Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the Fritz Haber Institute Berlin have developed a new method of using rare and expensive catalysts as sparingly as possible. They enclosed a precious metal salt in outer shells, tiny micelles, and had them strike against a carbon electrode, thus coating the surface with nanoparticles of the precious metal contained…
New Class of Catalysts For Energy Conversion
Numerous chemical reactions relevant for the energy revolution are highly complex and result in considerable energy losses. This is the reason why energy conversion and storage systems or fuel cells are not yet widely used in commercial applications. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung in Düsseldorf are now reporting on a new…
Affordable Catalyst for CO2 Recycling
A catalyst for carbon dioxide recycling, Mineral pentlandite may also be a conceivable alternative to expensive precious metal catalysts. This is the result of a study conducted by researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), Fritz-Haber Institute Berlin and Fraunhofer Umsicht in Oberhausen. Pentlandite had previously been known as a catalyst for hydrogen production. By adding a…
Testing Cells for Cancer Drug Resistance
Biophysicists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have demonstrated that Raman microscopy can be used to detect the resistance of tumour cells to cancer drugs. Unlike conventional approaches, this method does not require any antibodies or markers. It detects the response of cells to administered drugs and therefore could determine the effect of drugs in preclinical studies.…
Virtual Brain Gives Insights into Memory Deficits in Depression
During a depressive episode the ability of the brain to form new brain cells is reduced. Scientists of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum examined how this affects the memory with a computational model. It was previously known that people in an acute depressive episode were less likely to remember current events. The computational model however suggests that…
Antidepressant May Help Combat the Course of Multiple Sclerosis
Hydrogen Gas From Enzyme Production
Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin and the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have uncovered a crucial reaction principle of hydrogen-producing enzymes. Teams led by Dr Ulf-Peter Apfel in Bochum and Dr Sven Stripp at Freie Universität investigated the production of molecular hydrogen in single-cell green algae. They were able to demonstrate how the enzyme succeeds in transferring two…
Changes of the Cell Environment Are Associated With Certain Eye Diseases
In case of ischemic injury to the retina, changes occur in the protein scaffold in the environment of retinal cells, the so-called extracellular matrix. Various eye diseases, such as glaucoma, are associated with such ischemic events. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum describe how the extracellular matrix is affected by these processes in the journal Scientific Reports. For…