Latest-News – Page 5 – Lightsources.org

From pollution to solution: Optimizing CO2 conversion for a sustainable future

2026/04/152026/04/30

University of Toronto researchers finetune device that converts carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, which is used in production of fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are fueling climate change—causing extreme weather, rising sea levels, and harm to ecosystems.

Researchers from the University of Toronto (U of T) have found a way to optimize a device that helps convert CO2 into a variety of useful products including ethanol, plastics, and even pharmaceuticals.

CO2 electrolyzers (machines that uses electricity to break a substance—most often water—into its original parts), use electricity to turn CO2 and water into carbon monoxide (CO), an industrial gas used for making fuels such as ethanol, plastics, and even pharmaceuticals. Some electrolyzers work by being compressed or pressurized. However, the tiny pores inside these devices can become clogged with liquid and salt crystals if too much compression pressure is applied, which hinders their performance.

The U of T team used the Canadian Light Source (CLS), a national research facility at the University of Saskatchewan, to study in microscopic detail the inner workings of an electrolyzer while it was running. They found that reducing the compression pressure to 10% from 20% or 30% prevented blockages and maximized output of CO. The researchers published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.

“The pores in our device are about 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair. We needed the CLS to study our device at that level of resolution,” says Tess Seip a recent PhD graduate, who worked on this project along with postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Aida Farsi, who led the study at the U of T.

Read more on the CLS website

Image: Members of the research team from the University of Toronto

Portrait of Damien Jeangérard – At the heart of the accelerators

2026/04/142026/05/08

Through a series of portraits, Synchrotron SOLEIL meets the men and women who bring the synchrotron to life. For this seventh episode, Damien Jeangérard, control room operator, agreed to take part. His main mission? To ensure the smooth operation of the electron accelerators so that scientists on the beamlines can successfully carry out their experiments. A strategic role at the very heart of the synchrotron, where no two days are alike and learning never stops. Much to his delight.

If you ask Damien Jeangérard to name two essential qualities for his profession, he will likely reply: a love of technical challenges and a strong ability to adapt. A control room operator at SOLEIL for the past two years, he works rotating shifts—three eight-hour shifts and sometimes two twelve-hour shifts—requiring his circadian rhythm to adjust regularly.

“It’s a rhythm that suits me,” he notes. “My children are grown up now, and working staggered hours gives me time during the day for personal activities.”

Keeping an eye on everything

Particle accelerators require constant attention. In the control room, Damien Jeangérard sits at the center of everything happening within the synchrotron. “The range of tasks is vast,” he explains. “The most important is preparing and maintaining a stable and homogeneous electron beam.”

This beam produces the radiation used by SOLEIL’s 29 beamlines—research laboratories that operate simultaneously and independently.

To prepare the beam, Damien and his team must first validate the proper functioning of the accelerator equipment and the injection of electrons into the storage ring. Once this delicate operation is complete, the infrastructure cannot be left unattended.

“We need to keep an eye on hundreds of equipment parameters—on the LINAC, the Booster, and the storage ring—and adjust some of them when necessary,” he details.

In the event of an incident involving “the Machine”—the internal name for the entire set of electron accelerators—control room operators must quickly identify the faulty equipment, restore operations, and, for the most serious technical issues, call in SOLEIL’s support groups.

Read more on the SOLEIL website

Image: Portrait of Damien JeangeJeangérard

Credit: SOLEIL

Environmental Chemistry at BESSY II: Radicals in waterways

2026/04/092026/04/16

How do radicals form in aqueous solutions when exposed to UV light? This question is important for health research and environmental protection, for example with regard to the overfertilisation of water bodies by intensive agriculture. A team at BESSY II has now developed a new method of investigating hydroxyl radicals in solution. By using a clever trick, the scientists gained surprising insights into the reaction pathway.

Hydroxyl radicals (OH·) are found everywhere, from the troposphere to the cells of the human body. There, they cause oxidative stress and accelerate the ageing process. They are also increasingly present in rivers and lakes, where they are formed by the photolysis of nitrogen oxides that have entered the water from over-fertilised soils. When UV radiation from sunlight strikes nitrogen oxides, hydroxyl radicals and a range of other radicals are generated. The chemistry of these radicals is extremely difficult to characterise accurately, as they react very quickly

A team led by Professor Alexander Föhlisch of the HZB has investigated the chemistry of hydroxyl radicals formed from nitrogen oxides in water using X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the BESSY II X-ray source.

