PSI

In evolution, the development of light-sensitive proteins was a momentous step: it’s only thanks to them that we can see. The large research facilities at PSI are helping scientists unravel the last major secrets concerning these extraordinary cellular components. The researchers have another goal as well: selectively switching processes in cells on and off with the help of light receptors.

Just as electrons flow through an electrical conductor, magnetic excitations can travel through certain materials. Such excitations, known in physics as "magnons" in analogy to the electron, could transport information much more easily than electrical conductors. An international research team has now made an important discovery on the road to such components, which could be highly energy-efficient and considerably smaller.

The current energy debate could do with more facts and less gut feeling – argue Thomas J. Schmidt, renewables expert and Head of the PSI Research Division Energy and Environment, and Andreas Pautz, nuclear energy specialist and Head of the PSI Research Division Nuclear Energy and Safety. In this joint interview, they set out the challenges that science needs to address in connection with the Swiss government’s Energy Strategy 2050 and why nuclear energy and renewables experts must work closely together.

Can you see sounds? Obviously not. Nevertheless, this Gallery attempts the seemingly impossible, building a visual bridge to the soundscape the ear perceives all around PSI.

Researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, in a project led by scientists from the University of Sheffield, have developed a new simulation of the most dangerous radioactive debris from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Their study could give an enormous boost to the cleanup effort. They are publishing their results today in Nature Materials Degradation.

PSI is involved in the development of a breath test that can be used to diagnose asthma. Imad El Haddad explains why such a test could be extremely useful – especially for children.