Technology Offers

Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes are very promising for application as rectennas for solar energy harvesting, photo-detectors and high frequency mixers. Good MIM diode performance requires a high asymmetry, a strong nonlinearity, a large responsively, as well as a low resistance or a high on-current. These figures of merit are mainly determined by the work function difference of the electrodes, and the barrier height between the insulator and the electrode materials. In the design of MIM diodes, ...

Reversible adhesion can be used to transfer or to manipulate objects. Especially if the objects are small and/or fragile their manipulation become very challenging. Intermolecular forces such as Van-der-Waals can be used to achieve a strong adhesion between the objects. Moreover, surface functionalization and the creation of nano- and microstructures can be used to improve these adhesion properties. Unfortunately, the adhesion becomes insufficient if the surfaces are wet or rough. Another problems ...

The invention relates to a Monte-Carlo program implemented in Fortran 90. It treats the bombardment of incident ions on different target structures such as mono-atomic targets, layer structures or composition target structures. The two general cases considered in the code are the static case, where the target composition is fixed during the simulation, and the dynamic case, where modifications of the target caused by the ion bombardment are taken into account.
A further development of the ...

UV-B radiation is a major damaging agent which causes damage to skin and eyes, results in UV degradation in many natural and synthetic materials and leads to discoloration of dyes and pigments. To persist strong UV-B radiation, plants produce additional antioxidant pigments that belong to the chemical compound family of phenylpropanoids. Since many conventional compounds with sunscreen protection potential do not enter the market due to toxic side effects or bear the risk to become environmental ...

Sprays containing insecticidal toxins have been used for protection of crops since the 1920s, when French farmers started using the entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) with its active Cry toxin ingredient to control flour moths. However, the intense global use of Bt has caused resistant pest populations to emerge, with a large assessment of recent studies identifying 5 of 13 major pest species as having resistant populations. One of the best strategies for mitigating this would ...

This invention introduces a measurement device that utilizes three-dimensional neuronal tissue, specifically retinal tissue grown from stem cells, to analyze neuronal responses. The tissue mimics human retinal structures and reacts to external stimuli, such as light, by altering its electric potential. A specialized read-out system captures these changes in real-time and three dimensions. The technology enables the creation of customizable, tunable neuronal networks with controlled cell composition ...

In optical microscopy, especially within biological and medical fields, image quality is often degraded by light scattering and aberrations, such as often encountered when investigating partially transparent or scattering materials such as biological tissues. By using a spatial light modulator, one can mitigate these problems, but the challenge lies in determining the particular encountered aberration and calculating the required correction. This is additionally complicated by the microscopy imaging ...

Conventional mechanical zippers find manifold applications for luggage, clothing or even industrial applications. However, their design features significant disadvantages. In particular, they require the use of both hands by the user to align the ends of the garment and lock the insertion pin into the slider. This mechanism can be prone to jamming and failure and more generally requires the user to free his or her hands. The user must further use one or both hands to move the slider along the ...

Prof. Alois Fürstner and co-workers at Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung developed a new class of molybdenum alkylidyne catalysts equipped with tripodal silanolate ligands which mark a significant milestone in the field of alkyne metathesis. Their improved stability, functional group tolerance, and ease of synthesis position them as valuable tools for researchers and industry professionals alike, promising to expand the scope of alkyne metathesis applications ...

Ultrasound is being used in many fields ranging from medical imaging and therapy to non-destructive testing, contact-free particle handling or spatially selective heating in industrial settings. Often, those applications require shaping (including focusing) of an ultrasonic field. Compared to existing transducers with fixed lenses or phased array transducers (PATs) the present invention allows much more sophisticated sound fields to be generated using much simpler and cheaper technology.

The development of the cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by Prof. Ernst Bamberg and his colleagues and its application to light-induced modulation of neurons paved the way for the field of optogenetics.
Over time the light-gated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) has become an indispensable tool in neuroscience. Based on the pioneering work on ChR2 new variants have emerged, differing in their spectrum of light absorption, their kinetic ...

To monitor crystallization processes a special camera setup to measure the crystal size and 3D shape distribution was developed.
The setup consists of two high-speed cameras that are positioned orthogonally to one another such that a precise overlap of both fields of view can be achieved. The setup further contains a specially designed flow-through cell that allows to observe the crystal suspension from both camera directions and given the opportunity to temperate the solution within the cell. ...