Read more on the HZB website

Image: How the radical scavenger TEMPO traps a hydroxyl radical OH·. The proton of the hydroxyl radical reacts with TEMPO first. Colour coding: grey for C (carbon), white for H (hydrogen), red for O (oxygen) and blue for N (nitrogen)

Credit: © HZB

First-ever egg of a mammal ancestor discovered

2026/04/092026/04/10

Scientists from the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) and the ESRF discover the first-ever egg of a mammal ancestor, a 250-million year-old proto-mammal embryo, with the help of the ESRF. The results are out now in PLoS ONE.

A new discovery is shedding light on one of the greatest survival stories in Earth’s history, and answering a decades-old scientific mystery. Lystrosaurus, a hardy, plant-eating mammal ancestor, rose to prominence in the wake of the End-Permian Mass Extinction some 252 million years ago, the most devastating extinction event our planet has ever experienced. While countless species vanished, Lystrosaurus not only survived, but thrived in a world marked by extreme environmental instability, intense heat, and prolonged droughts.

Now, new research published in PLoS ONE reveals a discovery that sheds new light on our understanding of this iconic survivor. An international team led by Julien Benoit, Jennifer Botha (Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa), and Vincent Fernandez (ESRF ) has identified, for the first time, an egg containing an embryo of Lystrosaurus, dating back approximately 250 million years. This rare fossil represents the first-ever egg discovered from a mammal ancestor, finally answering a long-standing question: Did the ancestors of mammals lay eggs?

The answer is yes.

The researchers suggest these eggs were likely soft-shelled, explaining why they have remained elusive for so long. Unlike the hard, mineralized eggs of dinosaurs, which fossilize readily, soft-shelled eggs rarely preserve, making this find exceptionally rare. But the implications go far beyond reproduction.

“This fossil was discovered during a field excursion I led in 2008, nearly 17 years ago. My preparator and exceptional fossil finder, John Nyaphuli, identified a small nodule that at first revealed only tiny flecks of bone. As he carefully prepared the specimen, it became clear that it was a perfectly curled-up Lystrosaurus hatchling. I suspected even then that it had died within the egg, but at the time, we simply didn’t have the technology to confirm it,” says Botha.

Read more on the ESRF website

Image: The egg photographed in the control room of the ESRF

CNPEM study reveals novel enzyme mechanism with potential for biofuels and biotechnology

2026/04/082026/04/16

The new discovery will aid in the development of more efficient and sustainable technologies for bioenergy generation

A study led by researchers from the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), located in Campinas (SP), has identified a novel molecular mechanism that explains how enzymes degrade beta-glucans, a class of carbohydrates found in fungi, algae, and plants, with great relevance for industrial and energy applications. The research involved approximately 18 collaborators from the LNBR (Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory) and the LNLS (Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory), both part of CNPEM, in addition to external researchers from Unicamp and universities in Spain and Canada.

Published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, the work describes, for the first time, a process called processive catalysis applied to the breakdown of these compounds. In this mechanism, the enzyme acts continuously on the same molecular chain, without detaching itself after each stage of the reaction, which makes the process more efficient.

According to researcher Mariana Morais, one of the study coordinators, the work utilized various techniques and equipment at CNPEM, including directed mutagenesis techniques and kinetic analyses. The research also included high-resolution X-ray crystallography experiments conducted at Sirius, CNPEM’s particle accelerator, as well as computer simulations carried out on the Santos Dumont supercomputer, at the National Laboratory for Scientific Computing (LNCC).

“This integration allowed for the observation, at the atomic level, of all stages of the enzymatic process, from substrate recognition to product release and the restart of the catalytic cycle”, says Morais.

Read more on the CNPEM website

Image: Representation of the enzyme forming a catalytic tunnel that enables interaction with the beta-glucan chain and its continuous processing

Light-controlled beta blockers show promise for new and improved medicines

2026/04/062026/04/23

Researchers used X-ray lasers, including SLAC’s LCLS, to control a modified cardiovascular drug with light and captured snapshots showing how it binds to proteins.

Key takeaways:

Beta blockers bind to protein receptors that are key to fight-or-flight responses, leading to effects such as lowered heart rate and blood pressure.
Using X-ray free-electron lasers at SLAC and in Switzerland, an international team of researchers investigated a beta blocker modified with a light-sensitive bond.
They controlled the drug’s interaction using light and reconstructed X-ray images of the reaction, demonstrating how light could be used to improve medications.

