Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

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Physicists develop new method to visualise magnetic nanostructures with high resolution

A new method enables researchers to analyse magnetic nanostructures with a high resolution. It was developed by researchers at MLU and the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle. The new method achieves a resolution of around 70 nanometres, whereas normal light microscopes have a resolution of just 500 nanometres. This result is important for the development of new, energy-efficient storage technologies based on spin electronics. The team reports on its research in the current issue of the journal "ACS nano".

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Plants: Researchers discover “watchdogs” for protein blueprints

Plants have a sophisticated mechanism for monitoring the production of new proteins. The "U1 snRNP" complex ensures that the protein blueprints are fully completed. This is important because cells tend to halt the process prematurely. This type of quality control, so-called telescripting, was previously known to exist only in animal cells. A research team led by the MLU has now shown that a similar process also occurs in plants.

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From chaos to order: proteins can re-structure themselves to create important substances

The protein 'MIPS' changes its internal structure when it becomes active. Its disordered active centre becomes a defined structure with special functions. The protein plays a key role in the production of inositol, which is also known as vitamin B8, and fulfils important tasks in the body. Researchers at MLU and the National Hellenic Research Centre in Greece have succeeded for the first time in observing the protein as it re-structures. As the team reports in the scientific journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' (PNAS) this process appears to occur in many similar proteins.

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