In addition to immediate health risks, UV radiation also poses indirect hazards: it corrodes surface coatings on exposed objects (e.g., on aircraft and bridges) and attacks the coated materials. The underlying molecular processes (polymer degradation) are extremely complex. Therefore, a consortium coordinated by Fraunhofer IAF is working within the framework of the BMFTR-funded QPolyDeg project to develop novel quantum algorithms for simulating polymer degradation. Quantum chemical calculations are intended to enable more durable coatings for industrial applications.

Researchers from University Hospital Cologne have developed an autonomous agent-based AI system called ‘SPARK’ that acts as a “digital brain” / publication in Nature Medicine

A team of plant researchers at the University of Cologne decodes a key infection strategy of fungal pathogens / Significant findings for disease control, plant protection and food security as well as for medicine / publication in ‘Science Advances’

Pneumonia is responsible for a tremendous burden of disease worldwide. In the U.S., it is a leading cause of death due to infection, especially for those of advanced age. For survivors, pneumonia’s lingering effects such as reduced lung function, scarring and new or worsened respiratory issues like asthma or COPD, may accelerate unhealthy aging.  While pneumonia is fundamentally a disease of the lung tissue characterized by inflammation and alveolar damage, medical science has historically relied on symptoms, imaging (X-rays), and microbiological cultures (microbe-directed) to classify the disease, rather than analyzing the specific cellular damage and structural changes in the lungs (histopathology) to create personalized treatment subgroups (subphenotyping). In a new study, researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine have identified seven different forms of pneumonia. This is the first systematic examination of pulmonary histopathology during pneumonia, resulting in a new framework for understanding pneumonia heterogeneity based on cellular resolution of lung biology.