Researchers are illuminating a new route for drug delivery – literally, by controlling drugs with light. Recently, an international team led by the Swiss Paul Scherrer Institute and including researchers from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory used light to control a modified beta blocker and took X-ray laser snapshots of its interaction with a protein receptor.

Not only did the team demonstrate they could control the beta blocker medicine with light, but they also captured 3D images of the interaction at multiple time points. The images revealed that light can switch the beta blocker between different positions on the receptor, which suggests it may be possible to fine tune the drug’s potency while it’s in the body. The findings, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, also demonstrate how X-ray lasers like the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) can be harnessed to study medicines at the atomic level. This can aid the design of drugs that precisely target protein receptors and therefore have fewer side effects.

Read more on the SLAC website

Gold coating could solve long-standing challenge with zinc batteries

2026/04/022026/04/09

Researchers from Concordia University find way to slow formation of dendrites, currently an obstacle to battery’s use in grid storage

As the demand for more reliable power systems grows in the renewable energy sector, the race is on to develop batteries that cost less but have a longer lifespan.

While zinc-based batteries are safer and more cost-effective than lithium-ion batteries, a major obstacle to their use in large-scale, grid storage is their shorter lifespan. They fail sooner because they develop tiny, tree-shaped metal structures on the anode called dendrites, which cause the battery to short circuit.

Now researchers from Concordia University have found a way to slow dendrite formation. Using the ultrabright X-rays of the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan, they found that “sprinkling” a small amount of gold nanoparticles on a battery’s inner surface can cut dendrite growth by up to 50 times compared to regular zinc batteries. Their gold-treated batteries went on to work for more than 6,000 hours in lab settings.

“Coating the electrode is known to improve battery performance, but the small quantity of particles needed for our technique and how they are arranged on the battery surface is a very new, exciting finding,” says Seungil Lee, a PhD student at Concordia and lead author of the team’s paper, published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

Read more on the CLS website

Image: GiSAXS measurements showing arrangements, spacing of gold particles on electrode surface

NSRRC Users honoured at MOE 2025 National Awards Ceremony

2026/04/022026/04/02

On March 23, the Ministry of Education (MOE) held the award ceremony for the 2025 National Chair Professorships, National Award for Distinguished Contribution to Industry-Academia Cooperation, and Academic Awards. Five NSRRC users were among the recipients.

Prof. Hsin-Lung Chen, Distinguished Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tsing Hua University (NTHU), received the National Chair Professorship in Engineering and Applied Sciences. A leading scholar in polymer physics, he has long contributed to theoretical development, textbook writing, and industry-academia collaboration. His research has been widely applied in critical materials and industrial technologies, enhancing the international impact of Taiwan’s materials research.

Prof. Bing-Joe Hwang, Chair Professor in the Department Chemical Engineering at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, founder and director of the Sustainable Electrochemical Energy Development Center, and NSRRC board member and adjunct scientist, received the National Award for Distinguished Contribution to Industry-Academic Cooperation in Engineering. He pioneered the “anode-free lithium battery,” developed high-energy-density and high-safety technologies, and promoted high-value hydrogen electrolysis, with extensive industrial applications and patents.

Two NSRRC users were awarded the Academic Award in Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Prof. Chen-Wei Liu, Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry at National Dong Hwa University, is an international pioneer in metal cluster chemistry. His research combines fundamental innovation with practical application, offering forwarded-looking contributions to catalysis and carbon-reduction technologies. Prof. Ying-Hao Chu, Chair Professor and Department Chair of Materials Science and Engineering at NTHU, specializes in oxide heterostructures and flexible mica-based electronic components, with highly cited work that lays a critical foundation for next-generation electronic devices. In Engineering and Applied Sciences, Prof. Chih-Huang Lai, Chair Professor and Vice Dean of the Institute of Semiconductor at NTHU, was recognized for his research in spintronics and magnetic materials, including advanced memory devices and thin-film solar technologies, as well as Taiwan’s first 12-inch MRAM production line.

Read more on the NSRRC website

Synchrotron imaging uncovers nano- and microplastic effects in vaginal epithelial cells

2026/04/012026/04/09

Environmental nano- and microplastics (N/MPs) are increasingly detected in human tissues, raising growing concerns about their potential impact on human health. Despite their pervasive presence, their biological effects at the cellular level remain poorly understood. A new multidisciplinary study provides important insights into how polyethylene (PE) N/MPs interact with human vaginal epithelial cells, revealing the induction of oxidative stress, metabolic disruption, and modulation of immune responses.

