Tag: Latest-News

The day the Herculaneum scrolls began speaking…

The day the Herculaneum scrolls began speaking…

The Vesuvius Challenge has achieved a historic discovery in the Herculaneum scrolls, revealing new texts, titles and authors unknown to history and ushering in a new era for the study of the ancient world. The discovery was made possible through high-resolution micro-CT scanning conducted at the ESRF and Diamond Lightsource in the UK.

“For nearly two millennia, many of these texts have been physically preserved but intellectually inaccessible,” Brent Seales, Vesuvius Challenge co-founder and the Stanley and Karen Pigman Chair of Heritage Science at University of Kentucky, says. “Today — after years of interdisciplinary work combining advanced imaging, artificial intelligence (AI), academic research and an innovation contest — we are finally able to read them.”

One of the oldest scrolls in the collection

Among the most significant findings announced is the recovery of substantial new text from PHerc. 1667 — a scroll housed in Naples, Italy.

The Vesuvius Challenge team has now virtually unwrapped the surviving portion of the scroll — revealing nearly 1.5 meters of continuous text and approximately 20 columns of writing.

“This scroll was deemed completely unreadable when part of it was opened in the 1980s,” Federica Nicolardi, assistant professor in papyrology at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, said.

“The scroll’s handwriting and internal references suggest the artifact dates from the second century B.C. or possibly from the late third century B.C. — making it one of the oldest scrolls in the collection,” she explained.

While the title and author remain unknown, both the early dating and its contents suggest a writer other than Philodemus of Gadara — the Greek philosopher whose works predominate the discoveries from Herculaneum papyri to date. 

A philosophical -stoic?- treatise

According to the papyrological team’s analysis, the text does appear to be a philosophical treatise concerned with ethics, arts and human behavior, likely reflecting Stoic thought. 

The recovered text preserves discussions of core Stoic concepts, including ὁρμή (hormē), or impulse, understood as the drive to act common to both humans and animals. The author appears to warn against excessive impulse — ὁ πλεoνασμός κατὰ τὴν ὁρμήν (ho pleonasmos kata tēn hormēn — when reason fails to regulate behavior and leads to a harmful passion or diversion from one’s goals.

Another key concept is φρόνησις (phronēsis), or practical wisdom — the set of intellectual activities that guide one to make the right choices and to choose virtues over vices.

Read more on the ESRF website

Image: The scrolls from Herculaneum

Credit: EduceLab

SLAC researchers ‘watch’ molecules steered by laser light

SLAC researchers ‘watch’ molecules steered by laser light

Using the powerful LCLS X-ray laser, they directly imaged for the first time how molecules rearranged during a chemical reaction controlled by light.

Key takeaways:

  • For the first time, researchers have imaged a molecule undergoing a coherently controlled chemical reaction – a reaction steered with pulses of laser light.
  • Powerful X-ray pulses from the LCLS are routinely used to visualize how a molecule’s atoms rearrange in real time during a reaction initiated by a laser pulse, but here, with the help of a novel analysis method, the researchers imaged a reaction that was controlled by a third pulse.
  • This approach could help researchers understand and eventually control light-activated reactions in photochemistry, catalysis, and light-responsive materials. 

Since the 1980s, researchers have sought to use laser light to control chemical reactions relevant to photochemistry, catalysis and light-responsive materials. But this technique, known as coherent control, has a blind spot: There hasn’t been a way to directly see the molecules in these reactions as their structures rearrange. 

Now, researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have imaged a coherently controlled chemical reaction for the first time. Their work, published in Physical Review A, uses ultrafast X-rays from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to show in real time how atoms move in a molecule that was excited and manipulated with laser light. 

“There are many challenges with controlling chemical reactions, but seeing is believing,” said study lead author Tom Hopper, assistant professor at the University of Central Florida who was a postdoc at SLAC at the time of the study. “If you can see something directly, it opens up a new level of control.”

