Science LinX news
| Date: | 06 May 2021 |
In spintronics, the magnetic moment of electrons (spin) is used to transfer and manipulate information. Experiments by physicists at the University of Groningen suggest that magnetic graphene can be the ultimate choice for these 2D spin-logic devices as it efficiently converts charge to spin current and can transfer this strong spin-polarization over long distances.
| Date: | 06 May 2021 |
When studying the enzyme that is responsible for producing cardiolipins in archaea (single-cell organisms that constitute a separate domain of life), biochemists at the University of Groningen made a surprising discovery. A single archaeal enzyme can produce a spectacular range of natural and non-natural cardiolipins, as well as other phospholipids.
| Date: | 22 April 2021 |
The Advanced Research Center Chemical Building Blocks Consortium (ARC CBBC) will celebrate its fifth anniversary by embarking on a new phase. With UG Professor and Nobel Prize winner Ben Feringa and Spinoza Prize winner Bert Weckhuysen at the helm, a growing number of universities, companies and government organizations intend to spend the next few years working together to find powerful solutions to reduce the ecological footprint of the chemical industry. Their aim is to supply society with cleaner, smarter, circular products by deploying excellent research, by training talented researchers and by developing and using unique measuring instruments.
| Date: | 21 April 2021 |
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered some seventy years ago, are famous for containing the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and many hitherto unknown ancient Jewish texts. Now, by combining the sciences and the humanities, University of Groningen researchers have cracked the code.
| Date: | 15 April 2021 |
Hafnium-based thin films, with a thickness of only a few nanometres, show an unconventional form of ferroelectricity. This allows the construction of nanometre-sized memories or logic devices. However, it was not clear how ferroelectricity could occur at this scale. A study that was led by scientists from the University of Groningen showed how atoms move in a hafnium-based capacitor: migrating oxygen atoms (or vacancies) are responsible for the observed switching and storage of charge.
| Date: | 13 April 2021 |
Charging electric cars can put a strain on the electricity grid. And commuting to work by car can cause traffic congestion. PhD student Carlo Cenedese linked energy use and transportation using Game Theory, and produced an algorithm that calculates how enough individuals can be persuaded to adapt their behaviour to prevent both. He defends his thesis on 16 April.
| Date: | 31 March 2021 |
The nucleus is the headquarters of a cell and molecules constantly move across the nuclear membrane through pores. The transport of these molecules is both selective and fast; some 1,000 molecules per second can move in or out. Scientists from the University of Groningen and Delft University of Technology, both in the Netherlands, and a colleague from the Swedish Chalmers University of Technology, have developed an artificial model of these pores using simple design rules, which enabled them to study how this feat is accomplished.
| Date: | 29 March 2021 |
Simulating the interactions between atoms and molecules is important for many scientific studies. However, accurate simulations can take a long time, which limits their use. To speed up simulations without sacrificing too much detail, Siewert-Jan Marrink, Professor of Molecular Dynamics at the University of Groningen, designed a set of parameters that allow fast but accurate coarse-grained simulations. In a paper that was published on 29 March in Nature Methods, Marrink and his co-workers present a third release of what is known as the Martini forcefield.
| Date: | 16 March 2021 |
Simple systems can reproduce faster than complex ones. So, how can the complexity of life have arisen from simple chemical beginnings? Starting with a simple system of self-replicating fibres, chemists at the University of Groningen have discovered that upon introducing a molecule that attacks the replicators, the more complex structures have an advantage.
| Date: | 09 March 2021 |
Polymer scientists from the University of Groningen and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences have developed a polymer membrane from biobased malic acid. It is a superamphiphilic vitrimer epoxy resin membrane that can be used to separate water and oil amd is fully recyclable.
| Date: | 22 February 2021 |
Scientists have developed a method to visualize and quantify alternative structures of RNA molecules. These alternative RNA ‘shapes’ can have important functional relevance in viruses and bacteria.
