"Criegee intermediates" are elusive molecules that play a pivotal role in atmospheric chemistry and are also byproducts of key combustion reactions. At the Chemical Dynamics Beamline, the reaction rates of one form of Criegee intermediate was directly measured for the first time, with some surprising results.

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Among the legions of proteins required for DNA replication, the “flap endonuclease” FEN1 plays a key role. An international team of scientists working at the SIBYLS Beamline has now solved the structure of human FEN1 bound to DNA, revealing the surprising mechanism behind its speed, accuracy, and versatility.

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Three research groups joined forces to show that high-temperature (high-Tc) cuprate superconductors undergo two phase transitions: one to the superconducting phase and another at a higher temperature, below which electrons, instead of pairing up, organize themselves in a drastically different, yet still elusive, way.

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Motor proteins convert energy into a series of small conformational changes that allow them to literally “walk” along microscopic tracks and move cargo around cells. A newly-discovered crystal structure of the motor protein dynein reveals details of its ring-shaped motor as well as an unanticipated feature called the "buttress."

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Recently, researchers from the ALS and the University of Oregon have shown that it is possible to form x-ray holograms in reflection geometry, opening the door to single-shot, high-resolution lensless imaging of a wealth of new material samples.

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Despite intensive activity in the study of ferromagnetic (FM) vortex states, there has been no direct observation of such states in antiferromagnetic (AFM) microstructures. Researchers have now taken the first direct images of two types of AFM vortex states, one of which has no FM analogue.

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Natural materials are renowned for their unique combination of outstanding mechanical properties and exquisite microstructure. Researchers at Beamline 8.3.2 have created bioactive glass scaffolds that mirror nature's efficient materials and may provide a means for previously-problematic bone regeneration in large, load-bearing limbs.

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At Earth's core–mantle boundary, seismic waves travel faster in certain directions. This appears to be related to the deformation of constituent minerals. To better understand, researchers re-created the ultrahigh pressures of the deep Earth while conducting x-ray diffraction experiments to probe changes in crystal orientations.

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From organic matter to pencil lead, carbon is a versatile element. Now, another use has been found: magnets. Researchers studying the effects of protons on the electronic structure of graphite found very strong magnetization when hydrogen atoms are incorporated at the surface of graphite.

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Aberrant activation of Notch receptors has been linked to many diseases, making the Notch pathway a compelling target for new drug studies. Researchers have synthesized highly specialized antibody inhibitors that act only on Notch1 or Notch2 through a potent and novel mechanism of inhibition.

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When an x-ray photon boosts an electron from an unreactive gas atom trapped in a carbon cage, the electron waves might be transmitted through or reflected off the cage. In the first experimental test of this "confinement resonance" theory, an international team produced and isolated xenon endofullerenes and observed confinement resonances.

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A new strategy to "write" electronic silicon and germanium nanostructures could simplify nanomaterial electronic circuit fabrication by circumventing the difficult assembly step. PEEM-2 and PEEM-3 confirm the quality of the written nanostructures.

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Materials that are mechanically, thermally, and chemically stable at extreme conditions are valuable for applications in aerospace engineering and fission/fusion research. A research team has now synthesized and characterized two novel materials that fit the bill: Rhenium nitrides Re₂N and Re₃N are both extremely incompressible.

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Recently, the search for special molecules with a surprisingly large capacity to keep cool has heated up, driven by environmental and cost considerations as well as by recent improvements in our ability to design, assemble, and probe the structure and chemistry of small molecules.

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Using ambient-pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, researchers provide the first in situ measurements of local surface oxidation states and electric potential in active MIEC electrodes (oxide materials that can conduct both electrons and oxygen ions), potentially valuable for high-temperature electrolysis and synthetic fuel production.

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