Press & Public Relations

The Bavarian Administrative Court (BayVGH) has now published the reasons behind its decision of June 18. The FRM II may continue operating, the lawsuit filed by the Bund Naturschutz has been dismissed and an appeal was not admitted.

Dr. Bruno Baumeister and Dr. Christian Reiter from FRM II have received the Instrumentation Award of the Committee Research with Neutrons (KFN) to further develop neutron sources. The award ceremony took place during the German Neutron Scattering Conference in Aachen.

The Bavarian Administrative Court has confirmed the legality of the FRM II research reactor operation. It dismissed a corresponding complaint by the Bund Naturschutz against the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz research neutron source in Garching. The Scientific Director of the FRM II, Prof. Dr. Christian Pfleiderer, said: “This means that this facility, which is unique in the world for science and medicine, can continue to be operated.”

Green Councilor Daniela Rieth brought a few questions to ask when she visited FRM II in March. One was about a measuring station in Garching that records the local dose rate and had been out of action for several months. The mystery surrounding this probe has now been solved: it is operated by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and has been measuring again since March.

Whether sedimentary rocks store fossil hydrocarbons or act as impermeable layers to prevent the rise of oil, natural gas or stored carbon dioxide – all depends on their porosity. The size, shape, organization, and connectivity of the pore spaces are decisive. At the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the networks of micropores were characterized using small and very small angle neutron scattering.

The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II) and the French company Framatome have signed a further contract for the production of high-density and low-enriched fuel for the conversion of the FRM II. The project will run for four years and is intended to further optimize the production line and prepare an industrial manufacturing process for the uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) fuel.

The cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is the smallest and most abundant photosynthetic organism in the world. It has found a particularly efficient way to absorb and store vital iron. Using neutron, X-ray, and synchrotron experiments, an international team of researchers has visualized the molecular mechanism for the first time.

14 members of all political groups of the Garching City Council and three city employees recently visited the TUM’s Research Neutron Source together with Mayor Dr. Dietmar Gruchmann. Lectures, a tour of the reactor and a snack afterwards provided plenty of opportunity for discussion.

The Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) celebrates its 20th birthday on 2 March 2024. Since its commissioning in 2004, the FRM II has played a key role internationally in the supply of neutrons for research, industry and medicine.

The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II) is getting a new scientific director. Physicist Prof. Christian Pfleiderer from the School of Natural Sciences at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) will take over from Prof. Peter Müller-Buschbaum on January 1, 2024. Pfleiderer has been at TUM since 2004 and has held the Chair of Experimental Physics for the Topology of Correlated Systems since 2014.

The spent fuel elements of FRM II are to be transported to the Ahaus interim storage facility of the federally owned Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung (BGZ). A political delegation from the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Ahaus has now visited the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II) and the City of Garching for the first time for an exchange.

The restoration of artworks often involves solvents which have toxic properties. Now researchers have succeeded for the first time in creating a non-toxic and sustainable cleaning agent for paintings. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) investigated the structure of the agent, referred to as an organogel.

Currently, the FRM II is working towards installing a new central channel. The work is progressing and it is planned to provide neutrons for research and innovation again from the second half of 2024.

A scientific team from Forschungszentrum Jülich has developed a new approach at MLZ to improve the efficiency of neutron spectroscopy experiments and successfully tested it at the Swiss Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Neutron spectroscopy detects forces such as those between atoms arranged in an atomic lattice. The researchers optimized the data acquisition using an active learning artificial intelligence approach. This reduces the time per experiment and makes better use of the scarce resource of measurement time, especially in the first hours of an experiment.

The hypodermic needles on pre-filled syringes can clog when stored incorrectly. A research team subjected the process to a detailed and systematic investigation, including activities at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The results will help improve manufacturing and storage conditions accordingly.

On April 15, the commercial use of nuclear power for electricity generation in Germany ended in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act. This decision does not affect the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II).

As of 1st April 2023, Prof. Dr. Peter Müller-Buschbaum has again been instated as Scientific Director of the research neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) and the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ).

Neutrons from the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) can be used to explore the structure of biomolecules. The most recent success: the precise analysis of a promising vaccine against multidrug resistant germs.

