Ryszard Sobierajski takes over as Chairman of the European XFEL Council, Karel Saksl becomes Vice Chairman European XFEL thanks outgoing Chairman Federico Boscherini. Thomas Feurer, Chairman of the Management Board of European XFEL, congratulated both Sobierajski and Saksl.

When viruses travel through air, they can quickly start to dry out. Yet many remain infectious—something that is still not fully understood. Now, researchers have directly observed how the shells of viruses can change shape during dehydration. 🦠🧪 www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve... @mpsdhamburg.bsky.social

European XFEL further expands its support for PhD students Students’ Day offers insights into projects 🧪🔬⚛️  More structure, more exchange, even better results: European XFEL is strengthening PhD training.

Researchers at europeanxfel.bsky.social, #HZDR, Rostock University and other collaborating institutions used high-precision experiments to demonstrate that most widely used models for the behavior of electrons in warm dense matter are inaccurate. #WDM ▶️ www.hzdr.de/presse/wdal

Aluminium foil, shock-compressed with 500,000x the atmospheric pressure. Just before the shock wave reaches the back of the foil, an X-ray pulse takes a snapshot. The experiment reveals: in warm dense aluminium, electrons behave differently than scientists expected. ⚛️🧪 www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

Kieler Woche 2026: As partners of the KiNSIS programme run by @uni-kiel.de , we had the pleasure of taking part in Kieler Uni Live with a team from the Lighthose. We were really impressed! Great stands, brilliant activities and guests eager to learn. We brought along the #xcoollab’s slime workshop.

Researchers from European XFEL and @unipotsdam.bsky.social show that ultrashort laser pulses can trigger rapid lattice vibrations in periodically layered metal structures—not primarily by heating the atomic lattice, but through the pressure exerted by hot electrons. ⚛️🧪 www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

X-ray imaging at a facility such as the European XFEL has little in common with medical X-rays produced in a doctor's office. However, scientific X-ray imaging also makes the invisible visible, albeit by using different physical principles. ⚛️🧪

Superconducting undulators ⚛️ are one step closer to becoming a reality at European XFEL. The development project has reached an important milestone by confirming the excellent performance of a set of coils at -269°C. 🧪 All the details here: www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

Many experiments conducted at European XFEL, such as measurements related to #fusion energy at our HED-HIBEF instrument, require computer simulations to produce meaningful results. ⚛️🧪 Accelerating these simulations by a factor of 50 is huge!

Diversity is like a varied #buffet. To celebrate German #Diversity Day 2026 (DDT26), staff from European XFEL came together to eat and chat. The highlighe buffet consisted of traditional dishes that the staff had brought along. Six hundred people from more than 60 countries work at EuXFEL.

How can we use AI responsibly when writing about science? 🤖🧪 This guide by @scienceinschool.bsky.social appears useful beyond the student writing contest it has been developed for: think - talk - check - craft.

In experiments with #X-rays in a liquid jet, the surrounding water often produces a much stronger signal than the molecules of interest. 🧪 Scientists overcame this problem by splitting one beam into three. ⚛️ They answered a long-standing question about vitamin B12: www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

Next generation ahead! Girls’ and Boys’ Day at European XFEL Young people look behind the scenes of the research facility 🧪🔬⚛️ On 23 April, European XFEL welcomed 60 school pupils for insights into the world of research as part of the nationwide Girls’ and Boys’ Day.

BIG NEWS! ✏️✨ We are handing the pen to students. We are launching a student writing contest, with the three winning articles to be published in Science in School (+ additional prizes). Find all the details here: scienceinschool.org/article/2026...

Would you like to join the European XFEL team? 🧪🔬⚛️ This might be your chance: www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

When #laser flashes hit #matter, electrons are knocked off their orbits around the atomic nuclei. 🧪🔬⚛️ Researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have observed this #ionization process in more detail. To do so, they combined two state-of-the-art lasers at European XFEL.Details xfel.eu

Scientists at @europeanxfel.bsky.social have revealed structural evidence for this roaming mechanism for the first time, establishing it as a universal characteristic of photochemical reactions. The study provides key insights how halomethane compounds such as #bromoform impact the #ozonelayer.

