Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST

Human stem cells are considered a major new hope in the field of medicine. In the future, it is expected that they will make it possible to treat a wide range of ailments such as neurodegenerative diseases. With LabBag^®, Fraunhofer researchers have developed an all-in-one system in the form of a transparent bag that provides a cheap, fast and sterile way for scientists to grow, differentiate and freeze stem cells. The cell models produced can be used for toxicity tests and drug development. 

Prof. Dr. Günter Bräuer received the K-T Rie Award for his achievements in the field of applied plasma research at this year's Asian-European International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering (AEPSE), which took place in Jeju, Korea, from 11 to 15 September 2017. The award honors the scientific life of the promoted physicist.

The prototype kilogram – to which all scales are calibrated to – is losing weight. International efforts are striving to redefine the base unit for measuring mass and, in future, redefine the kilogram on natural constants. For this purpose, the Avogadro experiment determines the number of atoms in almost perfect silicon spheres. Fraunhofer researchers have recently succeeded in homogeneously coating the spherical surfaces.