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DESY researcher Wiebke Ewert shows on a so-called electron density map where a drug candidate (green) binds to the main protease of the corona virus (blue).
NEWS
Synchrotrons accelerate corona research Information by the German Committee Research with Synchrotron Radiation (KFS). Synchrotron light sources were originally built to study particles. Today, they are even used in the fight against COVID-19.
Around the catalytic centre is a group of molecules, the gating domain, which can occupy two different positions.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
BESSY II: universal mechanism of regulation in plant cells discovered In pioneering work, a German-Japanese research team at BESSY II has been able to determine the 3D structure of a metalloprotein that plays an important role as a catalyst in all plant cells. This involves the RNA editosome.
Prof. Dr. Udo Heinemann works at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and initiated the setting up of the MX beamlines almost 20 years ago. His group contributed more than 250 structures to the Protein Data Bank.
INTERVIEW
“The gain in insights for structural biology has continued for five decades” Prof. Dr. Udo Heinemann works at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. n an interview, he speaks of the value added by the Protein Data Bank for research today.
Electron microscopy shows the graphene sample (gray) in which the helium beam has created a hole pattern so that the density varies periodically. This results in the superposition of vibrational modes and the emergence of a mechanical band gap. The frequency of this phononic system can be adjusted between 50 MHz and 217 MHz by mechanical tension.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
New skills of Graphene: Tunable lattice vibrations A team at Freie Universität Berlin and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin showed a graphene-based phononic crystal whose resonant frequency can be tuned over a broad range and has used a helium-ion microscope to produce such a crystal.
Artificial and natural interzones on a tooth restored with non-degradable biomaterials are exposed to mechanical (left: stresses acting in compression, tension and shear) and biological challenges (right: bacterial attachment, penetration, and other interactions with biological media).
NEWS
Dental materials science: HZB is part of a research project funded by DFG Partners also include the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), a research center for energy materials research, and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPI-KG), which is located in Potsdam.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
World's first video recording of a space-time crystal With the help of the scanning transmission X-ray microscope MAXYMUS at Bessy II at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, they were able to film the recurring periodic magnetization structure in a crystal.
The tomogram during the charging process shows the spatially resolved changes in the graphite electrode thickness of a rechargeable aluminium ion battery in a discharged and charged state.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BESSY II: Graphite electrodes for rechargeable batteries... A team of the Technical University of Berlin has investigated at the EDDI Beamline of BESSY II how the morphology of the graphite electrodes changes reversibly during cycling (operando).
Illustration of a CuxOy structure formed on a AgCu alloy in oxidizing environments described in this work. (c) ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BESSY II: Formation of a 2D meta-stable oxide in reactive... A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion has now described an important phenomenon that can occur when metal alloys are exposed to reactive environments at the synchrotron source BESSY II.
Inside the 3D-structure of a phytochrome a bilin pigment absorbs the photon and rotates, which triggers a signal.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BESSY II: Insights into the visual perception of plants Plants use light not only for photosynthesis. Although the plant cell does not have eyes, it can still perceive light and thus its environment. Phytochromes, certain turquoise proteins, play the central role in this process.
A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading worldwide and can cause severe respiratory symptoms (COVID-19).
NEWS
04.05.2020 - #Corona: HZB resumes operation step by step the HZB has been converted to minimal operations on 20 March. The User operation at BESSY II is suspended until 31.05.2020.
The material consists of Nafion with embedded nanoparticles.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BESSY II: How new materials increase the efficiency of direct... A group from Brazil and an HZB team have investigated a novel composite membrane for ethanol fuel cells. It consists of the polymer Nafion, in which nanoparticles of a titanium compound are embedded by the rarely explored melt extrusion process.
A bundled soft X-ray beam with a diameter of less than 50 nanometers writes numerous magnetic vortices, which together form the term "MPI-IS".
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
New interaction between light and matter discovered at BESSY II A German-Chinese team from the MPI for Intelligent Systems has discovered a new interaction between light and matter at BESSY II. They succeeded in creating nanometer-fine magnetic vortices, so called skyrmions.
In HoAgGe, holmium spins occupy the corners of triangles that are arranged in a Kagome pattern. The alignment of adjacent spins (left, red arrows) must obey the ice rule: Either two spins protrude into a triangle and one protrude out, or vice versa. As a result the individual triangles behave as if they were magnetic monopoles (right).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Neutron research: Magnetic monopoles detected in Kagome spin ice systems At low temperatures, certain crystals can contain so-called quasi-particles that behave like magnetic monopoles. Now an international cooperation has proven that such monopoles also occur in a Kagome spin ice system.