The design of the nozzle is key when delivering liquid jets into a sample chamber. An interdisciplinary 🧪⚛️🔬 group of scientists have created a nozzle that unlocks a new range of experiments by ejecting a longer and more stable stream. www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

Our #X-ray pulses can blow up molecules - scientists trained an AI to put them back together. Using data from the SQS instrument at European XFEL, the method is an important step toward being able to take snapshots of molecules during chemical reactions. 🧪 How it works: www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

For the first time, the Small Quantum Systems (SQS) instrument at European XFEL delivered detailed insights into transient states during chemical reactions. Read how the researchers from @icmm-csic.bsky.social, European XFEL and other institutions achieved this: www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

On International Women’s Day on 8 March European XFEL celebrates the impact of women. “Women play a key role in ground-breaking scientific discoveries and in solving global challenges in research, in business, and in society”, says Nicole Elleuche, Managing Director of European XFEL.

Researchers discovered a previously unknown form of superionic water. The researchers have succeeded in experimentally discovering an exotic phase at the the European XFEL and the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC. It may occur inside ice giants as #Uranus and #Neptune. Details: www.xfel.eu

With scientific breakthroughs, major facility developments and lively events, 2025 has been an action-packed and successful year. We look forward to discovering what we can achieve together in 2026. Prof. Dr. Thomas Feurer & Dr. Nicole Elleuche Shorted version, find whole text on www.xfel.eu

"It's not a shutdown!" some staff are quick to emphasize, because they have indeed been quite busy. While no electrons and photons are currently racing through our tunnels from Hamburg to Schenefeld, here's what has been going on down there over the past six months. www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

Purple: employees of European XFEL show their support for people with disabilities. European XFEL is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment, where all staff members can actively, equally, and effectively participate in work life.

The Lighthouse becomes an #art #gallery once again: Christian Lünig sets #focus on #research #facilities. ‘Icons of Research’ – the aesthetics of modern research facilities by Christian Lünig at the Lighthouse Visitor Centre Opening reception: Wednesday, 19 November 2025, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

We’re proud to share that @EuropeanXFEL, together with our partner #DESY, is co-hosting our first Executive Roundtable at the #FallingWalls #ScienceSummit25 in Berlin! We look forward to the discussions ahead—and to building bridges that make scientific collaboration stronger than ever.

Into #sciencecommunication? Become part of PAERI‘26, too. sixth international „Public Awareness and Engagement with Research Infrastructures“ conference, PAERI’26. Theme: Navigating Science Communication in a Shifting Landscape. Registration is open The conference will take place 18-20 March 2026.

The Free and Hanseatic City of #Hamburg and the state of #Schleswig-Holstein today announced their joint support for #fusion -related #research at European XFEL. Find more details on www.xfel.eu

European XFEL welcomes the #German government's plans to promote #fusion-related #research - the High-Tech Agenda Germany #HTAD. The world's largest #X-ray #laser, the European XFEL near #Hamburg, is predestined for investigating fundamental processes of fusion.

Using the two powerful lasers of HED HIBEF, Alejandro Laso from @hzdr.bsky.social tests an imaging method and a new setup for small-angle #X-ray scattering. He is interested in the study of foams. HED HIBEF can also help to understand processes like nuclear #fusion. youtu.be/hOlkZ2VgxHg?...