Illuminating a blind spot

What makes coherent control so tricky is that the molecule being manipulated with laser light will eventually deviate from the desired pathway. If researchers can see the molecule’s structural evolution in real time, they can start to put together a picture of when and how this happens, which may help them figure out how to prevent it.

One of the simplest and most successful methods of coherent control is the “pump-dump scheme.” This involves hitting a molecule with two laser pulses: A “pump” pulse first excites the molecule, initiating the reaction, followed by a “dump” pulse that nudges the reaction down a certain pathway.

Read more on the SLAC website

Image: This illustration shows a pump–dump–probe sequence of ultrafast laser and X-ray pulses used to control and image a chemical reaction. The pump laser pulse excites molecules within a sample and initiates a chemical reaction. It is followed by a second laser pulse, the dump pulse, that nudges the reaction down a certain pathway. Finally, an X-ray probe pulse traverses the sample at varying stages of the chemical reaction. The scattered X-rays create diffraction patterns on a detector (at right). The changing patterns contain information about the molecular structure and how it evolves during the reaction. 

Credit:  Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

ESRF and DESY join forces to build a European software ecosystem for photon science

ESRF and DESY join forces to build a European software ecosystem for photon science

On the eve of the 86th meeting of the ESRF Council, hosted by DESY in Hamburg, The ESRF, the European synchrotron located in Grenoble, and DESY, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration in the development of advanced software, data and computing technologies for photon science. Both operating world-leading high-energy synchrotron facilities, the two research centres are combining their complementary expertise to build a sustainable European software ecosystem that can support current and future generations of synchrotron and photon science facilities – a collaborative effort designed from the outset to welcome broader participation from research infrastructures across Europe.

At a time when scientific competitiveness increasingly depends on the ability to develop, deploy and maintain sophisticated software infrastructures, the ESRF and DESY are combining their expertise to advance shared solutions for beamline control, data acquisition, data analysis and scientific computing — with the ambition of creating the foundations for a community-driven European ecosystem that can evolve sustainably and respond to the growing needs of photon science.

DESY and the ESRF share a long-standing and productive partnership across multiple scientific and technological domains. This year, as the ESRF celebrates six years of successful operation of ESRF-EBS, the first of a new kind of fourth-generation high-energy synchrotrons, and as DESY progresses with the PETRA IV upgrade towards the brightest of synchrotron facilities, this new MoU reflects the strategic complementarity of the two research infrastructures. Together, they bring expertise spanning facility operation, instrumentation, software engineering, data management and scientific computing, creating a strong foundation for the development of common solutions for the benefit of the wider scientific community.

Read more on the ESRF website

Image: The signature ceremony of the MoU

Credit: Marta Mayer, DESY

Ultra-Rapid Diagnostic Platform for Selective Detection of Infectious Viruses Within 5 Minutes

Ultra-Rapid Diagnostic Platform for Selective Detection of Infectious Viruses Within 5 Minutes

Summary

A research team led by Dr. Jaecheol Park and Dr. Hojun Kim at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), in collaboration with Prof. Seung-Jung Ki of Chonnam National University Hospital, developed FUSION, an ultra-rapid diagnostic platform capable of selectively detecting infectious viruses within 5 minutes. The platform employs virus-targeting lipid nanoparticles (VEACON)1 loaded with CRISPR2 gene-editing components, enabling direct detection of viral RNA through simple mixing, without complex sample preparation. Using synchrotron X-ray analysis, the researchers revealed that membrane fusion is accelerated by electrostatic interactions, leading to highly enhanced CRISPR activity within a confined nanoscale volume. The platform demonstrated sensitive detection of multiple viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RSV, and was further adapted into a sprayable system for real-time visualization of viral contamination on surfaces.

