Science highlights

Structures of several clinically relevant NUDT15 variants are discovered – paving the way for better cancer treatments

NUDT15 bound to TH7755. Credit: Emma Scaletti Recent research by a group of researchers from Sweden, the US, and the UK successfully developed a specific NUDT15 inhibitor, TH7755, that helped the group to obtain structures of clinically relevant NUDT15 variants: Arg139Cys, Arg139His, Val18Ile, and V18_V19insGlyVal. These insights allow further understandings of the structural basis of

COOL sustainability more than a pipe dream in Lund

Inside MAX IV’s Energy Central building in Lund. Credit: Kraftringen AB Sustainability measures, when applied intelligently, bolster societal productivity and deliver tangible improvements to the natural environment. Some argue that world economies cannot survive the impacts of business as usual in terms of pollution and high energy demands. In Lund, sustainability in work and life

Oxygen cycling reveals path to next-gen ferroelectric devices

Image: Members of the research group from the University of Groningen and MAX IV Laboratory. Credit: Pavan Nukala Research is heating up to achieve greater fundamental understanding of the mechanism of ferroelectricity in hafnia-based materials, a crucial step in the development of next generation devices. New findings from the University of Groningen (RUG) in the

Bluelining robot has The SAM team’s back

Bluelining robot’s work during the test A bluelining robot is invented at MAX IV, bringing the Survey, Alignment, and Mechanical Stability (SAM) team one step closer to automate the floor-marking process for equipment installation. It is a promising progress to leaving behind the previous manual, labor-intensive, and time-consuming process. The robot is a result of

Riverine iron survives salty exit to sea

A view of the Öre River in northern Sweden. Credit: Simon Herzog Iron organic complexes in Sweden’s boreal rivers significantly contribute to increased iron concentration in open marine waters, X-ray spectroscopy data shows. A Lund University study in Biogeosciences characterizes the role of salinity for iron-loading in estuarine zones, a factor which underpins intensifying seasonal

Forging stable catalysts for the future

Noble metal catalysts are critical ingredients in reactions for large-scale chemical synthesis, environmental energy generation and air purification. Research from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) with MAX IV’s HIPPIE beamline outlines a unique single atom catalyst (SAC) model system based on platinum-gallium liquid metal solution or SCALMS. The FAU research group studied the stability of the

Engineering antibodies with dual target capture

In the sphere of human antibody therapeutics, the DutaFab platform shows broadening potential. Pharmaceutical giant Roche has developed ‘dual targeting’ Fab molecules containing two spatially independent binding sites for targeting distinct antigens. Their recent study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates the high efficacy of these bispecific monoclonal antibodies for VEGFA and PDGF-BB growth factors related

The researchers who look into the tiniest part of a cell

It is a cold, grey November day in 2018 when we meet the researchers from Lund University at MAX IV, a research facility with the world’s brightest and most focused X-rays. Researchers from all over the world travel here to investigate things at the atomic level and see how molecules bind to one other;

Phosphate as an arsenic mobiliser in diverse soils

Ion chambers and PIPS detector at beamline 1811, Max-lab. Credit: Charlotta Tiberg Phosphate outcompetes arsenate, a form of arsenic, for sorption in aluminium-rich oxides according to scientists at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Their study, published in Chemosphere, holds important implications for the management of arsenic contamination in soils and groundwater. The research,

A Coherent Approach to 3D X-ray microscopy

High-resolution 3D X-ray imaging is essential for many fields of science. It lets us study the intricate inner works of everything from integrated circuits to bone and microfossils. In a recently published paper, the authors describe the first ptychographic X-ray computed tomography experiment performed at the NanoMAX beamline. A porous nickel inverse opal structure was