Antimicrobial silicone created at KTU

Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) laboratories often serve as birthplaces of unique products, such as antimicrobial silicone invented by a KTU PhD student Aiste Lisauskaite and her supervisor Dr Virginija Jankauskaite. The researchers believe that the new product will be extremely useful both for household and medical purposes.

L’Italia è un Paese refrattario alla pianificazione degli interventi in campo energetico, con un Governo che rischia di porsi al di fuori dall’Europa e degli impegni assunti su scala internazionale, continua a dare carta bianca alle aziende petrolifere (in primis ENI e Edison), a interessi industriali ad alto rischio ambientale, senza un disegno unitario.

Con una Lettera Aperta, al Presidente del Consiglio e ai Ministri dello Sviluppo Economico e dell’Ambiente, ai Governatori delle Regioni Greenpeace Italia, Legambiente e WWF chiedono come mai  il Governo italiano, violando gli impegni assunti con il recepimento della Direttiva comunitaria Offhsore (con il Dlgs n. 145/2016), si rifiuti ancora oggi di prevedere una programmazione delle attività di ricerca e coltivazione di idrocarburi da sottoporre a Valutazione Ambientale Strategica, mentre procede  ad aprire Valutazione di Impatto Ambientale sulle singole istanze per permessi di ricerca offshore, che rappresentano la categoria più numerosa tra le procedure oggi aperte (37,5% con 6 istanze su 16; seguono 3 per autostrade, 2 per impianti idroelettrici, 2 per reti ad alta tensione, 2 per porti, 1 per aeroporti).

Arriva nei cinema il 23 febbraio, distribuito da Notorioius Pictures, il film “La marcia dei pinguini - il richiamo”, sequel dell’emozionante film già campione d’incassi in Italia nel 2005.

A dieci anni di distanza, il regista francese Luc Jacquet (regista anche de La volpe e la bambina) ci riporta tra i ghiacci con la magia delle riprese in alta definizione e l’utilizzo di innovative camere subacquee e droni, per una nuova avventura alla scoperta dell’Antartide. Le riprese si sono svolte lo scorso inverno per oltre due mesi, internamente in 4k. Protagonista un giovane pinguino che intraprende il suo primo viaggio insieme ai propri simili per una destinazione sconosciuta, guidato solo dall’istinto. Attraverso gli occhi e i ricordi di un pinguino anziano, lo spettatore potrà osservare da vicino questo momento decisivo nella vita del cucciolo, e seguire il giovane pinguino in tutto il suo straordinario viaggio con le grandi sfide che lo aspettano a ogni passo. A raccontare le avventure del giovane pinguino sarà il poliedrico Pierfrancesco Diliberto, in arte Pif, attore, conduttore, regista.

How can we minimise the pollutants in Europe’s bodies of water and provide a near-natural habitat for plants and animals? UFZ/André Künzelmann

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is due to be revised by 2019. The necessary work process is already in full swing and scientific research is providing important input. In a recent study under the auspices of the UFZ, an international team of researchers formulated recommendations designed to improve the monitoring, assessment and management of pollutants. The study was recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The European Water Framework Directive has been in force since 2000. Its purpose is to ensure that rivers, lakes, coastal waters and groundwater achieve a ‘good status’ by 2027. This means that bodies of water should contain only minimal pollutants and should provide a near-natural habitat for plants and animals. Crucially, the European Water Framework Directive looks at bodies of water without regard to international borders – in the case of rivers, from source to estuary. “This is globally unique in this form. It’s the reason why many countries regard the European Water Framework Directive as an ideal model,” says environmental chemist Dr. Werner Brack from the UFZ.

(Fotolia) Surgical technique marks the start of a new chapter in the removal of benign tumours from the auditory nerve

A vestibular schwannoma is a benign tumour consisting of connective tissue and nerve tissue. It is still not known what causes it. 1 – 2 people in every 100,000 develop this type of tumour, which usually presses on the vestibular nerve and at the same time damages the auditory nerve. Up until now it has not been possible to remove the tumour and simultaneously restore the patient's hearing. This is exactly what Christoph Arnoldner of the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases at MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital and Christian Matula (Department of Neurosurgery at MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital) have now succeeded in doing for the very first time in Austria. This operation is also very rare worldwide.

