The mechanism behind ice-forming bacteria

Researchers unlock mechanism of ice-nucleating bacteria

05-Nov-2024 - Particular „Ice-nucleating proteins“ produced by certain bacteria have the ability to control the freezing point of water – so efficiently that no other known material can compete. An interdisciplinary team led by Konrad Meister from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research has now uncovered ...

Femtosecond-fieldoscopy accesses molecules fingerprints at near-infrared spectral range

"This research...has potential applications across various fields, including chemistry and biology, where precise molecular detection is essential"

24-Oct-2024 - In a breakthrough that could revolutionise biomarker detection, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light have developed a novel technique called ‘femtosecond-fieldoscopy’. This method enables the precise measurement of minute liquid quantities, down to the micromolar ...

New method for measuring luminescence lifetime offers breakthrough in scientific imaging

Ac­cel­er­at­ing the pace of dis­cov­ery in sci­ence and in­dustry

22-Oct-2024 - Re­search­ers at the Max Planck In­sti­tute for Mar­ine Mi­cro­bi­o­logy, Leib­niz-In­sti­tute for Baltic Sea Re­search and Uni­versity of Copen­ha­gen in­tro­duce an in­nov­at­ive ap­proach to im­age lu­min­es­cence life­times. This simple ap­proach uses read­ily-avail­able cost-ef­fect­ive ...

Flower Power: Lavender Oil Fuels Batteries for the Future

Unique material created to solve a persistent failure problem

21-Oct-2024 - A groundbreaking sodium-sulfur battery with improved energy performance and longer lifespan? The secret ingredient grows in our gardens: lavender. By combining lavender oil with sulfur, Dr. Paolo Giusto's team has created a unique material that solves a persistent failure problem – polysulfide ...

A breakthrough discovery paves the way for new electronics with chiral materials

Orbital angular momentum monopoles could revolutionize future information technology

01-Oct-2024 - Orbital angular momentum monopoles, which have been predicted to offer significant advantages for next generation of electronic devices, have now been observed for the first time in chiral materials by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle and their ...

Filtering with mussel power

Nanomembrane allows efficient sieving of ions from liquids

27-Sep-2024 - Filters play an important role in many areas of life - from coffee filters to the purification of liquids. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now produced a filter made of a novel, mussel-like material. The filter, which is only around 20 millionths of a millimeter ...

Shedding light on superconducting disorder

25-Sep-2024 - The importance of disorder in physics is only matched by the difficulty to study it. For example, the remarkable properties of high-temperature superconductors are greatly affected by variations in the chemical composition of the solid. Techniques that enable measurements of such disorder and its ...

Exquisite fragrance from the test tube

A simple synthesis pathway for ambrox, which is found in many perfumes

22-Aug-2024 - The fragrance ambrox, which is contained in many perfumes, can be produced more easily in future. A team from the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research and the chemical company BASF has now presented an efficient way of synthesizing the substance. Unlike the chemical process commonly used today, ...

Finely dispersed instead of clumped together

New metal phosphide catalyst developed

12-Jul-2024 - The research group led by Lise Meitner group leader Dr. Constanze Neumann has developed a new type of catalyst that could be of interest to the chemical industry. The scientists have published their findings in the journal "Angewandte Chemie International". Transition metal phosphides have been ...

Significant Breakthrough in Understanding of the Two-State Reactivity Mechanism

Scientists discovered first experimental methodology for measuring low-energy, spin-forbidden transitions in molecular catalysts

02-Jul-2024 - Iron-based catalysts are essential in various fields, including medicine, energy, and environmental science. They facilitate reactions that are vital for producing pharmaceuticals, clean fuels, and breaking down pollutants. These catalysts operate by enabling the directed transformation of ...