Die Erfindung betrifft einen Bildleiter, der insbesondere für den Einsatz in einer Umgebung mit radioaktiver Strahlung geeignet ist. In einer solchen Umgebung verringert sich die Transmission des Bildleiters mit der Zeit. Bekannterweise kann die Transmission des Bildleiters durch Erwärmen auf eine Temperatur im Bereich von 100° bis 300° regeneriert werden. Weil dieses Erwärmen bisher in einem Ofen erfolgte, implizierte das Regenerieren des Bildleiters seinen Abbau von seinem Betriebsort, ...

The diterpenoid paclitaxel (taxol) is a chemotherapy medication widely used as a first-line treatment against several types of solid cancers. However, adequate supply has remained a major challenge. Extraction of paclitaxel from natural sources is limited, while the chemical synthesis is complex and economically unfavourable. Currently paclitaxel is mainly produced by microbial fermentation or in plant cell cultures with low overall yields. Ideally, paclitaxel production is reconstructed in a ...

A lightweighted,  long-life, long-range and low-cost Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based tracking system with monitoring app.

The offered invention relates to a device that reduces free-jet instabilities inherent to high-viscosity extrusion injection, facilitating delivery of protein microcrystals for serial diffraction X-ray crystallography.

The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is both an invaluable model organism for plant biology and an attractive biotechnological production system for biofuels and biopharmaceuticals. Despite the availability of efficient methods for introduction of foreign genes into the nuclear genome of the alga, transgene expression levels are usually very poor. This is a serious limitation that has severely hampered both post-genomics research in Chlamydomonas and use of the ...

Database of mass spectral and retention index data of metabolomic reference substances for GC/MS profiling studies.

The connector apparatus incorporates a unique design that allows two or more conductor devices to contact directly, ensuring zero-resistance connections under superconducting conditions. This is facilitated by a pivoting pressing clamp mechanism, which when engaged, applies precise contact pressure to overlapping conductor sections housed within a specially designed connector receptacle. This innovative configuration is critical for applications requiring minimal electrical resistance and high ...

Cryogenic fluorescent light microscopy of flash-frozen cells presents significant advantages and provides an important complement to electron cryo-microscopy. In particular, bleaching decreases drastically at low temperature while the fluorescence yield of many fluorophores increases and the spectral bands narrow. The application of modern super-resolution methods such as STED, PALM, STORM, or SIM at cryogenic temperature holds the prospect of imaging fluorescent proteins with high precision in ...

Lock-in thermography (LIT) is a versatile and very sensitive tool to detect local heat sources in electronic components by 2d-images oft he sample. The DECONV program is a tool for converting these lock-in thermography images into local power density images or simulating LIT images by performing mathematical deconvolution or convolution and uses input image data in ASCII table form. Results are exported as ASCII tables or as bmp-files.

This software is a further development of an older ...

Light microscopy enables fascinating insights into the microcosm of life. It is one of the key techniques in life science and provides access to a better understanding of biology across many orders of magnitude in time and space. The use of visible light allows for minimally invasive imaging - even of living cells - and direct observation with the human eye. However, the use of visible light limits the resolution of the image obtained to about half the wavelength of the used light. The limiting ...

Engineering light distributions in a three-dimensional volume to achieve selective illumination profiles is an instrumental task shared by many optical and microscopy techniques. The optimization of the light distribution can lead to significant enhancement of relevant performance figures and ultimately to the extension of the instrument or experimental protocol capabilities^1,2,3,4,5. Targeted illumination profiles can be used either to mechanically interact with molecules at nanometer ...

This software is based on the paper "Quantitative evaluation of electroluminescence images of solar cells" by O. Breitenstein et al.¹). It allows to load a number of electroluminescence (EL) images to different biases, which have to be given as ASCii tables.

We offer an innovative aqueous composition that promotes ice nucleation at high efficiencies, even at extremely low concentrations of ice-nucleating particles. This breakthrough is particularly relevant in the fields of agriculture, atmospheric science, and the biosphere, where the control over ice formation can significantly impact environmental dynamics and technological applications.

The invention relates to a new and durable system, which brings the possibility of accurate size measuring and simultaneous counting of airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter of up to 2.5 microns.