From March 20th to 23rd, the eighth European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS) took place in Garching. After St. Petersburg (2019) and Zaragoza (2015), the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum was this year’s host.

A research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered a material class with above-average conductivity. This is a decisive step forward in the development of high-performance solid-state batteries. Investigations conducted at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) made an essential contribution to the discovery.

The members of the Committee Research with Neutrons (KFN) are concerned about the current situation of research with neutrons in Germany. In a letter to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, they describe the situation and make suggestions on how to circumvent current bottlenecks and avoid future ones.

An interdisciplinary research team led by the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) has solved the mystery of a gold-plated pendant found in 2008 in a medieval refuse pit in the Old City section of Mainz. Thanks to the non-destructive examinations at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the researchers localized miniscule bone fragments inside the object, presumably religious relics.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is again funding the development and expansion of scientific instruments at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) with 7.9 million euros. In addition to the Technical University of Munich, five other German universities and institutes are participating.

Prof. Dr. Heinz-Günter Brokmeier receives this year’s prize of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum for instrumentation and scientific use. The 70-year-old from Clausthal University of Technology is thus honored for his early and great commitment to the material science diffractometer STRESS-SPEC at FRM II and MLZ.

Scientifically speaking it is possible to convert the Research Neutron Source (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) for a fuel element with Low Enriched Uranium (LEU). This conclusion is the result of TUM researchers’ calculations, which have been independently confirmed by experts in the USA. This establishes the theoretical foundations for implementing state regulatory requirements to discontinue the use of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) as fuel at the FRM II in the future.

The existence of carbonic acid has long been the subject of debate: theoretically real, but practically impossible to detect. That is because the compound decomposes at the Earth’s surface. A German-Chinese team of researchers working at the FRM II Research Neutron Source at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now made the crystalline structure of carbonic acid molecules visible for the first time.

During the Germany-wide action day “Türen auf mit der Maus“ (“Open Doors with the Mouse”) organized by WDR on October 3, 2022, the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II), together with other research institutes of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), opened its doors to mouse fans young and old. More than 800 children and adults visited the varied program at the various stations of the TUM.

Together with more than 50 research infrastructures, the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) is participating in the EU project ReMade@ARI, which starts on September 1, 2022. The aim of the project, which is funded with 13.8 million Euros, is to develop new materials that are competitive and highly recyclable.

A team of German and Argentinian researchers has used neutrons in the FRM II research neutron source at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) to identify an animal species that has been extinct for 220 million years. Findings on the new species provide surprising insights into the evolution of mammals.

Their mission was to discover the neutron source, and the twelve motivated schoolgirls pursued this goal with a plan on August 2. As part of the “TUM Entdeckerinnen” program, the 13-15 year olds came to visit during summer vacation, looked behind the scenes at the research neutron source and asked plenty of questions.

A research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has taken an in-depth look at the internal workings of batteries during charging and discharging. Their findings may help optimize charging processes.

A very interested and enthusiastic State Minister visited the Research Neutron Source, “one of the most powerful and versatile neutron sources worldwide”, as Scientific Director Prof. Dr. Peter Müller-Buschbaum introduced FRM II.

During the Germany-wide action day “Türen auf mit der Maus“ (“Open Doors with the Mouse”) organized by WDR on October 3, 2022, the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II), together with other research institutes of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), opened its doors to mouse fans young and old. More than 800 children and adults visited the varied program at the various stations of the TUM.

Nuclear medicine utilizes technetium-99m among other things for tumor diagnostics. With over 30 million applications worldwide each year, it is the most widely used radioisotope. The precursor material, molybdenum-99, is mainly produced in research reactors. A study at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) now illustrates options to significantly reduce the radioactive waste produced during processing to a medical product.

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.

Industry and private consumers alike depend on oil and gas pipelines that stretch thousands of kilometers underwater. It is not uncommon for these pipelines to become clogged with deposits. Until now, there have been few means of identifying the formation of plugs in-situ and non-destructively. Measurements at the MLZ now show that neutrons may provide the solution of choice.

The research neutron source Hein Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is playing an important role in the investigation of mRNA nanoparticles similar to the ones used in the Covid-19 vaccines from vendors BioNTech and Pfizer. Researchers at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) used the high neutron flux available in Garching to characterize various formulations for the mRNA vaccine and thus to lay the groundwork for improving the vaccine’s efficacy.

