Science Brief - July 2025
ESRF - The European Synchrotron
The ESRF is an international research lab, where X-rays are used to unlock the secrets of matter.
New bizarre Triassic reptile with a feather-like crest discovered
A new species of early reptile from the Triassic period has been discovered, with unique structures growing from its skin that formed an alternative to feathers. This ‘wonder‘ fossil changes our understanding of reptile evolution. The team of scientists, led by the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, published the description of the new species in the journal Nature. The skull of the reptile was scanned at the new beamline BM18.
Journal: Nature
Natural circular dichroism in achiral crystals evidenced
Scientists have experimentally demonstrated that X-ray natural circular dichroism can occur in achiral, non-centrosymmetric crystals, using beamline ID12. This kind of optical activity, predicted theoretically as far back as in 1882, had remained elusive for experimentalists until now.
Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
ID30B: A decade of versatility, automation and innovation in Structural Biology
The structural biology beamline ID30B, jointly operated by the ESRF and the EMBL Grenoble , celebrates its 10th anniversary. Versatile and highly tunable, the beamline has evolved into a leading platform to adopt new technologies and welcome both academic research and industrial applications.
Two publications explore unique charge orders in kagome superconductors
Scientists from PSI and ESRF have found that the kagome superconductor LaRu₃Si₂ hosts two distinct high-temperature charge orders, coexisting with superconductivity. They also studied the material under high pressure, revealing unconventional superconductivity and its positive correlation with the normal-state electronic response. The results are out in two publications: Nature Communications and Advanced Materials.
Journal: Nature Communications and Advanced Materials
Nanoburgers show promising defects
Scientists from DESY have used the ESRF's ID01 beamline to finds surprising defects in tiny metal particles that could stimulate the development of more efficient catalysts.
Journal: ACS Nano
New insights on how sulphur degrades catalysts
Natural gas is currently perceived as a transitional energy source, while it can also be generated sustainably from Power-to-X and biogas processes. However, methane is also a potent greenhouse gas, so catalysts which perform methane oxidation must be highly effective to avoid release of unburned methane to the atmosphere. Scientists have now gone to the root of the problem: the presence of sulphur on the catalyst surface, using the ESRF, among other synchrotron sources.
Journal: ACS Catalysis
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