Schematic representation of the coronavirus protease. The enzyme comes as a dimer consisting of two identical molecules. A part of the dimer is shown in colour (green and purple), the other in grey. The small molecule in yellow binds to the active centre of the protease and could be used as blueprint for an inhibitor.
NEWS
Corona research at BESSY II: Two days of measuring operation to find the right... New measurement campaign helps to accelerate the search for active ingredients
Schematic representation of the coronavirus protease. The enzyme comes as a dimer consisting of two identical molecules. A part of the dimer is shown in colour (green and purple), the other in grey. The small molecule in yellow binds to the active centre of the protease and could be used as blueprint for an inhibitor.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Coronavirus SARS-CoV2: BESSY II data accelerate drug development At the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II, researchers have decoded a protein involved in the replication of the corona virus. Analysing the 3D architecture allows the systematic development of drugs which inhibit the reproduction of the virus.
60s on the new detector were sufficient to obtain the electron density of the PETase enzyme.
NEWS
New detector accelerates protein crystallography Compared to the old detector the new one is better, faster and more sensitive. It allows to acquire complete data sets of complex proteins within a very short time.
Rhodopsin before (left) and after activation by light (right): The activation causes changes in functional groups inside the molecule (magnifying glass), which affect the entire molecule.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Watching complex molecules at work Novel spectrometer at the IRIS beamline of the BESSY II synchrotron source at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) allows analysis of very fast and irreversible reactions and processes.
Dr. Simon Krause (University of Groningen, 1st from left) and Dr. Felix Willems (TU Berlin and Max Born Institute, 3rd from left) received the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize for their outstanding dissertations. © M. Setzpfand/HZB
NEWS
Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Award and Innovation Award for Research in Synchrotron... This year, the circle of friends of the HZB awarded the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize to two young scientists for their outstanding PhD theses. The European Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Award went to a team of physicists from DESY and PSI.
The study is displayed on the cover of the journal Chemmedchem.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Cancer research at BESSY II: Binding Mechanisms of Therapeutic Substances... A team has used BESSY II to analyse the possible binding mechanisms in certain therapeutic substances from the tetrazole hydrazide group.
The image shows details such as the vacuole of the parasites (colored in blue and green) inside an infected blood cell.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
X-ray microscopy at BESSY II reveals how antimalaria-drugs might work An international team has now been able to investigate malaria pathogens in red blood cells under natural conditions using X-ray microscopy at BESSY II, ALBA and ESRF. They show which mechanisms are used by active substances to attack the pathogens.
At the MX-Beamlines at BESSY II, Gottfried Palm, Gert Weber and Manfred Weiss could solve the 3D structure of MHETase.
NEWS
FOCUS TOPIC: Using BESSY II to combat plastic waste MHETase was discovered in bacteria and together with a second enzyme - PETase - is able to break down the widely used plastic PET into its basic building blocks.
Experiments at the femtoslicing facility of BESSY II revealed the ultrafast angular momentum flow from Gd and Fe spins to the lattice via orbital moment during demagnetization of GdFe alloy.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Laser-driven Spin Dynamics in Ferrimagnets: How does the Angular Momentum flow? A team of researchers led by scientists from the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI) has now been able to follow the flow of angular momentum during ultrafast optical demagnetization in a ferrimagnetic iron-gadolinium ...
The enzyme MHETase is a huge and complex molecule. MHET-molecules from PET plastic dock at the active site inside the MHETase and are broken down into their basic building blocks.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
"Molecular scissors" for plastic waste MHETase was discovered in bacteria and together with a second enzyme - PETase - is able to break down the widely used plastic PET into its basic building blocks.
(a) Neutronen-Eigenspannungsmessung an einer Schweißprobe aus handelsüblichen Stahl, (b) Magnetfeldmessung, (c) Schweißnahtquerschliff.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Neutronenforschung hilft bei der Entwicklung von zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren Neutronenforschung hilft bei der Entwicklung von zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren
Fossils like this 250 million year old skull of a lystrosaurus can be examined very carefully by neutron tomography.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Neutron tomography: Insights into the interior of teeth, root balls, batteries,... A team of researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and European Spallation Source (ESS) has now published a comprehensive overview of neutron-based imaging processes in the renowned journal Materials Today (impact factor 21.6). The authors report on the ...
