The Advanced Photon Source
a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility

Synthetic Biology Yields Easy-to-Use Underwater Adhesives:  Marine organisms secrete adhesive proteins that allow them to stick to different surfaces underwater, a useful property for underwater or biological tissue repair. Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source helped develop a method to produce a biocompatible adhesive hydrogel that is as strong as spider silk and can stick to myriad surfaces underwater.

Lightning in the Water: Ultrafast X-Ray Provides New Look at Plasma Discharge Breakdown in Water: Lightning is fast, but how fast? A U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory collaboration recently captured the first sub-nanosecond image of electrical discharge in water.

A Simple Switch in Lanthanide Separations:  In this study, researchers used the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source to investigate the correlation between extraction performance and the structure of the complex fluids and interfaces involved in extraction. Their results can be used to more efficiently separate individual rare-earth elements from each other.

“Dancing Molecules” Successfully Repair Severe Spinal Cord Injuries:  Northwestern University researchers have developed a new, injectable therapy that harnesses “dancing molecules” to reverse paralysis and repair tissue after severe spinal cord injuries. In a study, which included research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source, the team administered a single injection to tissues surrounding the spinal cords of paralyzed mice. Just four weeks later, the animals regained the ability to walk.

Understanding How Cyanobacteria Tune Photoreceptors to Sense Far-Red Light:  Making use of the high-brightness x-rays produced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source, the structural basis for the far-red sensing ability of a particular cyanobacteria has been investigated, offering strategies for developing novel optical reagents and fluorescent probes for a variety of medical applications.

Bromine is Not Useful as Paleo-Diet Indicator:  Researchers using high-brightness x-rays from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source analyzed bromine in human bones and teeth excavated from Pre-Columbian archeological sites and found that bromine concentrations were close to the lower detection limit, suggesting that bromine is not a good indicator of paleo-human diet.

Hendra and Nipah henipaviruses are pathogens that cause high fatality rates but there are no drugs or vaccines targeting these viruses. A team of scientists developed monoclonal antibodies targeting the henipavirus and made crystal structures of two of the most potent antibodies using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source, results that suggest the monoclonal antibodies can be used cooperatively as a therapeutic “cocktail” against the henipavirus, while the crystal structures can be used to design effective vaccines.

Correlated Electrons “Tango” in a Perovskite Oxide at the Extreme Quantum Limit:  A team carrying out research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source has found a rare quantum material that may someday enable faster transistors.

Stop the Repair, Stop the Cancer:  The complex lengths to which many cells will go to replicate themselves is truly astounding. Researchers using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source discovered a new vulnerability for certain tumor cells, suggesting that drugs that inhibit a previously mysterious repair protein could represent a new type of cancer treatment.

Making the Most of Metal:  The importance of metals in biology is made obvious by the elaborate mechanisms organisms use to regulate metal acquisition, storage, and usage. In a recent study at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source, researchers unraveled the complex strategy a eukaryotic green alga employs to deal with times of metal feast and metal famine.

UCLA and UIC Researchers Discover Foam “Fizzics”:  Researchers using the APS answered longstanding questions about the underlying processes that determine the life cycle of liquid foams, which could help improve the commercial production and application of foams in a broad range of industries and could lead to improved products.