Research

Does playing in dirt really make children healthier and protect against allergies? The new study conducted by a team of researchers at FAU and the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm has now raised doubts about this assumption.

FAU scientists Dr. Alexander B. Tesler and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Goldmann have taken advantage of a trick insects use to stay dry while diving into the water and transferred it to the principle of materials: They are stabilizing surfaces with the help of a thin film of air.

DECAM exploits the highly complementary scientific expertise and infrastructure and simultaneously facilitates the scientific collaboration and networking in the field of the development and characterization of advanced materials

Researchers of FAU have developed special iron oxide nanoparticles they call “smart rust” that actually makes water cleaner. Smart rust can attract many substances, including oil, nano- and microplastics, as well as the herbicide glyphosate, depending on the particles’ coating. And because the nanoparticles are magnetic, they can easily be removed from water with a magnet along with the pollutants.

The aim is to gain a considerably better understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms in neurological RASopathies, and subsequently use this to create guidelines for improved diagnosis and effective, preferably non-invasive, treatments.