Background

Rapid and accurate diagnosis of viral infections is essential for preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)3 is currently the most widely used diagnostic method. Although PCR is highly sensitive and capable of detecting even trace amounts of viral genetic material, it requires multiple sample preparation steps, including nucleic acid extraction4, which limits its suitability for rapid point-of-care testing. In addition, PCR may produce positive results from residual viral RNA fragments (RNA remnants) derived from noninfectious viruses, potentially leading to unnecessary isolation measures and associated socioeconomic costs. This study aimed to overcome these limitations of conventional diagnostic technologies. The researchers focused on membrane fusion5, a critical process through which viruses enter host cells. Based on this mechanism, they sought to develop a diagnostic platform capable of selectively recognizing intact, infectious viruses and autonomously generating detection signals. Ultimately, the goal was to establish a simple and rapid diagnostic method that enables virus detection by merely mixing a detection solution with a sample, without requiring complex sample preparation procedures.

Methodology

The research team developed VEACON (Virus Entry-Activated CRISPR Operating Nanoparticle), a 120 nm lipid-membrane6 nanoparticle functionalized with virus-specific receptors and loaded with CRISPR-Cas13a complexes7. To investigate the mechanism of virus detection, synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis8 at Pohang Accelerator Laboratory was employed to quantitatively monitor membrane fusion between VEACON and target viruses. The study revealed that increasing the proportion of cationic lipids on the nanoparticle surface enhanced membrane fusion through electrostatic interactions. The researchers further compared responses to infectious viruses and heat- or chemically inactivated viruses lacking fusion capability, confirming that signal generation occurred selectively through membrane fusion. In addition, the platform was validated using 100 nasopharyngeal swab9 clinical samples to assess its diagnostic performance under real-world conditions.

Read more on the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory website

Image: Schematic illustration of a sprayable membrane fusion-based detection system for visualizing viral contamination on surfaces

Scientists unlock 40-year-old mystery of the vitamin B2 nanofactory

Scientists unlock 40-year-old mystery of the vitamin B2 nanofactory

An international research consortium, led by Dr. Hab. Yusuke Azuma from the Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology at Jagiellonian University has uncovered how bacteria package enzymes into nanoscale “cages” for efficient vitamin B2 production. The findings, published in Nature Communications, reveal an elegant mechanism underlying this highly specialized biochemical system.

A molecular cage for vitamin B2 production

At the heart of the discovery lies an enzyme-based “cage” in which vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is produced. While humans and animals must obtain this nutrient from food such as mushrooms, which are particularly rich in vitamin B2, other organisms can synthesize it themselves. The enzyme packaging mechanisms into a protein cage is not widespread and is found only in certain bacteria, making it especially intriguing from evolutionary perspectives. Unlike eukaryotic cells, bacteria lack membrane-bound organelles, which is probably why they use proteins for compartmentalization of biochemical processes. Such spatial organization of enzymes provides a means for efficient vitamin biosynthesis within complex cellular environments.

Breakthrough discovery: rare “open” cage
The vitamin B2 biosynthesis compartment was first identified in a soil bacterium in the 1980s. An enzyme, lumazine synthase, forms a hollow cage-like structure that encapsulates another enzyme riboflavin synthase. Since then, scientists have struggled to observe how they are formed. Standard approaches such as X-ray crystallography all failed.

– “For years, we knew this system existed, but we did not understand how it worked. It was like looking at a closed cage without a key to open it,” says the leading author Dr. Łukasz Koziej from MCB.

Read more on the SOLARIS website

Image: Illustrative photo of forest mushrooms

Credit:  Arkadiusz Dobosz

A simple chemical tweak to make sodium-ion batteries last longer

A simple chemical tweak to make sodium-ion batteries last longer

A research team led by CIC energiGUNE, in collaboration with the ALBA Synchrotron, has shown through multi-scale X-ray analysis that partially replacing manganese (Mn) with iron (Fe) in Prussian white —a low-cost green battery material— prevents structural degradation and paves the way for sustainable and long-lasting batteries.

