Science LinX news

Scientists at the University of Groningen have created wearable, stitchable, and sensitive sensors that respond to pressure and can measure body position and movement, just like our skin. They could be used to measure disease progress in Parkinson’s disease, or sense joint movement in athletes.

Biologists have long studied how behaviour can increase the fitness of animals, which is usually defined as their ability to pass on their genes to subsequent generations. In a new book that has been 10 years in the making, three biologists describe the many dimensions that shape the evolution of social behaviour.

Carpediemonas membranifera, a unicellular organism that lives on marine shorelines, misses genes that are vital to copying and distributing its DNA. Eelco Tromer, an evolutionary cell biologist at the University of Groningen, was part of the team that described this strange creature.

A series of brand-new chemistry laboratories has been created on the top floor of the Linnaeusborg building at the Zernike Campus. This is where two new tenure track scientists will activate reactions to create molecules using only light or electrons, and will use new building blocks to create ’next generation’ sustainable materials.

Mag je dieren gebruiken als kweekvat voor menselijke organen? Om deze vraag te bespreken is de Donordierdialoog opgezet.

Science LinX newsletter for October 2021

How do social conventions change? Robotic engineers and marketing scientists from the University of Groningen joined forces to study this phenomenon, combining online experiments and statistical analysis into a mathematical model that shows how a committed minority can influence the majority to overturn long-standing practices.

There is an urgent need to develop algorithms that can select subsets of features that are relevant and have high predictive powers. To address this issue, computer scientists at the University of Groningen developed a novel feature selection algorithm.

The number of possible alloys is astronomical. Francesco Maresca, an engineer at the University of Groningen, developed a theoretical model that allows him to rapidly determine the strength of millions of different alloys at high temperatures. Experiments confirmed the model predictions.

Op woensdag 15 september vertellen boswachter Arjan Postma en prof. Dr. Martine Maan in Forum Groningen alles over de manier waarop dieren en planten zich aanpassen aan hun veranderende omgeving in het kader van de nieuwe meetactie van CurioUs.

Intrusive apps can harvest data which they can then sell. That is why University of Groningen computer scientist Fadi Mohsen and his colleagues have developed an algorithm that ranks similar apps on privacy scores.

Scientists at the University of Groningen have developed a nanopore system that can measure the concentration of thiamine (vitamin B1) in urine in less than a minute by using an engineered thiamine binding protein. This system should also work with other bodily fluids such as sweat, and can be adapted to measure other molecules that are important for good health. Eventually, this could lead to a wearable device to measure important metabolites. A paper describing the system was published in the journal Angewandte Chemie on 14 August.

Hoe geef je leerlingen in het VO de 21 e eeuwse vaardigheden mee die ze nodig hebben, zoals probleemoplossend vermogen, communicatie en kritische en creatief denken? Twee workshops helpen docenten hierbij.

Computer scientists from the Netherlands and Spain have now determined how a deep learning system well suited for image recognition learns to recognize its surroundings. They were able to simplify the learning process by forcing the system’s focus toward secondary characteristics.

Crenarchaeol is a large, closed-loop lipid that is present in the membranes of ammonium-oxidizing archaea, a unicellular life form that exists ubiquitously in the oceans. Organic chemists from the University of Groningen have discovered that the proposed structure for the molecule was largely, but not entirely, correct.

Scientists at the University of Groningen have trained an Artificial Intelligence system to recognize a specific pattern in skin biopsies of patients with the blistering disease epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. The new system is easy to use and is better than most doctors in making the diagnosis.

The death of cells is well regulated. If it occurs too much, it can cause degenerative diseases. Too little, and cells can become tumours. Mitochondria, the power plants of cells, play a role in this programmed cell death. Scientists from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and the University of Pittsburgh (U.S.) have obtained new insights in how mitochondria receive the signal to self-destruct.

Mate choice is important for females, who often invest much more energy in offspring than males. However, being too selective is a bad idea, as they might end up not mating at all. Biologists have wondered for a long time how females optimize their chances. Scientists at the University of Groningen have performed experiments with fruit flies that reveal the explanation: mating induces a behavioural change in female flies that makes them more choosy than when they are virgins.

Wil je weten hoe de luchtkwaliteit in jouw huis is, of wat er 's nachts door je tuin scharrelt? Sinds het weekend van 19 en 20 juni is het mogelijk om meetinstrumenten te lenen in de meet-o-theek in Forum Groningen waarmee je je eigen leefomgeving bestudeert.

Donderdag 10 juni was er een gedeeltelijke zonsverduistering in Nederland te zien. Rond het middaguur schoof de maan een stukje voor de zon, zodat het leek of hier een hapje uit genomen werd..

Light-driven molecular motors have been around for over twenty years. These motors typically take microseconds to nanoseconds for one revolution. Thomas Jansen, associate professor of physics at the University of Groningen, and Master’s student Atreya Majumdar have now designed an even faster molecular motor.

Anupam Mazumdar, a physicist from the University of Groningen, suggests how quantum interference could be applied in the production of a sensitive instrument that could detect movements of objects ranging from butterflies to burglars and black holes.

Physicists in Israel have created a quantum interferometer on an atom chip. This device can be used to explore the fundamentals of quantum theory by studying the interference pattern between two beams of atoms. University of Groningen physicist Anupam Mazumdar describes how the device could be adapted to use mesoscopic particles instead of atoms.

The lockdowns that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, in the recovery phase, emissions could rise to levels above those projected before the pandemic. It all depends on how the stimulus money that governments inject into their economies is spent.

Jouw huis eens van de chemische kant bekijken? Ga aan de slag met de Molecula moleculenspeurtocht! Kom erachter waar in huis je welke moleculen tegenkomt en hoe deze er in 3D uitzien.

Chemical & Engineering News (a publication of the American Chemical Society) recently published two articles on papers by Ben Feringa: one about a muscle that is flexed by molecular motors and the other about a new environmentally friendly process that makes useful building blocks for plastic and pills.

Secretary Tineke Kalter was the first UG staff member to hear that Ben Feringa had been awarded the Nobel Prize. The effects are still noticeable a year later. ‘We still receive dozens of requests every day.’

Egbert Boekema has spent almost his entire academic career working on a single problem: elucidating the structure of the proteins responsible for photosynthesis. His official farewell was on 27 September.

The Origins Centre will tackle questions submitted to the National Science Agenda about the origin of life on Earth and in the Universe. A number of scientists from the University of Groningen have a leading role in this Centre. Part 1 of a series: the background to the Origins Centre.

Ben Feringa is awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Science LinX presents three graphene videos.

A short film on a research project by Sijbren Otto, who wants to create life in the lab via chemical evolution.