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Exploring the Roots of Photosynthesis in a Soil-Dwelling Bacterium

The bacterium, H. modesticaldum, is thought to have a photosynthetic reaction center resembling the earliest common ancestor of all photosynthesis complexes. Its molecular structure has now been solved, providing insight into the evolution of photosynthesis and how nature optimized light-driven energy collection. Read more »

PepsiCo Explores Future Food Products at the ALS

Global food and beverage giant PepsiCo has been using ALS tomography beamline 8.3.2 to understand more about the chemical structure and behavior of their starch-based snack foods, with the goal of creating a whole new category of snacks that consumers cook at home in their own microwaves. Read more »PPT-icon-35

The CRISPR Target-Recognition Mechanism

CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins have revolutionized gene editing by vastly simplifying the insertion of short snippets of new (“donor”) DNA into very specific locations of target DNA. Now, researchers have discovered how the Cas proteins are able to recognize the target locations with such great specificity. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

CO Adsorption on Pd(100) Studied by Multimodal Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron and Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopies

The first combined infrared spectroscopy and ambient-pressure XPS study was demonstrated at Beamline 11.0.2. The in situ vibrational and core-level spectroscopies in the Torr pressure range offer complementary information on the properties of surfaces and adsorbates while closing the pressure gap between laboratory measurements and applications.  The multimodal spectroscopy also allowed the identification of the C 1s binding energy and quantification of an uncommon atop CO species on a Pd(100) surface. Read more »

Structure of Nanoscale-Pitch Helical Phases: Blue Phase and Twist-Bend Nematic Phase Resolved by Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering

Resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSoXS) at the carbon K-edge was used to probe periodic structures of phases with orientational molecular order but homogeneous electron density distribution. This approach can be applied to structures with periodicities below the optical wavelength, to which neither optical nor classical x-ray diffraction techniques are sensitive. Read more »

Cast Your Vote in the “Science as Art” Competition

The ALS Science as Art Competition debuts next week at the User Meeting. The contest features scientific images and photographs that show the aesthetic side of ALS data and instrumentation. In addition to the in-person vote during the poster session on Oct. 2, everyone is invited to take part in the public vote. Cast your ballot by 4 p.m. PT on Oct. 3. Read more »

User Meeting Live Tweeting!

The “official” hashtag of the ALS User Meeting is #ALSUserMtg. If you’re attending, the ALS invites you to use the hashtag to share photos of your experience: post your poster, your sunset selfies, or your favorite speaker(s). Report on the latest science news, meetups with colleagues, or give your review of the food! If you can’t make it to the meeting this year, you can follow what’s happening on Twitter, #ALSUserMtg, from October 2-4, 2017. Read more »

Microbes Linked to Drier Human Skin

Genetic analyses and infrared studies have found that archaea, a type of microbe commonly found in extreme environments, are also found on human skin. The results suggest that an increase in archaea is linked to reduced skin moisture and that they are most abundant in subjects younger than 12 and older than 60. Read more »