Venezia (Giardini e Arsenale), 13 maggio – 26 novembre 2017

Vernice 10-11-12 maggio

Sarà aperta al pubblico da sabato 13 maggio a domenica 26 novembre 2017, ai Giardini e all’Arsenale, la 57. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte dal titolo VIVA ARTE VIVA, curata da Christine Macel e organizzata dalla Biennale di Venezia presieduta da Paolo Baratta. La vernice avrà luogo nei giorni 10, 11 e 12 maggio, la cerimonia di premiazione e di inaugurazione si svolgerà sabato 13 maggio 2017. La Mostra sarà affiancata da 85 Partecipazioni Nazionali negli storici Padiglioni ai Giardini, all’Arsenale e nel centro storico di Venezia. Sono 4 i paesi presenti per la prima volta: Antigua e Barbuda, Kiribati, Nigeria, Kazakistan (prima volta da solo).

David Weiner, Ph.D.

Scientists at The Wistar Institute and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have devised a novel DNA vaccine approach through molecular design to improve the immune responses elicited against one of the most important cancer antigen targets. Study results were published in the journal Molecular Therapy.

Cancer immunotherapy approaches, designed to harness the body’s natural immune defenses to target and kill cancer cells, are showing great promise for cancer treatment and prevention. DNA vaccines can induce immunity through the delivery by an intramuscular injection of a sequence of synthetically designed DNA that contains the instructions for the immune cells in the body to become activated and target a specific antigen against which an immune response is sought. This approach has proven effective in generating strong immunity against some infectious diseases as well as clearing neoplasia in patients with tumors caused by viral infection. The recent identification of tumor-associated antigens, or proteins that are specifically expressed by tumor cells and not by normal cells, has sparked the development of DNA vaccine approaches against some of these promising targets.

La Commissione europea denuncia l'Italia alla Corte di giustizia dell'Unione europea per mancata attuazione di disposizioni sulla sperimentazione animale nella normativa nazionale. La materia, che riscuote notevole interesse tra i cittadini, è disciplinata dalla direttiva 2010/63/UE sulla protezione degli animali utilizzati a fini scientifici, per cui il termine ultimo di recepimento nella normativa nazionale era il 10 novembre 2012. Su raccomandazione del Commissario per l'Ambiente Janez Potočnik, la Commissione chiede alla Corte d'imporre all'Italia una penale di 150 787 EUR al giorno.

Xylella fastidiosa in olive tree

Expert ecologists at the UK-based Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) have devised a scientific model which could help predict the spread of the deadly Xylella fastidiosa which is threatening to destroy Europe’s olive trees. The CEH scientists have created a model which is able to qualitatively and quantitatively predict how the deadly bacterial pathogen may spread as well as offer guidance on how buffer zones should be arranged to protect uninfected olive trees. The research, published in the journal Biological Invasions, highlights how Xylella fastidiosa is influenced by a range of insects – including spittlebugs – and the rate to which these vectors contribute to the potential spread of the disease across Europe and beyond.

From left: Professor Gerhard Wenz, Saarland University, Bernd Reinhard, INM, Günter Weber, Business Director, INM, Erold Naomab, University of Namibia, Professor Kenneth Matengu, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Namibia, Professor Aránzazu del Campo, Scientific Director, INM, Roland Rolles, Vice President, Saarland University, Carsten Becker-Willinger, Head of Project NaMiComp, INM.

The INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials officially began its collaborative effort with the University of Namibia (UNAM) by holding a kick-off workshop. The aim of the joint project, NaMiComp, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is to analyze Namibia’s locally available natural resources and then use them as a basis for new materials for industrial applications. INM and UNAM are working together on the NaMiComp project in order to establish and strengthen research competence in materials science at UNAM. In the long term, the aim is to build an on-site materials science institute at the University of Namibia. The two-day long workshop, which was held at the INM, was the inaugural event for building this cooperation. Further multi-day workshops, reciprocal visits by experts, field surveys and learning cafés are set to follow.