Sketch of the stripe order: The charge stripes, which are superconducting, are shown in blue. Reprinted with modifications from Physical Review Letters.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BER II: New insights into high-temperature superconductors After 30 years of research, there are still many unsolved puzzles about high-temperature superconductors - among them is the magnetic "stripe order” found in some cuprate superconductors. A Danish research team has taken a closer look at these stripes, ...
The new building block (left, red outline) comprises two modified starting molecules connected to each other by a silver atom (blue). This leads to complex, semiregular tessellations (right, microscope image).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User experiment at BESSY II: Complex tessellations, extraordinary materials Simple organic molecules form complex materials through self-organization
The illustration shows how photons break the dimers into the individual organometallic molecules again, which then effectively n-dope the organic semiconductor.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Light facilitates “impossible“ n-doping of organic semiconductors Applications as light-emitting diodes and solar cells
NEWS
The use coordination on a EU trip: promoting European light sources Synchrotrons are outstanding tools for studying materials, cells and even cultural assets. Yet, many researchers in Eastern Europe are unaware that they are entitled to use them. The EU project Calipsoplus supports potential users from these countries.
Sequential tomography of a lupin root (yellowish green) after deuterated water (D2O) was introduced from below. The rising water front (H2O, dark blue) is displaced by the D2O from below over the course of time. The complete sequence can be viewed as a video. Created by Christian Tötzke © University of Potsdam
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BER II: Lupin roots observed in the act of catching water from... Lupins not only produce colourful blossoms but also nutritious beans rich in proteins. Just how these plants draw water approaching their roots in soil has now for the first time been observed in three dimensions by a University of Potsdam team at the HZB-BER ...
This optical zone melting furnace is producing large single crystals.
NEWS
New at Campus Wannsee: CoreLab Quantum Materials Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has expanded its series of CoreLabs for energy materials research. In addition to the five established CoreLabs, it has now set up a CoreLab for Quantum Materials. A research team from the HZB Institute for Quantum Phenomena in New ...
SEM-images of 3D graphene with different pore size (a,b,c, scale = 1μm). Optical properties (d,e,f) change with pore size.
NEWS
Three-dimensional graphene: experiment at BESSY II shows that optical... An international research team has for the first time investigated the optical properties of three-dimensional nanoporous graphene at the IRIS infrared beamline of the BESSY II electron storage ring. The experiments show that the plasmonic excitations ...
Gerrit Günther und Veronka Grzymek help Zhilun Lu with the experiment.
NEWS
NEAT starts user operation The newly built time of flight spectrometre NEAT has welcomed its first users: Jie Ma from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and his colleague Zhilun Lu examined magnetic excitations in crystalline samples and enjoyed fast data rate and high flexibility of ...
A new generation of sensors: The scales of the petrified cone move upward against gravity, and on drying back to their starting positions.
NEWS
User research at BESSY II: How water moves glass In the realm of plants, capillary forces are a widely observed impetus for actuation. They are the physical basis for the expansion of porous materials during uptake of fluid. Such materials include the cones of conifers with their readily observable movement ...
BFO has a perovskite crystal structure.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
New effect on laser induced switching for higher data densities An international collaboration has now demonstrated a completely new approach to increase data density in storage media. They used ultra-short laser pulses to trigger a phase transition in the ferromagnetic material BaFeO3 (BFO). Experiments at the Femtospex ...
The illustration shows how iodine (purple) is embedded between the organic layer and the metal, thus reducing adhesion.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User Community Science: Soft decoupling of organic molecules on metal An international team has discovered an elegant way to decouple organic nanosheets grown on metal surfaces. After iodine intercalation, measurements at the synchrotron source BESSY II of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) showed that a network of organic ...
Dentin's biological structure: tubules and mineral nanoparticles embedded in a network of collagen fibers. Image: Jean-Baptiste Forien, © Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BESSY II: nanostructures in human teeth Dentin is one of the most durable biological materials in the human body. Researchers from Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin were able to show that the reason for this can be traced to its nanostructures and specifically to the interactions between the ...
Das Berliner Buffet nach der Postersession am Donnerstagabend dauerte noch bis spät in die Nacht.
NACHRICHT
Posterpreise beim Usermeeting Vom 9. bis 11. Dezember haben sich über 320 Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler aus der Nutzerschaft und dem HZB getroffen, um sich über die Forschung und Instrumentierung an BESSY II und BER II auszutauschen. Dabei wurden auch Posterpreise vergeben.
