Science LinX news

Pyrolysis, heating in the absence of oxygen, is a technique to turn wood chips into valuable chemicals. University of Groningen Professor of Chemical Engineering Erik Heeres is involved in producing ‘green gold’ from organic waste.

So, you want to be a scientist? In that case, know that simply mastering your chosen subject is only the beginning. Fortunately, there is a series of books about these three topics, written by University of Groningen Dean of Talent Development Ritsert Jansen.

Scientists at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry at the University of Groningen, together with collaborators from the University of Amsterdam, the University of Twente and the European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy in Italy, have been able to follow the entire sequence of structural transformations in a new class of molecular switches for the first time.

In his latest paper, newly appointed Professor in Energy and Environmental Scienceis Klaus Hubacek describes how Chinese cities export their pollution to neighbouring regions. His work combines economics and environmental science into models that show the global consequences of regional policies.

Taking an evolutionary view can inspire new ideas in clinical microbiology. That is why clinicians, bioinformaticians analysing pathogens and evolutionary biologists should all work together. These are the conclusions of a diverse group of scientists led by University of Groningen microbiologist Marjon de Vos, in a short review published by The Lancet Infectious Diseases on 29 April.

University of Groningen scientists have now shown that a prokaryotic transport protein can transport both L- and D- versions of the amino acid aspartate with equal efficiency. The results were published in the journal eLife on 24 April.

Science LinX newsletter for May 2019

In contrast to popular belief, lightning often does strike twice, but the reason why a lightning channel is ‘reused’ has remained a mystery. Now, an international research team led by the University of Groningen has used the LOFAR radio telescope to study the development of lightning flashes in unprecedented detail. Their work reveals that the negative charges inside a thundercloud are not discharged all in a single flash, but are in part stored alongside the leader channel at interruptions. This occurs inside structures which the researchers have called needles. Through these needles, a negative charge may cause a repeated discharge to the ground. The results were published on 18 April in the science journal Nature.

On 9 April, more than 40 pupils from the Leeuwarder Lyceum and the RSG De Lindenborg from the municipality of Leek visited a farmer to explore ‘sustainable landscapes’. In a masterclass, they got a first impression of the research project that they will be working on over the next eight weeks.

On March 29^th professor of Applied Physics Jeff de Hosson was offered a farewell symposium, a few months after his official retirement date near the close of 2018. ‘But 29 March was the 100th birthday of Jan Francken, my predecessor.’ Besides, De Hosson isn’t about to take up gardening anyway, he is still full of new ideas .

The five groups of pupils nominated for the Jan Kommandeur prize for their final school projects were invited to the Hannover Messe Challenge on 1 and 2 April. This event is the largest technology and innovation fair in the world!

Scientists from the University of Groningen have succeeded in incorporating a light-controlled switch into a molecule used by bacteria for quorum sensing – a process by which bacteria communicate and subsequently control different cellular processes.

Molecular biologists from the University of Groningen and their colleagues in Switzerland and Germany have now developed a pipeline to create and screen large numbers of new lantibiotic peptides. A description of the method and the first results were published on 1 April in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

The University Museum was the venue of this year’s Groningen heat of the international science communication competition FameLab, which took place on 28 March.

The 32^nd edition of the Beta Business Days took place on 11 and 12 March. Beta (science, engineering and technology) students entered the MartiniPlaza to immerse themselves into their future career possibilities.

The 40^th anniversary of the six UG ‘science shops’ was celebrated in style at the University Museum on Thursday 21 March. The Museum’s upstairs room was adorned with scientific posters presenting research carried out by the science shops.

Formamidinium lead iodide is a very good material for photovoltaic cells, but getting the correct and stable crystal structure is a challenge. Now, University of Groningen scientists, led by Professor of Photophysics and Optoelectronics Maria Antonietta Loi, think they have cracked it.

Seychelles warblers live and breed in family groups. In each group, a dominant female and male reproduce. When helpers assist the with incubation and feeding of chicks, the dominant female breeders age more slowly and live longer, a study by biologists from the University of Groningen and colleagues from the Universities of East Anglia, Leeds, Sheffield and Wageningen shows. The results, which are published in the journal Nature Communications, indicate how cooperative breeding – which also occurs in other species, including humans – can increase life span.

Organic chemists at the University of Groningen have succeeded in integrating numerous unidirectional light-driven rotary motors into a metal-organic framework (a solid material with a 3D cage-like structure). Details of their discovery were published on 18 March, in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Vorige week werd bekend dat adjunct hoogleraar Patrick van der Wel van de RUG een subsidie van 250.000 euro heeft ontvangen van het Campagneteam Huntington, een organisatie die via crowdfunding geld ophaalt voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar de ziekte van Huntington.

Using solid-state NMR, University of Groningen Associate Professor Patrick van der Wel and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh have discovered how the enzyme cytochrome c induces programmed cell death.

University of Groningen microbiologists and their colleagues from Lithuania have discovered a new glycocin, a small antimicrobial peptide with a sugar group attached, which is produced by a thermophilic bacterium and is stable at relatively high temperatures.

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.

University of Groningen / Science LinX present five images for Nobel-winning motors by Ben Feringa

Ben Feringa is awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Bart van Wees, Professor of Physics of Nanodevices at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials of the University of Groningen, is one of the four recipients of this year’s NWO Spinoza Prize, the highest distinction in Dutch academia. His research stems from his curiosity about the behaviour of electrons inside new materials, but he has always had at least half an eye on practical applications.

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.