In clinical practice it is well established that type O blood, which lacks A and B antigens on the red blood cells, can be safely used in universal blood transfusions for any ABO blood group. Serious or even fatal immune reactions may occur if one receives incompatible blood from a donor. How might we mitigate the risks for low donor supply or unusable blood in emergencies? Research groups from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Lund University now report in Nature Microbiology, an enzymatic conversion method to create ABO-universal blood, a major leap towards human blood that could potentially enable live-saving blood donations to anyone, without negative immune response or the need for matched donor-recipient blood types. Data for the structural determination of key enzymes used in conversion of the ABO-universal blood was collected at MAX IV’s BioMAX beamline.
Nano-focused X-rays aid integrated circuit development
A modern chip contains billions of transistors. The size of individual features is just a couple of tens of nanometres. With decreasing size follows increased demands on material control and characterisation down to the atomic scale. The nano-focused X-ray beam at beamline NanoMAX prove to be a useful tool for investigating electromigration, a significant cause of failure in on-chip interconnects.
A unifying theory of superconductivity: Finding common symmetry
A global goal of physics is greater knowledge of the mechanism of superconductivity. A research group from China and the United Kingdom recently reported in Nature Physics the pairing symmetry of iron-based superconductor KFe2As2, which contains only hole pockets on the fermi surface. The result, which includes measurements at BLOCH beamline, brings science closer to a unified theory of unconventional superconductivity for iron-based materials.
Ionic liquids key to sustainable energy storage
High-capacity energy storage systems are an important part of the renewable energy transition and can be realised using RTILs, room temperature ionic liquids, as electrolytes.
A research team from University of Tartu, Estonia, recently used beamline FlexPES to study the stability of RTILs for such applications.
Microgel properties in X-ray spotlight
Microgels are versatile soft colloids used for example as pharmaceutical carriers or for sensing applications. In a recent study, X-ray methods are used to uncover details about their properties to open ways for further optimisation.
Nanoscience for clean water at ForMAX supported by ReMade@ARI
Alejandro Cortés Villena and Alessandro Ciccone from Institute of Molecular Science in Valencia are using the ForMAX beamline as part of their research supported by ReMade@ARI, a collaboration project focusing on Circular Economy. They are studying carbon-based nanomaterials that are going to be used for enabling cleaning of contaminants in water with the help of sunlight through photocatalysis.
Research done at MAX IV contributes to CIGS solar cell world record
Conversion of carbon dioxide into raw materials more effective with gold
Carbon dioxide, emitted mainly by combustion of fossil fuels, is harmful to the climate and the main reason for increased global warming. Diverting carbon dioxide into hydrogen carriers or chemicals such as methanol, a valuable raw material and energy carrier, is thus highly desired. Supported metal nanoparticle heterogeneous catalysts such as copper on zinc oxide is used for the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol. Researchers have now discovered that it is possible to avoid by-products and at the same time make the process more sustainable by adding a small amount of gold to the catalyst.
Targeting weaknesses in quick clays with X-ray data
Recent landslides in Scandinavia linked to quick clays in the underlying soil have caused major damage to societal infrastructure and even loss of life. In urban areas in particular, quick clays can pose a significant hazard when disturbed. Research on the clay material structure holds promise to understand why quick clay soils can collapse without warning, and in connection, provide valuable insight for improved planning of buildings, roads, and bridges as well as public safety measures. New techniques for the study of quick clays include small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) available at MAX IV’s CoSAXS beamline, and full-field tomographic imaging and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS) at ForMAX beamline.
To glue and be glued – unusual electron pairing gives clue to high-temperature superconductivity
A team of researchers have studied the high-temperature superconducting cuprate-material Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4 with a small amount of electron-rich atoms added, a practice called electron-doping. The material turns out to have unusual electronic properties underpinning its superconductivity. The result has important implications for a larger group of similar superconducting materials.