Measuring the particulate matter contamination in a gas in the range of PM_2.5 is advantageous or crucial for various applications. Monitoring the concentration of the corresponding particles, for example in air, reveals information about pollution. The possibility of aerosol ...

A novel green chemistry process to prepare nanocellulose in efficient, safe and sustainable manner based on the use of eutectic, highly concentrated ionic media is offered.

LEL technology stands out for its precision in fabricating 3D metal microarchitectures with intricate geometries and the ability to seamlessly integrate liquids. It utilizes a voxel-by-voxel deposition method, which allows for the creation of complex shapes with submicron resolution. The process involves optimizing variables like deposition voltage, air pressure, and orifice diameter. A significant advantage of LEL is its capacity to alter the pH and composition of the supporting electrolyte solution, ...

The invention relates to a new monolithic Avalanche Photodiode array with a novel inter pixel isolation structure. The technology allows the design of sensitive photodetectors with remarkable spatial resolution at very fast imaging capabilities for various applications.
Although Avalanche Photodiodes are a convenient tool due to their intrinsic amplification, their use in photodetectors with high pixel densities is challenging due to insufficient isolation of the pixels. Hence their use in ...

A double KO, a conditional KO as well as single KO mouse models for FFA2 and FFA3 (free fatty acid receptors 2 and 3), novel targets for diabetes therapies.

Accurate dispensing device for intuitive, spill free use

Nanoporous membranes consist of pores with diameters in the range of nanometers and sub nanometers that can separate liquid or gaseous mixtures.
One of the key applications of nanoporous membranes is in water filtration to remove impurities, such as bacteria, viruses, and salts. Nanoporous membranes are also used in energy-related applications, such as gas separation and fuel cells. The membranes can also be used as electrodes in energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors. ...

The RNA-programmable DNA-endonuclease Cas9 is widely used for genome engineering, where a high degree of specificity is required. Though this is a mechanism well controlled by canonical base-pairing, there is evidence that Cas9 does accept mismatches under certain circumstances.
This might be seen as a threat to precision needed in genome engineering at least in environments where such high precision is ultimately needed and acceptance of mismatches needs to be avoided, e.g.: cellular gene ...

Mutually delay-coupled phase-locked loops (PLLs) enhance network synchronization by leveraging the self-organization dynamics of interconnected nodes each outfitted with controllable oscillators. These systems ensure stable in-phase locking of spatially distributed oscillators in the presence of considerable signaling time-delays and thereby provide precise clocking signals, e.g., essential for high precision localization services. The scalability and robustness of self-organized synchronization ...

A Cas nuclease such as Cas9 can introduce a DNA double strand break in a sequence target that is complementary to a 20-nt spacer sequence of its bound guide RNA (gRNA) when a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) is present. The gRNA can be provided as duplex of spacer containing CRISPR RNA (crRNA) and trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA). Or as a single gRNA (sgRNA) where crRNA and tracrRNA are fused by an artificial loop.
Hence a gRNA consists of the target-specific spacer and a constant part typically ...

The innovation involves nanofilament-based superhydrophobic coatings designed for membrane distillation (MD), specifically targeting brine desalination and wastewater treatment applications. By coating microporous membranes with polysiloxane nanofilaments, a multi-scale, hierarchical porous structure is achieved, enhancing the membrane's resistance to wetting and fouling without using fluorinated compounds. The membrane's superhydrophobic nature results from nanofilament coatings that ...

A full material Fresnel Zone Plate is a diffractive lens, composed of multilayers of at least two materials to act as the zones of the FZP. Researchers in Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems developed a production method in which alternating layers over focused ion beam (FIB) milled micro pillars are first deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique and then sliced by using the FIB again.

The invention presents a high-precision rotation holder designed for optical components such as polarization filters. This innovative device features a rotor with an axial hollow shaft and an air-bearing system for frictionless rotation. Driven by an airflow turbine, the holder incorporates an angle encoder for precise measurement of the rotational position. Key applications include polarimetry in the terahertz spectrum, enabling advanced analysis of electromagnetic radiation. The invention ensures ...

The Differential Temperature Anemometry (DTA) is a cutting-edge technique that enhances the temporal resolution of flow velocity measurements in thermal anemometry. By leveraging the in-stantaneous temperature gradient of the sensor, DTA provides rapid and continuous data without the need for thermal equilibrium. This innovation represents a significant leap forward, offering high-speed, accurate flow detection for dynamic applications.

