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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.
Scientific output continued to increase at MAX IV during 2024, with the facility making societal contributions within areas such as life science, energy and materials science.
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?
Battery researchers across Sweden gathered last week (19/3) to kickstart the Battery matrix at MAX IV. Researchers came from various universities in Sweden, including Chalmers University, Uppsala University, Linköping University, and Lund University. Led by MAX IV’s beamline scientists Robert Temperton and Justus Just, the workshop focus on engaging discussions for a better support toward the battery research community. Other MAX IV’s scientists and functions, including the facility’s Science Director were also present.