In this work, researchers exposed VK2 E6/E7 vaginal keratinocytes to a range of environmentally relevant PE N/MPs, spanning from 200 nm to 9 µm. Fluorescently labeled nanoparticles were also employed to enable precise tracking of particle uptake and intracellular localization. By combining advanced transcriptomic profiling with high-resolution imaging, the study offers a comprehensive view of how these particles affect cellular physiology.

Gene expression analysis revealed a significant dysregulation of lipid metabolism and cholesterol biosynthesis pathways, alongside the activation of oxidative stress responses. At the same time, modulation of immune-related genes suggested the onset of an adaptive, potentially tolerogenic response, indicating that cells may attempt to mitigate or adapt to the presence of nanoplastics rather than mounting a purely pro-inflammatory reaction. These findings highlight the complex and multifaceted nature of cellular responses to environmental contaminants.

Crucially, the study employed synchrotron-based soft X-ray imaging at the TwinMic beamline of Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste. Through Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy (STXM), researchers were able to directly visualize the internalization and intracellular distribution of nanoplastics at subcellular resolution, providing spatial information that is not accessible with conventional optical or electron microscopy alone, see Figure 1. Complementary Low-Energy X-ray Fluorescence (LEXRF) analysis enabled the mapping of elemental composition within exposed cells, revealing significant alterations in key elements such as carbon, oxygen, sodium, and magnesium. These elemental shifts point to metabolic stress, possible membrane perturbations, and broader changes in cellular homeostasis.

Read more on the Elettra website

Neutron reflectometry reveals how cancer cells can avoid programmed cell death

2026/03/262026/04/09

Researchers have revealed a mechanism by which cancer cells can avoid programmed cell death. The team, from ISIS, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Lund University, the University of Umeå, the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and Diamond Light Source, used an integrated combination of techniques to investigate how the Bax and Bcl-2 proteins involved in regulating programmed cell death, or apoptosis, interact at the surface of the mitochondrial outer membrane.

Apoptosis is one of the processes our body uses to control cell growth and proliferation. It plays a vital role in embryo development, in removing old or damaged cells, and in our immune systems. However, when it goes wrong, as in many cancers, those cells can escape their apoptotic removal and rapidly multiply to form tumours. Many cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, treat cancers by causing DNA damage or stressing cells, which leads to apoptosis. However, many tumours can also become treatment resistant by escaping even treatment-induced apoptotic death.

Controlling apoptosis

One of the key proteins that controls apoptosis is called Bax. Bax works by creating pores in mitochondrial membranes to start a biochemical cascade that results in cell death. Bax is usually tightly controlled by Bcl-2 proteins, which bind Bax and prevents it forming pores. The gene for Bcl-2 is involved in almost 50% of human cancers; these cancerous cells often produce more Bcl-2, leading to tumour development and protecting the cancerous cells from therapies.

To understand precisely how Bcl-2 and Bax interact, the researchers used a combination of neutron reflectometry on the Surf and Offspec instruments at ISIS and on Figaro at the Institut Laue Langevin, electron microscopy at eBIC, and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). They created a supported lipid bilayer resembling the mitochondrial outer membrane and which contained Bcl-2 proteins.

A two-step process in avoiding apoptosis

Kinetics of Bax sequestration by Bcl-2 at membrane level: from initial contact to oligomerization

The team found that, without Bcl-2, introducing Bax disrupted the membrane. When the membrane contained Bcl-2 the researchers initially saw a direct correlation between the amount of Bcl-2 in the membrane and the amount of Bax on the membrane surface, suggesting the Bcl-2 was binding directly to the Bax and preventing it from forming pores. Over time, however, they saw a second, slower process. The Bax proteins formed clusters, or oligomers, standing vertically upwards from the membrane surface, which sequestered Bax, prevented pore formation.

