The influence of calcium on insuline production

Sandra dedicates her PhD studies to revolving pancreatic beta cells and their function. These are the only cells in the body that produce insulin and they are involved in the task of maintaining homeostasis in a healthy metabolism. Her main method is functional imaging of intracellular calcium by microscopy. Intracellular calcium is directly coupled to the amount of secreted insulin and her daily tasks involve investigating different scenarios by incubating the cells in different solutions and then checking on the amount of secreted insulin. She spends days, nights, and weekends at the microscope. In a special case, changing the pH value led to valuable information on the amount of secretion.

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Climate changes affect not only species above soil, but also marine species

In Archi’s time as a Bachelors and now current Masters student of biochemistry she had the chance to dive into multiple topics finding her heart beating for marine science. One project on coral species gave her deep insight into marine biology, ecology, and the issue of coral bleaching. Together with a national marine research group she investigated climate effects on corals losing their fluorescence and the effects on marine life. Since then, her vision is to work for more understanding of ecosystems and a better treatment of our environment.

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How anaerobic bacteria effect the climate

Anja’s main goal as a post-doc is to reduce the effects of global warming starting with small organisms – bacteria. Her scientific project is about studying the metabolism of hydrogen and carbon dioxide converting bacteria. Naturally these bacteria produce acetates and the aim of her studies is to genetically modify these bacteria to produce valuable chemicals, such as ethanol or lactates, from industrial carbon dioxide output.

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Natural compounds can function as petroleum-based substitutes

Elaine is aiming to convert biomass into usable chemicals. In her post-doctoral research she converts, extracts, hydrolyses, and depolymerizes natural biopolymers, such as cellulose and lignin with water to capture building block monomers and convert them into bio-based, value-added products. For example, cellulose can be transformed into fermentable sugars such as glucose and fructose. Fatty acids can also be retrieved from other compounds to be used for bioplastics or the retrieval of bio-ethanol.

The platform molecules shall be used as a substitute for petroleum-based molecules. A very special technique for making these compounds available without using organic chemicals is applied. Elaine uses water-based extraction methods by manipulating the properties of water to supercritical conditions, allowing her to extract biopolymers while keeping the natural structure that would have been lost on raising the boiling point in chemical solvents. The working group acts in close cooperation with industry partners.

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Airborne ultrafine particulate matter can lead to epigenetic modifications

In one of the most crowded countries in the world, India, airborne ultrafine particulate matter can lead to multiple diseases. This phenomenon is present in almost any large city arond the globe. Dr. Mishra and his team search for low-cost nano biosensors to predict future disease susceptibility. They want to reduce "the burden of environmental associated non-communicable diseases". Dr. Mishra became a scientist because he truly loves raw science and is motivated to help the poorest people in the world. Read his interview to get more details.

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