Scientific Highlights
Repairing genetic damage with sunlight
An international research team at SwissFEL of PSI has discovered how an enzyme repairs DNA damage with the help of sunlight.
The secret life of an electromagnon
SwissFEL sheds light on how lattice and atomic spins jiggle together.
Bringing SwissFEL light to industrial users
High throughput experiments will enable new structural biology users to benefit from XFEL light.
Tender X-rays show how one of nature’s strongest bonds breaks
Short flashes of an unusual kind of X-ray light at SwissFEL and SLS bring scientists closer to developing better catalysts to transform the greenhouse gas methane into a less harmful chemical.
A compact gas attenuator for the SwissFEL ATHOS beamline realized using additive manufacturing
Gas attenuators are important devices providing accurate variation of photon intensity for soft X-ray beamlines. In the SwissFEL ATHOS beamline front-end the space is very limited and an innovative approach has been taken to provide attenuation of three orders of magnitude up to an energy of 1200 eV. Additive manufacturing of a differential pumping system vacuum manifold allowed a triple pumping stage to be realized in a space of less than half a meter. Measurements have shown that the response of the device is as expected from theoretical calculations.
An algorithm for sharper protein films
A newly developed algorithm allows measurements performed at X-ray free-electron lasers to be evaluated more efficiently.
The Hercules School visits PSI
20 international students visited PSI as part of the renowned Hercules School to learn about our state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies at our large scale facilities.
How vision begins
PSI scientists have discovered the very first step occurring in the eye when light hits the retina.
Using light to switch drugs on and off
PSI researchers record a molecular film of a cancer drug fitted with a photoswitch. This opens new insights for drug developers.