Cross section of an alpha-synuclein fibril. Left: 3D reconstruction of the fibril, showing two interacting protein molecules. Right: atomic model of the fibril structure. Parkinson’s disease was first described by a British doctor more than 200 years ago. The exact causes of this neurodegenerative disease are still unknown. In a study recently published in eLife, […]

The young startup of the University of Basel, Qnami, is the winner of the Venture Kick prize worth 130’000 Swiss Francs. Qnami develops precise and highly sensitive quantum sensors that provide images in nanometer resolution. Modern quantum technology provides the basis for Qnami’s goal to improve imaging techniques and diagnostic methods. The quantum sensors developed […]

Fats are essential for our body. The core components of all fats are fatty acids. Their production is initiated by the enzyme ACC. Researchers at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have now demonstrated how ACC assembles into distinct filaments. As the researchers report in “Nature,” the type of filament formed controls the activity of the […]

Dr. Daniel Riedel, joint Postdoc in the teams of Richard Warburton and Patrick Maletinsky and PhD student in the SNI’s PhD School until December 2017, received the Swiss Nanotechnology PhD Prize 2018 sponsored by the Hightech Zentrum Aargau. He received the award for his publication in Physical Review X about the improvement of the quality of […]

Water molecules exist in two different forms with almost identical physical properties. For the first time, researchers have succeeded in separating the two forms to show that they can exhibit different chemical reactivities. These results were reported by researchers from the University of Basel and their colleagues in Hamburg in the scientific journal Nature Communications. […]

PSI researchers help to understand why in pre-filled syringes, liquid medication can enter the needle inadvertently Researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, the University of Basel and the company F. Hoffmann-La Roche have found out why proper storage is crucial for syringes which are pre-filled with a liquid medication. Thanks to the special, well […]

Physicists from the University of Basel have observed the quantum mechanical Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox in a system of several hundred interacting atoms for the first time. The phenomenon dates back to a famous thought experiment from 1935. It allows measurement results to be predicted precisely and could be used in new types of sensors and imaging […]

The new issue of SNI update – the newsletter of the Swiss Nanoscience Institute – is online. Just have a look – maybe you find some interesting stories about the SNI’s activities of the last months.  

A team including physicists from the University of Basel has succeeded in using atomic force microscopy to clearly obtain images of individual impurity atoms in graphene ribbons. Thanks to the forces measured in the graphene’s two-dimensional carbon lattice, they were able to identify boron and nitrogen for the first time, as the researchers report in […]

Two scientists from the University of Basel have been awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grants by the European Research Council (ERC): Neuroscientist Prof. Fiona Doetsch and physicist Prof. Christian Schönenberger each receive 2.5 million euros of funding. Christian Schönenberger is one of the few scientists whose groundbreaking research has received an ERC Advanced Grant for […]