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Cooling without pumps: New measurement data for modular reactors
In an international collaboration, researchers at PSI have, for the first time, collected high-resolution measurement data from passive cooling systems for small modular nuclear reactors – an important basis for developing future generations of reactors.
Wind energy and scenic landscapes: balancing beauty and power through better planning
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and ETH Zurich have drawn up the first Europe-wide map of landscape quality and highlighted where wind energy and landscape protection overlap.
LEAPS AISBL inaugurated in Brussels as formal legal entity
Europe’s leading photon science facilities enter a new phase of strategic coordination.
Not every brain ages in the same way
Over a lifetime, our brain ages – in particular its volume decreases. However, the brains of some people display a greater resistance to age-related change and to the protein deposits associated with dementia.
Radiopharmacy: past, present and future
Radiopharmaceuticals allow some types of cancer to be targeted with tailor-made therapies. The current state of the art was preceded by decades of intensive research – and the future promises even better treatment options.
Swiss biomethane has potential
By using biomass intelligently, Switzerland could meet a substantial percentage of its own gas needs, making itself less dependent on the global market.
Taking the fear out of cancer
Researchers at PSI are developing new technologies and drugs to eliminate tumours more effectively: with greater precision and personalised approaches
A time machine to the most stable state
GEMS allows scientists to model the chemistry of complex systems. A new national consortium now guarantees the long-term development of this open-source software.
Why cells respond “incorrectly” in old age
Researchers at PSI have established why the cells in our body react differently to stimuli and signals in old age compared with young cells. Their studies on human skin cells have shown that the chromatin, the packaged form of the DNA in the cell nucleus, plays a key role in this.
Imaging electrical switching of ultraefficient memory devices
SLS illuminates how electrical switching in layered materials works
Blood pressure-lowering drug with a light switch
From off to on: PSI researchers have observed how the potency of a blood pressure medication can be switched using light.
PSI as a city
If you look closely, PSI resembles a small city. We present a selection of 11 facilities and services located on the institute’s 342,000-square-metre campus. They are available to PSI’s 2,300 employees – and in some cases well beyond.
The competitiveness of low-carbon fuels depends on location
Production location, financing, and innovation shape the competitiveness of low-carbon fuels.
Where analysis meets flavours
Some see brewing as an art, others as a science – Luc Van Loon combines both these virtues at his brewery. With the nose of a sommelier and the precision of a chemist, the former PSI researcher creates world-class beers.
How hydrogen affects titanium implants
Researchers use Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SINQ to study how medical implants change inside the body.
Measuring time at the quantum level
Physicists using the Swiss Light Source SLS have found a way to measure the time involved in quantum events and found it depends on the symmetry of the material.
Filming a vitamin B12 photoreceptor in action
SwissFEL shows the molecular events that occur when a vitamin B12 photoreceptor absorbs light
PSI Founder Fellowship for AI platform and solid-state batteries
PSI researchers Mohsen Sadr and Mohammadhossein Montazerian are receiving financial support and guidance for their business ideas through the PSI technology transfer team.
Surgery for quantum bits
Researchers show how quantum operations can be carried out while actively correcting errors – a key step toward reliable quantum computers.
One thousand modules for CERN
At CERN near Geneva, tiny particles with extremely high energies are blasted at each other to answer big questions about the universe. The detectors that observe the collisions of these particles require regular upgrades. Lea Caminada and her High Energy Particle Physics research group at PSI play an important role in this quest.
Important funding for muon research
PSI gets an NCCR: The Muoniverse project will further expand research on the beamlines for elementary particles called muons – at the world’s leading facility for muon beams.
“We’re pulling out all the stops”
PSI is increasing the intensity of its muon beams a hundredfold. This opens up entirely new possibilities for physics and materials research.
Identifying the sources of Sarajevo’s smog
Fumes from wood and coal burning as well as from cooking are the main sources of the heavy smog in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That’s the finding of a comprehensive mobile measurement campaign by PSI researchers.
