INRS and ELI deepen strategic partnership to train the next generation in laser science

PhD students will benefit from international mobility and privileged access to cutting-edge infrastructure

Institut national de la recherche scientifique - INRS

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) recently welcomed a European delegation from the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), marking a significant milestone in strengthening scientific ties between Canada and Europe in the field of high-intensity laser science. 

Scientific workshops and laboratory visits were held at INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre, bringing together experts in photonics, plasma physics, and quantum technologies from the Quebec and Canadian photonics ecosystem as well as industry partners. These exchanges helped identify concrete synergies and plan joint projects. 

 

 

 

view more 

Credit: INRS

On May 26, the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)  welcomed a European delegation from the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), marking a significant milestone in strengthening scientific ties between Canada and Europe in the field of high-intensity laser science. The visit was part of a cross-Canada tour organized in partnership with the Hungarian and Czech  Embassies, host countries of the ELI facilities. 

At the heart of this meeting was a shared commitment to advancing ultrafast laser science and training the next generation of highly skilled researchers. INRS, internationally recognized for its work in advanced materials, nanotechnology, photonics, telecommunications, and sustainable energy, found in ELI a natural partner with world-class research infrastructure. 

A Collaboration Reinforced 

A cornerstone of this expertise is the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS) laboratory, a national laser user facility, unique of its kind and a world-class research centre focused on developing next-generation laser systems to explore novel phenomena in matter with ultrafast tools. With over 250 national and international users annually, ALLS brings together first-class researchers across the innovation sectors of Canada from quantum materials, energy research, biomedical applications to agriculture. 

“The partnership between ELI and Canada connects Canadian research talent with ELI’s cutting-edge infrastructure, enabling our researchers and students to engage in scientific experiments at ELI, develop new technologies, and contribute to a global community that is driving discovery at the frontiers of laser science,” adds François Légaré, Director of INRS Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre, CEO of the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS), and long-time collaborator of ELI. 

“One of the main objectives of the visit was to explore ways to further strengthen the already strong engagement between the Canadian research community and ELI. The potential for future cooperation is huge and needs a framework that goes beyond individual projects and fosters real continuity in how we do science together,” says Florian Gliksohn, ELI Executive Director. 

An International Training Program 

A key highlight of the visit was the signing of an agreement on joint training program between INRS and ELI, complementing a Collaboration Agreement signed in 2024 between the two institutions. 

Thanks to this agreement, PhD students will benefit from joint supervision, increased international mobility, and privileged access to world-class research infrastructure. These facilities house some of the most powerful lasers in the world and provide unique opportunities for multidisciplinary research. This is a major step forward in training the next generation of scientists in this rapidly evolving field. 

“This agreement will serve as a powerful lever to train the next generation of researchers in one of the most promising and transformative fields of science,. It reflects our commitment to providing our student community with access to the best expertise in laser science and cutting-edge international infrastructure, while fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation in Quebec and Canada, with strategic international partners.” 

Isabelle Delisle, Scientific Director of INRS

Florian Gliksohn, Executive Director of ELI, and Isabelle Delisle, Scientific Director of INRS

A Dynamic of Cooperation 

Scientific workshops and laboratory visits were also held at INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre, bringing together experts in photonics, plasma physics, and quantum technologies from the Quebec and Canadian photonics ecosystem as well as industry partners. These exchanges helped identify concrete synergies and plan joint projects. 

“Fostering exchange between technicians, trainees, and researchers will allow us to streamline the operation and optimization of both high-power laser facilities ALLS and ELI”

Heide Ibrahim, research associate at INRS and director of ALLS

The teams from ELI and ALLS had the opportunity to meet with major Canadian funding agencies during a meeting hosted by the Canada Foundation for Innovation. This gathering allowed them to explore shared interests and potential collaboration opportunities. 

For INRS, this collaboration with ELI is part of a broader strategy to develop impactful international partnerships. It reflects the Institute’s commitment to training top-tier scientific talent and contributing actively to major advances in high-intensity laser science on a global scale. 