An international research team at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a new imaging technology. In the future, this technology could not only improve the resolution of neutron measurements by many times, but could also reduce the radiation dose for medical x-ray imaging.

Turbine manufacture often pushes conventional processes to their limits. That is why complex, curved components with intricate structures are increasingly produced using 3D printing. There are a range of test methods to find defects inside components. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now examined a number of methods in use. The best error detection rate achieved neutrons at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz research neutron source (FRM II).

70 children and 139 adults enjoyed a guided tour of the research neutron source FRM II today. On the Open House and Door-Opening-Day of the “Sendung mit der Maus” program, they took a look inside the reactor hall and learned more about science with neutrons.

Who has not experienced this: Once a doctoral student has finished and leaves the research group, much data are also effectively lost? A new consortium is working to ensure that this no longer happens in the future by making research data more accessible and sustainable. DAta from PHoton and Neutron Experiments (DAPHNE4NFDI) will be funded for five years as part of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).

Biocompatible iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) offer great potential for biomedical applications, both in terms of imaging and therapy. More rapid progress in researching IONPs now looks promising by using a new method combination developed by a team of Jülich researchers using neutrons at the MLZ as a probe.

Depressive disorders are among the most frequent illnesses worldwide. The causes are complex and to date only partially understood. The trace element lithium appears to play a role. Using neutrons of the research neutron source at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), a research team has now proved that the distribution of lithium in the brains of depressive people is different from the distribution found in healthy humans.

Scientists from the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, with the support of neutrons at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), have now discovered how the subcutaneous administration of mRNA can be improved. For this, the small angle scattering diffractometer KWS-2 at MLZ was used. The goal is for chronically ill patients to be able to self-administer the medication on a regular basis.

3D printing has opened up a completely new range of possibilities, including for example production of turbine buckets. However, the 3D printing process often induces internal stress in these components which can in the worst case lead to cracks. Now a research team has succeeded in using neutrons from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) research neutron source reactor for non-destructive detection of this internal stress – a key achievement for the improvement of the production processes.

Eco-friendly flying is on the horizon. All over the world, researchers are developing new technologies to achieve this goal. One focus of developments is the idea of using hydrogen-powered engines for aircraft in the future. The aircraft companies, though, face the challenge of storing this energy source. Hydrogen turns liquid when cooled to minus 253 degrees Celsius, and only then can it be used as a so-called cryogenic fuel. Both tanks and pipe systems in the aircraft have to be absolutely tight at such low temperatures. An innovative new welding process can help to fulfill these requirement: magnetic pulse welding. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden have now demonstrated that this joining technology can produce extremely resilient, metallic mixed joints for cryogenic applications. They successfully achieved these outstanding joint properties in cooperation with the Technical University of Munich.

When a rocket is launched, the weld seams on the enormous fuel tanks must withstand immense forces. To produce joints with the necessary strength, a process known as “friction stir welding” is used. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are working to make this process more efficient. They are using positrons generated by the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) to precisely localize “atomic holes” in the material.

The three partners of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum will start to train 45 post docs in autumn 2021. The European Union (EU) is funding the project over its five-year duration with € 3.3 million. The three leading partners are investing a further € 5 million.

BioNTech, the Mainz-based biotechnology company which together with the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer developed the first Covid-19 vaccine approved in the EU, is also working with the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) on vaccine development. Researcher used the instrument KWS-2 operated by the JCNS at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum.

While ice skating, a thin liquid film forms on ice surfaces. This, along with other causes, is responsible for ice slipperiness. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now investigated a related effect at interfaces between ice and porous clay minerals. Such interfaces are found in nature for example in permafrost. The results may help to better understand changes in frozen soils as temperatures rise.

In our smartphones, our computers and in our electric cars: We use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries everywhere. But their capacity drops after a while. Now a German-American research team has investigated the structure and functionality of these batteries using neutron diffraction: They discovered that the electrolyte fluid’s decomposition products capture mobile lithium in the battery and that the distribution of lithium within the cell is surprisingly uneven.

