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Breaking the nanometer barrier in X-ray microscopy
November 10, 2006Argonne, IL-Argonne National Laboratory scientists in collaboration with Xradia have created a new X-ray microscope technique capable of observing molecular-scale features, measuring less than a nanometer in height. Combining x-ray reflection together with high resolution x-ray microscopy, scientists can now study interactions at the nanometer-scale which often can exhibit different properties and lead to new insights. Improving our understanding of interactions at the nanoscale holds promise to help us cure the sick, protect our environment and make us more secure.
This novel technique will lead to a better understanding of interfacial reactions at surfaces, such as ion adsorption, corrosion, and catalytic reactions. In particular, this method extends the capability of x-ray microscopy to observe sub-nanometer-sized interfacial features directly and in real time. This non-invasive approach complements the more widely used scanning probe microscopies and can image the topography of a solid surface without using probe-tips near the surface.
Argonne researchers together with Xradia, a firm specializing in x-ray optics and x-ray microscope systems, have achieved sensitivity to sub-nanometer sized features by using a phenomenon known as phase contrast. This breakthrough makes it possible to look directly at individual steps on a solid surface, borrowing a technique used previously in electron microscopy, "The ability to see individual nanometer-scale features is an important benchmark for X-ray microscopy" states Paul Fenter, Argonne National Laboratory Physicist. "Understanding interfacial reactivity is vital to many areas of science and technology, from the corrosion of metals to the transport of contaminants in the environment." Steve Wang of Xradia adds, "This technique opens up the possibility of watching these processes directly and will provide fundamentally new opportunities for understanding them."
This is a significant advance towards understanding the reactivity of solid-surfaces. Future studies will extend these measurements to the observation of real-time processes of mineral surfaces in contact with water. Employing a novel x-ray microscope setup developed by Xradia, and measurements performed at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source, home of the most brilliant X-ray source in the Western Hemisphere, was central to the teams' success.
DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
This is a significant advance towards understanding the reactivity of solid-surfaces. Future studies will extend these measurements to the observation of real-time processes of mineral surfaces in contact with water. Employing a novel x-ray microscope setup developed by Xradia, and measurements performed at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source, home of the most brilliant X-ray source in the Western Hemisphere, was central to the teams' success.
DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Tracking Down the Menace in Mexico City Smog
A new report by scientists who are part of the international MILAGRO Campaign indicates that some of the most harmful air pollution in Mexico City may not come from motor vehicles but instead originates with industrial sources - and that the culprit may be garbage incineration.
Lensless camera uses X-rays to view nanoscale materials and biological specimens
X-rays have been used for decades to take pictures of broken bones, but scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and their collaborators have developed a lensless X-ray technique that can take images of ultra-small structures buried in nanoparticles and nanomaterials, and features within whole biological cells such as cellular nuclei.
Preserving a 460 year old wreck
An international team of researchers has analysed the sulphur and iron composition in the wooden timbers of the Mary Rose, an English warship wrecked in 1545, which was salvaged two decades ago.