INRS Scientific Director Isabelle Delisle and ELI Executive Director Florian Gliksohn, signing of an agreement on joint training program.

Thanks to this agreement, PhD students will benefit from joint supervision, increased international mobility, and privileged access to world-class research infrastructure. These facilities house some of the most powerful lasers in the world and provide unique opportunities for multidisciplinary research. This is a major step forward in training the next generation of scientists in this rapidly evolving field. 

The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) recently welcomed a European delegation from the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), marking a significant milestone in strengthening scientific ties between Canada and Europe in the field of high-intensity laser science.  Scientific workshops and laboratory visits were also held at INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre, bringing together experts in photonics, plasma physics, and quantum technologies from the Quebec and Canadian photonics ecosystem as well as industry partners. These exchanges helped identify concrete synergies and plan joint projects. 

Credit

INRS

 

Scientists build first genetic "toggle switch" for plants, paving the way for smarter farming

Programmable plant circuit could let farmers time harvests and beat drought

Colorado State University

Facebook

XLinkedIn
MessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

CSU Professor June Medford, research scientist Tessema Kassaw (right), and Professor Ashok Prasad discuss plants in a lab within the  Biology Building in May 2025.

view more 

Credit: Colorado State University Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a tool that can be used to switch a plant’s key genetic traits on or off at will. The breakthrough was recently published in ACS Synthetic Biology and represents the first time that a synthetic genetic “toggle switch” has been used in a full-grown plant. 

Synthetic biologists design and build new segments of DNA that can then be inserted into living organisms to work like circuits in electronics or a computer. Just as a switch is used to turn a lightbulb on or off in an electric circuit, the team’s “toggle” turns genes on and off when an external signal is applied.  Up until now, the genetic toggle switch has only been used in single-celled organisms such as bacteria. The work at CSU is led by professors June Medford from the Department of Biology and Ashok Prasad from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.  

Medford said the interdisciplinary research has plenty of practical applications, particularly in agriculture where a switch could be used to better time the ripening of fruit, for example.  

She added that any number of traits could eventually be regulated with this tool. The challenge is inserting it into fully developed living organisms. 

“The multicellular nature of a plant – their roots, tissues, vegetative and reproductive organs- makes it a complex challenge that we are finally able to overcome,” she said. “This work is a promising initial step to programing plants to do all sorts of useful things that were not possible before.” 

The paper describes the team’s work to synthesize relevant plant DNA parts and then design a potential genetic “toggle” system around the two key genes within them using mathematical modeling. This approach helped the team to mix and match possible combinations on the computer, until they found an effective combination. From there, the team began transforming plants with the chosen DNA sequences and tracked results over a 12-day period to quantify the changes. 

Medford said it was a long and iterative process towards the proof of concept the paper now demonstrates. 

“As biologists, we understand biology really well, and we partner with folks like professor Prasad and his team who are experts at developing the algorithms – this allows us to find the key signals amid the noise,” said Medford. “This project is a true marriage between quantitative research and mathematical modeling to predictably engineer a plant’s abilities for any number of needs. Our work also opens the possibility that in the future, genetic circuitry design like this could be automated through machine learning speeding the process.” 

Notably, the research shows that these circuits function across the whole plant and can be used to regulate shoots and cells across different parts of the life cycle. Prasad said that means these switches could be used to engage different plant functions in support of food security or materials development. 

“In the face of unpredictable and unseasonable climates farmers could control the state of their crops by turning ‘on’ a switch that promotes drought tolerance. Or one that helps plants like pumpkins grow earlier in the season and then retain size and nutrition,” Prasad said. “The applications for this breakthrough are nearly endless for humanity and the environment.”

---

Journal

ACS Synthetic Biology

DOI

10.1021/acssynbio.4c00777 

Article Title

Genetic Toggle Switch in Plants

 

Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change

Purdue University

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

One of Earth's most common nanomaterials is facilitating breakthroughs in tackling climate change: clay. In a new study, researchers at Purdue University, in collaboration with experts from Sandia National Laboratories, have potentially uncovered a game-changing method for using clay to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air to help mitigate climate change.

