Physicists have developed a technique based on optical microscopy that can be used to create images of atoms on the nanoscale. In particular, the new method allows the imaging of quantum dots in a semiconductor chip. Together with colleagues from the University of Bochum, scientists from the University of Basel’s Department of Physics and the […]

We wish you and your families an enjoyable festive season, peaceful and relaxing holidays and health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year! We are looking forward to many exciting projects in 2018!

Physicists at the University of Basel have succeeded in cooling a nanoelectronic chip to a temperature lower than 3 millikelvin. The scientists from the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute set this record in collaboration with colleagues from Germany and Finland. They used magnetic cooling to cool the electrical connections as well as […]

The science magazine «Nature» has selected the ten best scientific images of 2017. An illustration of the nanoscale balance (a cantilever device) developed by researchers of the SNI and D-BSSE of the ETH Zurich in Basel is among these beautiful images of the year. Daniel Mathys from the SNI’s Nano Imaging Lab provided the original […]

The last issue of our newsletter SNI update is now online.  We report on exciting research projects, about awards of SNI members and events with involvement of the SNI. We also announce several events and activities that you won’t want to miss. SNI update December 2017  

Just like an acrobatic duo, some proteins lend each other stability. Researchers at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have discovered that the protein “Trigger factor” recognizes a partner by instable, flexible domains, to then together form a stable protein duo. The study has been published in the current issue of “Nature Communications”. Misfolded […]

This year, we have received more than 50 beautiful impressions of the nano and micro world. The SNI management team has now chosen the three winners of the Nano Image Award 2017. Many thanks to all participants.   The winners are:

The current issue of the University of Basel’s research Magazine UNINOVA has a focus on quantum computing and the research that is conducted at the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute at the University of Basel. While the theoretical concepts are at an advanced stage, some challenges still need to be overcome. New […]

Scientists of the NCCR MSE and the argovia philharmonic have teamed up for the project “Art of Molecule” and created a short video to stimulate the debate about ethical challenges of synthetic biology. Video:  https://youtu.be/z2lnwIfwQdw    If you want to know more about the project and the sound of molecules please visit: http://www.nccr-mse.ch/en/ethics/art-of-molecule/sound-of-molecules-i-fiddle-with/

An interdisciplinary team from the University of Basel, ETH Zurich, and University College London have developed a new method that can be used to analyze individual live mammalian cells within a cell assembly. Based on a system of tiny cantilever probes, the technique records the cell mass over several days in millisecond steps and is […]