The invention relates to a new and easy to use device for real-time monitoring of the thermal power of a nuclear reactor. It is based on the easy to access ¹⁶N decay rate in the cooling water. The robust and easy to implement method significantly improves the safety of nuclear facilities.

Nuclear reactors require high standards of safety and detailed information about changes are needed in order to control them in a safe manner. Besides detailed real-time simulations, direct ...

This innovative ion beam extraction system enhances flexibility in beam parameter adjustment and improves the efficiency of ion beam generation. The system combines an ion source with an adjustable grid assembly, where grid spacing can be precisely controlled via a motorized mechanism. This setup allows for optimal perveance tuning and minimizes beam divergence, significantly improving performance under varying operating conditions. While primarily designed for Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) in ...

A laser device (100), configured for generating laser pulses, has a laser resonator (10) with a gain disk medium (11) and a Kerr medium (12). The laser resonator (10) includes a first mode shaping section (13) which is adapted for shaping a circulating electric field coupled into the gain disk medium (11), and a second mode shaping section (14), which is adapted for shaping the circulating electric field coupled into the Kerr medium (12) independently of the electric field shaping in the first ...

The LITESEC-T3SS (Light-induced translocation of effectors through sequestration of endogenous components of the T3SS) system represents a novel, fast, specific, and reversible method to control protein secretion into eukaryotic cells, enabling various medicinal and biotechnological applications, such as targeted drug delivery for tumor therapy.

Scientists from Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems developed a low-power opto-electronic computing device that is capable of implementing multiple layers of an artificial neural network which is scalable enough to accommodate operation speeds required by modern artificial neural networks.

MARS is a powerful program for robust automatic backbone assignment of proteins. MARS is applicable to proteins with extreme chemical shift degeneracy such as high molecular weight proteins and partially disordered or fully intrinsically disordered proteins. MARS is successfully used in many labs world-wide as evidenced by a huge number of citations.

This disclosure presents a method and device for precisely measuring the frequency of a scanning diode laser. Applications include LIDAR, gas sensing and spectroscopy of integrated photonic devices like microresonators. The method involves a tunable laser, modulated at two distinct frequencies to generate side band resonances while it is being scanned across a reference cavity (e.g. a fiber loop resonator). This setup enables precise and instantaneous measurement of the optical frequency and tuning ...

The present invention relates to a method of generating pulsed coherent radiation in the UV and XUV wavelength ranges. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a radiation source for generating pulsed coherent radiation based on a high harmonic generation (HHG).

The invention relates to a new method for an improved production of random numbers and verification of their randomness. In order to do so, it uses the quantum mechanical properties of microscopic particles and structures. A number sequence is generated by means of a repetitive quantum mechanical random process. The measurement of this process is performed by a homodyndetection of an optical input signal, where the signal interferes with a local oscillator, e.g. a laser, at a central beam splitter ...

Biological fixation of CO₂ is an important process carried out by plants and several microorganisms, which can be harnessed for sustainable, biobased production of fuels and chemicals. Particularly, the fixation of CO₂ by autotrophic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and microalgae can be employed for converting CO₂ into value-added products, such as commodity chemicals or fuels. However, the sustainable autotrophic production ...

The MINSTED method is an innovative technique for determining the position of a singularized fluorophore molecule within an object. Traditional methods in molecular imaging faced challenges in achieving high resolution due to limitations in fluorescence microscopy. Existing solutions like STED (Stimulated Emission Depletion) microscopy improved the spatial resolution but rely on high illumination intensity and/or sample exposure, which can lead to thermal issues and photochemical reactions. MINSTED ...

A synthetic virus-like particle, comprising a lipid bilayer, that can be adjusted precisely to mimic biophysical features of various natural pathogens. The lipid bilayer can also be equipped with relevant molecules such as the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein ectodomain.

A tRNA^ALA heteroplasmy mouse model to study mitochondrial disorders such as encephalomyophathies, that recapitulates symptoms as observed in human patients with disease-causing mutation in the same mitochondrial gene.

Exploiting the benefits offered by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at ultra-high fields (≥ 7 Tesla) requires optimized radiofrequency (RF) coils. MRI at UHF operates in a regime where the RF wavelength is comparable to the dimensions of the sample size, resulting in an inhomogeneous distribution of the transmit field (B₁⁺) and in an impaired image quality. An array of independent transmit coils arranged in multiple rows provides the degrees of freedom to influence the ...

