news 2020

By Susanne Eigner Researchers at TU Graz in Austria have for the first time ever succeeded in visualizing at the single-molecule level the processes involved in a biological nanomachine, known as the cellulosome, as it degrades crystalline cellulose. The fundamental insights thus obtained could support sustainable concepts of cellulose utilization to make a breakthrough in industrial biotechnology.

By Christoph Pelzl TU Graz researcher Francesco Greco has developed ultra-light tattoo electrodes that are hardly noticeable on the skin and make long-term measurements of brain activity cheaper and easier. Additional at the end of the text In 2015 Francesco Greco, head of the Laboratory of Applied Materials for Printed and Soft electronics (LAMPSe) at the Institute of Solid State Physics at Graz University of Technology, developed so-called "tattoo electrodes" together with Italian scientists.

Using microscopically fine 3D printing technologies from TU Wien (Vienna) and sound waves used as tweezers at Stanford University (California), tiny networks of neurons have been created. Microscopically small cages can be produced at TU Wien (Vienna). Their grid openings are only a few micrometers in size, making them ideal for holding cells and allowing living tissue to grow in a very specific shape.

Michael Traugott and the spin-off company Sinsoma GmbH, together with the Departments of Zoology and Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck, are developing a new PCR system for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This new PCR method works with different analytical materials that are easier to obtain and allow high-throughput testing.

By Christoph Pelzl In the FET Open project ARTIBLED, TU Graz protein-designer Gustav Oberdorfer is working together with researchers from Spain and Italy on environmentally friendly and inexpensive light-emitting diodes. Additional at the end of the text The basis for this vision is being laid at the Institute of Biochemistry at Graz University of Technology , where Gustav Oberdorfer and his team are designing proteins with the help of simulation software.

Researchers reconstruct migration movements through ancient DNA A Team around Anthropologist Ron Pinhasi from the University of Vienna - together with researchers from the University of Florence and Harvard University - found out that prehistoric migration from Africa, Asia and Europe to the Mediterranean islands took place long before the era of the Mediterranean seafaring civilizations.

A new analysis suggests that an asymmetry pattern shared with great apes was adapted for lateralized, uniquely human cognitive abilities The left and right side of the brain are involved in different tasks. This functional lateralization and associated brain asymmetry are well documented in humans, but little is known about brain asymmetry in our closest living relatives, the great apes.

Researchers discover a novel checkpoint in immune cells with the potential to treat the cancer cell microenvironment The recognition of bacterial infections or foreign substances is mediated and controlled by the human immune system. This innate and adaptive immune system comprises the most important metabolic and cellulare processes to fight against infections and other diseases.

Physicists show unique polymer behavior using computer simulations Employing a computer simulation, physicists Maximilian Liebetreu and Christos Likos have shown a unique dynamic behavior of cyclic polymers. Their motion can be distinguished into phases, and the scientists were able to observe the so-called "inflation phase" for the first time.