Read more on the Diamond website

Optimization of 2D material-based devices

2026/03/252026/03/26

How to visualize electric fields in situ to boost the performance of tomorrow’s LEDs

2D materials are excellent candidates for light emission in LED-type components. Furthermore, combining several of these materials with different properties (metal, insulator, semiconductor) theoretically makes it possible to obtain complex components that combine these properties. To function, these components must be connected to electrodes. But where exactly should the electrical voltage be applied?
To answer this question, a team from the Paris Institute of NanoSciences used the ANTARES beamline to probe operando the distribution of the electric field within a heterostructure composed of two semiconductors.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) (e.g., MoS₂, WSe₂, and their derivatives), exhibit strongly enhanced excitonic effects due to the robust Coulomb coupling between electron-hole pairs. This makes them outstanding candidates for light emission in devices such as LEDs. A second key advantage of this materials platform is the ability to assemble these materials without epitaxial constraints. In theory, this allows for the combination of materials with diverse properties—metals, insulators, and semiconductors with tunable bandgaps—to fabricate complex devices. The entire structure is ultimately connected to electrodes, which serve to inject charges or modulate the potential profile. However, a critical challenge remains: the voltage must be applied in the right location! In these structures, the energy landscape is influenced by edge effects, doping, flake thickness, defects, and above all interfaces. In this study, a team from INSP uses the ANTARES beamline to operando probe the electric field distribution within a heterostructure composed of two semiconductors.

In optoelectronic devices, electrodes are used to inject the current/energy necessary for device operation. In the context of LEDs, applying a bias is essential to inject holes into the valence band while electrons are resonantly injected into the conduction band. When these energy conservation rules are fulfilled, charges can be injected into the optically active semiconductor, enabling light emission. However, the turn-on voltage for an LED can be significantly larger than the material’s bandgap if an electric field is also applied to the intermediate material between the electrode and the optically active layer. This results in power efficiency losses, which must be mitigated. Therefore, the localization of the electric field is critical, and tools to measure the field distribution operando are essential.

Read more on the SOLEIL website

Smarter fungicides: Fighting infection while protecting soil health

2026/03/232026/04/02

Copper nanoparticles could lead to less polluted soils in vineyards, according to a study published in Environmental Science: Nano. The researchers came to the ESRF’s ID21 to track how copper behaved in grapevines plants inoculated with a fungus.

Copper-based pesticides have been used around the world vineyards to keep fungal diseases at bay for more than a century in the form of Bordeaux mixture. Whilst it has proven to be extremely effective, copper is a metal and accumulates over time. Bordeaux mixture has a low affinity to plant leaves. When it rains, it washes it off the plants onto the soil, where it can harm earthworms, beneficial microbes and long-term soil health, which can lead to less productive soil in the long run.

Winemakers, particularly in the organic sector, where copper remains one of the few approved fungicides, face a difficult question: how can they protect their vines without poisoning their soils? With the aim of pushing more environmentally friendly practices, European regulators are increasingly limiting the amount of copper to be used in grapevines.

“We wanted to test whether copper nanoparticles (copper oxide) could be as reactive as the traditional sprays but using much less quantity”, explains Astrid Avellan, CNRS researcher and corresponding author of the publication.

Read more on the ESRF website

Image: Astrid Avellán preparing the samples in the lab at the ESRF’s ID21

Credit: D. Salvador

Blood pressure-lowering drug with a light switch

2026/03/192026/03/26

From off to on in fractions of a second – researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have investigated a light-switchable drug for high blood pressure: They observed how the molecule transforms from one form to another and how this affects its effectiveness in the body. This could aid in the development of medications whose effects can be precisely controlled, within the body, using light. The study has now been published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Rendering a drug effective or ineffective in a flash at the appropriate location – this is the focus of research in photopharmacology. The goal is to develop drugs that can be switched on and off with light of a specific wavelength. Orally administered medications could then be selectively activated by irradiating only a specific part of the body with light; the medication would remain ineffective in the rest of the body – thus reducing side-effects. For example, a drug intended to lower blood pressure in the heart could then be activated only there; other organs with identical binding sites for the active ingredient would remain unaffected.

Researchers in the PSI Center for Life Sciences have now observed, at the molecular level, how a light-switchable drug interacts with its corresponding biological receptor. Most important, they have discovered why the drug changes its potency.

“Observing exactly what happens at such receptors when a drug is altered by light is an important step toward making light-switchable drugs a reality in the clinic,” says Jörg Standfuss, a laboratory head in the PSI Center for Life Sciences and co-author of the new study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Read more on the PSI website

Image: Jörg Standfuss (left) and Quentin Bertrand are two of the researchers in the PSI Center for Life Sciences who now have found out, on the molecular level, why a light-controllable drug changes its potency.

Wet planets might evolve from dry, hydrogen-rich planets

2026/03/172026/04/02

Sub-Neptunes, or exoplanets 2–4 times Earth’s radius, are abundant in our galaxy. Models indicate that these exoplanets have rocky cores (the non-volatile interior) blanketed by envelopes of either hydrogen (dry gas dwarfs) or water (water worlds).