We offer a new family of cationic ligands, namely N-alkyl/aryl pyridiniophosphines. The ligands can be synthesized through a short, scalable, and highly modular route.

Evaluation of their electronic properties evidenced weak σ-donor and quite strong π-acceptor character when used as ancillary ligands.

A group of scientists at the MPI for Polymer Research in Mainz developed nano-graphene structures that can be used as a new class of fluorophores for super-resolution microscopy (SMLM and STED).

They perform like hybrids of organic dyes and QDs: they have excellent environment-independent blinking properties, emit high photon numbers, display high photo-stability, possess low toxicity, have a molecular size below 2 nm, and have narrow excitation and emission spectra.

These nanographene ...

File no.: MI-1012-4430-LI-ZE
(liked to MI-1012-5677-LI-ZE describing the generation of human neural microtissues from NECS cells)

A novel precursor population that forms electrophysiologically functional neurons more quickly than protocols starting with hPSCs.

The technology, called CRISPRpad, was recently developed in  the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens under the direction of Emmanuelle Charpentier and has now been filed for a patent. CRISPRpad enables the simultaneous insertion of DNA into various organisms—from microbes to yeast and human cells—without modifying the DNA itself. This eliminates the need for time-consuming cloning processes across different species.

The invention relates to a new light source exhibiting a high level of spatial incoherence. This enables microscopic imaging with reduced artefacts and low intensity noise. It comprises a pulsed laser whose beam properties are improved is by a multimode optical fiber.
Full field microscopic imaging is an essential technique in medicine and beyond, but the occurrence of noise strongly limits its applicability. Coherent light contributes considerably to the formation of artefacts. Hence the ...

Crystallization is the limiting step in X-ray structure determination of biological macro-molecules. As crystallization experiments can be largely automatized, the diversity of precipitant solutions is often the determinant factor to obtain crystals of high quality.

Biomarkers of ageing have long been sought after to help assess the biological age and general health status of individuals. Considerable efforts have been invested to identify such biomarkers, including physiologic readouts, metabolic parameters, glycomic profiles and others. Nevertheless, markers with strong predictive power have remained elusive.

Work in model organisms has identified several conserved signaling pathways that extend life span, such as reduced insulin/IGF signaling and ...

Rust and smut fungi are plant pathogens which cause diseases of considerable relevance in agriculture. Both fungi are biotrophic and require living plant tissue for proliferation. Instead of killing their host plants, they manipulate host cells to assure that these sustain fungal growth. During the infection, the fungi release an entire cocktail of so-called effectors which function either in the interaction zone between fungus and host or are delivered to plant cells. Effector proteins suppress ...

Besides its four canonical nucleotides, RNA molecules can be capped with diverse canonical (N7-methylguanosine (m7G)) and non-canonical chemical modifications (including NAD, FAD, Coenzyme A and Ap(n)A). In ligation-based methods such as 5′ RACE and RNA-seq, decapping of RNAs is useful for detection and identification of RNA containing non-canonical initiating nucleotides. Nudix hydrolases, such as Dcp2 or NudC, are key decapping enzymes that hydrolyze phosphodiester bonds within these caps. ...

Pancreatic cancer continues to pose significant challenges in the field of oncology, with dismal survival rates and limited treatment options. Patients diagnosed with this aggressive malignancy often face an uphill battle, with a five-year relative survival rate of just 11%.

Ras proteins are well-known as pivotal regulators of cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation, with their dysfunction implicated ...

Cancer stands as the second-leading cause of human death worldwide, following closely behind cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, with a prevalence that continues to rise.

Pancreatic cancer, in particular, continues to challenge the field of oncology with a 5-years survival rate of 11% and limited treatment options. Hematologic malignancies have also seen a steady rise in incident cases since 1990, ...

This invention relates to an optical fiber vacuum feedthrough designed to transmit optical signals between the inside and outside of the vacuum chamber. Traditional methods often require frequent replacement of flanges or optical fibers due to leakage over time, and the high pressure applied to the optical fibers led to transmission losses. In order to address these issues, the presented optical fiber feedthrough comprises a compression device which compresses sealing elements axially along the ...