Their work, which earned them a 2024 R&D 100 Award and has a patent application in progress, was recently published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

This study is the first to report on the simultaneous absorption of carbon dioxide and water by a clay mineral at ambient concentrations of carbon dioxide, providing valuable insights into how these abundant resources can be harnessed for better carbon capture.

view more 

Credit: Purdue University

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- One of Earth's most common nanomaterials is facilitating breakthroughs in tackling climate change: clay. In a new study, researchers at Purdue University, in collaboration with experts from Sandia National Laboratories, have potentially uncovered a game-changing method for using clay to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air to help mitigate climate change.

Their work, which earned them a 2024 R&D 100 Award and has a patent application in progress, was recently published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

Cliff Johnston, professor of agronomy in the College of Agriculture and earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences in the College of Science at Purdue University, led the study, along with undergraduate student Riley Welsh and research scientists at Sandia National Laboratories, who are co-authors of the recent study.

This research may expand the portfolio of absorbent materials for addressing one of the planet's most challenging problems. Clays could be an inexpensive, accessible and abundant resource for absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and a powerful tool in addressing climate change.

Johnston, his research team at Purdue University and the Sandia National Laboratories team have been digging into what makes clay minerals tick for more than 30 years.

"Clay minerals have an exceptionally high surface area," Johnston said. "One tablespoon of clay has approximately the same surface area as an American football field. Most of this surface area is found in the internal pores of the clay. Over decades of research, we have found that these internal pores have polar and nonpolar regions. Molecules like CO₂ prefer the nonpolar regions, whereas water vapor prefers the polar regions. By selecting certain types of clay and manipulating their ionic structure, we can optimize for materials that can uptake CO₂."

The team studies a group of clays called smectites, which have large internal surface areas and are some of the most common naturally occurring nanomaterials on the planet. Both their abundance and their size make smectites promising candidates for large-scale environmental solutions.

Johnston's team has a long history of exploring how smectites absorb toxic organic pollutants from water.

"Our prior work focused on absorption of toxic organic pollutants on clay minerals from aqueous solution, and we found that certain types of smectites have hydrophobic surfaces and can sorb significant levels of hydrophobic contaminants, such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, one of the most toxic organic compounds known," Johnston said. The main sources of dioxins are unintended byproducts of combustion and industrial manufacturing and are common contaminants found in Superfund sites.

Having laid a strong foundation, the team envisions advancing solutions to the urgent global challenge of carbon dioxide capture using widely available, affordable geosorbents.

In recent years, researchers worldwide have investigated clay-carbon dioxide interactions under extreme conditions, such as high temperatures and pressures, or through direct air capture using advanced materials like zeolites, mesoporous silica, metal-organic frameworks and metal-oxide-based adsorbents. For example, Climeworks' Orca facility in Iceland uses unique solid amine-based sorbents to capture carbon dioxide from the air. However, clay minerals have largely been overlooked as promising sorbents until now.

The researchers focused on a specific smectite called saponite. They examined how saponite handles carbon dioxide and water vapor competing for space in the clay's tiny internal pores. Unlike past studies that cranked up the heat to make clays absorb carbon dioxide, the researchers used humidity instead. They discovered that saponite exhibits a high affinity for carbon dioxide at low humidity levels, a finding they confirmed through advanced spectroscopic and gravimetric analysis.

This study is the first to report on the simultaneous absorption of carbon dioxide and water by a clay mineral at ambient concentrations of carbon dioxide, providing valuable insights into how these abundant resources can be harnessed for better carbon capture.

 

Johnston has written nearly 200 papers, mostly covering how soil minerals interact with everything from pollutants to gases.

This innovative discovery could lead to new technology, such as Climeworks' Orca plant, cutting factory emissions, or even helping store carbon dioxide deep underground for long-term removal from the atmosphere.

