Glycation of collagen in decellularized pericardium tissue: pilot study
Aging populations and diabetics suffer from the effects of the glycation of collagen, the non-enzymatic formation of glucose bridges. While the secondary effects have been studied intensely, comparatively little is known on the direct effect of glycation on the structure of collagen. It has been demonstrated in this study, that the direct impact of glycation can be determined with sub-atomic precision, and that a model system based on abundantly available connective tissue of farm animals can be used for such studies. This opens new avenues for inspecting the effects of diabetes mellitus on connective tissues and the influence of therapies on the resulting secondary disorders.
LIN builds pressure vessels for joint detector project with FRM-II in Munich
Highly efficient two-dimensional detectors are essential for the performance of modern neutron diffractometers. The NUM Division of PSI and the Technical University Munich TUM jointly develop two identical new 3He gas detectors, one for the diffractometer DMC at SINQ and the other for operation at FRM-II in Munich.
PhD Defence Fei Li
On 31.05.2019, Fei Li passed successfully his PhD defence at the ETH Materials Department. The title of his thesis is "Crystal and Magnetic Structure of R1/3Sr2/3FeO3 (R = La,Pr,Nd)”
Save the Date - IDCN Event organised by PSI on 26th September 2019 at the FHNW Brugg-Windisch
On 26th September 2019, PSI will host its second IDCN-event at the FHNW Brugg-Windisch (right next to the trainstation Brugg AG) in cooperation with IDCN Zurich.
The International Dual Career Network (IDCN) is a non-profit organization formed through the collaboration of academic institutions, companies and NGOs with the purpose of facilitating the job search for mobile employees’ partners, and providing member companies access to a turnkey pool of talent. Since 2017, PSI is a corporate member of IDCN.
Chemically mapping ice forming particles
Scientists have just nucleated ice in an X-ray microscope for the first time and they created chemical maps of those responsible.
PSI participates in ECNS in St Petersburg
The European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS) with its recent 2019 edition in St. Petersburg is a spree of lectures, poster sessions, and expert talks on the current trends and future possibilities in neutron science. PSI with its neutron source SINQ was represented by members of the three NUM laboratories LNS, LMX and LIN. In addition, PSI was silver sponsor of ECNS 2019 and is also a member of the LENS consortium (League of Advanced European Neutron Sources).
Experimental signatures of a three-dimensional quantum spin liquid in effective spin-1/2 Ce2Zr2O7 pyrochlore
A quantum spin liquid is a state of matter where unpaired electrons’ spins, although entangled, do not show magnetic order even at the zero temperature. The realization of a quantum spin liquid is a long-sought goal in condensed-matter physics.
Weyl fermions discovered in another class of materials
A particular variety of particles, the so-called Weyl fermions, had previously only been detected in certain non-magnetic materials. But now researchers at PSI have experimentally proved their existence for the first time in a specific paramagnetic material.
Feriencamp 2019
Vom 8. - 12. Juli durften erneut 36 Kinder von PSI-Mitarbeitenden am diesjährigen Feriencamp teilnehmen. Bei schönem und nicht zu heissem Sommerwetter erlebten sie eine abwechslungsreiche, unterhaltende und interessante Woche am PSI. Nur durch die zahlreichen Helferinnen und Helfer bei der Gruppen- und Stationsbetreuung war dies überhaupt möglich. Ein herzlicher Dank ihnen allen!
Spin fluctuation induced Weyl semimetal state in the paramagnetic phase of EuCd2As2
Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles can arise in Weyl semimetals (WSMs) in which the energy bands are nondegenerate, resulting from inversion or time-reversal symmetry breaking. Nevertheless, experimental evidence for magnetically induced WSMs is scarce. Here, using photoemission spectroscopy, we observe that the degeneracy of Bloch bands is already lifted in the paramagnetic phase of EuCd2As2. We attribute this effect to the itinerant electrons experiencing quasi-static and quasi–long-range ferromagnetic fluctuations.
Soft biomimetic nanoconfinement promotes amorphous water over ice
Water is a ubiquitous liquid with unique physicochemical properties, whose nature has shaped our planet and life as we know it. Water in restricted geometries has different properties than in bulk. Confinement can prevent low-temperature crystalliza- tion of the molecules into a hexagonal structure and thus create a state of amorphous water. To understand the survival of life at subzero temperatures, it is essential to elucidate this behaviour in the presence of nanoconfining lipidic membranes.
Abschlussfeiern an den Berufs- und Maturitätsschulen 2019
Ende Juni bis Mitte Juli durften unsere Berufsbildnerinnen und Berufsbildner an den Abschlussfeiern an den Schulen teilnehmen. Stolz gratulieren wir unseren Lernenden, welche das diesjährige Qualifikationsverfahren und die Berufsmaturität so erfolgreich bestanden haben, ganz herzlich!
3D magnetic structures
Three-dimensional magnetic nanostructures developed at LMN in collaboration with NUM-LMX and University of Glasgow have been featured on the cover of Materials Today.
Tomonaga-Luttinger Liquid Spin Dynamics in the Quasi-One-Dimensional Ising-Like Antiferromagnet BaCo2V2O8
Combining inelastic neutron scattering and numerical simulations, we study the quasi-one-dimensional Ising anisotropic quantum antiferromagnet BaCo2V2O8 in a longitudinal magnetic field. This material shows a quantum phase transition from a Néel ordered phase at zero field to a longitudinal incommensurate spin density wave at a critical magnetic field of 3.8 T.
