Scientists from IBM and the German Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) have built the world's smallest magnetic data storage unit. It uses just twelve atoms per bit, the basic unit of information, and squeezes a whole byte (8 bit) into as few as 96 atoms. A modern hard drive, for comparison, still needs more than half a billion atoms per byte. The team present their work in the weekly journal "Science" this Friday (13 January 2012). CFEL is a joint venture of the research centre Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg, the Max-Planck-Society (MPG) and the University of Hamburg. "With CFEL the partners have established an innovative institution on the DESY campus, delivering top-level research across a broad spectrum of disciplines," says DESY research director Edgar Weckert.

The world's smallest magnetic data storage unit

Neuherberg, 12.01.2012. Prof. Carsten Schmidt-Weber has taken up his position as Director of the new Institute for Allergy Research at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, with effect from 1 January 2012. Prior to his appointment, he led the “Allergy and Environment” clinical cooperation group, a joint undertaking between the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). He currently holds the chair of Molecular Allergology at the Medical Faculty of TUM. With this latest...

New Institute for Allergy Research set up at Helmholtz Zentrum München under the direction of Prof. Carsten Schmidt-Weber

KIT Grants 2011 Julius Wess Award to Guido Altarelli

Combining Theories and Experiments in Quantum Theory

The meteorological observatory at the Antarctic Neumayer Station III is now officially considered to be a climate observation station by virtue of the fact that meteorologists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association have been measuring the air temperature in Antarctica on a daily basis for 30 years. One of the results of the long-term research: the air at Neumayer Station has not become warmer over the past three decades.

Meteorological observatory becomes climate observation station – 30 years of temperature measurements at Neumayer Antarctic research station

Wandering albatrosses have altered their foraging due to changes in wind fields in the southern hemisphere during the last decades. Since winds have increased in intensity and moved to the south, the flight speed of albatrosses increased and they spend less time foraging. As a consequence, breeding success has improved and birds have gained 1 kilogram. These are the results of the study of an international research team published in the latest issue of the SCIENCE journal. However, these positive consequences of climate change may last short if future wind fields follow predictions of climate change scenarios, researchers warn.

Largest seabird alters their foraging due to climate change