X-ray laser uncovers the structure of a natural anti-mosquito insecticide

Bacterial protein found to work against more species of mosquito as previously thought

01-Dec-2023 - An international research team has analysed a naturally produced toxin against insects with atomic precision using the most powerful X-ray laser in the world. The data taken at the European XFEL help with figuring out the mode of action of the insecticide, which is produced by a bacterium. This ...

Filming antibiotic resistance in Slow-Motion

X-ray laser European XFEL captures rapid reaction of bacterial enzyme

30-Sep-2021 - Using the X-ray laser European XFEL an international team of researchers, including scientists from DESY, has successfully filmed a reaction step that is important for the development of antibiotic resistance. The molecular film captures the very rapid reaction of the enzyme beta-lactamase from ...

A clear path to better insights into biomolecules

3D images with record-breaking resolution

06-Jan-2021 - An international team of scientists, led by Kartik Ayyer from the MPSD, has obtained some of the sharpest possible 3D images of gold nanoparticles. The resuts lay the foundation for obtaining high resolution images of macromolecules. The study was carried out at the European XFEL’s Single ...

How molecular footballs burst in an X-ray laser beam

Study shows effect of X-ray flashes on sensitive biomolecules

26-Sep-2019 - An international research team has observed in real time how football molecules made of carbon atoms burst in the beam of an X-ray laser. The study shows the temporal course of the bursting process, which takes less than a trillionth of a second, and is important for the analysis of sensitive ...

Molecules Brilliantly Illuminated

25-Apr-2018 - Molecules are the building blocks of life. Like all other organisms, we are made of them. They control our biorhythm, and they can also reflect our state of health. Researchers at the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics (LAP) – a joint venture between Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) and the ...

Prestigious grant for imaging single molecules

Human Frontier Science Program supports intercontinental collaboration

27-Apr-2017 - An international team of researchers, including DESY scientist Henry Chapman, has been awarded a research grant by the Human Frontier Science Program to develop a novel method for imaging individual biomolecules with atomic resolution. The team will receive a total of 1.35 million US-Dollars over ...

Taking high-speed snapshots of living cells with an X-ray laser

X-ray imaging method captures living cells with unprecedented speed and resolution

17-Feb-2015 - An international team led by Uppsala University and including scientists from DESY and the European XFEL has for the first time successfully imaged whole living bacterial cells with an X-ray laser. The method used in this experiment can produce results that are of higher spatial and temporal ...

New research paves the way for nano-movies of biomolecules

Scientists use X-ray laser as ultra slow-motion camera

08-Dec-2014 - An international team, including scientists from DESY, has caught a light sensitive biomolecule at work with an X-ray laser. The study proves that X-ray lasers can capture the fast dynamics of biomolecules in ultra slow-motion, as the scientists led by Prof. Marius Schmidt from the University of ...