Biological sciences

First direct look at how atoms move when a ring-shaped molecule breaks apart could boost our understanding of fundamental processes of life.

In the decade since LCLS produced its first light, it has pushed boundaries in countless areas of discovery.

Researchers will use SLAC’s X-ray light source to probe 150-million-year-old dinosaur fossils at the atomic level.

New research will help in the quest to design low-cost drugs that can tackle postpartum bleeding and other conditions without severe side effects.

Researchers mapped trace elements within Pleistocene fossils to learn about the life of a long-extinct subspecies of spotted hyena.

In a major step forward, SLAC’s X-ray laser captures all four stable states of the process that produces the oxygen we breathe, as well as fleeting steps in between. The work opens doors to understanding the past and creating a...

This summer, five graduate students from the University of Puerto Rico had the opportunity to use SLAC’s world-class facilities to keep their studies on track.

A new imaging technique is allowing researchers to pinpoint ways of modifying drugs to avoid side effects.

SLAC and Stanford researchers are developing a device that combines electrical brain stimulation with EEG recording, opening potential new paths for treating neurological disorders.

The X-ray laser movie shows what happens when light hits retinal, a key part of vision in animals and photosynthesis in microbes. The action takes place in a trillionth of an eye blink.

Tiny pores in the shells of archaea microbes attract ammonium ions that are their sole source of energy, allowing them to thrive where this food is so scarce that scientists can’t even detect it.

The researchers observed how an enzyme from drug-resistant tuberculosis bacteria damages an antibiotic molecule. The new technique provides a powerful tool to examine changes in biological molecules as they happen.