On the way to light-controlled medicine
PSI researchers have elucidated the structure of special photoreceptors.
Unlocking the secrets of proteins
This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to three researchers who have made a decisive contribution to cracking the code of proteins – important building blocks of life. However, developing applications from this knowledge, for example in medicine, requires research institutes such as PSI.
Nature’s sunscreen and other SwissFEL stories
From DNA repair to catalysts: how the Alvra experimental station at SwissFEL has developed into a special tool for biology and chemistry research.
A bionanomachine for green chemistry
PSI researchers have characterised a unique enzyme from bacteria that enables an important chemical reaction.
New possibilities for a healing toxin
PSI researchers discover a surprising mechanism that could broaden the spectrum of therapeutic uses of botulinum toxin.
Reprogramming tissue mechanically
Scientists at PSI have used mechanical stimuli to turn connective tissue cells into stem-cell-like cells and transplanted these into damaged skin tissue. This speeds up the regeneration of the skin and the healing of wounds.
Grasping diseases by the roots
PSI researchers take pictures of cell nuclei using modern high-resolution imaging techniques, employ learning algorithms to comb through these data, and thus can more reliably identify anomalies.
More than just a support structure
Each cell in the human body contains a cytoskeleton. Contrary to what the name suggests, the cytoskeleton is far more than just a support structure.
Immerse yourself in the cytoskeleton
The cytoskeleton is a little marvel. Probing it promises to reveal, among other things, new possibilities for cancer therapy.
Bringing SwissFEL light to industrial users
High throughput experiments will enable new structural biology users to benefit from XFEL light.
Congratulations to Melissa Carrillo for winning the 2023 Margaret Etter Student Lecturer Award at the ACA in the Light Sources Category
Melissa Carrillo is a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Celestino Padeste from the Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology at PSI. Through a collaboration with the Laboratory for X-ray Nanoscience and Technologies, they are responsible for the design and production of the polymer fixed-targets used by the SwissMX endstation at Cristallina. We whole hearted congratulate Melissa for her receipt of a 2023 Margaret Etter Student Lecturer Award at the recent American Crystallography Association Meeting for her work on these polymer supports!
An algorithm for sharper protein films
A newly developed algorithm allows measurements performed at X-ray free-electron lasers to be evaluated more efficiently.
How vision begins
PSI scientists have discovered the very first step occurring in the eye when light hits the retina.
First pump-probe SFX commissioning beamtime at Cristallina
Professor Przemek Nogly and his team from Jagiellonian University Kraków were kind enough to give their time and samples to assist the Cristallina-MX team in the commissioning of the SwissMX fixed-target endstation for pump-probe experiments.
How to find anti-cancer agents
PSI researchers have developed a new substance that disables a vital protein in the cell skeleton.
Cool newcomer
Cryo-electron microscopy can help resolve many open questions about light-sensitive proteins, rapidly and with high precision.
The wondrous world of light antennas
How light receptors can be used to specifically switch processes in cells on and off.
Asthma: diagnosis in a single breath
PSI is involved in the development of a breath test that can be used to diagnose asthma. Imad El Haddad explains why such a test could be extremely useful – especially for children.
More insight into how vision works
PSI scientists have shed light on the structure of an important component of the eye: CNG ion channels whose job is to relay optical signals to the brain.
New active agent against parasites
PSI researchers identify potential active agent against several unicellular parasites – including the pathogens that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis.
Protein distancing
PSI researchers have developed a new method to attach proteins to the surface of virus-like particles.
Tracking down unreported Coronavirus cases
The University Hospital of Zurich uses proteins made at PSI for Europe’s first large-scale serology study on coronavirus prevalence in Switzerland.
How immune cells are activated
A research consortium has deciphered the mechanism of CCR5 receptor activation, providing insights for the development of CCR5 drug antagonists for AIDS, cancer, and inflammatory diseases.
Cell cytoskeleton as target for new active agents
Using a combination of computer simulations and laboratory experiments, PSI researchers have identified new binding sites for active agents on the vital protein tubulin.
Watching receptor proteins changing shape
In our bodies, G protein-coupled receptors mediate countless processes. PSI researcher Ramon Guixà talks about how he brings those receptor molecules to life on the computer screen.
"Ultimately, we aim to understand how diseases start in single cells"
Imaging and sequencing techniques combined with machine learning offer researchers countless opportunities to look inside cells with greater precision than ever before. G.V. Shivashankar, lab head at PSI, describes how such information can be used to find answers to pressing questions.
Scientists determine the structure of glass-shaping protein in sponges
Measurements at the Swiss Light Source SLS have helped to understand how the only known natural protein-mineral crystal is formed. It is part of the fascinating glass skeleton of sponges.
A new generation of optogenetic tools for research and medicine
The European Research Council (ERC) is funding an interdisciplinary collaborative project with 10 million euros for the structural and biophysical analysis of selected photoreceptors and their development into "OptoGPCRs", light-controlled molecular switches with a wide range of applications in biology and medicine.
Wait and see, and grow crystals
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.
Measurements at PSI enabled detailed understanding of genetic scissors
PSI congratulates Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna on winning this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Experiments at the Swiss Light Source SLS in 2013 made it possible to elucidate the structure of the protein complex CRISPR-Cas9.