Austria Archives

Lightweighting the future with aluminium crossover alloys

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Before the transport sector can reduce its carbon emissions, the metal alloys used to manufacture vehicles will need to become more lightweight, while maintaining their useful properties. To tackle this challenge, the CrossAlloy team – a collaboration between AMAG Austria Metall AG and Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria – is developing aluminium crossover alloys. These alloys combine strength and formability into sustainable […]

How could we build a liveable space habitat?

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Werner Grandl envisages a habitat built from interconnected cylindrical modules, which spin around the axis of a central cylinder – powered by a non-rotating framework of solar panels.

In the not-too-distant future, humanity will be faced with the challenge of building permanent homes in space. For this to happen, space habitats will need to closely replicate Earth’s gravity, while dealing with the threat of radiation and meteorites from outer space. Through his research, Werner Grandl at Space Renaissance International in Italy considers how these challenges could be overcome. Through […]

Children’s cognitive development: The impact of the pandemic

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children’s cognitive development over the lockdown period

The World Economic Forum estimates that globally, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1.5 billion pupils were unable to attend school due to lockdowns designed to stop the spread of the disease. Government containment policies were essential to help save lives, but the wider impact of those policies is now the focus of academic research. A new Austrian […]

Should pre-anaesthesia consultations be done telephonically?

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Dr Sibylle Kietaibl is advocating for patient-centred decision-making around blood management, suggesting that pre-anaesthesia consultations could happen virtually.

Anaesthesiologists play a crucial role in preparing a patient ahead of surgery, and not just physically. Pre-anaesthesia consultations are an opportunity to engage with patients, involve them in important choices, and consider these when making diagnostic, therapeutic, or palliative care decisions. Dr Sibylle Kietaibl at the Evangelical Hospital Vienna in Austria suggests such consultations should also consider patient preferences around […]

Reality, information, and consciousness: The universe as a cosmic quantum computer

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Peter Verheyen explores the idea that the universe is a quantum computer, questioning ideas about consciousness, information and reality

How does the world around us work, and what is real? Such questions are not only central to scientific and philosophical discourse but have been circulating since the dawn of human existence. Peter Verheyen of the Sola Society and Academy at Vienna University, Austria, explores the notion that the conscious reality we experience as human beings is drawn from […]

New frontiers in personalised biomonitoring through fingertip sweat analysis

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Christopher Gerner develops a new assay for finger sweat analysis which will assist medical professionals in the personalised monitoring metabolic pathways

Robust analytical methods are the first fundamental step for the understanding of physiological mechanisms in health and disease. Dr Christopher Gerner and his colleagues from the University of Vienna, Austria, have developed a straightforward assay for finger sweat analysis to assist clinicians in personalised monitoring of metabolic pathways. The team have devised the metabo-tip sampling assay, which promises to be a […]

Take a breath: Is it time to re-think how we diagnose COPD?

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Marie Breyer and Emiel Waters from the Austrian LEAD study argue that newer technologies such as CT scanning should be used to diagnose lung conditions such as pre-COPD and COPD, as these are more effective than traditional methods

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has significant health, social, and economic impacts. However, the diagnosis criteria for the condition remains broadly general and relies on the use of lung function tests, such as spirometry, which can be inaccurate in some cases. Professors Marie Breyer and Emiel Wouters, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Health, Austria, explain that a new taxonomy is […]

Highlighting the need for greater equity in gifted education

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Whether ability is determined by nature or nurture has preoccupied thinkers since classical times. Most now agree that ability is derived from a combination of inherited and acquired characteristics: more precisely, a combination of genetic and environmental components. Austrian gifted-education expert Dr Gundula Wagner is currently researching how class composition in schools affects gifted students’ academic outcomes. She argues that, […]

Harnessing the photochemistry of bromine for sustainable manufacturing

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The researchers utilised Corning’s heart-shaped fluidic module design.

Chemical production can be fraught with hazards. From explosions to toxic chemicals, making useful molecules often requires careful thought about how to make a process inherently safer. Researchers at RCPE (Austria) have developed an ingenious way to use the automated flow reactors manufactured by Corning SAS (France) to safely harness the photochemistry of bromine – a highly toxic, sludge-brown substance […]

Reducing risks, improving outcomes: The benefits of Patient Blood Management

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Prof Kietaibl promotes patient-centred decision-making.

While blood transfusions are generally very safe and have saved millions of lives, they carry a small risk of serious side effects. These risks can be lessened through the use of Patient Blood Management (PBM), a series of interventions that seek to minimise blood loss, prevent anaemia and reduce the need for a transfusion before, during and after major surgery. […]