In our own solar system, the water worlds of Uranus and Neptune orbit far from the sun, where temperatures are low enough for water to condense. This has led to the idea that water-rich planets form in the outer orbits of planetary systems, beyond what is known as the snow or ice line. They may then migrate inwards, to orbit closer to their star.

In recent years, however, large numbers of potentially water-rich exoplanets have been discovered in very close orbits. This is difficult to reconcile with the idea that such worlds can only form beyond the snow line.

The latest research by scientists from Arizona State University, The University of Chicago and the Open University of Israel suggests that water could be produced through chemical reactions at the boundary between a dry planet’s rocky core and hydrogen-rich atmosphere. This finding calls into question the idea that a planet’s composition is linked to where it formed.

Researchers used the resources of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory. Their results were published in the journal Nature.

To explore the potential high pressure and temperature interactions between the hydrogen in the envelope and silicate in the core of dry planets at the core-envelope boundary, the team used the unique capabilities of the University of Chicago’s GeoSoilEnviroCARS beamline at 13-ID-D of the APS. This beamline’s high pressure, high temperature diamond anvil cell setup is designed to probe materials in-situ at extreme conditions to answer geochemical and geophysical questions across the pressure and temperature range of Earth and other planets.

Read more on the APS website

Image: The high pressure, high temperature diamond anvil cell experiments suggest that reactions between dense hydrogen fluid and molten silicates on dry planets could generate substantial amounts of water. This hints at a potential way for dry, hydrogen-rich planets to evolve into watery worlds, challenging conventional planetary formation theory.

Diamond-developed acoustic levitator heads to space

2026/03/172026/03/19

A technology that began as a simple, open-source acoustic levitator at Diamond will be used in a SpaceX experiment.

The advanced system, known as SuperLev, has been selected for a programme of microgravity experiments that will see it tested in parabolic zero-gravity flights before progressing to longer-duration missions in space. Designed to operate autonomously with onboard imaging and intuitive control software, the compact levitator is being adapted to withstand the rigours of launch and sustained operation in orbit, marking a significant milestone for a technology originally developed to enhance synchrotron science.

In 2019, R&D specialist Dr Pete Docker from the Technical division along with scientists introduced to Diamond TinyLev, a compact, low-cost acoustic levitator built from off-the-shelf components. Designed to suspend droplets and small particles in mid-air using precisely controlled sound waves, the system enabled researchers to study samples without physical contact. This contact-free approach proved valuable for X-ray experiments, where containerless environments reduce contamination and allow samples to be held in the beam.

What began as a proof-of-principle device has since inspired the development of a next-generation platform known as SuperLev.

From lab bench innovation to global adoption

Building on the principles demonstrated at Diamond, SuperLev integrates an onboard high-resolution camera and intuitive, user-friendly software, allowing researchers to monitor and control levitated samples in real time. The system’s enhanced acoustic arrays provide greater stability and flexibility, making it suitable for a wide range of materials science and biological applications.

The impact has been rapid and far-reaching. SuperLev is now being utilised and further developed in 20 laboratories and institutions worldwide. Its modular design and accessibility reflect the same ethos that underpinned TinyLev: making advanced scientific tools more widely available.

Read more on Diamond website

A duo for BESSY III light source

2026/03/132026/03/25

Since 1 March 2026, Renske van der Veen and Andreas Jankowiak have formed the leadership team of BESSY III. Together, they will drive forward HZB’s central project: the planning and realisation of BESSY III light source in Berlin-Adlershof. Here, they talk about their motivation, the next steps, and why BESSY III is a a cross-generational project.

Dear Renske, dear Andreas, a new chapter for our huge BESSY III project is now beginning with you. What do you bring to the table?

Renske van der Veen: Energy and enthusiasm for the project and also for teamwork! I love working with lots of people to achieve something big. For me, BESSY III is a fantastic opportunity to put all this into practice, and I also bring the necessary pragmatism to the table.

Andreas Jankowiak: I bring 15 years of experience at HZB in various management positions and experience from different committees. For example, I have been chairing the machine advisory committee of Diamond II (successor to Diamond, UK) for six years. This gives me a sense of what is happening around us in this field and how things are developing there. I am also enthusiastic that we are a research centre with our own strong research profile, which benefits greatly from our large-scale facility BESSY. For me, this connection is an absolute added value.

Read more on the HZB website

Image: Renske van der Veen und Andreas Jankowiak take over the scientific and technical projectlead of BESSY III light source