In the future, quantum physics could become the guarantor of secure information technology. To achieve this, individual particles of light—photons—are used for secure transmission of data. Findings by physicists from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research could play a key role. The researchers accidentally came across a light source that generates a photon…
Lasers and Shellfish Reveal Clues into Ancient Climate
Shellfish played a significant role in the diet of prehistoric coastal populations, providing valuable nutrients. They are a common find in archaeological sites all over the world, usually in huge numbers, and researchers have long explored how they could be used to make inferences about the environments that humans experienced at those locations in the…
Scientists Identify Protein That Controls Leaf Growth and Shape
In autumn, it is not only the colours that catch the eye, but also the different sizes and shapes of leaves. But what makes leaves of different plants differ so much in their shapes? Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne have now discovered how a protein called LMI1 can…
Stiff Fibers Spun from Slime
Nature is an excellent teacher – even for material scientists. Researchers, including scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, have now observed a remarkable mechanism by which polymer materials are formed. In order to capture prey, velvet worms shoot out a sticky secretion that stiffens into strong threads under the action of…
Sharp X-Ray Pulses from Atomic Nucleus
X-rays make the invisible visible: they permit the way materials are structured to be determined all the way down to the level of individual atoms. In the 1950s it was x-rays which revealed the double-helix structure of DNA. With new x-ray sources, such as the XFEL free-electron laser in Hamburg, it is even possible to…
The First Genome Data From Ancient Egyptian Mummies
An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the University of Tuebingen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, successfully recovered and analyzed ancient DNA from Egyptian mummies dating from approximately 1400 BCE to 400 CE, including the first genome-wide nuclear data from three individuals, establishing ancient Egyptian…
Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat is Fastest Flyer in Animal Kingdom
Up to now, the speed record for horizontal flight was held by birds from the swift family: the common swift, for example, can reach speeds of over 100 kilometres per hour. Together with colleagues from the USA, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell have now discovered a new front-runner among the…
Shape-Programmable Miniscule Robots
One day, microrobots may be able to swim through the human body like sperm or paramecia to carry out medical functions in specific locations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed functional elastomers, which can be activated by magnetic fields to imitate the swimming gaits of natural flagella, cilia…
Shaping Sound Waves in 3D
Sound can now be structured in three dimensions. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the University of Stuttgart have found a way of generating acoustic holograms, which could improve ultrasound diagnostics and material testing. The holograms can also be used to move and manipulate particles. Peer Fischer, a Research Group Leader…
Hereditary Diseases Are the Price of Protection Against Infections
Behind the Scenes of Protostellar Disk Formation
For a long time the formation of protostellar disks – a prerequisite to the formation of planetary system around stars – has defied theoretical astrophysicists: In a dense, collapsing cloud of gas and dust, the magnetic field would be dragged to the centre as well resulting in a braking effect. Hardly any rotationally supported disk…