Netherlands Nanoscopy Center Opens Oct. 27

The Netherlands Centre for Electron Nanoscopy (NeCEN), a new microscopy facility with two highly advanced cryotransmission electron microscopes, will open its doors Oct. 27. Established through the collaboration of 10 academic partners, local and national governments, and various companies, the facility is expected to generate significant advances in science and R&D.

In September, the NeCEN commissioning team made its first image (worm hemoglobin) of a biological sample using the Krios 1 microscope.

The two microscopes will allow scientists to zoom in on cells, molecules and atoms. The same technology has already been used to distinguish single atoms in a virus, and the NeCEN microscopes are expected to show even more detail. Visualizing these details is the first step toward understanding and curing diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and cancer.

At the opening ceremonies, Holger Stark of the University of Göttingen will explain electron microscopy. In workshops led by Bram Koster, Peter Peters, Dominique Hubert and Jeanette Ridder-Numan, participants can explore the relationship of NeCEN to science, industry and government. Liesbeth Spies, deputy of economic affairs and innovation of Province Zuid-Holland, will officially open the center.

Although located at the University of Leiden, NeCEN is available to all scientists affiliated with a company or research institute. Ten companies have written a letter of intent in support of the center during its startup phase. Fifteen more have recognized the added value of NeCEN.

For more information, visit: www.necen.nl