomous energy supply of microsensors and other tiny electronic components.

A recent study led by the Medical University of Vienna shows that the haematocrit value, i.e. the proportion of red blood cells in blood volume, has a direct influence on blood sugar levels. The researchers were able to show that an increase in the number of red blood cells directly causes a decrease in blood sugar.

Researchers identify the benefits of participating in art-viewing activities Simply looking at visual art, visiting a museum, or having art in your hospital room can enhance well-being, particularly repeated engagement, which can increase the meaning we feel in life, according to a new international study led by researchers from the University of Vienna.

Together with the company BRAVE Analytics, researchers at TU Graz have developed a method for detecting nanoplastics in liquids and determining their composition. Microplastics and the much smaller nanoplastics enter the human body in various ways, for example through food or the air we breathe. A large proportion is excreted, but a certain amount remains in organs, blood and other body fluids.

Differences between the fireplaces indicate ingenious use Whether for cooking, heating, as a light source or for making tools - it is assumed that fire was essential for the survival of people in the Ice Age. However, it is puzzling that hardly any well-preserved evidence of fireplaces from the coldest period of the Ice Age in Europe has been found so far.

Multiple antibiotic resistance is auxiliary to bacterial fitness and adaptability Could a gene regulatory network in gut microbes have evolved its elaborate and tightly regulated molecular machinery only to pump out antibiotics indiscriminately? Researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) show this is an auxiliary function.

A recent study reports the first direct observation of merging star clusters in the nuclear region of dwarf galaxies in Nature . The team was studying observations from the Hubble Space telescope, which were led by Francine Marleau from the University of Innsbruck. This detection confirms the feasibility of this formation route for nuclei in dwarf galaxies, which has long been debated.

The preservation of at least some glacier ice in the Tyrolean Alps depends largely on whether the global temperature limit of +1.5 °C is maintained. If the global average temperature rises above this, all glaciers in the region can be expected to disappear completely - many of them within the next few years.

First report of a new DNA marker outside of microbes, important for sperm function Could it be that one of only three known markers directly targeting the DNA does not exist outside the realm of microbes? Now, researchers led by Xiaoqi Feng at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have demonstrated that this marker-N4-methylcytosine (4mC)-is essential for sperm development and maturation in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha , a key organism in plant evolution.

Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise of our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important as they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. However, until know little has been known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals.

A temporary bacterial infection of the skin can cause long-lasting changes in the immune system and increase allergic inflammation. This is the result of a study led by the Medical University of Vienna and the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine, which has just been published in the leading journal "Science Immunology".

Quantum states can only be prepared and observed under highly controlled conditions. A research team from Innsbruck, Austria, has now succeeded in creating so-called hot Schrödinger cat states in a superconducting microwave resonator. The study, recently published in Science Advances , shows that quantum phenomena can also be observed and used in less perfect, warmer conditions.