User opportunities for studies of structural biology at the new X-ray crystallography beamline MicroMAX just got an upgrade. The Novo Nordisk Foundation is now offering funding for researchers affiliated with a Danish research institution to apply for grants for academic use of the beamline. The programme is called ‘MicroMAX Collaborative Research Grants.’
Inventive AI and robotic self-driving lab accelerates material discoveries
To find solutions to real-world challenges, researchers often need to do labour-intensive work that requires a time-consuming trial-and-error process. Developing a synthesis method for custom-made materials is one of them. The process can take years and is very hard to replicate. But what if technology could help solve this and accelerate the application of new functional materials? An international collaboration led by Andy Sode Anker from the Technical University of Denmark came to MAX IV and accomplished just that.
The great planetary reset: Mapping glass pearls
Their days were numbered, all manner of Cretaceous life in kingdom plantae and animalia. Those that survived the impact winter became our modern groups of terrestrial and aquatic plants, animals, and marine plankton. Scientists want to understand how the Chicxulub asteroid that hit Earth 66 million years ago changed the conditions for life on the planet and veiled the sun for so many years, leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Secrets to this understanding are locked in the asteroid’s physical composition. An international research group has now produced a unique elemental map of the spherules formed by the asteroid impact, with data from MAX IV’s Balder and NanoMAX beamlines. The findings may better explain the aerosol cloud formation that catalysed extinction-level climate change.
Seventy times faster charging possible for Lithium-ion batteries
A research team from the Netherlands and the UK have used MAX IV to investigate a material that could make charging of lithium-ion batteries seventy times faster than today. It is a promising development for future electric vehicles and renewable energy.
A path to polymerize metallic hydrogen?
An international research group reports in Nature the observation of the phase transition of a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) crystal structure of hydrogen to a 6-fold larger hydrogen supercell. The findings describe polymerization activity at extreme pressures which reveals how atoms arrange themselves in solid hydrogen and offers clues to the formation of metallic hydrogen. The study includes X-ray diffraction (XRD) data from MAX IV’s NanoMAX beamline.
High-resolution imaging provides clues to lung disease
Researchers have imaged lung tissue affected by Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) with nanometre resolution. They managed to capture differences in the distribution of trace elements compared to a healthy lung. The result is a step towards better understanding the body at the nanoscale and managing this and other currently untreatable diseases.
New anti-cancer candidate revealed with AI drug screening and X-rays
Consider it a success case or a bright point of discovery in the search for cancer inhibitors. An international team of researchers has identified a new compound to potentially disarm AKR1C3, an upregulated enzyme found in prostate, breast and other cancers, using AI-based drug screening and brilliant X-ray light at MAX IV. Is this study a diamond in the rough or a glimpse of more to come in biomedical research using artificial intelligence?
High-speed snapshots reveal hidden details of catalysis
Developments in time-resolved catalysis research opens a long-awaited opportunity to revisit catalytic reactions that have been subject to scientific debate. In this recent publication, the newly developed method has been used to settle the mechanism for carbon monoxide transformation to carbon dioxide over a platinum catalyst. The result is an important step towards optimisation of catalysts.
Researchers reveal mechanism behind artificial photosynthesis
Researchers have for the first time revealed the mechanism behind artificial photosynthesis. The study is an important step towards more efficient and tailored devices for local sustainable energy production.
A new way to look at thyroid tumours
Follicular tumours in the thyroid can be difficult to diagnose as the entire follicle capsule needs to be sliced and inspected in order to detect ruptures. The current protocol involves cytology and histology, but these have limitations. Researchers from Uppsala University (UU) and Lund University (LU) are investigating the potential use of synchrotron-based virtual histology for 3D inspection of the follicle capsule at MAX IV.