PSI Paul Scherrer Institut

💻 📱 🎧 Does #digitalisation save energy and reduce #CO2 emissions?      Yes, say Lidia Stermieri and Evangelos Panos of PSI Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (LEA). Using one of the most advanced energy system models in Europe to calculate the impact of digitalisation on energy consumption, they found that “digital lifestyles”could save between ten and twenty percent of energy in 2050 compared to 2020, according to the scenarios under study. The researchers report on their findings in the journal Energy Policy.     For her calculations, Stermieri used the Swiss TIMES Energy Systems Model (STEM), which has been developed over years of painstaking work at the Energy Economics Group into a powerful model for simulating an energy system. Six million equations with six million variables represent the Swiss energy system and the interactions of technologies, energy and emission flows, and sectors. The variables are linked to each other in many dimensions, also across time and space, via the equations. This allows various scenarios to be calculated up to 2050, the year in which #Switzerland aims to be carbon neutral.     However, STEM only considers the techno-economic aspects of the energy system and does not provide any information on socio-economic factors. This is why Lidia Stermieri has docked another model onto STEM: the Socio-Economic Energy model for Digitalisation (SEED). In combination, this has resulted in one of the most advanced models for energy systems with a national scope in Europe.     💬 “We're not predicting the future,” emphasizes Stermieri, “we're exploring it by calculating scenarios based on the what-if principle.”    This research was carried out with the support of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE as part of SWEET-SURE - Sustainable and Resilient Energy for Switzerland. #EnergySystems #EnergyTransition #ResearchAtPSI Read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/d7akcXCj Learn more about the Swiss TIMES Energy Systems Model: https://lnkd.in/dDuhsdu3

#EnergyTransition ✈ A pilot plant for the production of eSAF – electro sustainable aviation fuel is being set up on the campus of the PSI Paul Scherrer Institut. The partner in this project is the Zurich-based climate start-up Metafuels. This industrial collaboration is receiving support within the framework of the Pilot and Demonstration Programme initiated the Swiss Federal Administration’s Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE to develop and test new #renewable #energy technologies. The grant of 4.4 million Swiss francs makes it possible to establish a pilot plant on the PSI campus to demonstrate the innovative aerobrew technology developed by at Metafuels and PSI. The aerobrew technology can enable a seamless transition from fossil kerosene to sustainable aviation fuel through a patented method for converting green methanol into eSAF. Green methanol is a substance produced from green hydrogen (H₂) and sustainably sourced carbon dioxide (CO₂). Green H₂ can be generated from water electrolysis driven by renewable electricity, while CO₂ can in the short term be captured from biogenic sources such as wood or plant waste, and through direct air capture in the long term. Such sustainable aviation fuels are not new. What the industry has lacked up to now, however, is an affordable, efficiently produced, and commercially scalable fuel that can significantly reduce the airlines’ net emissions. This is the core problem that the two partners are joining forces to solve. Full story in the first comment. CC: Saurabh KAPOOR, Marco Ranocchiari #SustainableAviationFuel #SAF #CleanAviation #decarbonization #AviationEmissions #RenewableEnergy #biofuels #CircularEconomy #ClimateAction #ESIPlatform

An international team of scientists, with PSI participation, has made important discoveries about Rio Tinto's #fossil #microbiota, which could enhance the search for life on #Mars. This research, featured on the cover of Astrobiology, utilized advanced imaging techniques. The team combined ptychography X-ray laminography at the #SwissLightSource #SLS at PSI Paul Scherrer Institut with X-ray nano-fluorescence at the ESRF - The European Synchrotron and Sirius. This multi-scale 3D nano-imaging enabled them to study microbial fossils within rocks at a nanometric scale, revealing new insights into the nature, metabolisms, ecological interactions, and fossilization processes of these microorganisms. #Rio #Tinto, a river in Spain known for its iron-rich, highly acidic waters, serves as an analogue for Martian terrain. By understanding the microorganisms and their fossilization in such an extreme environment, scientists can better anticipate the challenges of analyzing extraterrestrial samples from upcoming Mars sample return missions. CC: Université Grenoble Alpes, Manuel Guizar Sicairos

📦 Our Daycare centre is moving back to campus! The children are busy packing up their toys, so excited for their new adventure. 🏫 Soon, our little ones will be playing and learning in the brand-new Kita right here on the PSI campus, so our employees can work with peace of mind knowing their children are close by and in good hands.❤️ We can’t wait to see the kids enjoying their new space! Stay tuned for more updates on our smallest PSI members. 🚀🌈 #KitaReturns #PSIFamily #InsidePSI #PSICampus

Biological molecules like proteins, peptides, lipids, and nucleic acids can efficiently self-assemble into precise #nanostructures. The concept of spontaneous, bottom-up formation of nanoscale architectures, driven by weak interaction forces between molecular building blocks, holds significant promise for materials science applications. However, to extract the advantages of this nanofabrication approach, we must better understand the underlying forces that lead to the formation of both the structures and the defects in synthetic self-assembly networks. An international research team used advanced X-ray nanotomography at the #SwissLightSource #SLS to map synthetic crystalline structures on the nanoscale fabricated by self-assembly. They analyzed nearly 70,000 crystal unit cells, each just tens of nanometers in size, with high-resolution X-ray computed #tomography. This new method has potential applications in #materials #science, and the findings are published in Nature Nanotechnology. Image: Dmitry Karpov (PSI)