Building cheaper, greener batteries is only half the challenge; making them last through hundreds of charge–discharge cycles is equally critical. A team of researchers from Spain and France, led by CIC energiGUNE, has tackled this problem in sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries by improving Prussian white, an easy-to-synthesize, environmentally friendly material. Using the ALBA Synchrotron, they have discovered how a simple chemical modification can dramatically extend battery lifespan.

For Na-ion batteries to compete with lithium-ion technology —the current prevailing technology— highly cost efficient and more sustainable cathode materials are needed. Prussian white materials containing manganese (Mn) are particularly promising because their performance rivals that of lithium batteries. Their Achilles’ heel, however, is poor long-term durability. During charging, Mn undergoes oxidation, which triggers a local structural distortion. This distortion causes large volume changes, leading to severe structural degradation and rapid capacity loss.

The research team hypothesized that partially replacing Mn with iron (Fe) could stabilize the material over time. The results were striking: the modified material retained 93% of its original charge capacity after 50 cycles, compared to just 62% for the unaltered version. But the real breakthrough was understanding why.

Read more on the ALBA website

How electrons actually behave in warm dense matter

How electrons actually behave in warm dense matter

Widely used models mispredict collective electron oscillations in warm dense aluminium, study shows

Researchers at European XFEL, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Rostock University and other collaborating institutions have used high-precision experiments to demonstrate that the most widely used models for the behaviour of electrons in warm dense matter are inaccurate. Warm dense matter is challenging to study but also of key importance for a plethora of research, including the investigation of planetary interiors, material science, and laser fusion experiments. The study has been published in Physical Review Letters. 

In warm dense matter, electron density oscillates. The collective oscillations are called plasmons. They carry important information and can be observed using X-rays, resulting in scattering spectra – abstract images captured by a detector. In many experiments, these spectra are interpreted using simplified uniform electron gas models. However, the new measurements show that, for warm dense aluminium, these models consistently overestimate the plasmon energy by up to about 25 per cent (about 8 electronvolts) and fail to reproduce the full measured shape of the signal.

“Our measurements are precise enough to clearly distinguish between competing models,” says Thomas Preston of European XFEL. “That is important because these models are widely used to diagnose extreme states of matter. If the model is incorrect, that leads to inaccurately inferred properties.” The electron behaviour affects predictions of opacity, optical properties, electrical conductivity, and energy transport, for instance.

Read more on the European XFEL website

Image: Experimental setup at the HED-HIBEF instrument

Credit: European XFEL

The liquid tech of self-healing batteries

The liquid tech of self-healing batteries

Materials scientists seek to develop better lithium (Li) metal batteries by improving structural stability and reducing dendrite formation that causes battery failure. It is well-known that instability at the metal electrode-electrolyte interface causes lithium dendrite growth, leading to short-circuiting and formation of inactive lithium. New electrolyte designs that control lithium deposition during cycling may solve these issues. Researchers are investigating liquid crystalline (LC) electrolytes under different conditions at MAX IV’s ForMAX beamline to determine whether these electrolytic materials are possible to align on demand. Successful results hold promise to propel the development of Li metal batteries as a next-generation power solution for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

The study examines a foundational idea that the organised molecular structure and chemistry of LC electrolytes allow for ‘self-healing’ of the battery interfaces whereas conventional solvent-based liquid electrolytes fail. “LC electrolytes introduce an additional energy contribution for dendrite nucleation due to their strong anchoring energy and are therefore expected to supress the growth of dendrites from the electrode-electrolyte interface,” explained Owies Wani, study author and postdoctoral fellow at Aalto University. “Besides, due to their fluid nature, they can potentially flow into the crack formed in the interface upon cycling of the battery and thereby form a new healed interface.”  

The experimental phase included structural measurements of sample LC electrolytes with small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS) at ForMAX beamline to look at colloidal and molecular processes with applied stimuli of shear force at different temperatures. A rheometer supplies the force to align the material structure from a polydomain to a monodomain, which potentially creates straight, directed channels for efficient Li ion transport in the battery, thereby boosting ionic conductivity.