| Date: | 11 February 2021 |
In Huntington’s disease, a faulty protein aggregates in brain cells and eventually kills them. Such protein aggregates could, in principle, be prevented with a heat shock protein. However, it is not well known how these proteins interact with the Huntington’s disease protein. New research by Patrick van der Wel (University of Groningen, the Netherlands) and colleagues at the University of Texas explains how they work.
| Date: | 04 February 2021 |
Plastics are among the most successful materials of modern times. However, they also create a huge waste problem. Scientists from the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) in Shanghai produced different polymers from lipoic acid, a natural molecule. These polymers are easily depolymerized under mild conditions. Some 87 percent of the monomers can be recovered in their pure form and re-used to make new polymers of virgin quality. The process is described in an article that was published in the journal Matter on 4 February.
| Date: | 03 February 2021 |
One of the properties that make a planet suitable for life is the presence of a weather system. Exoplanets are too far away to directly observe this, but astronomers can search for substances in the atmosphere that make a weather system possible. Researchers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and the University of Groningen have now found evidence on exoplanet WASP-31b for chromium hydride, which at the corresponding temperature and pressure is on the boundary between liquid and gas.
| Date: | 28 January 2021 |
Science LinX newsletter for February 2021
| Date: | 25 January 2021 |
The evolutionary interaction between insects and plants has created complex dependencies that can have surprising outcomes. Casper van der Kooi, a biologist at the University of Groningen, uses an interdisciplinary approach to analyse the interaction between pollinators and flowers. In January, he was first author of two review articles on this topic.
| Date: | 19 January 2021 |
The Seychelles warbler is a cooperatively breeding bird species, meaning that parents often receive help from other birds when raising their offspring. A study led by biologists from the University of Groningen shows that the offspring of older females have better prospects when they are surrounded by helpers.
| Date: | 14 January 2021 |
New physics-based technologies allow scientists to study the dynamics of viruses and may eventually lead to new treatments. In his role as physical virologist, Wouter Roos, a physicist at the University of Groningen, together with two longtime colleagues, has written a review article on these new technologies, which was published in Nature Reviews Physics on 12 January.
| Date: | 22 December 2020 |
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.
| Date: | 17 December 2020 |
The observation of nonlinearity in electron spin-related processes in graphene makes it easier to transport, manipulate and detect spins, as well as spin-to-charge conversion.This brings spintronics to the point where regular electronics was after the introduction of the first transistors.
| Date: | 17 December 2020 |
Organic chemists from the University of Groningen and the Dutch multinational company AkzoNobel, a major global producer of paints and coatings, developed a process that allows them to turn biomass into a high-quality coating using light, oxygen and UV light.
| Date: | 08 December 2020 |
Is gravity a quantum phenomenon? Together with colleagues from the UK, Anupam Mazumdar, a physicist from the University of Groningen, proposed an experiment that could settle the issue. In a new paper, which has a third-year Bachelor’s student as the first author, Mazumdar presents a way to reduce background noise to make this experiment more manageable.
| Date: | 01 December 2020 |
Theoretical studies of the dynamics of photoinduced processes require numerous electronic structure calculations, which are computationally expensive. Scientists from the University of Groningen developed machine learning-based algorithms, which reduce these computations significantly.
| Date: | 10 November 2020 |
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus RNA genome structure was studied in detail by researchers from the University of Groningen, the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, and Leiden University. The RNA structures are potential targets for the development of drugs against the virus.
| Date: | 11 August 2020 |
During the lockdown scientists cannot visit the university. How do they manage to keep on working? PhD student Chris van Ewijk shares his experiences.
| Date: | 28 April 2020 |
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.
| Date: | 19 December 2017 |
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.
| Date: | 03 October 2017 |
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.’
| Date: | 20 September 2017 |
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.
| Date: | 12 April 2017 |
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.
| Date: | 05 October 2016 |
Ben Feringa is awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
| Date: | 27 March 2013 |
A short film on a research project by Sijbren Otto, who wants to create life in the lab via chemical evolution.