For the evaluation of crystallisation processes, process parameters like temperature and concentration can be easily measured. However, to measure the crystal size distribution continuously is a challenging task.
Different methods relaying on back scattering or reflection of monochromatic light can be applied that yield chord-length distributions, which often deviate from the actual crystal or particle size distribution. For analysing the true crystal dimensions and, additionally, the crystal ...

The mRNA processing factor YBX1 is a novel target in Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), which in an combinatorial inhibitor treatment with JAK inhibitors completely overcomes disease persistance.

A process for parallel synthesis of glycans on cellulose membranes by using a novel VaporSPOT method and an experimental setup that ensures controlled conditions suitable for glycosylation reactions.

Point patterns are characterized by their density and correlation. While spatial variation of density is well-understood, analysis and synthesis of spatially-varying correlation is an open challenge. We offer a tool for intuitively editing point patterns, based on a compact representation for spatially varying correlation. We can map point patterns to common three-channel raster images, enabling manipulation with off-the-shelf image editing software. To synthesize back point patterns, we propose ...

This invention presents a series of photoactivatable fluorescent dyes characterized by their hydrophilic caging groups. These novel compounds are primarily designed for bioimaging applications, allow for controlled photoactivation at the desired wavelengths and exhibit enhanced solubility in aqueous environments. The technology facilitates high-precision imaging techniques, including super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and single-molecule tracking, by enabling precise spatial and temporal ...

The invention relates to a new device for precise large-angle beam steering at an extended wavelength range. It is based on an electrically-controlled metasurface and allows for the implementation in advanced LIDAR systems.

Metasurfaces are used to change properties of light and can therefore be used to steer an incoming beam. However, common devices are lacking spatial resolution and are thus limited to small angles. Furthermore, state-of-the-art metasurfaces for respective applications ...

Mesoporous materials present a large surface-to-volume ratio providing sites for catalysis, molecular separation, adsorption or chemical sensing. Some of the classical mesoporous materials employed include silica, alumina, zirconia, zeolites, and other diverse oxides such Ti or Co, and they are synthetized by routes as self-assembly, sol-gel, spray drying and some variations of these methods known in the state of the art. Additionally, some elements of the platinum group such as Pd, Ru, and their ...

X-ray Detector Software for processing single-crystal monochromatic diffraction data recorded by the rotation method.

This technology pertains to rare earth metal-free hard magnets with hexagonal or trigonal crystal symmetry. The magnets consist of ternary intermetallic compounds with the general composition X_aX’_bY_cZ_d, where X and X' are 3d transition metals, Y is a 4d or 5d transition metal, and Z is a main group element of groups 13, 14 and 15. The compounds exhibit high uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy, making them suitable for permanent magnetic materials ...

In the last decade, high-resolution computed tomography (CT) and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) have been increasingly used in anthropological studies and as a complement to traditional histological techniques. This is due in large part to the ability of CT techniques to nondestructively extract three-dimensional representations of bone structures. Despite prior studies employing CT techniques, no completely reliable method of bone segmentation has been established.

The invention relates to a newly developed image processing method for optical coherence tomography (OCT) to be used in particular on the (human) eye’s anterior chamber. Said OCT images are used to diagnose glaucoma, but the required assessing methods are not yet available as automated and fully unsupervised.

Glaucoma is the main reason for irreversible blindness. Early-stage diagnosis is typically based on images of the anterior chamber. Various automated techniques for image analysis ...

The invention enables a fast and effective safety for persons (or obstacles) being in danger of hitting the beam of powerful lasers like YAG lasers. While being extremely powerful, the YAG laser light is invisible to the human eye. The safety mechanism is based on a harmless, visible laser light, i.e., cylindrically surrounding the YAG beam a shutter mechanism (i.e., with an entrance of cylindrical symmetry and made of synthetic material). The safety laser light is controlled by a ring (or sector) ...

This advanced beehive panel system revolutionizes hive management with precise, real-time control of the 3-dimensional temperature distribution inside the honey bee colony. The technology developed makes it possible to maintain and restore the optimal thermal homeostasis in the hive after and during the action of external stressors, strongly supporting the optimal relative density of the bee population. The sensing system is minimally invasive, promotes colony health and productivity, while preserving ...

