Using synchrotron radiation, diffraction data extending to 0.70 Å resolution were collected from crystals of the small protein crambin at room temperature (297 K), and the structure was refined with spherical-atom approximation to an R factor of 0.0591, revealing (i) protein regions with multiple conformations, (ii) extended water networks correlated with protein conformations and (iii) minimal radiation damage. The structure sets a standard for room-temperature refinement of macromolecular targets and provides accurate data for modeling protein–solvent interactions.

This article describes recent developments on the SWING beamline for biological small-angle X-ray scattering (BioSAXS) experiments.

An X-ray-transparent experimental environment that allows time-resolved studies of porous rocks under geological reservoir conditions using high-energy synchrotron X-ray microtomography is presented.

A collection of personal reminiscences illuminates many widely unknown facts about the first steps of synchrotron radiation research; in particular, the events that brought Frascati close to world leadership in this domain.

Infrared nanospectroscopy is demonstrated to be feasible in new-generation synchrotron storage rings.

In the era of diffraction-limited storage rings, can X-ray nanoimaging be extended to millimetre- or even centimetre-sized specimens such as whole mouse brains? The authors believe so and provide size-dependent imaging time and resource estimates based on calculated flux requirements and recent method developments in related disciplines.

Pump–probe experiments are possible on liquid interfaces using the LISA instrument at P08 beamline PETRA III, DESY. The time scales available range from 38 ps to seconds.

Preliminary X-ray correlation spectroscopy results from the novel three-dimensional vertically integrated photon imaging chip (VIPIC) detector are presented.

Since August 2021, the French synchrotron light source SOLEIL has been running with a 1 m-long permanent-magnet dipole producing a magnetic field of 2.8 T. This is a major modification of the storage ring that allows the high-energy photon flux for the ROCK beamline to be increased and significantly improves the resolution for experiments performed above 20 keV.

The need for high-quality assessments of data motivates appreciation of shot noise as a data resource. The index of dispersion is a critical but often overlooked metric in this regard. When properly understood and carefully used it reveals the energies of quanta, in both monochromatic and polychromatic situations. To accomplish this, and in due course its wider application, its conceptual origins and quantitative and physical bounds are identified. Situations are examined that involve large numbers of quanta, but in which individual quanta are below measurement noise threshold. Practical applications are extremely diverse, so relevant considerations and how to use the metric are shown in broad contexts.