A team of researchers identified the three-dimensional structure of a protein expressed by a gene of a modern nurse shark that is proposed to be a close homologue to a gene that, more than 500 million years ago, gave rise to the adaptive immune system shared by all vertebrates. By understanding the emergence and evolution of the immune system, researchers may advance work in immunology, genetics, and biotechnology.
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Greg Hura, SIBYLS Team Receive Halbach Award
Greg Hura and the Structurally Integrated BiologY for the Life Sciences (SIBYLS) team received the 2025 Klaus Halbach Award for Innovative Instrumentation at the recent 2025 User Meeting “for their pioneering work in developing the time-resolved, high-throughput, small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) technique at Beamline 12.3.1.” Read more »
Designing Quantum Materials for Future Electronics
Researchers bring theory into practice and confirm a new material’s characteristics at the ALS. The study opens new opportunities to design a substance that renders extra “handles” on the electron—not just its charge, but its spin and valley—so we can build computers that are faster, cooler, and more energy-efficient compared to traditional electronics. Read more »
Pinpointing Magnetic Mysteries and Mechanisms in a Layered Perovskite
The strontium ruthenate family has a perovskite-like structure that can assemble into different configurations, offering an ideal way to study how the physics change as the material goes from 3D to 2D. In this study, researchers revealed how electrons with different spins behave in distinct layers of a three-layer magnetic material. The results deepen the field’s understanding of how magnetism emerges in layered materials, an important concept for future magnetic technologies and quantum electronic devices. Read more »
Stable 2D Interlayer Prolongs Perovskite Devices
Layered 2D/3D perovskite bilayer heterostructures have the potential to boost the performance and durability of many types of electronic and photonic devices, but maintaining this performance depends on the stability of the cell’s 2D interlayer. In this study, researchers optimized time-resolved, spontaneous thin-film deposition of 2D perovskites using a mixed solvent approach to produce phase pure, stable thin films with high crystallinity. Read more »
Dehydration Key Element in Soil Microbe Evolution
A new study illustrates how microbes respond, in real time, to environmental stress, improving the research community’s knowledge of the hidden microbial engines that keep our planet running. Read more »
Researchers Identify Viral Swiss Army Knife, Clarifying How Replication Occurs
Viruses are ingenious, infectious agents, capable of replicating inside the living cells of a host organism. Enterovirus, a common viral pathogen, is responsible for a range of diseases from mild colds to severe conditions, including viral meningitis, myocarditis, and paralysis. A new study sheds light on how enteroviruses use structured RNA elements and multifunctional proteins to coordinate viral replication efficiently using minimal genetic material. Read more »
Operando probing dynamic migration of copper carbonyl during electrocatalytic CO2 reduction
In their work, Peidong Yang and colleagues reveal the dynamic evolution from faceted Cu nanocatalysts into metallic nanograins during CO2 reduction driven by the surface migration of electrogenerated copper carbonyl. Read more »
Multimetallic Systems Convey Cost-Effective Hydrogen Storage
A bimetallic material (Pd-Ni) produces hydrogen-active nanopockets that improve the efficiency and lower the cost of hydrogen storage systems. Mechanistic understanding of a Pd-Ni bimetallic system paves the way to design cost-effective hydrogen storage, opening new opportunities to develop reliable energy technologies necessary to advance the energy industry. Read more »
ALS Captures Structure of Engineered Protein, Opening New Options to Treat IBD
Researchers use the ALS to confirm the structure of an engineered immune protein that could open new opportunities to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Read more »