The group carried out three simultaneous measurements: rheology, SWAXS and polarized light imaging. “This was instrumental to understand the dynamic shear induced alignment in our LC electrolytes at different length scales,” explained Wani.

Read more on the MAX IV website

Image: From left) Bin Zhao, Xiaodan Hong, Mario Bello Piedrahita, Maximilian Hagemann, Owies Wani, Patrice Rannou and Zhongpeng Lyu.

Credit: Owies Wani

American Science and Security Cloud: A Platform for AI

American Science and Security Cloud: A Platform for AI

The Genesis Mission unites DOE National Labs, industry, academia, and more to harness AI for breakthroughs in energy dominance, discovery science, and national security. As part of the mission, the American Science and Security Cloud integrates America’s most advanced high-performance computing systems, scientific experimental facilities, data resources, and production capabilities into a single, coordinated AI-driven discovery system. Researchers at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) have been using this platform to accelerate our science and are contributing to push the limits of what is possible.

The ALS leads a Genesis Mission initiative called SYnergistic Neutron and Photon Science-Intelligence (SYNAPS-I) that has brought together experts from the DOE light and neutron sources to accelerate discovery in energy technologies, chemical and materials manufacturing, agriculture, and medicine. By applying AI tools to neutron and photon science, what used to take researchers months now takes mere minutes. In May, the team demonstrated at the AI+ Expo that this discovery process will continue to improve by using the American Science and Security Cloud.

Dylan McReynolds, data platforms program lead within the ALS Photon Science Computing group, shared more details.

Why is the American Science and Security Cloud necessary?

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is coordinating the American Science and Security Cloud, and they’re building these services to help all of us do AI. “All of us” includes ALS computer scientists, of course, but also our beamline and instrumentation experts and user partners from academia and industry.

Some of the services in the platform address longstanding needs, like transferring files between an ALS beamline and a computing cluster or a user’s home institution. Other services have become necessary as we grow in using AI to accelerate science. For instance, a common model repository and a common data catalog are both central to our research that is ever increasingly interconnected, like a user from the USDA physically scanning samples at the ALS in California, deploying computing tools at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility in Illinois, and then making the results available to the agricultural research field at large.

Read more on the ALS website

Image: Dylan McReynolds and Tanny Chavez of the ALS Computing Group deployed AI tools to accelerate discovery at Beamline 8.3.2. Their work helped researchers gain insights into drought resistance in plants.

Credit: Dylan McReynolds/Berkeley Lab

Revealing the Electronic Signature of Unusual Magnetism

Revealing the Electronic Signature of Unusual Magnetism

SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT

Experiments at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) showed how magnetic Co atoms sandwiched between TaS2 layers reshape the material’s electronic structure.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT

Understanding how unusual magnetic order influences electron movements in new quantum materials like CoxTaS2 could guide their use in advanced quantum technologies.

Tracing the electronic fingerprints of exotic magnetism

Van der Waals magnets that have layered structures offer a unique platform for exploring novel quantum states and their underlying physics. To discover how to harness their properties for use in next-generation electronics and data storage technologies, researchers are working to identify the electronic fingerprints of the exotic magnetic features in systems such as CoxTaS2.

CoxTaS2 belongs to a class of van der Waals magnets called magnetically intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). In these structures, magnetic atoms (cobalt, Co) are inserted between layers of a two-dimensional semiconductor (2H-TaS2). At extremely low temperatures, the cobalt atoms develop a very unusual non-coplanar magnetic order which researchers believe is responsible for the material’s exotic properties. In particular, they suspect that the unusual magnetism strongly influences how electrons move.

In this study, a group of researchers led by UC Berkeley, in collaboration with ALS scientists, aimed to reveal spectroscopic evidence of how magnetic order changes the behavior of itinerant electrons in CoxTaS2.