When the charity organisation NAVIS e.V. called for a donation for a newly established fire department in Hungary, the management of the FRM II research neutron source was eager to help by donating 16 firefighting outfits for this cause.

At the end of 2019, the neutron source used for materials research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) was shut down as planned. Now the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Munich is taking over two scientific instruments from the HZB. The Federal Ministry of Science and Research (BMBF) is funding the relocation and adaptation with 5.62 million euros.

Portuguese scientists have analyzed lichens from areas with traditional charcoal production for the first time with the help of the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Lichens located near areas of charcoal production contained more than twice the concentration of phosphorus, which is generated during the combustion process.

They look like microscopic bottle brushes: Polymers with a spine and tufts of side arms. This molecular design gives them unusual abilities: For example, they can bind active ingredients and release them again when the temperature changes. With the help of neutrons at the MLZ, a research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now succeeded to unveil the changes in the internal structure in course of the process.

Every year, up to 1,200 guest scientists from all over the world come to perform measurements at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II). Technical University Munich (TUM) and Forschungszentrum Jülich are now expanding the research capacities of the world’s most versatile neutron source with two new buildings providing a total of 4,550 square meters of floor space for laboratories, offices and workshops.

For the first time, researchers have created antiferromagnetic skyrmions, whose critical elements inside are arranged in opposing directions. They visualized this phenomenon using neutrons at the MLZ, as well as at Swiss and French neutron sources. The discovery published in Nature is a major step towards developing more efficient computers.

The District Administrator of Freising, Helmut Petz, visited the research neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) together with his department and subject area managers. The directors of the neutron source informed the interested visitors during a guided tour about the safety concepts, scientific projects and planned extensions of the research facility.

Meteorites give us insight into the early development of the solar system. Using the SAPHiR instrument from the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), a scientific team has for the first time simulated the formation of a class of stony-iron meteorites, so-called pallasites, on a purely experimental basis.

High-grade biopolymers can be obtained from wood, which could replace fossil resources as a base material for a variety of products. This can already be achieved on a laboratory scale, they are not profitable for industrial use. This has already been achieved on a laboratory scale, but industrial use is currently not profitable. At MLZ, scientists from FZ Jülich and RWTH Aachen University want to optimise the sustainable process and make it cheaper.

Taking a look into ancient vases or exploring the forging technique of ancient Indian swords – archaeologists can now do this and much more at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum within the IPERION HS project. The EU has been supporting the 68 participating institutes since April with a total of 6.2 million euros over a period of three years.

Moon-shot missions, such as those of Horizon Europe, require exceptional solutions, and the world-leading Analytical Research Infrastructures of Europe (ARIEs) are one of the key places those solutions can be sought. The ARIE Joint Position Paper highlighting how the common, complementary approach will help address the societal challenges of the Horizon Europe Missions framework programme was presented today.

An international team of researchers has now used neutrons to visualize the proton transfer in the enzyme ascorbate peroxidase for the first time in detail and suggested reaction pathways.

On July 1, Dr. Axel Pichlmaier takes up the post of Technical Director of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz research neutron source. The 51-year-old physicist brings with him experience from neutron research as well as from reactor operation and nuclear supervision.

Progress in developing a lower enriched fuel with monolithic uranium-molybdenum. Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Framatome are working together on the development of a new fuel. The first prototypes will be produced at the beginning of 2021 and are expected to go into production by 2022.

Researchers worldwide are trying to develop drugs or a vaccine against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In view of the corona pandemic, the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) also offers special access to measurements with neutrons, which can provide important insights into the behaviour of the virus.

The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source receives around 350,000 euros in funding from the EU to continue its cooperation with large-scale Russian research institutions. The project CREMLINplus was officially launched in Hamburg at the end of February.

Freeze drying has provided us with tasty dried fruits in muesli, long-life yoghurt cultures and many other important products. For the first time, using neutron beams from the Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) research neutron source, a team of scientists has now been able to show us the drying process in detail. The process engineering has thus gained a method of testing theoretical models in practice.

Did Oviraptoridchicks hatch at the same time? Researchers at the University of Bonn and the TU Munich provide presumptive evidence

After an involuntary interruption, the FRM II will again supply neutrons to its users from science, industry and medicine from today, 14 January.

