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Capturing the Spin Dynamics of a Complex Magnetic Material

Magnetic iron oxides (ferrites) are complex materials with broad electronic applications that are often driven by microwaves. Here, researchers have precisely measured the spin behavior of several distinct cations in a ferrite material under an applied microwave field, validating a longstanding assumption about magnetic oxide dynamics. Read more »

September 6 Deadline for General User Proposals

The User Office is accepting new General User Proposals (GUPs) from scientists who wish to conduct research at the ALS in the 2024-1 (January–July) cycle. The deadline for submissions is September 6, 2023. Applicants are reminded that they may request joint access to the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility at Berkeley Lab, to support their ALS activities. Read more »

A New Pathway for Clearing Misfolded Proteins

Researchers integrated several approaches, such as cryogenic 3D imaging at the ALS, to define a novel cellular pathway—involving a shared “garbage dump”—for clearing misfolded proteins from cells. The pathway is a potential therapy target for age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Keeping Water-Treatment Membranes from Fouling Out

When you use a membrane for water treatment, junk builds up on the membrane surface—a process called fouling—which makes the treatment less efficient. In this work, researchers studied how membranes are fouled by interactions between natural organic matter and positively charged ions commonly found in water. Read more »

Coaxing Molecules to Stand Tall for Better Solar Cells

Multimodal probes revealed a way to prevent the formation of undesirable phases in a perovskite-type compound that shows promise for the efficient harvesting of light for solar cells. The work led to new fabrication protocols that resulted in devices with improved power-conversion efficiencies and operational stability. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Beamline Optics and Modeling School (BLOMS) 2023

The ALS hosted its first Beamline Optics and Modeling School (BLOMS 2023), a three-day, hands-on workshop to teach the theory, methods, strategy, and tools used to design and model x-ray beamlines. Experts from four other light sources and one private company showed students the capabilities of modern, freely available tools for x-ray source and beamline modeling. Read more »

Breaking Barriers in Drug Delivery with Better Lipid Nanoparticles

A collaboration between Berkeley Lab and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, is working to break through some of the drug delivery bottlenecks by designing the most effective lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)—tiny spherical pouches made of fatty molecules that encapsulate therapeutic agents until they dock with cell membranes and release their contents. Read more »

Toward High Efficiency Water Processed Organic Photovoltaics: Controlling the Nanoparticle Morphology with Surface Energies

Researchers achieve power conversion efficiencies approaching 10% by careful control of the nanoparticle and thin film morphologies thanks to surface energy considerations. This approach opens the route to low environmental footprint photovoltaics. Representing the promise of this sustainable direction in organic photovoltaics, the image shows the deposition of the active layer from water-based nanoparticles inks. Read more »