Read more on the ALS website

Image: Left: From a top-down view, the magnetic structure of the cobalt lattice has four spin sublattices. Right: These spin sublattices form a tetrahedron, giving rise to the material’s unique out-of-plane magnetic order.

Seawater: The next sustainable battery revolution

Seawater: The next sustainable battery revolution

International team shows that with minor modifications chloride is effective electrode material for solid-state batteries

Seawater covers most of the globe and makes up around 97 per cent of all water on Earth. It could also hold the key to cheaper and greener batteries for storing green energy collected from wind turbines and solar cells.

Using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, an international research team involving scientists from Switzerland, Canada, and the United States, has shown that with some minor modifications, chloride – a sustainable and readily available component of seawater – could one day be the material that shuttles ions back and forth between the electrodes in solid-state batteries used for grid-scale energy storage.

Lithium is currently at the heart of modern batteries, powering everything from our smartphones to e-bikes and electric cars. But there’s a very real risk that the material could become scarcer and more expensive in the future. According to Natural Resources Canada, lithium production has more than doubled world-wide in in the past five years. And a handful of countries hold most of the planet’s lithium stores. Canada’s supplies amount to only 4.4 per cent of the total worldwide.

“We’re not looking to entirely replace lithium-ion batteries, but we need other solutions in the next few decades if we are going to meet this massive need that the world will have for hundreds of terawatt hours that allow for effective use of solar and wind,” said Sarbajit Banerjee, professor at ETH Zürich, a public university in Switzerland, and Head of the Laboratory for Battery Science at Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institute.

Read more on the CLS website

Image: Seaweed batteries – X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence Spectroscopy

New 3D map of the electrical wiring of the heart to help patients with congenital heart disease

New 3D map of the electrical wiring of the heart to help patients with congenital heart disease

Researchers from UCL (University College London) and the ESRF (The European Synchrotron) have produced the first three-dimensional map of the heart’s electrical wiring in Tetralogy of Fallot, one of the most common congenital heart problems, revealing anatomical features that may explain why many patients develop heart conduction disorders in this condition. The research, part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration, can be used for surgical training and lead to even better outcomes for patients. The research is out in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Congenital heart disease affects around 1% of the population worldwide. In many cases, babies must undergo life-saving heart surgery shortly after birth. Although survival rates are now high, many patients develop complications later in life, particularly abnormal heart rhythms or contraction patterns. Surgeons have long known that these problems can arise when the heart’s delicate electrical conduction system, which is invisible during surgery, is disturbed.

Andrew Cook, professor of Cardiac anatomy at UCL and senior author of the study, explains: “I often compare it to renovating a house: you wouldn’t want to start drilling into a wall without knowing where the electrical wires are. The same principle applies to the heart”. Instead, surgeons use ‘anatomical landmarks’ and these have now been revised in the study.

This research is part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration. The Atlas is powered by an advanced imaging method called Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography (HiP-CT), developed at the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, by an international team led by University College London (UCL), UK to visualise anatomy in unprecedented detail.

Read more on the ESRF website

Image: Rendering of a heart with Tetralogy of Fallot showing the septal defect.

Credit: Joseph Brunet, Cinematic Anatomy (Siemens Healthineers)

New milestone in superconducting undulator development

New milestone in superconducting undulator development

Successful tests confirm outstanding performance of coils

Researchers at European XFEL have reached an important milestone in developing a new generation of X-ray light sources. A set of superconducting electromagnets, produced by Bilfinger Nuclear, have proven their excellent performance, paving the way for the use of the design in future superconducting undulators. These devices will cause accelerated electrons to radiate much more effectively than current state-of-the-art technology allows. European XFEL aims to become the world’s first X-ray free-electron laser to use superconducting undulators. These undulators will unlock new research in fields such as materials science, chemistry, biology and high-energy-density science by providing X-ray pulses with significantly shorter wavelengths than have been possible at XFELs to date. 

