We make the invisible visible
Leaves on a Gingko tree growing on the inner yard of MAX IV Laboratory in Lund. By using infrared micro-spectroscopy at beamline D7 situated at the MAX III storage ring (closed December 2015) scientists from Lund University, Vilnius University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm have been able to identify molecular signatures of fossil
At MAX IV we make synchrotron radiation, which is similar to ordinary sun light or dentist X-rays, depending on the needs of the different experiments. The light source at MAX IV is however millions of times stronger than our sun. The light is created in the beginning of a long and straight tube. The tube,
Chemists at the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry at Stockholm University in Sweden, together with colleagues at the MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, have studied how nanoparticles self-assemble. By using synchrotron radiation at MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, they are able to follow how nanocubes come together and form large and ordered structures inside
A study of an enzyme that helps build and repair DNA in living organisms increases our understanding of how these processes are controlled and how we can use this to combat infections. Chemists at the Faculty of Science at Lund University in Sweden, together with their colleagues in Umeå and Stockholm, have studied the enzyme ribonucleotide
The first diffraction experiment with a protein crystal has been performed at the BioMAX beamline at MAX IV Laboratory. After 5 years of designing, building and commissioning of this new beamline, crystals of the protein thaumatin were exposed to X-rays produced by the new MAX IV 3 GeV storage ring and diffraction patterns have been
The nerve agent sarin causes a deadly overstimulation of the nervous system that can be stopped if treated with an antidote within minutes of poisoning. A groundbreaking study was recently published in PNAS, which in detail describes how such a drug works. Researchers at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, Umeå University and in Germany are
After many years of work we have now started the X-ray commissioning phase of the first two beamlines at the 3 GeV storage ring. We got the “green light” from radiation safety to open the beamshutters and let the first synchrotron light shining into the NanoMAX and BioMAX beamlines. This brilliant light is being produced
In the race for ever faster, smaller and more energy-efficient devices, scientists around the world have been trying to develop ways to take advantage of the electron’s tiny magnetic movement, known as its spin, in a field of study called spintronics. This requires the engineering of electronic states in solids, which are spin-polarised. For decades
Although it receives little attention, AIDS continues to be a pandemic, with an estimated 35 million people infected as of 2014. Despite the increased awareness of AIDS worldwide, only about 54% of the population needing treatment have access to proper healthcare (as of 2012). Once a person has been infected, the disease can be
Osteoporosis is partly a result of ageing and increases the risk of bone fractures. Approximately half of all women experience an increased risk of bone fracture after menopause. The most common scenario is that people suffering from osteoporosis first break their wrist and then, later in life, the femoral neck, often resulting in severe complications.