Nature press release for 21 February issue
[415859] CLONING: MEET 'CC:', THE CARBON-COPY CAT (p859) Researchers announce the birth of the first cloned cat, in a Brief Communication to Nature published online this week. The kitten, called 'Cc:' and now almost two months old, appears healthy and energetic, although she is completely unlike her tabby surrogate mother. Mark Westhusin and colleagues at Texas A&M University, College Station, created Cc: by transplanting DNA from a female three-coloured (tortoiseshell or calico) cat into an egg cell whose nucleus had been removed, and then implanting this embryo into the surrogate mother. Cc:`s coat colour suggests that she is a clone, and a genetic match between Cc: and the donor mother co
Nature press release for 8 November issue
[414212] BRAIN: PAINKILLERS BUST ALZHEIMER’S PLAQUES (pp212-216; N&V) In this week’s issue of Nature, Edward Koo at the University of California San Diego and colleagues identify three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including ibuprofen, that reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. The drugs specifically inhibit the most harmful plaque-forming protein produced in the animals’ brains. Some Alzheimer’s patients taking NSAIDs have shown reduced symptoms of the disease in the past. But how these common, over-the-counter drugs might work is a mystery. Previous experiments with NSAIDs and Alzheimer’s gave mixed results: some, such as aspi
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Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Microanalysis by Joseph Goldstein (Author), Dale E. Newbury (Author), David C. Joy (Author), Charles E. Lyman (Author), Patrick Echlin (Author), Eric Lifshin (Author), L.C. Sawyer (Author), J.R. Michael (Author) This text provides students as well as practitioners (engineers, technicians, physical and biological scientists, clinicians, and technical managers) with a comprehensive introduction to the field of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray microanalysis. The authors emphasize the practical aspects of the techniques described. Topics discussed include user-controlled functions of scanning electron microscopes and x-ray spectrometers, the characteristics of electron beam - specimen interactions, image formation and interpretation, the use of x-rays for qualitative and quantitative analysis and the methodology for structural analysis using electron back-scatter diffraction. SEM sample preparation methods for hard materials, polymers, and biological specimens are covered in... |
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Handbook of Sample Preparation for Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis by Patrick Echlin (Author) This Handbook is a complete guide to preparing a wide variety of specimens for the scanning electron microscope and x-ray microanalyzer. Specimens range from inorganic, organic, biological, and geological samples to materials such as metals, polymers, and semiconductors which can exist as solids, liquids, and gases. While the Handbook complements the best-selling textbook, Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis, Third Edition, by Goldstein, et al., it is entirely self-contained and describes what is needed up to the point the sample is put into the instrument. Photomicrographs of each specimen complement the many sample preparation “recipes”. Additional chapters describe the general features of specimen preparation in relation to the different needs of scanning electron... |
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X-Ray Microscopy and Spectromicroscopy: Status Report from the Fifth International Conference, Wurzburg, August 19-23, 1996 by Jurgen Thieme (Editor), Gunter Schmahl (Editor), Dietbert Rudolph (Editor), Eberhard Umbach (Editor) This book gives a status report of the developing analytical technique of X-ray microscopy. The technique allows the highest resolution in electromagnetic-wave microscopy. In addition to the systematic treatment of this subject in the book a CD is included that presents the latest special results reported at the 1996 conference on X-ray microscopy. | |
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X-Ray Microscopy: Proceedings of the International Symposium Gottingen, Fed. Rep. of Germany, September 14-16, 1984 (Springer series in optical sciences) by Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K (Publisher) |
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X-Ray Microscopy III: Proceedings (Springer Series in Optical Sciences) by A. G. Michette (Author), G. R. Morrison (Author), C. J. Buckley (Editor) This book deals with the latest advances in high-resolution image formation using X-rays. The main topics treated are X-rays sources and optics, X-ray imaging using a variety of contrast mechanisms, theory, and technical aspects of microscopy. Several contributions are devoted to applications, including the imaging of hydrated (live as well as fixed) biological tissue and microanalytical techniques in biology and materials science. Finally, X-ray microscopy is compared with other techniques. As an up-to-date overview of this rapidly developing field the book will be welcomed by established researchers and newcomers alike. | |
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X-Ray Microscopy and Microradiography. by V.E. Cosslett (Author) | |
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X-Ray Microscopy II (Springer Series in Optical Sciences) by D. Sayre (Author), M. Howells (Author), J. Kirz (Author), H. Rarback (Editor) | |
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X-ray microscopy, (Cambridge monographs on physics) by V. E Cosslett (Author) | |
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X-Ray Microscopy: Instrumentation and Biological Applications by Ping-Chin Cheng (Author), Gwo-Jen Jan (Editor) | |
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Soft X-Ray Microscopy: 19-21 July 1992 San Diego, California (Proceedings of S P I E) by Chris J. Jacobsen (Author), James E. Trebes (Editor) |
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