SIMNRA is a Microsoft Windows program for the simulation of energy spectra for ion beam analysis with incident ions from about 100 keV to many MeV. SIMNRA can be used for the simulation of Rutherford backscattering (RBS), elastic backscattering with non-Rutherford cross-sections (EBS), nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), and medium energy ion scattering (MEIS). Almost 3000 different non-Rutherford and nuclear reactions cross-sections for incident protons, ...

Fluorescence microscopy is one of the key techniques in the life and materials sciences, with applications ranging from routine diagnostics to state-of-the-art research investigations. Key to this success has been its intrinsic advantages combined with continuous improvement in its fundamental features such as resolution, speed, and sensitivity.

Two key challenges are fast single-fluorophore imaging of multi-color samples. This need arises in a broad range of settings such as very high-resolution ...

RNA plays a vital role in gene expression regulation, and its dysregulation is linked to diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and viral infections. Targeting RNA-binding proteins or RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs, represents an emerging area in drug discovery. However, traditional RNA-binding small molecules often rely on linear hydrophobic aromatic scaffolds, which limit chemical diversity and therapeutic potential. This invention introduces azetidine-based small molecules, ...

Im Zuge der stetigen Weiterentwicklung und Nachfrage auf dem Gebiet der minimal invasiven Chirugie wurde am Max-Planck-Institut für intelligente Systeme in Stuttgart im Team von Herrn Prof Sitti für patientenfreundliche Magen-Darm-Untersuchungen ein kabelloses kapselförmiges Endoskop in Pillengröße, das sogenannte "B-MASCE" entwickelt. Die aus einem Elastomer bestehende Kapsel dient hierbei sowohl als Gehäuse als auch als Federelement für die Nadel. Über in der Kapsel eingebaute Magnete ...

Natural products from plants and microorganism are potent bioactive molecules that have been widely used in medicine, agriculture, food industry and cosmetics. Increased awareness of the environmental and health concerns of consuming chemically synthesized products has led to a rising demand for natural products that are greener and more sustainable.  Moreover, the increasing frequency of antibiotic-resistant infections clearly demonstrates a continues need for novel antibiotics. Despite ...

Cancer stands as the second-leading cause of human death worldwide, following closely behind cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, with a prevalence that continues to rise. In particular, hepatocellular carcinoma is a significant health concern, ranking as the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and with a rising incidence rate due to increasing levels of cirrhosis and NAFLD/NASH.

Despite recent advancements in cancer therapies, ...

Novel gas exchange membranes based on superamphiphobic coatings applied on metal meshes were created and tested in different applications, like gas scrubbing and blood oxygenation.
By using the novel membrans drawbacks of traditional membranes - like insufficient wetting, plugging and depositions chemical incompatibility and temperature instability - can be avoided.

Two groundbreaking technologies are introduced, offering substantial enhancements to the precision and efficiency of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) by auto-calibrating spin phase information directly from imaging data.
The first invention presents a method to extract spin phase evolution maps – arising from arbitrary spatial encoding fields that continuously oscillate and evolve during signal acquisition – using existing imaging data without the need for additional field mapping scans. ...

Proteins are the main functional units within cells. Their regulated synthesis and degradation are crucial for controlling biological processes. In all cells, protein synthesis is used to respond to extra- and/or intracellular cues to remodel cellular function. Previous studies probing the role of protein synthesis have used chemical inhibitors, often common antibiotics, which are effective but lack functional and cell-type specificity when applied to a mixture of cells.

A method for the stable production of cannabinoids at high yields with the concomitant absence of psychoactive constituents.

The invention relates to a new dynamic optical component based on a metasurface that can be operated electrically at visible frequencies. Realizing pixel level addressability of the metasurface properties paves the way towards the next generation of optical devices for data storage and communication.

Nanoantennas on a metasurface are used to directly change properties of light but are typically limited to static effects. However, state-of-the-art devices with optical reconfigurability are ...

A ultrarapid cryo-arrest directly on a multimodal fluorescence microscope that preserves molecular activity patterns during observation of their dynamics in living cells at any timepoint.

In arid and semiarid regions biological soil crusts (BSC) cover about 1/3 of the soil surface. As far as it is known, these BSC (consisting of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, bryophytes, and other bacteria living in contact with soil particles) are crucial for the global terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycle. The water status plays a major role, since their water content directly controls the activity of these poikilohydric organisms.