Lots of energy is needed on space missions. This demand is normally covered by solar power, which, however, has a major drawback: Because it depends on the intensity of the sun’s radiation, it is not always reliably available. That’s why a research team at the University of Central Florida (UCF) is working on a backup system that provides energy using chemical reactions and is thus always available. A compound of silicon and at least one other element is burned slowly as oxygen is added. The energy generated can be easily stored and supplies heat and electricity even in very cold environments.

In the future, this technology might not only benefit space missions but also form the basis for the energy supply of space colonies. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) considers this idea to have great potential and has been providing the project with $550,000 of funding since last year.

Carson Bruns never really wanted to choose between art and scientific research. When he ate at the dining room table during his childhood in Colorado, he sometimes mixed food such as tomato sauce and juice together and observed how the mixture’s color changed—his investigative spirit had been awakened. Later, as a teenager, he took up painting. Art continued to be a part of his life even after he began to conduct research professionally, especially in chemistry. Bruns, 34, is now an assistant professor at the University of Colorado and works in a field, tattooing, that combines both of his big passions.

Carson Bruns has developed a tattoo that serves as a UV sensor for the skin. This tattoo turns blue when human skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation. This effect is created by microcapsules that contain pigment. The color change notifies the tattoo’s wearer that his or her skin should be better protected, and so helps prevent long-term damage such as skin cancer. Although the sun-protection tattoo is still at the testing stage, Bruns is already thinking a step further: He is working on a tattoo that would not only warn of UV radiation but also actively protect the skin against it.

Plants have a special protective mechanism that enables them to survive in emergency situations: If they are attacked or are damaged by environmental factors, the plants supply the cells in their leaves with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). It acts as a kind of alarm signal, which causes the cells to quickly produce chemical compounds that repel enemies such as insects and snails as well as repair damage.

In order to better understand how this effective early warning system works in nature, engineers at MIT in Boston have developed special sensors made of carbon nanotubes. The sensors are embedded in leaves, where they can register the H₂O₂ alarm signals and precisely determine how different types of plants react to stress factors such as injury, infection, and damage caused by light. The results are especially interesting for agriculture. On the basis of this data, agronomists will be able to develop strategies for helping cultivated plants deal with stress and in this way optimize crop yields.

Over the past 30 years, the child mortality rate has declined by almost two thirds worldwide. Vaccines play a key role here. Whereas 5.1 million children still died of vaccinable diseases in 1990, this figure had declined to 1.8 million lately. This progress is mainly due to the vaccines DTP against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough), and MMR against measles, mumps, and rubella. By contrast, the drop in mortality was much less pronounced for diseases against which there are no vaccines.

As the corona crisis shows, interrupted supply chains can sometimes cause supply bottlenecks. This carries especially high risks in the case of medications. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam have found a possible solution to this problem: It consists of an autonomous, computer-controlled laboratory that can quickly and locally produce organic substances such as raw materials for medicine.zu Versorgungsengpässen führen. Bei Medikamenten ist das besonders riskant. Forscher am Potsdamer Max-Planck-­Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung haben eine mögliche Lösung gefunden: ein autonomes, computergesteuertes Labor, das organische Substanzen schnell und direkt vor Ort produziert, darunter Grundstoffe für Arznei.