Over three days, leading researchers will discuss the development and application of scientific models in an increasingly interconnected research environment. The upcoming conference, ‘Building Models of Change: Bridging Sciences and Humanities’ comes in, is bringing together leading researchers from diverse disciplines from 12 until 14 March at Bielefeld University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF). 

The microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica holds potential as a valuable source of sustainably produced nutrients such as protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin K2. A new study from DTU shows that cultivation conditions, particularly temperature and light, play a significant role in the yield.

The development of vehicle components is a lengthy and therefore very costly process. Researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have developed a method that can shorten the development phase of the powertrain of battery electric vehicles by several months. A team led by Martin Hofstetter from the Institute of Automotive Engineering is combining simulation models of components with evolutionary optimisation algorithms. This AI system automatically optimises the entire powertrain – from the power electronics to the electric machine through to the transmission – in line with the manufacturer’s technical requirements, taking into account targets such as production costs, efficiency and package space requirements in the vehicle. The OPED (Optimisation of Electric Drives) software solution was developed at TU Graz and is the result of almost ten years of research. It is already being used successfully by a renowned Austrian automotive supplier.

A research group at Umeå University has developed new advanced light-controlled tools that enable precise control of proteins in real time in living cells. This groundbreaking research opens doors to new methods for studying complex processes in cells and could pave the way for significant advances in medicine and synthetic biology.

The electronics of the future can be made even smaller and more efficient by getting more memory cells to fit in less space. One way to achieve this is by adding the noble gas xenon when manufacturing digital memories. This has been demonstrated by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, in a study published in Nature Communications. This technology enables a more even material coating even in small cavities. 

A new study from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) shows that certain gut bacteria found in one-month-old infants are associated with future development of food sensitivities and the development of food allergies, particularly to eggs, while other types of bacteria are not. The study also found factors that predicted which type of bacteria would be present in the guts of newly born babies. Together, the findings suggest that certain probiotic supplements might be a good early defense for preventing food allergies, especially for at-risk infants. The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.