Sign in

Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)

@istaresearch.bsky.social
1.2K followers 445 following 528 posts

The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) is dedicated to cutting-edge basic research and graduate education. www.ista.ac.at

PostsRepliesMedia
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
ISTA Professor Tamás Hausel has received a Projectn Numina Fellowship to develop “Project Sandbox”—a digital research environment where human mathematicians and AI agents work side by side to advance unexplored areas of mathematics. Read more: bit.ly/4ziVwsh #AI #Math #OpenSourceAI
030
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The study is published in The Astrophysical Journal : doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9cb2 With @noirlabastro.bsky.social​, Gemini Observatory, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, University of Warwick.
010
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Nearly 850 years ago, a rare stellar explosion lit up the sky. What remains is Pa 30: a unique Type Iax supernova remnant with a “zombie star” at its core. Now, a team co-led by Tim Cunningham & Ilaria Caiazzo has revealed new details, using the Gemini North telescope. 👉 bit.ly/4dVg69T
This image, obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS), shows that the remnant’s unmistakable firework-shaped ejecta take on a cascading knot-like structure. © International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
130
Reposted by Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
Vienna BioCenter @viennabiocenter.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The annual Cryo-EM Symposium took place on Campus this year! It is collaboratively organized by the Vienna BioCenter & ISTA (@istaresearch.bsky.social) and aims to explore & celebrate the latest advancements in Cryo-EM research & its impact on biological studies. Thank you to everyone joining!
0124
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Find out more here: bit.ly/4hTPTe8
bit.ly
Efficient Catalysis with Less Metal
Pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agrochemicals are produced industrially using a wide range of chemical reactions. These processes need to become more efficient, less expensive, and more sustainab...
010
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The catalyst can join a wide range of chemical building blocks while using only tiny amounts of nickel—an approach that could support more sustainable pharmaceutical and fine-chemical synthesis.
100
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The scientists introduce a light-powered nickel catalyst for more efficient and versatile chemical synthesis. The key: a tailor-made ligand that boosts nickel’s activity under visible light.
100
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
New publication by the Pieber group at ISTA—Aleksander Bena, Trisha Banik, Christos Giannoudis, Florian Ortis, Haralds Baunis, and Gayathri Palissery—in collaboration with Daniel Bím at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague just published in Nature Catalysis.
📸 Bartholomäus Pieber (left) and Aleksander Bena (right) discuss molecular designs of new catalysts. © ISTA
110
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Read the paper at Molecular Biology and Evolution (@academic.oup.com): doi.org/10.1093/molb... #ISTAresearch #BacterialSex #BacterialImmunity #CRISPRCas
doi.org
pendingpublications
Pending Publication
000
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It turns out that the bacteria make use of CRISPR-Cas, a defense system against bacterial viruses that later became the basis for gene-editing technologies. They use these viruses much like pollinators in a primitive form of sex, which helps the bacteria reshuffle their genetic information.
100
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Do bacteria have sex? ISTA scientists @pavelpayne.bsky.social and Călin Guet have uncovered a process resembling sexual reproduction that occurs when the gut bacterium E. coli is close to starvation. Read more: ista.ac.at/en/news/bact...
ista.ac.at
Bacterial Immunity—or a Form of Sex?
How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, acceler...
193
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Double success for ISTA at the Lower Austrian Science Awards: Johann Danzl received the Honorary Award for research including expansion microscopy of brain tissue, while Maria Ibáñez received a Recognition Award for 3D-printed thermoelectric materials. Congrats! 👏 🔗 bit.ly/4rMYlQ0
📸 ©️ Klaus Ranger
051
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Together, their research expands the Institute’s portfolio by addressing exciting and complex new questions linked to self-assembling and adaptive materials, as well as the interactions among Earth’s water, life and soil systems. Find out more about them 👉 bit.ly/4ycIcpg
bit.ly
Three More Professors Join ISTA
The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has welcomed three more new professors to campus. Together, their research expands the Institute’s portfolio by addressing exciting and complex n...
000
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We are delighted to welcome three new professors to our growing Institute. Simone Fatichi joins us as Professor from the National University of Singapore​, while Carla Fernández-Rico arrives from ETH Zürich​ and Friedrich Stricker from Harvard University​, both as Assistant Professors.