More than 500 visitors enjoyed a guided tour at the Research Neutron Source’s Open Day and Mouse Day again this year. In addition to the visitors’ tours, children and adults enjoyed a colorful accompanying program in the physics department.

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is participating in the construction of two measuring instruments at the European Spallation Neutron Source (ESS) in Sweden. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding this project, with material and human resources, to the tune of around 15 million euros. Now the people responsible at the ESS in Lund and the FRM II in Garching have signed the contracts of cooperation.

Technische Universität München as operator of the neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) actively participates in international fuel research with the aim to develop new nuclear fuels with lower enrichment and increased uranium density for high performance research reactors such as the FRM II. The working group “High density fuels” works on the three main pillars fuel development, fuel manufacturing and theoretical core modelling.

The two TUM institutes, Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) and Radiochemie München (RCM), have applied to the District Office of Munich for a higher water law permit. In a public hearing on 23 July 2019 in the Ismaninger Bürgersaal, objectors and affected parties were able to express their concerns and discuss them openly with the applicant and the responsible authorities.

The elected representation of neutron researchers in Germany (German Committee Research with Neutrons, KFN) descibes the importance of neutron research at FRM II for the whole society in an open letter. It asks for a quick solution of the present transport problem to allow the efficient use of FRM II, which will be the only neutron source in Germany in the upcoming years.

With a new spray coating process, very uniform layers of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) can be produced on an industrial scale. X-ray investigations at DESY as well as investigations with an atomic force microscope and neutron scattering at the MLZ, show how the layer is structured and can be tailored for different purposes. A Swedish-German research team led by DESY scientist Adj. Prof. Dr. Stephan Roth presents its structural analyses in the journal “Macromolecules”.

At this year’s internal workshop in Grainau, the focus was on an extensive exchange with colleagues on the future perspectives and strategies of the MLZ. The conference was also characterised by a broad spectrum of exciting lectures and discussions. The picturesque surroundings invited to excursions and sportive hikes.

An exciting research question, a highly regarded fellowship, some very cool neutrons, and of course the prospect of a big mug of German beer. This is what drove Dr. Sergio Raul Soria from his study site in Bariloche, Argentina, to the MLZ in Garching.

Magnetism research with neutrons – the number 1 topic at the MLZ conference in picturesque Lenggries. In their varied lectures, world-renowned speakers reported on various research topics in magnetism that are to revolutionize future information and quantum technologies.

The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) and the French Neutron Scattering Federation (2DFN) organized a German-French workshop on the research campus in Garching from the 14th until the 16th May 2019. As two national neutron sources in Germany and France will be decommissioned at the end of 2019, the European neutron landscape will change. Therefore, the workshop served to discuss the opportunity of an enhanced French-German cooperation among European neutron scientists.

In the pantheon of unconventional superconductors, iron selenide is a rock star. But new experiments by U.S., Chinese and European physicists have found the material’s magnetic persona to be unexpectedly mundane. The group published the results in Nature Materials.

Electrons and their atomic nuclei influence their respective motions in more materials than previously assumed. Scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich made this discovery during measurements conducted at TUM’s research neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II). Possible applications for the effect they identified include data processing and zero-loss transmission of electricity.

In toothpaste, Teflon, LEDs and medications, it shows its sunny side – but elemental fluorine is extremely aggressive and highly toxic. Attempts to determine the crystal structure of solid fluorine using X-rays ended with explosions 50 years ago. A research team has now clarified the actual structure of the fluorine using neutrons from the Heinz Maier Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II).

Members of a strategic consortium of neutron research facilities in Europe, the League of advanced European Neutron Sources (LENS), officially launched activities to promote collaboration on neutron usage, technology development, innovation, data, education, and strategies. By aligning policies among its partners, LENS will advocate for the user community and strengthen European neutron science.

Physicists from the University of Luxembourg, the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) and a team of research partners have demonstrated for the first time in a comprehensive study how different magnetic materials can be examined using small-angle neutron scattering. The scientists around Dr. Sebastian Mühlbauer (MLZ, Technical University of Munich) and Prof. Dr. Andreas Michels (University of Luxemburg) have published their insights in “Reviews of Modern Physics,” the respected science journal of the American Physical Society.

