Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)

Finally soaking up those long-anticipated rays. ☀️

New paper by ISTA Professor Herbert Edelsbrunner and colleagues on the maximum persistent Betti numbers of Čech complexes, now published in the Journal of Applied and Computational Topology.

👉 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41468-026-00233-3

@springer.springernature.com​

ISTA postdoc Elia Mascolo

Article in TIME, featuring ISTA postdoc @eliamascolo.bsky.social​. After 4 years in the US, he moved to Austria with the APART-USA fellowship, a program that supports outstanding researchers in relocating their work to Austria.

🔗 https://time.com/7379376/scientist-migration-us-to-europe/

Scientists from the Goodrich group explore the simultaneous optimization of assembly time and yield in programmable self-assembly.

Now published in The Journal of Chemical Physics (@aip-publishing.bsky.social​): https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0304731

https://xkcd.com/3212/

Hey @jorryt.bsky.social, did you find out what these little red dots are?

Accelerated 19F biomolecular magic-angle spinning NMR with paramagnetic dopants Abstract. The advantageous characteristics attributed to the 19F nucleus have made it a popular target for NMR once again in recent years. Aside from solution NMR, an increasing number of studies have...

New preprint, a technical paper showing how 19F #NMR of proteins in solids can be accelerated, lead by Lea Becker at @istaresearch.bsky.social.
mr.copernicus.org/preprints/mr...

Magnetic Resonance has an open interactive public peer reviewing system, where anyone can contribute to the discussion.

The Robinson group has published a new paper in the journal Genetics.
Check it out 👉 https://academic.oup.com/genetics/advance-article/doi/10.1093/genetics/iyag042/8475302

Synthetic chemist @reisenbauerlab.bsky.social​ joins ISTA as an assistant professor. Her group will repurpose enzyme reactivity to discover new chemical pathways, with potential applications in medicine, agriculture, materials science, and sustainable processes.
🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/3MPrxpf

Congrats to @zdunajova.bsky.social​​ on defending her PhD thesis! Her research bridges physics and biology, showing how cells and proteins organize themselves and form patterns. This may lead to new ways to control biological processes like wound healing and inspire smart medical materials.

The ISTA campus turned into a winter wonderland overnight! ❄️ ☃️

#ISTAresearch #snow #winter #winterwonderland

New bioRxiv preprint by the Sweeney group about the lineage origin of spinal cord cell type diversity. 👉 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.12.705305

Link to the article in @science.org​: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adz8603

#BlackHole #SupermassiveBlackHole #Universe #JWST #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope

Little red dots. © NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Matthee (ISTA), R. Mackenzie (ETH Zurich), D. Kashino (National Observatory of Japan), S. Lilly (ETH Zurich)

New Perspectives article in @science.org​: ISTA Assistant Professor @jorryt.bsky.social​ discusses recent findings on the origin of ‘little red dots,’ the mysterious objects that have been found in abundance in the distant Universe since the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Read the paper in Cell Genomics (@cellpress.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1016/j.xg...

With Al Depope, Jakub Bajzik, @mmondelli.bsky.social, and Matthew Robinson.

#bigdata #genomics #algorithm #datascience #dataprocessing #personalizedmedicine #diagnostics #forensics

Using human height as a model, the ISTA team has developed an enhanced algorithm that largely outperforms existing methods in both accuracy and processing time. Their method could have potential applications in personalized medicine—and even at crime scenes.

Extracting and analyzing relevant medical information from large-scale databases such as biobanks poses considerable challenges.

Now, ISTA scientists have achieved algorithmic innovation in the genetic analysis of complex traits.

Learn more: bit.ly/46clIJf

Mathematician Matthew Kwan promoted to professor at ISTA.

His research explores combinatorics, especially its interplay with probability. His work has resolved longstanding conjectures like Erdős-McKay, Erdős-Faudree-Sós on Ramsey graphs, and Erdős' on Steiner triple systems.

Congrats, Matthew!

Read the paper in @natcomms.nature.com: www.doi.org/10.1038/s414...

#perovskites #leadhalideperovskites #solarcells #photovoltaics #energyharvesting #electricity #solarenergy

Examining a lead-halide perovskite crystal in the lab using optical methods. The sample (center right) glows green. © ISTA

The findings could help researchers engineer perovskites to boost their efficiency without compromising their low-cost production process—heralding the next generation of solar cells.

ISTA postdoc Dmytro Rak (left) and assistant professor Zhanybek Alpichshev in the lab. © ISTA

In a new work, ISTA postdoc Dmytro Rak and assistant professor Zhanybek Alpichshev demonstrate that the natural network of structural defects in perovskites enables the long-range charge transport necessary for efficient photovoltaic energy harvesting.

A lead-halide perovskite crystal sample. © ISTA

While silicon cells require ultra-pure single-crystal wafers, perovskite solar cells are fabricated using inexpensive solution-based techniques.

How can a device assembled with minimal sophistication rival state-of-the-art technology perfected over decades?

Highways for electrons inside a lead-halide perovskite crystal. This natural network of structural defects explains the remarkable charge-transport properties that make these materials so effective for energy harvesting. © Dmytro Rak/Alpichshev group/ISTA

In the past 15 years, lead-halide perovskites have emerged as promising materials for next-generation solar cells, rivaling the industry-standard silicon cells.

ISTA scientists now explain their exceptional energy-harvesting efficiency.

Learn more: bit.ly/4aN8kO5

Share your love with science!

You can never say enough how much you appreciate those with whom you share a special chemistry. So, this Valentine's Day, why not spice it up with some science? ✨

Tag someone or share to spread the love. 💖

#ISTAresearch #ValentinesDay #Love

📸 © Reena Kumari, Sixt Group | ISTA

With their flowing tendrils, they seem like deep-sea jellyfish at first glance. But in reality, these are the unsung heroes living within us—immune cells tirelessly working to keep us safe and healthy.

Captured using Superresolution Microscopy, 3D-SIM (Zeiss ELYRA system).

Is "faster-X" adaptation due to large-effect mutations? Find out in the recent bioRxiv preprint from the Vicoso group: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Looking for a unique Valentine's Day experience? How about a date for the heart and mind at the VISTA Science Experience Center? 🩷

What's included?
💟 Exclusive exhibition tour
💟 Free coffee & delicious cake
💟 A surprise gift

Free tickets: https://bit.ly/46mRanV

Have you ever wondered how sensitive data can be kept private in today's data-driven world?

Rewatch the ISTA Lecture by Cynthia Dwork from Harvard University to learn how differential privacy works, but also why it's a game-changer in safeguarding information.

👉 https://bit.ly/3OlBICk

📸 © Reinhard Werner | portraittheater Actress: Anita Zieher Director: Sandra Schüddekopf

Join us in celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science with an inspiring tribute to Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Lise Meitner, and Hedy Lamarr. Experience their stories come to life with an immersive theater play by portraittheater.

Free tickets: https://ista.ac.at/theater

Check out this recent publication from ISTA scientists Sofia Agafonova, Onur Hosten, and colleagues.

"One-milligram torsional pendulum toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface"

👉 https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-026-02514-w

Manual reconstruction of 658 neuronal structures, revealing their complex shapes and interwoven arrangement. © Tavakoli, Lyudchik et al./Nature

LICONN, an optical imaging technique for brain tissue developed by ISTA scientists in collaboration with Google Research, has been recognized by @nature.com​ as one of the seven technologies to make a splash in 2026!

Read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00188-6