The magnetic field of undulators is designed to be highly periodic, precisely controlled, and exceptionally uniform along the electron beam path. The electromagnets examined at European XFEL consist of niobium-titanium (NbTi) wire. At the operating temperature of -269 degrees Celsius, the material is superconducting, meaning it can carry very high electrical currents with virtually no resistance. When wound into coils with extreme precision, an electromagnet is created that produces a strong magnetic field when carrying an electric current. Measurements of their magnetic field have now been completed and show that the coils successfully reached the required operating current and produced the target magnetic field of 1.82 Tesla, while maintaining the necessary field quality for X-ray generation over the entire 2-metre length of the coils.  

This is important because using the devices to generate X-rays relies not only on the magnetic fields being very strong, but also on them being highly periodic. Even tiny deviations from this periodic structure affect the quality of the X-ray beam generated. The qualification tests demonstrate that the coils can meet these demanding requirements over their full two-metre length, making them the longest high-precision superconducting undulator coils ever produced and measured.

Read more on the European XFEL website

Image: The SUNDAE1 test stand and a sketch of the sledge attached to a rod with Hall probes sliding along the magnetic field axis of the SCU coils (Illustration: S. Casalbuoni et al., Front. Phys. Sec. Interdisciplinary Physics Volume 11 – 2023)

UK and France launch biomedical and AI health alliance to accelerate research into major diseases

UK and France launch biomedical and AI health alliance to accelerate research into major diseases

A new partnership will unite expertise, infrastructure and data across borders to accelerate diagnosis, treatment and ultimately prevention of major diseases – starting with women’s health, infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness.

Diamond Light Source, the University of Oxford, Université Paris Cité, the Institut Pasteur and Synchrotron SOLEIL have signed a landmark agreement establishing a major new UK-France scientific alliance designed to strengthen how diseases are understood, diagnosed, treated and ultimately prevented.

The partnership comes at a time when advances in science and technology are generating unprecedented amounts of biological and clinical data, as well as transforming our understanding of human health. But turning that information into faster diagnoses, better treatments and improved disease prevention remains a major challenge across disciplines, institutions and national systems.

The UK–France Strategic Biomedical Alliance in Health and AI has been established to address that challenge by connecting world-leading expertise and national infrastructure into a single collaboration. The interdisciplinary model will unite clinical research, molecular biology, engineering, advanced imaging, data science, artificial intelligence and translational medicine across both countries, making it faster and easier for researchers to connect the technologies, expertise and data needed to tackle complex disease.  

Read more on the Diamond website

Image: Dr Jean Susini, Director General, Synchrotron SOLEIL. Sir Thomas Drew KCMG, His Majesty’s Ambassador to France. Professor Richard Cornall, Head of the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. Professor Matthieu Resche-Rigon, Dean of the Health Faculty, Université Paris Cité. Jean-Luc Moullet, Director General for Research and Innovation, French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space. Dr Martin Walsh, Interim Director of Life Sciences, Diamond Light Source. Dr Odette Tomescu-Hatto, Director of International Affairs, Institut Pasteur.

Credit: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

10 Years of SOLARIS – A Decade of Science, Collaboration and Technological Development

10 Years of SOLARIS – A Decade of Science, Collaboration and Technological Development

On 22 May 2026, the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre of the Jagiellonian University celebrated the 10th anniversary of its activity. The jubilee gala, held at the historic Stara Zajezdnia venue in Kraków, gathered 230 guests representing the scientific community, European research infrastructures, public administration, regional authorities and the business sector. The anniversary was not only an opportunity to reflect on the first decade of operation of the only synchrotron in Central and Eastern Europe, but also a moment to consider the role of modern research infrastructures in the development of science, technology and international collaboration.