Researchers at PSI Paul Scherrer Institut and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a new approach, which combines imaging and #artificial #intelligence #AI to improve the staging of #breast #cancer.   The researchers, led by G.V. Shivashankar, Head of the Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology at PSI and Professor of Mechano-Genetics at ETH Zürich, and Caroline Uhler, Director of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center at the Broad Institute and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, trained a #MachineLearning algorithm on 560 tissue samples from 122 patients.   After a learning phase, the AI model was able to identify patterns in the tissue sections that matched the differences identified by human pathologists. “Our analysis shows that chromatin images, which are cheap and easy to obtain, together with powerful AI algorithms, can provide enough information to study how the cell state and tissue organisation change, and thereby accurately predict the stage of the disease,” explains Caroline Uhler.   The researchers believe that this kind of tumour classification based on AI and chromatin imaging has great potential. However, before it can be used in practical applications, numerous further studies are needed to demonstrate the reliability and safety of the approach, including long-term monitoring of patients. #Medicine #HealthInnovation #ResearchAtPSI

Exploring Light-Induced Changes in Cellulose at the cSAXS beamline.   💡 Cellulose structures that respond to light can be used to generate movement with potential application in soft robotics.   In today’s #SciencePic, Jonathan Avaro closely examines the setup during beamtime at the cSAXS beamline of #SwissLightSource #SLS. The experiment, led by Empa, uses X-ray scattering to investigate how specially designed cellulose changes structure in response to blue light.   Photo: Marianne Liebi (PSI Paul Scherrer Institut) #FutureTechnologies #Cellulose #Beamline #SwissLightSource #ResearchMatters #ResearchAtPSI

The more we learn about the cell, the more remarkable it gets. The discovery that proteins can condense into droplets in the cell – and seem to do so to fulfil distinct biological functions – is one of the most significant discoveries in the last 15 years of biology. 💦 But can protein droplets lead to neurodegenerative diseases? Several studies have hinted that they are a precursor of pathological protein aggregation associated with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. But the true link has never been established. Now, researchers from Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have carried out one of the most comprehensive explorations yet into this link. They investigated the protein alpha-synuclein (ɑSyn), which clumps together to form amyloid fibrils, a pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. Sometimes working alongside beamline scientists at the large research facilities is what’s needed to approach a problem from a new angle: Using the robotic crystallisation at the Swiss Light Source, the researchers investigated over five hundred conditions and followed the progress of droplet formation or protein aggregation for up to five months. 💡 Remarkably, the research team found that droplet formation does not cause aggregation; in contrast, it may protect from it. The study deepens our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases linked to protein aggregation, which could help develop new treatments in the future. #Ageing #Neuroscience #Neurodegeration #Parkinsons #ResearchMatters

“Treating children with #cancer is tough, and the job can feel like a constant battle. But when the children end up doing well – then it’s a wonderful job.” Alessia Pica, senior radiation oncologist and Head of Paediatrics at the Centre for Proton Therapy at PSI Paul Scherrer Institut.   On 5 July 2004, exactly 20 years ago, a two-year-old toddler with a #tumour was irradiated under #anaesthesia at PSI for the first time. This treatment would not have been possible without the collaboration of the Department of Anaesthesia at the Kinderspital Zürich because, unlike adults, young patients require anaesthesia.   “The collaboration the Children’s Hospital Zurich between and PSI is exemplary” says Georg Schäppi, CEO of the Kinderspital Zürich. “Here, the right people are working together and are performing small and large miracles.”   Thanks to this collaboration, even very young patients in Switzerland can be irradiated with protons. 60 to 70 children and adolescents are treated at PSI every year. To date, more than 800 have benefited from this unique success story. The majority of these young patients suffer from #tumours of the brain, spinal cord and sarcomas, #cancers that originate in connective or muscle tissue.   Thanks to thorough preparation and continuous support, children usually experience no anxiety when receiving radiation treatment. “Our close working relationship allows us to give our patients the best possible #treatment,” says Grotzer Michael, Medical Director of the Kinderspital Zürich.   #ProtonTherapy #Health #Innovation #ResearchAtPSI

The 20th International Conference on #Retinal #Proteins ICRP2024 will be held from 17 to 21 November 2024 in Interlaken, Switzerland.   Light-sensitive retinal-binding proteins are found in all forms of life, from simple microorganisms to complex animals. These proteins are incredibly diverse and versatile. In animals, they act as photoreceptors, helping with vision and other light-related functions. In microorganisms, they can act as light-activated ion pumps, channels, sensors and enzymes.   At ICRP2024, world-class experts and pioneers in the field will present the latest research on retinal proteins, including:   🔹 Brian Kobilka (GPCRs) Nobel Prize Winner 2012 in Chemistry 🔹Richard Neutze (time-resolved crystallography) 🔹Richard Mathies (Ultrafast spectroscopy) 🔹Rob J. Lucas (optogenetics in neurobiology/vision restoration) 🔹Peter Hegemann (optogenetics) 🔹Ana-Nicoleta Bondar (theory of retinal proteins)   The registration is now open: https://lnkd.in/dyusdS7e CC: Gebhard F. X. Schertler (PSI), Chair, Massimo Olivucci (University of Siena), Co-Chair, Valérie Panneels, Ching-Ju Tsai, Jörg Standfuss, Xavier Deupi, Polina Isaikina (PSI).