From left to right: Simone Fatichi, Carla Fernández-Rico, and Friedrich Stricker. © ISTA
140
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New bioRxiv preprint by PhD student Maciej Kania, alum Basile Confavreux & Professor Tim Vogels: "Ingrams for engrams: co-active inhibitory-inhibitory plasticity shapes inhibitory assemblies that stabilize and recall embedded engrams through disinhibition" doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.15.751748
020
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Do you see this amazing crowd? As we kick off the second edition of Postdoc Appreciation Week Austria​ (PAW), we are putting our postdocs exactly where they belong: in the spotlight. ✨ Explore this year’s PAW program and register for events here: bit.ly/4c6Mrdd
000
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Assistant Professor @jpkbravo.bsky.social​ summarizes findings indicating a viral origin for RNA-guided immunity. The evidence suggests ancient viral warfare could be at the root of modern class 1 CRISPR bacterial defense systems. Commentary in @science.org​: doi.org/10.1126/science.ael0758
060
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Science & tech journalists: come explore research up close! Join ISTA’s 2027 Journalist in Residence program near Vienna, Austria. Duration: 3–6 months Apply by 1 Nov 2026: www.ista.ac.at/en/institute/residen… #ScienceJournalism
010
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Say hello to our new PhD cohort! 🥳 We’re so excited to have you here. Welcome to ISTA! #PhDjourney #PhDlife #StudentLife #PhDstudent #GradSchool #ResearchLife #AcademicYear #NewBeginnings #ISTAresearch
0110
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This September, Monica Vișan joins ISTA from @uclaupdates.bsky.social​ as Professor and Vivian Kuperberg and Yuval Wigderson join from @ethz.ch​ as Assistant Professors. Read more: bit.ly/4xmYlai #NewFaculty #Mathematics #PrimeNumbers #Waves #DiscreteSystems #ISTAresearch
📸 Left to right: Professor Monica Vișan with assistant professors Yuval Wigderson and Vivian Kuperberg. © ISTA
020
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Inspiring days at the Atomic Quantum Matter Conference at ISTA! The event brought together 175 theorists and experimentalists to discuss the current frontier of complex quantum systems and explore what these capabilities might make possible in the future. @lmu.de​
011
Reposted by Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
Jean-Yves Desaules @jdesaules.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Happy to see our work on superdiffusive energy transport in lattice gauge theories finally be published. journals.aps.org/prb/abstract... Thanks to all collaborators at ICTP and TUM, and to @istaresearch.bsky.social for the support!
021
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Congrats to @andreastoellner.bsky.social​ for defending her PhD thesis! 🎓 👏 By levitating individual aerosol particles with a laser and continuously measuring their electric charge, she has gained fundamental insights into how these particles behave in the atmosphere.
010
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Link to publication 👉 doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02514-w
000
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
New publication "One-milligram torsional pendulum toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface" by ISTA PhD student Sofia Agafonova, ISTA assistant professor Onur Hosten, and collaborators made it to the homepage cover of @commsphys.nature.com​​​. 🤩 www.nature.com/commsphys
Screenshot taken on September 10, 2026, from the Communications Physics landing page: https://www.nature.com/commsphys/
120
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
@zdunajova.bsky.social @saren-t.bsky.social
000
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Find out more 👉 ista.ac.at/en/news/tumo...
ista.ac.at
Tumor Cells: Disorder Can Promote Spread
In 2024, malignant tumors caused more than 21,300 deaths in Austria, 4.7 percent more than in 2014. Faced with a similarly pressing global challenge, scientists are striving to better understand what ...
110
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Computer simulations revealed why: repeated encounters with obstacles make the edge of the cell collective rougher and more unstable, creating weak points where individual cells can break away.
100
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Using microfluidic chips filled with tiny pillars, researchers at ISTA found that tumor cell collectives broke apart more readily in disordered environments compared to ordered ones.
Specially designed microfluidic chips on a silicon wafer. © Saren Tasciyan / ISTA
100
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
To spread, cancer cells must detach from the tumor collective and move into nearby tissue. While genetics plays a major role, scientists are increasingly studying the tumor’s microenvironment—the cells, structures, and physical spaces surrounding it.
100
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
New interdisciplinary paper in Science Advances by the Sixt group and the @ehannezo.bsky.social group at ISTA and the @crick.ac.uk explored how the physical environment around tumor cells may influence their behavior. @science.org
Interdisciplinary research team at ISTA. Clockwise starting in the back left corner: Jack Merrin, Juraj Májek, Michael Sixt, Edouard Hannezo, Zuzana Dunajová & Saren Tasciyan. © ISTA
162
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Congrats to ISTA Assistant Professor Charles Roques-Carmes, named to MIT Technology Review’s “Innovators Under 35”! 🎉 His nanophotonic research could make X-ray imaging sharper and more sensitive. Well deserved, Charles! Read more: bit.ly/4gYNe1m #InnovatorsUnder35
020
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Update: The application portal is now back online and the application deadline for the ISTA-Fellowship has been moved to September 10 (14:00 CEST). We apologize for any inconvenience the downtime may have caused earlier and appreciate your understanding.
000
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Join AI researcher Klaus-Robert Müller for the ÖAW–ISTA Lecture on September 22 on the opportunities, limitations and interpretability of modern machine-learning methods. The ÖAW-ISTA Lecture in Vienna is a joint initiative of the @oeaw.bsky.social​​​​ and ISTA. Register: bit.ly/4xc6dwm
010
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Due to technical issues affecting our IT systems, the application portal is currently unavailable. The application deadline will be extended & updated information will be posted on our website as soon as it is available. Thank you for your understanding.
