Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter

03/02 Nanomachines organise the cell's skeleton

Figure 1. Artist's impression of the experiment in microchambers

Researchers from the FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam have reconstituted the dynamic cell skeleton in microchambers the size of a single cell. They have demonstrated how the organisation of the skeleton is determined by small nanomachines, so-called dynein motor proteins. An understanding of this process is important for explaining phenomena such as cell division and cell movement, for example. The group of Professor Marileen Dogterom worked together with biologists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Harvard University, and theoreticians from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS) in Dresden. The results of the research will be published 3 February online in the scientific journal Cell, including an interview. Read more

31/01 Spotted under the microscope: how a virus puts on its armor

Figure 1. Schematic overview of the atomic force microscope

Biophysicists visualize surprising tricks of viruses

Scientists from VU University Amsterdam, Scripps Research Institute and the University of Michigan discovered how a virus 'puts on its armor'. This armor, consisting of mere proteins, is initially flexible and weak, but subsequently goes through an exceptional strengthening process. Surprisingly, the reinforcement of the virus does not occur in one, but in three, independent ways. The research is partly financed by the FOM Foundation and was published 30 January in the online version of the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more

31/01 Gold nanoantenna interferes with itself

Figure 1. Gold nanoantenna interferes with itself

Although their properties have been studied in many experiments, the precise radiation mechanism of plasmonic nanorods and ridges has remained unknown. Researchers of the FOM Institute AMOLF now have solved this problem, by using an in-home developed experimental technique that allows measuring the antenna response with deep subwavelength spatial resolution. Read more

31/01 Topological superconductor in sight

2012/03

Figure 1. Topological superconductor ready for transport measurements

Researchers from the FOM foundation, Institute of Physics of the University of Amsterdam and the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba (Japan) have demonstrated that the electrons in a topological superconductor behave in an unusual manner. The electrons merged into exotic pairs with unusual quantum properties. The interest for topological superconductors is considerable, as they could serve as fundamental building blocks of future quantum computers. The researchers will shortly publish their findings in the renowned journal Physical Review Letters. Read more

31/01 Six Vici grants for physics research

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded six innovative scientists within the field of physics research a so-called Vici grant. The Vici grant is worth a maximum of 1,500,000 euros per person and is therefore one of the biggest individual grants in the Netherlands. Using the grant the researchers can set up their own line of research within a period of five years. A total of 31 scientists have received a Vici grant. Read more

27/01 AMOLF and ECN enter collaboration agreement

2012/02

Schematic illustration of a solar cell concept developed at AMOLF

The FOM Institute AMOLF and ECN signed an agreement to consolidate their collaboration. With this agreement AMOLF and ECN attempt to breach the gap between fundamental research on one side and on the other side large scale production and the actual implementation of solar cells. Read more

25/01 Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research DIFFER

Energy research is one of the focus areas of the Dutch organisation for scientific research NWO and of its physics branch FOM, the foundation for fundamental research on matter. Because of this, FOM has decided to expand its institute for plasma physics Rijnhuizen into an institute for energy research. The new FOM institute DIFFER (Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research) started its work on 1 January 2012 and will perform fundamental energy research in the fields of nuclear fusion and solar fuels. DIFFER also aims to take on a nationally coordinating role in energy research. Read more

23/01 Physics@FOM Veldhoven 2012 more successful and bigger than ever

2012/01

On Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 January more than 1800 physicists gathered in Veldhoven for the biggest physics congress in the Netherlands: Physics@FOM Veldhoven. This was the ideal place to follow the latest developments in physics and to establish new contacts. The internationally renowned professors Alain Aspect, Charles Kane and Juan Maldacena provided this year's plenary programme. In addition to this delegates could choose from 200 lectures and 421 poster presentations covering all aspects of physics. True to tradition, FOM presented its four scientific prizes on the Tuesday evening. Read more

19/01 New idea for simplifying Higgs analysis

If the long-expected Higgs particle is indeed discovered by the LHC then how will we know for certain that it possesses the characteristics predicted by the Standard Model of elementary particles? Speculations about extensions of the Standard Model, such as supersymmetrical extensions, often contain several Higgs bosons. Read more

06/01 British knighthoods for Geim and Novoselov

Professor André Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov were knighted by the British Queen Elisabeth II last weekend. They received their knighthoods for their groundbreaking work as researchers at the University of Manchester, where both are currently working. The physicists, who from now on may use the title Sir, together won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their breakthrough in the research into two-dimensional graphene. Read more

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