The contractile and elastic properties of the heart are finely tuned. This is a prerequisite for the cardiac cycle and efficient adaptation. At the MDC, Michael Gotthardt investigates the underlying molecular and biomechanical mechanisms. He is awarded with an ERC Advanced Grant for this work.  MERAS is the acronym on the recently approved project proposal. It stands for: ‘Mechanoregulation of alternative splicing’. “We would like to understand how the heart responds to environmental factors and adjusts its elastic properties such…

ERC Consolidator Grant for Laura De Laporte and the “HEARTBEAT” project. Scientist Laura De Laporte (DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials and RWTH Aachen University) has been awarded one of the most highly endowed research grants of the European Research Council (ERC): an ERC Consolidator Grant. This will fund the expansion of her research over five years. In her project “HEARTBEAT”, De Laporte and her team aim to grow vascularized, structured and beating human heart tissue in the laboratory….

Kiel Trade Indicator 12/2021: Kiel Trade Indicator, Update January 5,2022: In contrast to the first major wave of the pandemic, world trade has so far not shown any negative swings in the face of the Omicron variant rampant in many countries. Following the latest data update, the Kiel Trade Indicator signals a slight increase in global trade (0.8 %). Overall, however, the single indicators continue to show a mixed picture for trade flows. A strong catch-up process is not visible…

The development of a topological laser network by a team of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat is among the top ten nominations for the “Breakthrough of the Year Award“. On 24 September 2021, a paper appeared in the scientific journal Science that caused a sensation among experts. Israeli and German researchers from the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat presented a new development: a highly effective network of surface-emitting lasers only the size of a grain of sand that act as…

A team led by University of Arizona aerospace and mechanical engineers has been selected for the first round of funding from a national hypersonics consortium. The University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics awarded its first round of funding, totaling $25.5 million, to projects that advance the field of hypersonic flight, in which vehicles travel upwards of five times the speed of sound. Samy Missoum, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona, received $1.5 million to lead the development of…

With $750,000 in NASA funding, engineers work to mitigate and prevent defects in additively manufactured metal parts designed for use in extreme environments. In additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, a 3D printer deposits material onto a surface or mold, letting it solidify one layer at a time until a 3D object – as simple as a plastic cube or as complex as a metal jet engine component – takes shape. Unlike subtractive manufacturing, which involves carving an object…

Two UCSB scientists receive award to partner with Cisco’s new Quantum Research Team. A new collaboration between UC Santa Barbara researchers and Cisco Systems aims to push the boundaries of quantum technologies. Assistant professors Yufei Ding and Galan Moody have received research awards from the technology giant to work with its new Quantum Research Team, which was formed to pursue the research and development required to turn quantum hardware, software and applications into broadly used technologies. “We are pleased to support the research by…

Grant enables study of plants as mRNA factories. The future of vaccines may look more like eating a salad than getting a shot in the arm. UC Riverside scientists are studying whether they can turn edible plants like lettuce into mRNA vaccine factories. Messenger RNA or mRNA technology, used in COVID-19 vaccines, works by teaching our cells to recognize and protect us against infectious diseases. One of the challenges with this new technology is that it must be kept cold…

$6 million NIH grant launches UC San Diego consortium to study insulin-producing cells. Sequencing the human genome — a feat accomplished in 2003 — provided the list of ingredients that make up a human being, but not the instructions that explain how those ingredients are used by each cell type to create complex “meals.” In other words, just because we know the sequence of DNA in a cell, it doesn’t necessarily mean we know how those instructions inform cell function,…

The COgITOR project has been funded by the European Union with approximately 3.5 million euros for the next 4 years. The COgITOR project is aimed at formulating a new concept of artificial cybernetic system, taking its name from Descartes’s maxim “Cogito, ergo sum” and drawing inspiration from the new frontier of robotics that aims to reduce, if not completely cancel, system rigidity. The goal of COgITOR, in fact, is to create a liquid cybernetic system inspired by the cellular world…

A project to unite seismic data analysis and modeling with supercomputing power may help answer some of the biggest questions about the Earth’s seismic activity. A University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute researcher will lead the four-year, multi-institution project. The Seismic Computational Platform for Empowering Discovery, or SCOPED, project involves five universities: UAF, University of Washington, Columbia University, University of Texas and the Colorado School of Mines. UAF associate professor of geophysics Carl Tape is the principal investigator on the…

PhotonicLEAP, a European Horizon 2020 collaborative research project, has been awarded over €5 million Euros in funding from the European Commission to develop disruptive technologies that will drive down the cost of integrated photonic packaging and test processes. Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technologies are the light-based equivalent of electronic circuits – a technology that is becoming increasingly important for existing markets in communications, medical devices, sensors and for emerging markets such as quantum computing and security. However, existing PIC manufacturing…

INERATEC receives EU funding of 2.5 million euros for its alternative technology to fossil fuels and chemicals. With the support of Steinbeis 2i GmbH, INERATEC has submitted a successful application for the EIC Accelerator program. The goal of the funded project IMPOWER2X is to scale, multiply and implement our Power-to-X technology to make it available faster and at lower cost. Because CO2-neutral efuels and e-products will make a significant contribution to a CO2-neutral world. Our dependence on fossil oil causes…

Virtual award ceremony due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on 24.06.2021 as livestream. In 2021, Eppendorf AG, the Hamburg life sciences company, is presenting its highly prestigious research prize for the 26th time. The independent Eppendorf Award Jury chaired by Prof. Reinhard Jahn announced Dr. Tanmay Bharat, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom as the winner of the Eppendorf Award for European Investigators 2021. Tanmay Bharat, born 1985, receives the € 20,000 prize for his…

Photik Scientific takes over Sales Representation for Omicron. German laser specialist Omicron renews its global sales representation in India. With immediate effect, Photik Scientific, specialized in the distribution of laser products for research, industry, and medicine, will market the innovative laser products of Omicron in the Indian market. The laser specialist Omicron-Laserage Laserprodukte GmbH from Rodgau has renewed its sales representation in India. With immediate effect, the entire Omicron range will be offered in India by the distribution company Photik…

The 2Exciting network (GA No 956813), coordinated by Thomas Heine, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry at TU Dresden, Germany, aims to develop the next generation of scientists with high level skills and understanding of the rapidly evolving field of nano – optoelectronics, the study and applications of electronic devices that interact with light in 2D materials, specifically, semiconductors. The goal of 2Exciting is training early career researchers in an unmatched combination of scientific and complementary skills. The trainees will study the…