Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology

Wie gelingt es, Materialien und Produkte so in geschlossene Kreisläufe zu bringen, dass Abfälle vermieden, verwertet und Rohstoffe geschont werden? Wie kann die Wirtschaft im Saarland hiervon profitieren? Antworten auf diese Fragen geben Expertinnen und Experten aus Wissenschaft und Praxis am 30. September ab 9 Uhr auf dem ersten Saarländischen Circular Economy-Kongress. „Von der Kreislaufwirtschaft zur Zirkulären Wertschöpfung“ lautet das Motto des Kongresses. [...]

Es klingt noch ein wenig wie Science Fiction, funktioniert aber tatsächlich: Bakterien, die umweltschädliche Stoffe wie Polystyrol verwerten, um daraus die Ausgangsstoffe für Nylon zu produzieren, ohne dass neues Erdöl dafür gebraucht wird. Genau dies haben der Saarbrücker Professor für Biotechnologie, Christoph Wittmann, und weitere Kolleginnen und Kollegen aus benachbarten Disziplinen nun geschafft. Wie es genau funktioniert, haben sie im Chemical Engineering Journal veröffentlicht. [...]

Am 19. September konnte der Professor für Organische Chemie an der Universität des Saarlandes Dr. Hans-Jörg Schneider seinen 90. Geburtstag begehen. [...]

Karin Jacobs and Franziska Lautenschläger, professors of physics at Saarland University, along with Dr. Oskar Staufer from the INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials, have been appointed Fellows of the Max Planck School Matter to Life. [...]

Just like on motorways, traffic in the body no longer flows smoothly when the 'roads', such as cellular microtubules, are damaged. These tiny tubes play a key role in the cytoskeleton, providing stability and serving as transport routes within the cell. A team of biophysicists in Saarbrücken has now redefined the role of a microtubule protein that not only stabilizes but also supports the repair of damaged microtubules. The scientists have published their findings in Nature Physics.
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Ultra-flat, featherlight, and compact – these are the hallmarks of the next-generation cooling units being developed by Professor Paul Motzki at Saarland University. Backed by a prestigious ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council, Motzki is pushing the boundaries of elastocaloric technology – a cutting-edge, climate-friendly method of cooling and heating – by combining two breakthrough smart material systems. [...]

For centuries, physicists have believed that ice melts on slippery surfaces due to the effects of temperature, pressure and friction. But a research team led by Martin Müser, Professor of Materials Simulation at Saarland University, has now shown that this long-standing belief is mistaken. Using advanced computer simulations, the team discovered that molecular dipoles—tiny charged regions within molecules—play a decisive role in disrupting the crystalline structure of ice. [...]

Every time a muscle contracts or a thought forms in the brain, calcium plays a crucial role in triggering the process. Once the signal has been transmitted, the calcium must be rapidly cleared from the cell, so it is ready for the next signal. This task is performed mainly by plasma membrane calcium pumps, which, it turns out, operate at a transport rate more than 100 times faster than previously thought. [...]