April 2020  View this e-mail in your browser    

10 years at the service of the society and its challenges 
On 22nd March 2010, ALBA was inaugurated becoming one of the most important scientific infrastructures of Spain. Since then, its synchrotron light has been a great ally for numerous advances in a huge range of scientific fields.
 
Aerial view of ALBA

ALBA synchrotron light is back to fight against COVID-19  
After a month of shutdown due to COVID-19 precautionary measures, the ALBA Synchrotron beam is back since last Friday 17th April under a special operation mode devoted to research projects related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 
 
Pedro Duque at ALBA tunnel of accelerators

Minerva: new beamline in collaboration with the European Space Agency

 MINERVA, a new beamline specially designed to carry out investigations not foreseen at all in the ALBA Synchrotron's initial plan has been recently approved. This beamline in collaboration with the European Space Agency aims to characterize the mirror modules that form the optical system of the advanced astrophysics telescope ATHENA. This telescope will be sent into space in 2031 and will detect high-energy X-rays from, for example, black holes or galaxy clusters. In this way, ALBA also participates in the development of space technology.  

ALBA will host a microscopy platform


Through the joint action of 9 research institutions and the support of ERDF, the ALBA Synchrotron will host two new major experimental facilities, one dedicated to materials science, and another meant for molecular biology.

HIGHLIGHTS

Imaging how anticancer compounds move inside the cells  
BL09-MISTRAL
 
Iridium-based metallodrugs are emerging as novel tools to destroy cancer cells by disrupting their intracellular redox balance. Scientists have correlated on the same cell, for the first time, two 3D X-ray imaging techniques to image the anticancer agent at work in the cryopreserved intracellular nano-space.

MnBi4Te7, a compound featuring topological electronic order and intrinsic net magnetization  
BL29-BOREAS
 
This material features topological electronic order coexisting with an intrinsic net magnetization at low temperatures. The finding has been uncovered by an international collaboration including the teams from the universities and research institutes in Würzburg and Dresden, and has been corroborated by the measurements at Diamond Light Source (UK), the Advanced Light Source (US), Petra III-Desy (Germany) and the ALBA Synchrotron. 
A new path towards solidified natural gas   
BL04-MSPD
 
In this study samples of water-saturated activated carbon are confirmed to be efficient host materials for the formation of solidified natural gas. Researchers achieved a 100% water-to-methane hydrate conversion, which represents the most efficient storage of solidified natural gas to date.

Acoustic spin waves: towards a new paradigm of on-chip communication   
BL24-CIRCE 
 
For the first time, researchers have observed directly sound-driven spin waves (magnetoacoustic waves) and have revealed its nature. Results show that these magnetization waves can go up to longer distances (up to centimeters) and have larger amplitudes than the commonly known spin waves. 

AGENDA

An image

 ALBA Open Day Cancelled

Given the current health emergency situation due to COVID-19, we are forced to cancel the ALBA Open Day 2020, which was scheduled for next May 23rd. The next Open Day 2021 will be set following the competent authorities guidelines in order to carry out the activities with all the guarantees for the health of the participating people. With the same criteria, School and outreach visits and all face-to-face training are suspended until further notice. We will try to reschedule them to the extent possible. 
 
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 ALBA 10th anniversary - Call for T-shirt design 

To select the design of the 2020 T-shirt, a competition is launched. On this occasion, the design must be related to the 10th anniversary of ALBA and is open to any member of the general public, including also the ALBA Staff or students doing an internship in ALBA.



 

IN THE MEDIA

WE ARE HIRING!

*According to "Real Decreto 463/2020, de 14 de marzo, por el que se declara el estado de alarma para la gestión de la situación de crisis sanitaria ocasionada por el COVID-19" deadline to receive applications will be prolonged in the number of days that state of alarm persists in Spain.

 #STAYATHOME 
 You can still visit the Synchrotron. Take a look at the Virtual Tour of ALBA on our Twitter and Instagram
We proposed a photo contest to the staff working from home: #ALBAdesdecasa. Check the pictures on our Twitter and Instagram.
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Follow us on social media to stay updated!     Send us pictures    and we will post them in our channels.

Take a look at the history of ALBA within these last 10 years and more:
   

     

ALBA is the only synchrotron light source in Spain. It is a complex of electron accelerators to produce synchrotron light, which allows visualization and analysis of matter and its properties at atomic and molecular levels. In operation since 2012, ALBA has eight beamlines and four more under construction. It generates about 6,000 hours of beamtime and hosts more than 1,800 academic and industrial researchers every year.

                                                

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