A comprehensive energy system model for Switzerland
Energy systems face complicated, long-term challenges with a high degree of uncertainty. To explore these challenges and support decision-making, the STEM energy systems model from the Energy Economics Group at PSI has become a key tool.
Swiss X-ray laser reveals the hidden dance of electrons
New X-ray technique at SwissFEL shows how electrons act together – with the potential to show why quantum information slips so easily away.
Electric vehicles could catch on in Africa sooner than expected
Electric vehicles could become economically competitive in many African countries before 2040.
X-raying auditory ossicles – a new technique reveals structures in record time
Using a bone, PSI researchers have demonstrated how the structures of biological materials can be determined on scales from nanometres to millimetres in a very short time.
New process for stable, long-lasting all-solid-state batteries
PSI researchers have developed a novel process that could make all-solid-state batteries more robust and longer-lasting.
Synchronising ultrashort X-ray pulses
Attosecond coherent pulses at SwissFEL will open new experimental possibilities
PSI Year in Review 2025
Twelve PSI research highlights in 2025
Engineering skill and perseverance
Credit for the on-time completion of the major SLS 2.0 upgrade project is due in part to a team of dedicated electrical engineers.
Kelvin: The low-temperature scale
The art of engineering means, first of all, the skill required to design and manufacture devices that enable top technical performance. This gallery shows, in five pictures, that this term can also be understood differently if the devices are regarded as works of art with their very own aesthetic, apart from their actual function.
“Collaboration is particularly important in quantum research”
PSI researcher Kirsten Moselund talks about quantum technologies – about their importance and the current situation in Switzerland. And about her own research in the field of nanophotonics.
Laser draws made-to-order magnetic landscapes
Researchers at PSI have found a surprisingly inexpensive and fast method to make localised alterations in magnetic materials.
How microtubules take part in cellular signal processing
Researchers at PSI have investigated on the molecular level how the cytoskeleton transmits commands within the cell. Their findings could provide the medical field with new options for intervention in the event of malfunctions within the organism.
Optimising the treatment of eye tumours
The Insel Group and PSI are expanding their collaboration to provide faster and better coordinated access to proton therapy for patients with eye tumours.
Predicting component lifetimes in nuclear facilities
For 30 years, experiments have been providing unique insight into how metals and ceramics degrade under high-energy proton bombardment.
X-rays bring high-resolution brain mapping within reach
A new imaging breakthrough could reveal brain connectivity in 3D detail never before accessible.
Clean biogas – measurable everywhere
A new analytical method can detect even tiny amounts of critical impurities.
Swiss PIC technology transfer centre is inaugurated
Jointly founded by scientific and industrial partners with PSI researchers: the Swiss Photonics Integration Center celebrated its inauguration on 24 November 2025.
How the cheese-pasta principle could help counter Alzheimer's
PSI researchers have discovered cellular mechanisms that could help to mitigate diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Atoms under pressure
Zurab Guguchia puts pressure on matter – and in doing so, creates exciting quantum effects such as superconductivity at more easily achievable temperatures.
Electric cars and heat pumps can help the Energy Strategy
In future, flexibly operated heat pumps and electric cars could reduce both electricity imports and electricity prices. That is according to a new study by a Swiss research consortium led by ETH Zurich.
Terbium duet and other quantum art
To create more stable qubits, PSI researchers make terbium ions perform in pairs. Elsewhere, they are using optical tweezers to position atoms with high precision.
Particulate pollution re-evaluated
A new study provides data from 43 sites across Europe, showing the respective oxidative stress on the lungs.
Slowing time and trapping ions
Cornelius Hempel uses quanta to perform calculations on quantum phenomena. While this sounds logical, it’s actually highly complex. His latest coup: a quantum simulator that slows down time.
Disorder begins at the surface of quantum materials
Ultrafast X-rays from SwissFEL reveal unexpected light responses in quantum materials.
Data for a better vanadium flow
Scientists at PSI have developed a dynamic database on the global vanadium economy. This is meant to advance the use of special energy storage systems – and thus the energy transition.