Faszination Forschung Ausgabe 16

Inhalt

Editorial

Editorial
Here at TUM, our scientists are as varied and individual as the topics they research. Some of them, such as the physicians and chemists we introduce in this edition, work on topics that touch people’s lives on a personal level. Our engineers, on the other hand, aim to advance society by improving technical infrastructure. And our astrophysicists explore fundamental questions about our existence in their search for neutrinos from distant regions of space. Depth and diversity are the hallmarks of our research efforts.

Forschung und Technik / Research and technology

Hugging the Road on Bends
A new drive system developed by researchers from TUM is set to make electric vehicles a lot more attractive to drivers. The compact and lightweight drivetrain not only optimizes brake energy regeneration, it also increases stability on bends and makes for a more enjoyable ride.
Tricking the Immune System
Particularly severe cases of atopic dermatitis, a common inflammatory skin condition, are accompanied by high levels of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in the affected areas. Allergist and immunologist Prof. Tilo Biedermann has long been grappling with the way these infections aggravate this condition. He recently published some surprising findings in the scientific journal “Immunity.” In this interview, Biedermann explains the trick bacteria use to sidestep the immune system in the presence of atopic dermatitis and discusses what is really new about these observations and how they impact his research.
A New Window on the Universe
Energy-laden neutrinos making their way to us from outer space must have originated in cosmic catastrophes that were more powerful than anything we could ever imagine here on Earth. As part of the IceCube project, TUM physicists are investigating various phenomena including the sources of such cataclysmic events in the heavens.
Signals from Deep inside the Sun
With the Borexino experiment, physicists at TUM have been able to gain direct insight into the core of the Sun for the first time and explore how it generates energy. This success was enabled by a custom-built experimental set-up with the lowest levels of radioactivity on Earth.
Overcoming Antibiotic Resistance
Pathogenic bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics – and overcoming this public health risk calls for fresh approaches. That is why Prof. Stephan Sieber and his team are on a quest for totally new targets and their corresponding inhibitors. Rather than killing bacteria, his anti-virulence strategy is looking to neutralize or “tame” them – removing their claws, so to speak.
Neuroscience Award Honors Optical Technique that Sheds Light on the Living Brain
TUM Professor Arthur Konnerth is one of four winners of this year’s Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize, a million-euro award for neuroscience. The 2015 Brain Prize is being awarded for “the invention, refinement and use of two-photon microscopy to provide detailed, dynamic images of activity in individual nerve cells, dendrites and synapses, thereby transforming the study of development, plasticity and functional circuitry of the brain.”
Irresistible Logic
Magnetic devices have long played an important role in memory systems but have not – yet – found a place in logic, the basic switching of ones and zeroes at the heart of digital computing and communications. Despite attractive characteristics such as ultra-low power consumption, magnetic logic has never been competitive with established, transistor-based technology. A case can now be made, however, for future chips incorporating both – thanks to novel nanomagnetic logic devices demonstrated at TUM’s Chair of Technical Electronics.

Standpunkt / Point of view

Dr.-Ing. habil. Carlos Härtel: Academia and Industry – Partners in Innovation
Never has innovation been viewed as more critical to growth, employment and prosperity than today. For Europe, stepping up its game is a must.

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Faszination Forschung, Heft 16 (2015) / Faszination Forschung, Edition 16 (2015)