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A new spin on sample delivery for membrane proteins
Proteins hover in front of the X-ray beam at a Swiss Light Source beamline. Now, spinning thin films bring on board these trickiest of proteins.
The chemical complex that regulates body zinc storage
Zinc deficiency compromises the immune system and is a global public health problem. Through experiments at the Swiss Light Source SLS and BESSYII, researchers gained new insights into zinc storage, with implications for understanding COVID-19 severity.
Solving the unsolvable
PSI and ETH Zurich have founded the Quantum Computing Hub, where top researchers work together on concepts for quantum computers.
Athos just got even better
An ambitious upgrade at the soft X-ray beamline of the free electron laser SwissFEL opens up new experimental capabilities.
A better understanding of water
Potentiometric map of water molecules created
Making it easier to differentiate mirror-image molecules
Researchers have shown that mirror-image substances – so-called enantiomers – can be better distinguished using helical X-ray light.
Reaction insights help make sustainable liquid fuels
Methanol made from CO2 in the air can be transformed into carbon neutral fuels. New mechanistic understanding aids development of this sustainable alternative.
Faster and smarter
PSI is pooling its expertise regarding the evaluation of research data in the new research division Scientific Computing, Theory and Data.
Spin keeps electrons in line in iron-based superconductor
Electronic nematicity, thought to be an ingredient in high temperature superconductivity, is primarily spin driven in FeSe finds a study in Nature Physics.
Nominated: High-precision X-rays of breast tissue
Employing high-resolution X-rays to diagnose breast cancer – PSI researchers nominated for the European Inventor Award.
New SwissFEL soft X-ray endstation welcomes first users
Maloja is go. First user experiments mark a double first, not only for the Maloja endstation but also for the second beamline of SwissFEL, Athos.
How to find anti-cancer agents
PSI researchers have developed a new substance that disables a vital protein in the cell skeleton.
Into the fourth dimension: time-resolved soft X-ray laminography
Combining time-resolved soft X-ray STXM imaging with magnetic laminography, researchers were able to investigate magnetization dynamics in a ferromagnetic microstructure resolved in all three spatial dimensions and in time. Thanks to the possibility of freely selecting the frequency of the excitation applied to the magnetic element, this technique opens the possibility to investigate resonant magneto-dynamical processes, such as e.g. magnetic vortex core gyration and switching, and spinwave emission.
A look into the magnetic future
PSI researchers are the first to observe a specific behaviour of magnetic ice.
Hercules School 2022
PSI hosted again the Hercules School in March 2022. We had the pleasure to welcome 20 international PhD students, PostDocs and scientists to demonstrate our state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies at our large scale facilities, the Swiss Light Source (SLS), the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source (SINQ) and our free electron laser SwissFEL.
Novel X-ray lens facilitates glimpse into the nanoworld
PSI develops a revolutionary achromatic lens for X-rays.
Light springs and magnetic vortices: a new kind of dichroism
In contrast to circular dichroism that is dependent on the polarization, helicoidal dichroism induced by a twisted wave front profile is scarcely known. The first evidence of magnetic helicoidal dichroism has now been observed in an experiment using Spiral Fresnel Zone Plates developed at the Paul Scherrer Institut.
The wondrous world of light antennas
How light receptors can be used to specifically switch processes in cells on and off.
Mobile excitons as neutral information carriers
These quasiparticles have the potential to revolutionise electronics - if they can move. Mobile excitons have now been observed for the first time in a metal.
Lighting up the appealing world of hybrid perovskites
Researchers from Italy, in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institut, successfully used the macromolecular crystallography beamline X06DA-PXIII at the Swiss Light Source to characterize promising perovkites materials used in solar cells and other photodetector devices.
Opening the door to X-ray quantum optics
The 'perfect' X-ray beam-splitter: Researchers at SwissFEL have an ingenious solution to produce coherent copies of pulses, facilitating a realm of new X-ray techniques.
How to get chloride ions into the cell
A molecular movie shot at PSI reveals the mechanism of a light-driven chloride pump
Simulant material could aid in Fukushima cleanup
A new simulation of the most dangerous radioactive debris from the Fukushima nuclear power plant will help with clean-up efforts.
EU XFEL Young Scientist Award for Camila Bacellar
Camila Bacellar, beamline scientist and group leader of the Alvra endstation at SwissFEL, has received the European XFEL Young Scientist Award. The award recognises the contribution of young scientists to research at the European XFEL.
New, better coronavirus rapid test
The test identifies different virus variants and improves disease prognosis.
Towards compact quantum computers, thanks to topology
In pursuit of particularly stable quantum bits, researchers have closely examined the electron distribution in two semiconductors.
Direct observation of crack formation mechanisms with operando Laser Powder Bed Fusion X-ray radiography
Operando high-speed X-ray radiography experiments reveal the cracking mechanism during 3D laser printing of a Ni superalloy.
Millions in funding for brain and quantum research
The European Research Council approves PSI projects for the development of a quantum computer and brain research worth about 5 million euros.
Semiconductors reach the quantum world
Boosted with superconductivity: Semiconductor technology can get a new twist by exploiting quantum effects in superconductors.
Priority access call for work on combating COVID-19 continues
On January 30th, 2020, the WHO declared the recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a public health emergency of international concern. It declared that there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the newly identified virus and its possible future evolution as well as to contain the spread; to develop precise diagnostics and treatment, and to improve the public health response and patient care.
The COVID priority access call continues and is still open in 2022.