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X-ray studies at SLAC facilities help scientists understand the fundamental workings of nature by probing matter in atomic detail.

atoms forming a tentative bond
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The lab is responding to the coronavirus crisis by imaging disease-related biomolecules, developing standards for reliable coronavirus testing and enabling other essential research.

SARS-CoV-2
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Researchers investigate how much damage spreads through molecules struck by a pulse from LCLS.

Two color mode
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This new technology could enable future insights into chemical and biological processes that occur in solution, such as vision, catalysis and photosynthesis.

UED liquid
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Turning a brittle oxide into a flexible membrane and stretching it on a tiny apparatus flipped it from a conducting to an insulating state...

Close up of strain pattern produced by stretching membrane
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An LCLS imaging technique reveals how a mosquito-borne bacterium deploys a toxin to kill mosquito larvae. Scientists hope to harness it to fight disease.

A photograph of mosquito larvae.
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Hitting molecules with two photons of light at once set off unexpected processes that were captured in detail with SLAC’s X-ray laser. Scientists say...

Closeup image of molecular movie frames
News Brief

The 1950s and ‘60s poisoning event was long attributed to methylmercury, but studies at SLAC suggest a different compound was to blame. The findings...

Illustration of toxic waste being dumped from a pipe, a molecule, and a map showing the location of Minamata, Japan.
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A better understanding of this phenomenon, which is crucial to many processes that occur in biological systems and materials, could enable researchers to develop...

photoexcitation
News Brief

These inexpensive photosensitizers could make solar power and chemical manufacturing more efficient. Experiments at SLAC offer insight into how they work.

Illustration of carbene reaction pathways
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In regions that lack the resources to treat the contaminated water, it can lead to disease, cancer, and even death.

Electrode tank
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Siqi Li develops connections with people and concepts while working on new technologies for accelerators.

Siqi Li headshot
News Brief

Discovered at SLAC and Stanford, this new class of unconventional superconductors is starting to give up its secrets – including a surprising 3D metallic...

Graphic showing electronic structure of nickelate superconductor