2020 Annual MLZ Conference: Neutrons for Life Sciences

Life Sciences is a rapidly expanding field in the use of neutrons. The number of users at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Zentrum (MLZ) performing experiments related to life sciences is constantly growing. Be it contrast variation for matching out protein, DNA or lipids or the hunt for catalytical important hydrogen atoms, neutrons play an important role in determining structures of biologically relevant molecules or membranes. Neutron tomography on living plants or tissue uses the huge difference in incoherent scattering of hydrogen as compared to deuterium. Using incoherent and coherent inelastic neutron scattering, investigation of equilibrium dynamics of biological systems is possible on the picosecond and nanosecond time scale. With future neutron sources, time resolved investigations will become more and more important. Dedicated sample environment and additional in situ measurement techniques all optimized for small sample volumes will be needed in the future.