100
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Hi Deepthi! Due to technical issues affecting our IT systems, the application portal is currently unavailable. The application deadline will be extended & updated information will be posted on our website as soon as it is available. Thank you for your understanding.
000
Reposted by Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
Österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds FWF @fwf-at.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
#Keratin gibt tierischem u. menschlichem Gewebe Stabilität. Forschende @istaresearch.bsky.social zeigten, dass das Protein bereits in der Embryonalphase eine Rolle bei Gewebebewegungen spielt. Für ihre Forschung beobachteten sie Embryonen von Zebrafischen. #scilog 🧫 scilog.fwf.ac.at/magazin/wie-...
scilog.fwf.ac.at
Wie Keratin neuem Leben Halt gibt
Als zellulärer Strukturbaustoff gibt Keratin tierischem und menschlichem Gewebe Stabilität. Forschende am Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg konnten zeigen, dass das ...
061
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Hi Deepthi! Regarding the ISTA-Fellow application process please reach out to ista-fellow@ista.ac.at.
000
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
With projects on AI, astrophysics, bacterial immune systems, quantum matter, and optics, five ISTA researchers have secured €9.2 million in highly selective Starting Grants from the ERC @erc.europa.eu​. Read: ista.ac.at/en/news/e9-2-million-in-…
1182
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Congratulations to ISTA’s @jpkbravo.bsky.social​, named a 2026 Vallee Scholar! 🎉 The award supports innovative, curiosity-driven biomedical research. Bravo’s lab studies bacterial immune systems and how they distinguish self from non-self. Read more: shorturl.at/FyLbw
1294
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Congrats to Maria Ibáñez @groupibanez.bsky.social​ & Scott Waitukaitis on their promotions to Professors at ISTA! Maria advances thermoelectric materials, while Scott studies the electrical behavior of materials. Both are award-winning scientists and dedicated mentors shaping ISTA’s community.
📸 Maria Ibáñez ©️ Anna Stöcher
📸 Scott Waitukaitis ©️ Nadine Poncioni
050
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Looking for a fellowship that gives you the freedom to tackle high-risk concepts? The NOMIS-ISTA Fellowship Program offers 3-year, fully funded postdoctoral positions to pursue bold research at the intersection of two or more scientific disciplines. Learn more and apply 👉 bit.ly/49ivtnW
011
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Join us at the Young Scientist Symposium to explore how complex systems sense, adapt, decide, and evolve. This year’s edition is bringing together young scientists & leading experts in cognitive science, biology, and AI. Register now 👉 yss.pages.ista.ac.at
📸 Technology Network © Canva
010
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
ISTA Professor Monika Henzinger has received a major distinction as the 2027 recipient of the Royal Society Milner Award and Lecture. The prize recognizes her pioneering contributions to computer science and lasting impact across academia and industry. ista.ac.at/en/news/moni... @royalsociety.org
📸 Monika Henzinger ©️ Peter Rigaud | ISTA
030
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Want to push the frontiers of science? The ISTA-Fellow program offers fully funded (2-year) postdoctoral fellowships for candidates who have completed, or will soon complete, their PhD in the natural or computer sciences, mathematics, or any related discipline. Apply now 👉 bit.ly/3TTWjNj
012
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The findings were presented at SIGGRAPH Asia 2025 and published in ACM Transactions on Graphics @acm.org: doi.org/10.1145/3763... With PhD student Yi-Lu Chen, postdoc Mickaël Ly, and Professor Chris Wojtan #ISTAresearch #Sandcastles #SandGraphics #ComputerGraphics #VisualEffects
doi.org
Numerical Homogenization of Sand from Grain-level Simulations | ACM Transactions on Graphics
The realistic simulation of sand, soil, powders, rubble piles, and large collections of rigid bodies is a common and important problem in the fields of computer graphics, computational physics, and en...
010
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Now, researchers from the Wojtan group sought to investigate whether a single grain shape can sum up sand behavior. The shapes they explored took them on a journey from the fluid behavior of perfect spheres to robust bridges and invincible (sand)castles.
Simulated sandcastles under attack. © Chen et al., ACM Transactions on Graphics
131
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Sand may seem simple, but it is one of nature’s trickiest materials to model. Real sand grains are irregular and varied. Modeling every bump and edge and calculating how they would all interact would quickly overwhelm even powerful computers. Read more: ista.ac.at/en/news/digi...
ista.ac.at
110
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
From PhD student at ISTA to Launch Chief Editor of the new journal Nature Reviews Computing: Congratulations to Laura Schmid, recipient of this year’s ISTA Alumni Award! 🎉 Read more about her impressive journey: ista.ac.at/en/news/laura-schmid-rec… #ISTAalumni
📸 Laura Schmid ©️ Laura Schmid
040
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Discover how closely these organoids mirror the in vivo brain—and where they differ 👉 ista.ac.at/en/news/brai...
ista.ac.at
Brain and Organoid Side-by-Side
For almost 15 years, researchers have been creating three-dimensional biological microstructures known as organoids—from heart and gut models to brain models. These allow for the study of specific que...
000