Science Brief - February 2025
ESRF - The European Synchrotron
The ESRF is an international research lab, where X-rays are used to unlock the secrets of matter.
New clues about superionic ice, possibly present in giant planets
Scientists from CEA have solved previous discrepancies over the temperature at which superionic ice forms under extreme planetary interior conditions using the the ESRF’s beamline ID27. The study reveals a clear structural signature of the superionic transition, enabling its precise location in the phase diagram of water ice. The results will enable a greater understanding of this intriguing high-pressure and high-temperature form of ice.
Journal: Physical Review Letters
New insights into the link between protein dynamics and antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance takes place when ABC transporters remove antibiotics from the bacterial cell, preventing their killing action. Scientists from the CNRS have gained insights into the mechanism of an ABC transporter, BmrA, using the CRYO-EM at the ESRF.
Journal: Nature Communications
The gut-brain connection in Alzheimer’s unveiled with X-rays
Scientists led by the Institute of Nanotechnology in Italy, in collaboration with the ESRF, have discovered how X-ray micro- and nano- tomography can provide clues on the processes that link the gut neurons with those in the brain and may trigger Alzheimer’s.
Journal: Science Advances
How specific bacteria 'steals' iron from our blood during infections
Researchers have revealed how?Staphylococcus aureus?bacteria extract iron from hemoglobin – a process crucial to their survival during infections. Using a novel time-resolved X-ray solution scattering (TR-XSS) technique at the ESRF, they have identified the full sequence of protein–protein interactions during this iron ‘theft’. The findings open possibilities for developing pharmaceuticals to combat antimicrobial-resistant strains of S. aureus.
Journal: Nature Communications
First ID14 results analyse potential anticancer complex
Scientists show that Nuclear Resonance Scattering of synchrotron radiation can provide valuable information in how osmium complexes interact with cells in potential anticancer treatments. It is the first experiment of the new ID14 beamline.
Journal: Science Advances
The ESRF User Meeting 2025 brings together our scientific community (video)
This year, the ESRF User Meeting brought together 340 participants from 21 countries to the ESRF. In three days, users and ESRF scientists attended keynote lectures, poster sessions, microsymposia and tutorials.
Check out our video!
Aram Bugaev wins the ESRF Young Scientist Award 2025
Aram Bugaev , researcher at the Paul Scherrer Institute, is the recipient of the ESRF Young Scientist Award 2025 for “providing significant advances in experimental and theoretical X-ray spectroscopy offering new insights into in-situ/operando homogenous and heterogeneous catalysts’ structures”.
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