PSI year in review 2024

The year 2024 begins with a loss for climate research: Within the framework of the Ice Memory initiative, PSI researchers analysed ice cores that were drilled six and four years ago from the Corbassière glacier on the Grand Combin in Valais. A comparison of the two data sets, published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience, shows that global warming has largely rendered this glacier unusable as a climate archive. It can no longer provide reliable information about the past climate and air pollution.

In February, researchers from PSI and the technology transfer centre ANAXAM published a solution to an old problem: In rare cases, the injection needles of pre-filled syringes can become clogged. With the help of the Swiss Light Source SLS and the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SINQ, the researchers discovered a possible cause: Excessive pressure and temperature fluctuations drive liquid into the needle, where air bubbles can form. If the liquid dries out, plugs or deposits remain inside the needle.

As part of a strategic collaboration, PSI and the Finnish company PiBond, a leading manufacturer of advanced materials for the semiconductor industry, want to accelerate the development of next-generation lithographic materials and future semiconductor innovations. Lithography – especially in its most advanced form, EUV lithography – is considered the epitome of ultrahigh-precision manufacturing. It makes a crucial contribution to the production of semiconductor chips that not are only faster but also more energy efficient and that are driving the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

A special kind of collaboration takes centre-stage in April: Using a synchrotron-based technique, researchers at PSI, together with the Montreux Jazz Digital Project at EPFL, want to non-destructively digitise historically valuable tape recordings that can no longer be played due to physical and chemical decomposition. The method uses the special X-ray light from the Swiss Light Source SLS. For example, it should enable recordings such as B.B. King's 1980 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival to be restored and thus saved for posterity.

A bionanomachine for green chemistry: The watchword for May is sustainability. Researchers at PSI have for the first time precisely characterised the enzyme styrene oxide isomerase, which can be used to produce valuable chemicals and drug precursors in an environmentally friendly way. The enzyme can potentially be modified in such a way that it will be able to convert a whole series of new substances. In addition, the enzyme is very stable and can therefore be used on a large scale. Thus it could become an important new tool for the circular economy and green chemistry.

Advances in medical research and innovation benefit from close cooperation between doctors on the one hand and researchers on the other. To promote this, the Cantonal Hospital Aarau AG, the Cantonal Hospital Baden AG, the Hirslanden Clinic Aarau AG, ETH Zurich, Empa, and PSI jointly founded the Association for Medical Research and Innovation in the Canton of Aargau in June. In the coming years, doctors who are primarily engaged in clinical work at Aargau hospitals will be able to apply for research time through this association. Then, during the research period, they will be able to work on joint projects with researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa, or PSI.

Not all cancers are the same. Some tumours grow very slowly or rarely advance from the stage of a relatively harmless precursor to a life-threatening form. In women, this includes a precursor to breast cancer in the milk ducts, known as ductal carcinoma in situ. Up to now, it has not been possible to decide reliably which tumours remain harmless. Researchers at PSI and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT have developed an image analysis method that should, in the future, make it possible to reliably assess the stage of the disease using artificial intelligence. Now further studies are needed to prove the reliability and safety of this approach.

In collaboration with EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the University of Southern California, researchers at PSI have used X-rays to look inside a computer chip more precisely than ever before. With a resolution of 4 nanometres, the images mark a new world record. The high-resolution three-dimensional images that can be created using this process enable advances in both information technology and the life sciences. In August, the researchers reported their results in the journal Nature.

Our bodies are a little bit different from day to day. PSI researchers have now developed a workflow that allows these ongoing changes to be integrated into the treatment of cancer patients and enables daily adaptation of the radiation to the location of the tumour and the conditions in the body. The new workflow was successfully integrated into the clinical routine of proton therapy and presented in September in the journal Physics in Medicine and Biology – an important step in the individualisation of therapy.

Researchers in biology and medicine have long dreamed of controlling the activities of cells without, for example, having to use chemicals. In a structure as complex as an entire organism, undesirable side-effects often arise. Researchers at PSI have now succeeded in elucidating the structure of certain photoreceptors. With their help, cellular activities could be switched on and off using light, making them an important tool in biological research and medical applications. The researchers presented their results in October in the journal Nature Communications.

The European Space Agency ESA is strengthening its cooperation with innovation players from Switzerland. To this end, ESA and PSI have signed a joint contract that marks the start of the European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre ESDI. ESDI is located in the Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare, which in turn is a close neighbour of PSI. The contract defines a first platform of ESDI: the Phi-Lab, which is tied to PSI and creates instruments to promote innovation. «With ESDI, we are bringing ESA to Switzerland,» says Johann Richard, head of ESDI. 

How can road traffic be decarbonised? One of the core topics of the energy transition was the focus in December. PSI researchers have developed a concept for reducing CO₂ emissions in transportation. Their approach combines renewable energy sources, hydrogen and biogas plants, to make mobility climate-friendly even in the winter months. One crucial factor: using surplus solar power to produce methane and methanol. These sustainable fuels can make mobility competitive and low in CO₂ emissions.