Micro- and Nanotechnology

It now seems certain that Covid-19 can be transmitted via airborne particles. But how are these particles produced? How quickly can transmission occur and how can we protect ourselves? PSI aerosol researcher Urs Baltensperger summarises the most important facts on this issue.

At PSI, researchers decipher the structure of the proteins in bacteria and viruses. This knowledge can aid, for example, in the development of drugs against infectious diseases. But before the investigation can begin, an extremely tricky problem has to be solved: the crystallisation of the molecules.

Researchers have coaxed a secret out of the vital protein cytochrome c that it kept well-hidden up to now. Measurements at the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL reveal structural changes that science had previously ruled out for this kind of biomolecule.

PSI researchers have found a more effective treatment for a form of thyroid cancer – and with fewer side effects – by increasing the uptake of the cancer drug in tumour cells. The results have been published in the medical journal Theranostics.

The world of microbes and viruses is extremely old and exceedingly diverse. With the large research facilities at PSI, researchers are peering deep inside this alien cosmos and investigating, above all, the proteins of these exotic beings.

The older you are, the higher the risk of dying from a coronavirus infection. G. V. Shivashankar, a group leader at PSI and professor at ETH Zurich, now presents an unusual thesis in a publication in Nature Reviews: that the stiffness of cells might play a decisive role in the course of the disease. In this interview, he explains why.

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way research is carried out at PSI but has not brought it to a standstill. Gabriel Aeppli, head of the Photon Science Division at PSI, talks about the exceptional threat that Covid-19 represents and how PSI researchers are studying this new virus at SLS, and possibly soon at SwissFEL as well.

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI is in limited operation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and most employees are working from home in accordance with the Federal Council's specifications. Nevertheless, essential research facilities and projects continue to operate in accordance with all the necessary safety precautions.

The Swiss Light Source SLS at PSI is still in operation despite the Covid-19 pandemic – and may be urgently needed, especially in these difficult times. Oliver Bunk, head of the Laboratory for Macromolecules and Bioimaging, explains why.

Gebhard Schertler, head of the Biology and Chemistry Division at PSI and professor of structural biology at ETH Zurich, explains what research is being done on the coronavirus at PSI and why collaboration with researchers from other institutions plays such an important role in this.

In the service of health, scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI work with radionuclides and develop agents to treat cancer and to detect tumours. Their research provides support to hospitals and is of great interest to Swiss industry.

At the treatment stations of the Centre for Proton Therapy at PSI, tumours can be precisely irradiated from any direction. An interactive graphic explains how the protons get from the source to the body in order to trigger the elimination of tumour tissue.

Proton therapy is time-consuming and more costly than conventional radiation therapy, but its accuracy in targeting tumours is unsurpassed. An interview with Damien Weber, head of the Centre for Proton Therapy at PSI.

At PSI, cancer patients receive a therapy that is unique in Switzerland. Bombardment with protons wipes out cancer cells  –  and does so more precisely than with any other form of irradiation.

Gebhard Schertler is head of the research division Biology and Chemistry at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and professor for Structural Biology at ETH Zurich. In this interview he talks about biological research at PSI and the future of drug development.