news 2016

Manuela Baccarini and her team at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna are one step closer to unravelling the mechanisms behind liver cancer. The researchers discovered that RAF1, a protein known as an oncogene in other systems, unexpectedly acts as a tumour suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma.

New experiments have shown that it is possible for extremely high currents to pass through graphene, a form of carbon. This allows imbalances in electric charge to be rapidly rectified. The strong electric field of the highly charged ions is able to tear dozens of electrons away from the graphene within a matter of femtoseconds.

Microporous crystals (MOFs) have a great potential as functional materials of the future. Paolo Falcaro of TU Graz et al demonstrate how the growth of MOFs can be precisely controlled on a large scale. Porous crystals called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) consist of metallic intersections with organic molecules as connecting elements.

Optional moral assessment can promote cooperation more effectively than compulsory moral assessment A research team led by Mathematician Tatsuya Sasaki from the University of Vienna presents a new optimal theory of the evolution of reputation-based cooperation. This team proves that the practice of making moral assessments conditionally is very effective in establishing cooperation in terms of evolutionary game theory.

Chemists are investigating a substance class for biological and pharmaceutical applications Annette Rompel and her team of the Department of Biophysical Chemistry at the University of Vienna are investigating so-called polyoxometalates. These compounds exhibit a great diversity and offer the scientists a wide range of applications.

Whether Peter Paul Rubens or Damien Hirst - the personal taste of art can be argued. Scientists from the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Vienna have now shown that the individual taste of art is also dependent on social factors. The personal valuation of art was influenced by who else liked the work - or not.

"Till death do us part" - for marine bristle worms, these words are invariably true: Shortly after mating, the parent worms die, leaving thousands of newly fertilized eggs to develop in the water. This extreme all-or-nothing mode of reproduction demonstrates a general principle: Animals need to decide if they invest their available energy stores either in growth or in reproduction.

How can quantum information be stored as long as possible? An important step forward in the development of quantum memories has been achieved by a research team of TU Wien. An artificial diamond under the optical microscope. The diamond fluoresces because due to a number of nitrogen defects. Measurement equipment for the production of durable quantum states.

Humans, as well as many other organisms, possess internal clocks. The exact timing, however, can differ between individuals - for instance, some people are early risers whereas others are "night owls". Neurobiologist Kristin Tessmar-Raible and her team at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna investigated that underlie such timing variations or "chronotypes".

Structural health monitoring records the current "state of health" of structures and infrastructure. This allows "illnesses" to be diagnosed at an early stage and treated. Like people, structures and infrastructure age. To prevent serious illnesses such as a heart attack, we humans, for example, can undergo health screening at regular intervals.

The research team around Anton Zeilinger has succeeded in breaking two novel records while experimenting with so-called twisted particles of light. In one experiment, the scientists could show that the twist of light itself, i.e. the screw-like structure, is maintained over a free-space propagation of 143 kilometers, which could revolutionize future data transmission.

Sharp metal needles can be used to emit electrons. A quantum effect opens up new possibilities of controlling electron emission with extremely high accuracy. In an electron microscope, electrons are emitted by pointy metal tips, that way the can be steered and controlled with high precision. Recently, such metal tips have also been used as high precision electron sources for generating x-rays.

Microorganisms like bacteria and archaea play an indispensable ecological role in the global geochemical cycles. A research team led by ERC prizewinner Christa Schleper from the Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology at the University of Vienna succeeded in isolating the first ammonia-oxidizing archaeon from soil: "Nitrososphaera viennensis" - the "spherical ammonia oxidizer from Vienna".

Scientists observe how quantum superpositions build up in a helium atom within femtoseconds. Just like in the famous double-slit experiment, there are two ways to reach the final outcome. It is definitely the most famous experiment in quantum physics: in the double slit experiment, a particle is fired onto a plate with two parallel slits, so there are two different paths on which the particle can reach the detector on the other side.

Scientists from TU Wien (Vienna, Austria) and Germany present the most accurate time measurements of quantum jumps to date. Quantum particles can change their state very quickly - this is called a 'quantum jump'. An atom, for example, can absorb a photon, thereby changing into a state of higher energy.

Astronomers of the Universities of Tübingen and Vienna are investigating the basic principles of the formation of stars "How do massive stars form?" is one of the fundamental questions in modern astrophysics, because these massive stars govern the energy budget of their host galaxies.

It is the Philosopher's Stone of Nanotechnology: using a technological trick, scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) have succeeded in creating nanostructures made of pure gold.

Marine symbiotic bacteria may help to "fertilize" animal growth in the oceans. Microbiologist Jillian Petersen and colleagues from the University of Vienna and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology have discovered that chemosynthetic bacteria in marine animals can fix nitrogen as well as carbon.

How can you produce a magnet with exactly the right magnetic field? TU Wien has a solution: for the first time, magnets can be made with a 3D printer. Today, manufacturing strong magnets is no problem from a technical perspective. It is, however, difficult to produce a permanent magnet with a magnetic field of a specific pre-determined shape.

New insight about how cells dispose of their waste is now given by the group of Claudine Kraft at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna. They show the necessity of a regulation in space and time of a key protein involved in cellular waste disposal.