New research published in Nature Communications may help scientists understand the cause of the rare and incurable disease transthyretin amyloidosis. A team of scientists based at Keele University (UK) and the Institut Laue-Langevin (France) has been trying to understand the mechanism by which the disease is caused. Neutron crystallographic measurements were carried out using both the ILL LADI-III diffractometer (operated by Matthew Blakeley) and MLZ’s neutron diffraction instrument BIODIFF with the help of MLZ scientist Andreas Ostermann. The neutron structures were important in visualizing specific details of molecular structure and drug interactions.

Salt apparently affects allergic immune reactions. A team working with Prof. Christina Zielinski at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has demonstrated in cell cultures that salt leads to the formation of Th2 cells. These immune cells are active in allergic conditions such as atopic dermatitis. The team also detected elevated salt concentrations in the skin of patients.

For the first time, scientists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) have trapped positrons in a magnetic cage without losses. This is an important step towards a matter-antimatter plasma of electrons and their antiparticles, the positrons, which are assumed to occur in the vicinity of neutron stars and black holes.

In an article published online now in Science Advances, a team of scientists from the USA and Germany offer an explanation of how a particular phase-change memory (PCM) material can work a thousand times faster than current flash computer memory, while being significantly more durable with respect to the number of daily read-writes. They have studied the material at the MLZ instrument TOFTOF.

Representatives of eight European research infrastructures signed the Charter of the League of advanced European Neutron Sources (LENS) today at the International Conference of Research Infrastructures, ICRI2018.

For the first time a team of researchers have discovered with the help of neutrons at the instrument SANS-1 two different phases of magnetic skyrmions in a single material. Physicists of the Technical Universities of Munich and Dresden and the University of Cologne can now better study and understand the properties of these magnetic structures, which are important for both basic research and applications.

The world’s highest-performance neutron source for research, FRM II of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), will have a new Scientific Director as of April 1st. With the appointment of Professor Peter Müller-Buschbaum, an internationally renowned researcher has been appointed to succeed Winfried Petry.

Developers from Bosch and scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are using neutrons to analyze the filling of lithium ion batteries for hybrid cars with electrolytes. Their experiments show that electrodes are wetted twice as fast in a vacuum as under normal pressure.

Drugs can alter the structure of cell membranes. This in turn can affect their function and cause undesirable side effects. The structural changes in cell membranes caused by drugs have not yet been sufficiently investigated. Researchers from Jülich, Garching (near Munich), Georgia, and France now want to change this. They have developed a new neutron research method which enables deformations of the membranes to be detected faster and more easily than previous methods.

On October 31, 1957, the Munich research reactor FRM went online for the first time. Until 2000, the “Atomic Egg” of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) was a reliable provider of neutrons for basic research and medical applications. This year the facility is celebrating its 60th birthday with a special exhibition.

In the journal Science, a Chinese–German team of researchers has presented a novel synthetic antiferromagnetic material which may prove pioneering for progress in nanomedicine and information technology. Up until now, synthetic antiferromagnets have been manufactured primarily from transition metals and alloys. The scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei manufactured a different kind of antiferromagnet consisting of several oxide layers only a few nanometres thick, whose properties can be adapted to various applications in a targeted manner. In collaboration with Forschungszentrum Jülich, the researchers used neutron measurements at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) to show that the individual layers of the new material can be magnetized and their polarity reversed – meaning that the magnetic states can be switched in a controlled fashion.

Rechargeable lithium batteries with cathodes comprising nickel, manganese, and cobalt, are viewed as the most potent today. But they, too, have a limited lifespan. Already in the first cycle they lose up to ten percent of their capacity. Why this happens and what can be done to alleviate the ensuing gradual loss of capacity has now been investigated in detail by a team of scientists using positrons at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

First groundbreaking ceremony for the new science and technology building of the Technical University of Munich as well as the laboratory and office building of the Research Center Jülich for use by the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ): (from left to right) Prof. Dr. Winfried Petry (Scientific Director of Research Neutron Source FRM II), Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Mult. Wolfgang A. Herrmann (President of the Technical University of Munich), Dr. Anton Kastenmüller (Technical Director of the Research Neutron Source FRM II), Prof. Dr. Thomas Brückel (Director of the Jülich Center for Neutron Science and Spokesman of the MLZ Directorate), Stefan Müller MdB (Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)), Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Mult. Sebastian M. Schmidt (Member of the Board, Research Center Jülich), Dr. Dietmar Gruchmann (First Mayor of the City of Garching).