The team's research was supported by a Laboratory Directed Research & Development project at Sandia National Laboratories. Portions of the work were conducted at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a user facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The project also benefited from the robust strategic partnership between Purdue University and Sandia National Laboratories, which aims to address significant national challenges through collaborative research and development.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue's main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Author: David Siple, communications specialist in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University

Source: Cliff Johnston, professor in the Departments of Agronomy and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University

 

---

Journal

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI

10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c01210 

Article Title

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

 

Most-viewed TikTok videos on inflammatory bowel disease show low quality

Study in Gastroenterology Nursing highlights opportunity to promote IBD information to young adults

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wolters Kluwer Health

Facebook

XLinkedIWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

June 4, 2025 — The most popular TikTok videos related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have millions of views – but very low scores for quality of medical information, reports a study in the May/June issue of Gastroenterology Nursing, Official Journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

"Social media platforms such as TikTok have the potential to reach a wide audience of people living with IBD, particularly young adults," comments lead author Samantha Winders, PhD, RN, University of Washington School of Nursing, Seattle. "Our study finds problems with the quality of medical information provided by the most-viewed videos – suggesting opportunities for healthcare providers to create accurate content targeting gaps in IBD education."

TikTok has potential for reaching young adults with IBD

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are chronic autoimmune diseases with a major impact on health and quality of life. Peak age at IBD onset is 15 to 29 years – corresponding to the peak age for social media use.

Social media platforms have become an important means for sharing health information, with the potential to rapidly share information to diverse audiences. The video-sharing platform TikTok is particularly popular among young adults –of more than 1 billion TikTok users worldwide, most are between age 18 and 34 years. Dr. Winders and colleagues designed a study to explore the quality and themes addressed by TikTok videos providing IBD content.

By searching relevant hashtags (#ibd, #crohns, and #colitis), the researchers identified the most-viewed English-language videos on IBD. The characteristics, quality, and content were analyzed for 86 videos with a total of 235 million views, posted by 41 unique users. All of the videos were posted by individuals with IBD; none were posted by healthcare providers.

Opportunities to provide 'tailored educational content' for TikTok users with IBD

Despite their popularity, the quality of content provided by the IBD videos was poor. On one validated measure (the Global Quality Scale), the average quality score was just two on a five-point scale. "Most videos were lacking information and reliable sources," the researchers write. That was consistent with previous studies of social media content on other medical conditions.

On thematic analysis, nearly 70% of the top IBD TikTok videos addressed the topic of ostomies. Subthemes included information about ostomies, such as the steps for changing an ostomy bag and cleaning the stoma. Other videos were targeted at "normalizing ostomy" – sometimes using music and humor to counter negative perceptions.

Advocacy was the second most common theme (37% of videos), with key subthemes including raising awareness of IBD and the "invisible disability" associated with it. This was followed by aspects of disease management (32%), including medications, surgery, and diet. Other main themes included symptom management, interactions with the healthcare system, IBD symptoms, and social relationships.

TikTok may provide "a safe space where those with IBD can share information about their invisible disease and spread awareness," the researchers write. The identified themes and subthemes "may indicate a need for IBD-specific education regarding ostomies, advocacy, and disease management."

However, the quality of the IBD-related TikTok videos appears very low, raising concerns about the potential for misinformation. Emphasizing that none of the top videos in their study were created by healthcare providers, Dr. Winders and coauthors conclude: “TikTok provides an opportunity for HCPs to engage with those with IBD, bring IBD awareness, and provide tailored educational content to users on the platform."

Read Article: IBD on TikTok: Utilizing the Platform for Information on Ostomies, Advocacy, and Disease Management

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health.

###

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information, software solutions and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2024 annual revenues of €5.9 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,600 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

---

Journal

Gastroenterology Nursing

Article Title

Inflammatory Bowel Disease on TikTok: Utilizing the Platform for Information on Ostomies, Advocacy, and Disease Management

Article Publication Date

4-Jun-2025