CeNS: News

PhD scholarships in NanoBioTechnology

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0100

The Munich-based Center for NanoScience (CeNS) announces the call for applications for PhD scholarships in the framework of the International Doctorate Program “NanoBioTechnology”. Outstanding graduate students from all around the world in the fields of natural sciences and life sciences are invited to submit their application for this international doctoral excellence program which is funded by the Elite Network of Bavaria (ENB).
The PhD scholarships start on October 1^st, 2010.

The program offers excellent research conditions and multidisciplinary education within the stimulating scientific environment of the Center for NanoScience. The holders of the scholarships benefit from i. e. financial support, international conferences and collaborations, supervision by a thesis advisor and co-advisor and a broad offer of scientific and professional-skills workshops.

The international program is looking for highly motivated applicants with excellent grades and a strong scientific interest who are enthusiastic about the multidisciplinary activities of the doctoral program.

The deadline for applications is March 31^st, 2010.

Further information and details about the application process and the available research projects can
be found on www.cens.de/doctorate-program.

Auf den Nanopunkt gebracht

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:21:00 +0100

Wissenschaftler arbeiten häufig mit Fluoreszenzsonden, um den Aufbau einzelner Zellen zu entschlüsseln. Diese Farbstoffe binden gezielt an bestimmte Moleküle in der Zelle und senden nach Anregung durch Laserlicht Fluoreszenzstrahlung zurück. In winzigen Schritten fährt ein Mikroskop über die Probe und registriert digital alle Fluoreszenzsignale. Damit sind auch die markierten Moleküle erfasst und die Signale können zu einem Gesamtbild zusammengesetzt werden. Doch die Auflösung der Apparatur ist nicht optimal, denn ein Laserstrahl besitzt einen Durchmesser von gut zweihundert Nanometern. Dadurch regt er parallel mehrere benachbarte Sonden an, und ihr Leuchten überlagert sich. Forscher um den LMU-Physiker Professor Philip Tinnefeld stellen nun eine elegante Lösung für dieses Problem vor. Sie haben Sonden entwickelt, die von Molekülen umgeben sind, die bis zu einem bestimmten Grad die Anregungsleistung absorbieren. So wird verhindert, dass das eigentliche Sondenmolekül fluoresziert. Nur das Zentrum des Laserstrahls liefert so viel Leistung, dass die Kapazität dieser Akzeptormoleküle erschöpft wird und die Sonde fluoresziert. Dies verhindert, dass sich die Fluoreszenz benachbarter Sonden überlagert, und ermöglicht die genaue Lokalisierung der Sonden. Wissenschaftler erhalten so einen immer detaillierteren Einblick in den Aufbau einzelner Zellen. (Nanoletters online, Januar 2010)

Presseinformation der LMU

Welcome!

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:58:00 +0100

Andrey Lutich was graduated with honors in Physics from the Belarusian State University in Minsk in 2004. Pursuing a PhD, he then joined the group of Prof. Gaponenko in the Institute of Physics of National Academy of Sciences of Belarus where he was investigating optical properties of 2D nanostructures based on porous anodic alumina. During his time as a PhD student, Andrey Lutich was visiting INTAS fellow at TU Dresden working with Prof. A. Eychmüller and visiting STEP scientist at Elletra (Trieste Synchrotron) in the group of Dr. M. Danailov. In 2008, he completed his PhD and joined the group of Prof. Feldmann as a PostDoc. Being awarded a Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in 2009, Andrey Lutich now continues his research in the group of Prof. Feldmann in the area of hybrid organic/inorganic composite nanostructures.

Website: http://www.phog.physik.uni-muenchen.de/people/lutich_andrey/index.html

Biophysicists reveal protein folding dynamics

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:51:00 +0100

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.

Press information TUM (english)
Press information TUM (deutsch)

Münchens kleine Museen

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:21:00 +0100

Münchner Merkur, 20.01.2010, S. 29

Ausstellungseinladung

Neuer Humboldt-Stipendiat an der LMU

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:05:00 +0100

Erneut hat sich ein Humboldt-Stipendiat für einen Forschungsaufenthalt an der LMU entschieden. Dr. Eric A. Hoffmann forscht für einige Monate finanziert von der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung als Stipendiat an der LMU. Die Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung ermöglicht hoch qualifizierten promovierten ausländischen Nachwuchswissenschaftlern, ein Forschungsvorhaben eigener Wahl in Deutschland durchzuführen und den jeweiligen deutschen Gastgeber selbst auszuwählen. Daher ist die Anzahl der Humboldt-Stipendiaten ein wichtiger Indikator für internationale Kontakte und Reputation. (...)

Presseinformation der LMU

Nanowissenschaftler eröffnen U-Bahn-Galerie

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Movie: Eco-power from plastic

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:18:00 +0100

Generating eco-power at a low cost, anytime and anywhere, is no longer just a dream. The solution is producing solar cells from plastic. Lukas Schmidt-Mende, one of the youngest professors at LMU Munich, looks into this new generation of solar cells and explains possible applications.

Watch the movie

DNA under voltage

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:16:00 +0100

With its extremely fine pinpoint, an atomic force miscroscope (AFM) can pick up and analyze a single molecule. This feature was used by biophysicists of the excellence cluster Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), at the chair of Professor Hermann Gaub at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, in order to determine how firmly DNA molecules stick to certain surfaces. In doing so, the scientists realized that voltage can have an effect on whether a molecule sticks to a surface or is repelled. Thus the interaction between a surface and DNA molecules can be controlled by the push of a button, which is an interesting prospect for many methods used in bioanalytics. This voltage-dependent adhesion does not only apply to DNA molecules, but also to other biopolymers, such as proteins or polysaccharides. (Nature Nanotechnology online, December 20, 2009) (...)

Press information LMU (english)

Presseinformation der LMU (deutsch)

Looking for the heartbeat of cellular networks

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:28:00 +0100

Our cells’ molecules form an intricate network of interactions. Today’s techniques, however, can only be used to measure individual molecular reactions outside the cells. Since molecular concentrations are much higher in cells than in the laboratory, scientists suspect that the kinetics of molecular reactions in living cells differ substantially from external probes. „We expected the cellular reaction speed to be higher,” confirms LMU biophysicist Professor Dieter Braun. “However, our novel optical approach showed that – depending on the length of the strands – the coupling of DNA-strands inside living cells can be both faster and slower than outside.” Data yielded from living cells are highly valuable for the development of models to understand the complex interactions as well as pathological processes in biological cells. Braun and his team now plan to probe a variety of molecular reactions in living cells, visualizing the heartbeat of cellular networks. (PNAS online, 14 November 2009) (...)

Press information LMU (english)

Presseinformation der LMU (deutsch)