NEWS
Invitation to the HZB Science Slam: TODAY at 18.30 o’clock in Adlershof We invite you to the HZB Science Slam that takes place today at 18.30 o’clock at the Melli Beese Kabinett (Adlershof Forum). Three scientists present their topics in an understandable, entertaining and concise way and, moreover, in only 10 minutes. The ...
The magnetic structure of LiFePO4
NEWS
Anomalous magnetic structure and spin dynamics in magnetoelectric LiFePO4 A team at HZB has recently unraveled intricate details of the magnetic structure and dynamics of the magnetoelectric compound LiFePO4.Such materials currently find use in sensors but there are promising perspectives for magnetoelectrics to be applied in data ...
NEWS
Helmholtz to invest 46 million EUR in new shared laboratory infrastructure Six Helmholtz Centres are founding a shared infrastructure for developing novel energy materials that will also be available to external users.
Hexagonal single crystal of SrCo6O11, with a sample diameter of approximately 0,2 millimetres.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Emergence of a “devil’s staircase” in a spin-valve system A Japanese-German team observes at BESSY II how spins form unusual magnetic structures in a complex cobalt oxide single crystal. Such a material offers new perspectives for spintronic applications.
Illustration of the complex biostructure of dentin: the dental tubuli (yellow hollow cylinders, diameters appr. 1 micrometer) are surrounded by layers of mineralized collagen fibers (brown rods). The tiny mineral nanoparticles are embedded in the mesh of collagen fibers and not visible here.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Strong teeth: Nanostructures under stress make teeth crack resistant Human teeth have to serve for a lifetime, despite being subjected to huge forces. But the high failure resistance of dentin in teeth is not fully understood. An interdisciplinary team led by scientists of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin has now ...
NEWS
Antique Osiris figurines from the Egyptian Museum of Florence examined with... An research team from the "Nello Carrara” Institute of Applied Physics, Italy, examined three antique bronze figurines non-invasively with neutrons at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie. The statuettes from the Egyptian Museum of ...
The neutron images (left row) detect the distribution of liquids in this filled tooth, whereas the X-ray-CT shows the microstructure and pores in the material. A comparision of both images allows to see which pores are filled with liquids.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Neutrons and X-rays show how to prepare durable tooth cement There are many ways to mix cements for tooth fillings, but it can be difficult to tell which way works best. Now, a team of scientists from Copenhagen, Denmark, has come up with an answer: They used neutron imaging and x-ray-microtomography at HZB to analyze ...
Hard disc from space: the Pallasite meteorite, studied by Harrison, contains information about the early solar system.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Messages From Space Geologists from the University of Cambridge uncover hidden magnetic messages from the early solar system in meteorites measured at BESSY II. The team of scientists led by Dr. Richard Harrison has captured information stored inside tiny magnetic regions in ...
Markus Ries (left) and Alex Manuel Frano Pereira (right) were awarded by Prof. Mathias Richter of "HZB Circle of Friends" the Ernst-Eckhard Koch-Prize for their outstanding PhD-projects.
NEWS
Lively exchange at User Meeting From December 3 to 5, more than 500 users of HZB's BER II and BESSY II large-scale equipment met up to discuss the current state of technology and exchange their views on pressing scientific issues.
NEWS
Sixth Joint BER II and BESSY II User Meeting The annual Joint HZB User Meetings will provide an overview of the many exciting and inspiring research results obtained at our facilities in the past year. The Sixth Joint BER II and BESSY II User Meeting will take place at Berlin-Adlershof from December 3rd ...
Im ehemaligen Plenarsaal der Bundesregierung in Bonn finden die Vortäge statt.
NACHRICHT
Deutsche Tagung für Forschung mit Synchrotronstrahlung, Neutronen und... Das HZB ist mit eigenem Stand, Vortrag und Postern präsent auf der Deutschen Tagung für Forschung mit Synchrotronstrahlung, Neutronen und Ionenstrahlen an Großgeräten (SNI). Die dreitägige Veranstaltung findet vom 21. bis 23.09. im ehemaligen Plenarsaal der ...
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Proteins: New class of materials discovered German-Chinese research team gleans seminal insights into protein crystalline frameworks at HZB's BESSY II
Ammonium tungstate/PSS film surface: (a) SEM picture before pyrolysis; (b & c) SEM picture after pyrolysis.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Collecting light with artificial moth eyes Scientists at EMPA in Zürich and University of Basel have developed a photoelectrochemical cell, recreating a moth’s eye to drastically increase its light collecting efficiency. The cell is made of cheap raw materials – iron and tungsten oxide. ...