Among the guests were representatives of the authorities of the Jagiellonian University, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, national and regional administration, as well as international partners representing European research infrastructures, synchrotron facilities and institutions collaborating with SOLARIS. Participants included Prof. Piotr Jedynak, Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Wojciech Macyk, Vice-Rector for Research of the Jagiellonian University, Michał Goszczyński, Director of the Department at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Stanisław Kracik, Deputy Mayor of the City of Kraków, as well as representatives of regional authorities, the scientific and infrastructure communities from Poland and abroad, including Prof. Jean Daillant, Director General of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France, and Prof. Thomas Feurer, Director of European XFEL in Hamburg.


The official part of the celebration began with speeches delivered by representatives of the authorities of the Jagiellonian University – Prof. Piotr Jedynak, Rector of the Jagiellonian University, and Prof. Wojciech Macyk, Vice-Rector for Research. Afterwards, the Director of SOLARIS, Prof. Jakub Szlachetko, addressed the audience, referring in his speech to the work of Stanisław Lem – the author of the novel Solaris, from which the Centre derives its name.
“We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors,” quoted the Director of the Centre, referring to Lem’s famous words. “For the past ten years, SOLARIS has been exactly such a place – a place of discovery, of asking questions, and of pushing the boundaries of what still seems impossible to see and understand.”


In his speech, Prof. Szlachetko recalled the history of the first synchrotron in Poland – from the long-standing efforts of the scientific community gathered around the Polish Synchrotron Radiation Society and the Polish Synchrotron Consortium, through the support of the Jagiellonian University and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, to the launch of the first electron beam in 2016. “SOLARIS is the result of a collective effort by the scientific community, institutional courage and the conviction that Poland needs a modern research infrastructure capable of conducting world-class research,” emphasised Prof. Szlachetko.

Read more on the SOLARIS website

Image: Speech by the Director of the SOLARIS Centre, Prof. Jakub Szlachetko. SOLARIS 10th Anniversary Gala

Credit: Joanna Kowalik

John Hill Named Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory

John Hill Named Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory

Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) has named physicist John Hill as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, effective May 21. Hill is a longtime employee at Brookhaven Lab. He has served as interim lab director since September 2025.

BSA’s board of directors selected Hill after a competitive international search. Hill will also serve as BSA’s president. BSA — a partnership between Stony Brook University and Battelle — manages and operates Brookhaven Lab on behalf of DOE’s Office of Science.

“We are delighted to have John Hill selected to lead Brookhaven National Laboratory at a pivotal moment for science and national impact,” said BSA Board Chair and Battelle’s Executive Vice President of National Laboratory Management & Operations Juan Alvarez. “He brings the leadership and vision needed to advance the Lab’s future — delivering transformative discovery through the Electron-Ion Collider and accelerating impact across AI and embodied intelligence, distributed quantum systems, microelectronics, and a future upgrade to the Lab’s National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II). Under John’s leadership, we are confident Brookhaven will continue to expand its science-ready infrastructure and strategic public-private partnerships in service to the nation.”

As director, Hill will work with stakeholders including DOE, policymakers, collaborating institutions, and community members as he leads Brookhaven toward strategic growth and scientific opportunity.

“I am thrilled that, following a very competitive international search, John Hill has emerged as the very best leader for Brookhaven National Laboratory at this exciting juncture,” said BSA Board Co-Chair and Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. “John’s deep expertise, vision, and leadership skills will be essential as the Lab looks to usher in a new era of fundamental physics discovery at the Electron-Ion Collider, while continuing its groundbreaking research in quantum systems, AI, microelectronics, materials science, and high-resolution imaging. Stony Brook is proud to co-manage and partner with Brookhaven to advance the frontiers of discovery to benefit our country’s innovation, economic vitality, and national security. John’s leadership will be essential to ensuring the Lab’s success and impact long into the future.”

Read more on the BNL website

Image: John Hill is pictured during his first all-hands meeting with Lab staff as interim director in 2025. His appointment as director was announced to staff today at another all-staff gathering.

Credit: Kevin Coughlin/Brookhaven National Laboratory