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

The Earth’s core is quite complex and mysterious, hidden 2,900 kilometers below the surface. The few methods we have to know what it’s like in the depths rely on measuring elastic waves from earthquakes as they travel through the planet, and analyzing the rocks produced by certain volcanoes that seem to reach all the way to the bottom of the rocky mantle where it meets the core.

Recent research by a team of investigators from the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Washington presents a more detailed description of the positional changes of the myosin proteins within the heart as they prepare for contraction, and demonstrates how the myosin's behavior directly affects the amount of force created during muscle contraction, revealing new focus points for medicines.

Treating COVID-19 by Inhibiting Viral Replication:  Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source provides information about the mechanistic steps and molecular interactions that initiate viral replication, which can be used to inform antiviral therapeutic development for COVID-19, as well as other conditions for which that the protein MPro may be responsible.

Fine-Grained Differences in Polycrystalline Nickel-Rich Li-Ion Battery Cathodes:  A team of investigators used the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source to study a largely overlooked solution to the problem of thermal instability in Li-ion batteries, involving the precise tailoring of grain microstructure in cathode materials. 

Zigzagging Through Na_xIrO₃:  The future of computing is in quantum physics, which will enable computers to perform faster and far more complex calculations than are physically possible with our current silicon-based computers. Researchers employed high-brightness x-ray beams from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source to study the orbital and magnetic excitation spectra of one of the prime quantum spin liquid candidates.

The More Things Change, the More They Become the Same in Uranium-Niobium:   Experimenters used synchrotron x-ray studies at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source to investigate the intriguing realm above the U-Nb alloy temperature where phase and compositional homogenization occurs.

Bacteria Oversee Their Own Death While Fighting Viruses:  Scientists carrying out studies at two U.S. Department of Energy x-ray light sources, including the Advanced Photon Source, have discovered a set of proteins that have clinical applications and contribute to a fundamental understanding of bacteria, viruses, and immune systems, including ours.

Probing the Diffusion of Active Viruses:  Scientists using the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s Advanced Photon Source have shown that advances in the synchrotron coherent x-ray scattering technique allow for probing the dynamics of live viruses in an aqueous environment that closely mimics their biological surroundings, providing real-time information of their motions at a length scale similar to the virus size.

Increasing the Efficiency of Carbon Conversion:  One method of combating climate change would be to capture carbon emissions at the source and convert them into some other material, preferably one with some economic value. Researchers, using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source  have shown how a particular catalyst can help the conversion process along.

A Novel Way to Fight Multiple Cancers at Their Root:  Scientists are striving to develop an immunotherapy targeting proteins resulting from mutations in cancer-driving genes. Research using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source provides insights into developing a targeted therapy that fights a variety of cancers, in multiple patients, at the cancer’s source.

Buzz about Thermoelectrics Heats Up with Promising New Magnesium-Based Materials:  Looking for the next leap in thermoelectric technologies, researchers using three U.S. Department of Energy research facilities gained new fundamental insights into two magnesium-based materials that have the potential to significantly outperform traditional thermoelectric designs and would also be more environmentally friendly and less expensive to manufacture.