Lab News & Scientific Highlights
Empêcher la formation des métastases des tumeurs
Des chercheurs de l’Institut Paul Scherrer PSI ont, en collaboration avec des collègues de la firme pharmaceutique F. Hoffmann-La Roche SA, franchi un pas important dans le développement d’une substance active contre la formation des métastases de certaines tumeurs cancéreuses. Grâce à la Source de Lumière Synchrotron Suisse SLS, ils ont déchiffré la structure d’un récepteur qui joue un rôle essentiel dans la migration des cellules cancéreuses.
World record in time-resolved tomography
Researchers from the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the TOMCAT beamline have achieved a new world record in time-resolved tomography by measuring over 200 tomographies per second during heating of an evolving aluminium metal foam.
Observer des batteries tout solides en train de se déformer
Des chercheurs de l’Institut Paul Scherrer PSI ont observé avec une précision inégalée à ce jour des processus mécaniques qui se passent dans les batteries tout solides. Le recours à la tomographie aux rayons X à la Source de Lumière Suisse SLS leur a permis de découvrir le mode de propagation des fissures à l’intérieur des batteries. Leurs conclusions pourraient permettre d’améliorer la sécurité et la performance des batteries des voitures électriques et des smartphones.
Glycation of collagen in decellularized pericardium tissue: pilot study
Aging populations and diabetics suffer from the effects of the glycation of collagen, the non-enzymatic formation of glucose bridges. While the secondary effects have been studied intensely, comparatively little is known on the direct effect of glycation on the structure of collagen. It has been demonstrated in this study, that the direct impact of glycation can be determined with sub-atomic precision, and that a model system based on abundantly available connective tissue of farm animals can be used for such studies. This opens new avenues for inspecting the effects of diabetes mellitus on connective tissues and the influence of therapies on the resulting secondary disorders.
HERCULES school 2019 at SLS
In the week of April 1-5 PSI welcomes 20 PhD students and postdocs taking part in the European HERCULES 2019 school on Neutron and Synchrotron Radiation. They will attend lectures and perform two days of practical courses at several beam lines of the Swiss Light Source.
Inside Batteries
Lithium ion batteries (LIB) are essential in modern everyday life, with increasing interest in enhancing their performance and lifetime. Secondary particles of Li-rich cathode material were examined with correlated ptychographic X-ray tomography and diffraction microscopy at different stages of cycling to probe the aging mechanism.
Insights into a well-known disease in ageing populations: Abdominal and popliteal aneurysm
Abdominal aortic aneurysm, an enlargement of the abdominal aorta, may lead to rupture and thus acute health issues and death. Scanning X-ray imaging enabled new insights in the nano-structure of calcifications associated with abdonimal and popliteal aneurysm and allowed mapping the distribution of nano- and micro-calcifications as well as of collagen, elastin and myofilament as building blocks of connective tissue across samples from human donors.
Une lentille virtuelle améliore la microscopie à rayons X
Une nouvelle méthode développée par des chercheurs du PSI permet d’améliorer encore les radiographies de matériaux. Pour ce faire, les chercheurs ont déplacé une lentille optique et réalisé chaque fois une image individuelle. A partir de là, ils ont calculé une image globale à l’aide d’algorithmes informatiques.
Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur
Synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy of melanophores (skin pigment cells) of an amazingly well preserved 180 million years old ichtyosaur (extinct marine reptile similar to whales) contributed in a multidisciplinary investigation to the new findings published today in Nature.