Lehrlingsevent des Gewerbevereins Aaretal-Kirchspiel 2019
Dieses Jahr fand der traditionelle Lehrlingsevent des Gewerbevereins Aaretal-Kirchspiel am Freitag, 5. Juli bei heissem Sommerwetter im Landgasthof Schloss Böttstein statt. 7 PSI-Lehrabsolventinnen und –absolventen nahmen daran teil und erhielten mit ihren guten Abschlüssen viele Preise.
Molecular energy machine as a movie star
Using the Swiss Light Source SLS, PSI researchers have recorded a molecular energy machine in action and thus revealed how energy production at cell membranes works. For this purpose, they developed a new investigative method that could make the analysis of cellular processes significantly more effective than before.
The energy system of the future and Power-to-X
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI analyse the potential of Power-to-X for Switzerland's energy supply and present their conclusions in a white paper. One finding: The costs for energy from Power-to-X could fall by up to one-third.
Comenius Medal for eCourse «Ethics in Research»
Dr. Helmut Schift, head of polymer nanotechnology group of LMN and consultant for research integrity at PSI, received the Comenius medal on 27 June 2019 in Berlin. The Comenius-EduMedia-Award is granted for outstanding examples of digital educational media.
Metamagnetic texture in a polar antiferromagnet
The notion of a simple ordered state implies homogeneity. If the order is established by a broken symmetry, the elementary Landau theory of phase transitions shows that only one symmetry mode describes this state. At the exact points of phase coexistence, domain states composed of large regions of different phases can be stabilized by long-range interactions.
Large Anomalous Hall Effect in Topological Insulators with Proximitized Ferromagnetic Insulators
We report a proximity-driven large anomalous Hall effect in all-telluride heterostructures consisting of the ferromagnetic insulator Cr2Ge2Te6 and topological insulator (Bi,Sb)2Te3. Despite small magnetization in the (Bi,Sb)2Te3 layer, the anomalous Hall conductivity reaches a large value of 0.2e2/h in accord with a ferromagnetic response of the Cr2Ge2Te6.
First demonstration of a Germanium laser
Scientist at the Paul Scherrer Institut and ETH Zürich, with colleagues from CEA Grenoble, have demonstrated and characterized a technology that, for the first time, yields lasing from strained elemental Germanium. This achievement underlines PSI’s leading role in the development of Silicon-compatible laser light sources.
New NUM Laboratory for Neutron and Muon Instrumentation (LIN)
In the division Research with Neutrons and Muons (NUM) all technical knowledge and expertise concerned with the development and operation of the scientific instrumentation for neutron and muon experiments at our user facilities have been united in the new Laboratory for Neutron and Muon Instrumentation (LIN).
Lehrberufe à la carte 2019
Am 30. Juni 2019 präsentiert das PSI seine 15 verschiedenen Lehrberufe. Auch das Schülerlabor iLab öffnet an diesem Sonntag seine Türen.
Soichiro Tsujino is one of the APL top reviewers of 2018
The editors of Applied Physics Letters (APL) named Dr. Soichiro Tsujino, head of the XFEL nanoengineering group of LMN, as one of the 16 ALP top reviewers in 2018.
PSI School for Master Degree Students - Introducing Photons, Neutrons and Muons for Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science
From 17 – 21 June 2019 the Neutron and Muon Division (NUM) and the Photon Science Division (PSD) of PSI hosted 18 Master Degree students of physics, chemistry, materials and interdisciplinary science, as well as nuclear engineering to provide an introduction to the characterization of materials with large scale facilities like SINQ, SμS, SLS and SwissFEL. The course taught a basic understanding of how photons, neutrons and muons interact with matter, and how this knowledge can be used to solve specific problems in materials research.
Details of the program can be found at http://indico.psi.ch/event/PSImasterschool
First serial femtosecond crystallography experiment using SwissFEL’s large bandwidth X-ray pulses
The typical mode of operation at XFEL facilities uses the so-called self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) process to generate the short, bright X-ray pulses. This mode of operation is stochastic in nature, causing some variance in intensity and spectrum on a shot-to-shot basis, which makes certain types of crystallographic measurements much more challenging.
Molecular scissors stabilise the cell's cytoskeleton
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have an important part of the regulatory cycle that is involved in the formation and degradation of the cytoskeleton. Among other things, they have watched molecular scissors at work.
Lipstick and Beer
PSI Women Solidarity Get-Together
They invited all PSI female employees from all types of jobs to join them for a get-together in solidarity and to make a toast (with alcohol-free beer and water) for a successful women's strike - As a sign of solidarity for the women's strike.
PSI imaging helps with rocket launches
PSI researchers are helping the European space program: Their neutron imaging serves to ensure the quality of critical components for rocket launches.
Critical fields of Nb3Sn prepared for superconducting cavities
Nb3Sn is currently the most promising material other than niobium for future superconducting radiofrequency cavities. Critical fields above 120 mT in pulsed operation and about 80 mT in CW have been achieved in cavity tests. This is large compared to the lower critical field as derived from the London penetration depth, extracted from low field surface impedance measurements.