http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen Pressemitteilungen und offizielle Meldungen der Pressestelle der Technischen Universität München http://portal.mytum.de/logo.gif http://portal.mytum.de/logo.jpg http://portal.mytum.de/ http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2010-02-24.7174659227 Germany's legendary innovation engine is faltering, according to a report delivered to Chancellor Angela Merkel today, but could – with a major tune-up – help propel the economy from crisis to sustainable growth. Forward-looking recommendations, such as how to move more effectively toward electric cars and the smart grid, rest on sobering assessments of government programs, trends in technology transfer, and conditions for entrepreneurs and investors. This package of analysis and advice came from the federally chartered Expert Commission on Research and Innovation, also known by the acronym EFI. The Bundestag, the German Parliament, is expected to discuss these issues in May and debate what actions to take. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2010-03-12 18:13:20 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2010-01-19.7934213933 Biophysicists at TUM, the Technische Universität München, have published the results of single-molecule experiments that bring a higher-resolution tool to the study of protein folding. How proteins arrive at the three-dimensional shapes that determine their essential functions – or cause grave diseases when folding goes wrong – is considered one of the most important and least understood questions in the biological and medical sciences. Folding itself follows a path determined by its energy landscape, a complex property described in unprecedented detail by the TUM researchers. In this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), they report taking hold of a single, zipper-like protein molecule and mapping changes in its energy landscape during folding and unfolding. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2010-01-19 11:09:04 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2010-01-11.8566165825 An Oscar in the Scientific and Engineering Awards category will be presented this year to TUM Adjunct Professor Reimar Lenz. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will honor the pioneer in the field of digital photography for his contribution to the development of the ARRISCAN film scanner. The scanner enables high-speed, high-precision, and high-resolution scanning of analog feature film stock. The Oscar will also be awarded to Michael Cieslinski and Bernd Brauner from the Munich-based ARRI group (Arnold & Richter Cine Technik), who worked with Professor Lenz on the development of the scanner. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2010-01-14 07:58:30 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2010-01-13.1808713547 As announced in November 2009, Deutsche Börse AG has begun calculating two new stock indices based on research activities of TUM, the Technische Universität München. The DAXplus Family Index and the DAXplus Family 30 Index are the newest members of the DAX index family. The first index tracks all listed German family firms, as defined by criteria developed at the university's Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS). The second tracks the 30 largest German “family firms." An index certificate based on the DAXplus Family 30 is now available to investors. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2010-03-02 11:18:05 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2009-12-08.4720000396 How do plant ecosystems react to rising concentrations of the greenhouse gas CO2 in the atmosphere over the long term? This fundamental question is becoming increasingly pressing in light of global climate change. Researchers from the Chair of Grassland Science at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have now – for the first time worldwide – taken up this issue for grasslands. The scientists found their answers in two unlikely places: in horns of Alpine ibex from Switzerland and in 150-year-old hay from England. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2009-12-09 13:59:43 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2009-12-08.6028428662 An ultra-high-resolution imaging technique using X-ray diffraction is a step closer to fulfilling its promise as a window on nanometer-scale structures in biological samples. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report progress in applying an approach to "lensless" X-ray microscopy that they introduced one year ago. They have produced the first images, using this technique, of biological cells – specifically the intriguing polyextremophile Deinococcus radiourans. Better ability to see nanoscale structures in cells could yield important insights for evolutionary biology and biotechnology. In the case of D. radiourans, for example, it could help to settle questions about whether – or how – the structure of this organism's DNA-bearing nucleoid region accounts for its hardiness against ionizing radiation. Having demonstrated the resolution, reliability, and reproducibility of their technique, the researchers are now working to extend it to three-dimensional imaging of biological cells. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2009-12-09 14:54:30 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2009-12-01.8876080430 The Euro 5 Norm for exhaust emissions went into force for all new car models in September. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Technical University of Munich, TUM) have developed an engine that is already close to meeting the more stringent Euro 6 emissions standard. A research team headed by Prof. Georg Wachtmeister from the Chair of Internal Combustion Engines has succeeded in reducing the pollutants in exhaust emissions to barely measurable levels. The engineers at the TUM have also developed a probe that allows them to take samples from the combustion chamber during the combustion process itself. With this method the scientists hope to discover precisely how soot forms, with the aim of developing new methods for emissions control. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2009-12-09 16:21:11 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2009-11-27.1994891806 Everyone is talking about carbon dioxide's effect on the climate. However, the harmful effects of nitrogen oxides are much more severe. For cars and trucks, the problem can be tackled with catalytic converters; not so for aircraft engines. Scientists at the Technische Universität München (TUM) are now focusing their attention on this problem. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2009-12-02 14:24:58 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2009-11-12.9228737904 Every year over one million people worldwide have a hip joint replaced. Yet the prognoses during the surgery preparation phase oftentimes remain inadequate. As a result, a high percentage of patients suffer from long-term consequences of this type of operation. Even the slightest deviation from the optimal form and position of the prosthesis can lead to strain on the bone, which in turn can result in inflammation or, in the long run, to bone atrophy. An interdisciplinary team of engineers, computer scientists and physicians at the International Graduate School of Science and Engineering at the Technische Universität München (TUM) has now developed a method to minimize these risks: a virtual prosthetic bone model. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2009-11-16 11:09:59 http://portal.mytum.de/pressestelle/pressemitteilungen/news_article.2009-11-11.4939574654 In Frankfurt, Deutsche Börse AG has announced the launch of two new stock indices based on research done in Munich – at TUM, the Technische Universität München. Beginning on January 4, 2010, the DAXplus Family and the DAXplus Family 20 will become part of the DAX index family. The first index is tracking all listed German family firms, as defined by criteria developed at the university's Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS). The second one is focused on the 20 largest German “family firms”. Technische Universität München presse@tum.de 2009-11-12 14:42:59