The German DFG has granted support for the development of a pulsed positron source that will enable investigations of exotic states of matter and mixes of matter and antimatter with 750,000 euros.

There is a strong suspicion that Helicobacter pylori is linked to the development of stomach cancer. Now an international team of researchers led by Prof. Donald R. Ronning (University of Toledo, USA) has used neutrons to unlock the secret to the functionality of an important enzyme in the bacterium’s metabolism. This could be used as a point of attack for new medications. The team made the corresponding measurements at the neutron sources in Oak Ridge (USA) and at the research neutron source reactor FRM II of the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has given 13.5 million Euros to fund a number of projects at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ). The projects are to be realized by ten different universities over the next three years, including seven projects at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The Ministry has also given 2.7 million Euros to support the integration of instruments in the new Neutron Guide Hall East at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz research neutron source (FRM II).

Physics can also taste very sweet – this is one of the things that the pupils from grade 3 of the elementary school Garching Ost learned during their visit at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz. They made an atom model from toothpicks and marsh mallows and tried their abilities as neutron scatterers at a neutron ball toss.

An international research team has discovered the mechanism by which a pharmaceutical excipient from the class of block copolymers improves the solubility of large quantities of a poorly water-soluble active substance. The results form the basis for the development of a drug delivery system better tolerated by the human body.

For her doctoral thesis “Thermal Conductivity of High Density Uranium-Molybdenum Fuels for Research Reactors” Dr. Tanja Huber is awarded the Karl Wirtz Prize of the German Nuclear Society (KTG) today.

A key issue with lithium ion batteries is aging. It significantly reduces their potential storage capacity. To date, very little is known about the causes of the aging effects. Scientists from the Department of Technical Electrochemistry and the Research Neutron Source FRM II at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now come a step closer to identifying the causes in their latest experiments.

Usually, harvesting energy and raw materials from plants requires many process steps and aggressive chemicals. To make these processes more efficient and resource saving, researchers are looking for suitable enzymes. Using neutrons, researchers have now investigated the reaction mechanism of an important class of enzymes – the glycosidases. The measurements were made at the neutron sources in Los Alamos and Oak Ridge (USA), as well as at the research neutron source FRM II of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The results provide the key to improving large-scale technical processing of biomass.

How mobile individual polymers are reveals a lot about their macroscopic properties. Neutron researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich have now found a much easier and more accurate way of investigating the often decisive lateral deflection of molecules. They use ring-shaped molecules as probes, which wrap themselves around the polymer chains and follow their lateral motion.

Today a new cooperation project starts, which is headed by MLZ partner JCNS: CREMLIN (Connecting Russian and European Measures for Large-scale Research Infrastructures) shall promote the EU-Russia cooperation in the planning, construction and scientific use of large scale facilities.

New Study shows Correlation between Microscopic Structures and Macroscopic Properties

The scientists were able to detect structural changes using a model system of phospholipids from soy plants with the help of neutron scattering techniques at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum in Garching near Munich.

Measurements at the three axes spectrometer PUMA have now been published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.

Measurements using positrons could help to develop better coatings for drugs.

Lithium-ion batteries are seen as a solution for energy storage of the future and have become indispensible, especially in electromobility. Their key advantage is that they are able to store large amounts of energy but are still comparatively light and compact.

Neutron scattering experiment at PUMA resolves a contentious superconducting issue.

Neutrons shed light on vital enzymes’ mechanism of action

In the future, antineutrino detectors may provide an additional option for monitoring. Physicists at Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have now found interesting results using fast neutrons from the Heinz Maier Leibnitz Zentrum.

Experiments with neutrons at the Technische Universität München (TUM) show that the antidepressant lithium accumulates more strongly in white matter of the brain than in grey matter.

The world’s strongest neutron beam is produced by the scientific instrument PGAA at the FRM II. But that is not all: During the long maintenance break in 2011, the PGAA (Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis) was improved to give it the best ratio between usable neutrons and noisy background radiation worldwide.