Es werde Licht! European XFEL Geschäftsführer Thomas Feurer stellt heute Abend (23. Oktober, von 18 bis 19.30 Uhr) im Wissenschaftserlebniszentrum Lighthouse die Kraft von Forschungslasern vor. Der Eintritt ist frei. Der Vortrag ist auch online zu verfolgen: indico.desy.de/event/49097/

Warm ice in the X-ray laser Researchers from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) explore unusual forms of ice at room temperature under extreme pressure at the @europeanxfel.bsky.social and DESY. Find all details and original source on www.xfel.eu

Researchers and staff at European XFEL, are glad to hear that Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi have been awared the #NobelPrize in #Chemistry. Samples from Professor Omar M. #Yaghi's lab were examined at EuXFEL in 2022. #research #congratulations

Thank you @rothlabs.bsky.social for your efforts in building this important bridge between @tubaf.bsky.social and @europeanxfel.bsky.social 🙏

44 students of TU Bergakademie Freiberg visited European XFEL as a part of the annual lecture course. For eleven years now, a unique cooperation has been giving students at TU Bergakademie Freiberg @tubaf.bsky.social #Freiberg an insight into the world of the X-ray free-electron laser (#XFEL).

Last day of our lecture series “Materials Research at X-ray Free-Electron Lasers” @europeanxfel.bsky.social! After 13 sessions, our students are FEL-ready. Huge thanks to all lecturers—and best of luck with the exam! #TUBAF #EuXFEL

The European XFEL has a new electron source installed at the injector on the DESY campus. The new source, called GUN5, was developed and tested at DESY's Photo #Injector Test Facility in Zeuthen (PITZ) and will enable even shorter pulses at the world's largest X-ray laser. Find mor on www.xfel.eu

European XFEL and the University of Kosice, Slovakia, have signed a framework agreement for joint co-operation. The agreement gives research groups from the Slovakian university the opportunity to carry out cutting-edge #research at European XFEL.

Congratulations! Prof. Dr. Beata Ziaja-Motyka, Group Leader at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science at DESY, Full Professor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN), and close partner of European XFEL, has been awarded the Polish. Bronze Cross of Merit. xfel.eu

Ferroelectrics are promising candidates for the electronics of tomorrow. An experiment at the world’s largest X-ray laser – the European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg – now shows that their properties can be controlled with high precision at ultrafast time scales –using light. Details: www.xfel.eu

Follow us to the #tunnels. For more than eight years, the #temperature inside the European XFEL #electron accelerator was minus 271 degrees Celsius. Now, for the first time, the #accelerator has been slowly warmed up to room temperature for mandatory #maintenance and extensive conversion work.

An international, interdisciplinary team, succeeded in visualizing the collective trembling of an entire molecule 👉 Read more www.cui-advanced.uni-hamburg.de/cui-advanced... @europeanxfel.bsky.social #DESY @maxplanck.de

An international team of researchers (e.g. slac_lab ) at European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg, Germany has produced the first solid chemical compound of gold and hydrogen so-called gold hydride: This discovery contradicts the previous assumption that gold hardly reacts with hydrogen. xfel.eu

Celebration of Pride Week 2025 At European XFEL, we are proud to be an international, science-driven community where individuality and #diversity are truly valued. Several European #XFEL staff members have offered to share their stories about being LGBTQI+ in #STEM: www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

Attention #PHD-Students @europeanxfel.bsky.social offers young researchers direct access to the international scientific community and unique opportunities to help shape cutting-edge research. Most recent proof:the annual "Students' and Science Days" - A three-day conference in the Lüneburg Plains.

Minus 196 degrees Celsius- liquid #nitrogen is perfect for cooling down the ingredients for vegan ice cream in no time at all. Experience this at the Open Day at European XFEL, the world's largest X-ray research laser, on Saturday, 28 June, 12 noon to 6 pm. Admission is free - programme on homepage!

Groundbreaking experiment at European XFEL: Research team of @University of Rostock and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf ( @www.helmholtz.de HZDR) measured structure of #liquidcarbon for the first time. Find more report in @nature.com (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09035-6).

Impressive teamwork! Thanks @hzdr.bsky.social for your impact at this groundbreaking experiment.