From 3 December to 4, 2025, the neutron community gathered for the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) User Meeting. Around 230 participants came together – once again in a year without neutrons from Garching, but with a palpable sense of solidarity and a focus on restarting the research neutron source.

Dendrites are considered the most dangerous destroyers of lithium batteries – tiny metal structures that can cause short circuits. A research team at TUM has now discovered that such structures can form not only at the electrodes but also in polymer-based electrolytes. This new finding is crucial for the stability of future solid-state batteries. MLZ postdoc Gilles Wittmann developed the miniature cell used to examine the battery under real-life operating conditions.

A newly developed prototype at FRM II enables complex microbeam therapy for the first time, allowing it to be performed at a distance of only one and a half meters. Until now, this new form of radiation therapy, which enables better tumor control and fewer side effects than conventional methods, could only be performed using giant particle accelerators and was therefore not a realistic option for clinical use. The line-focus X-ray tube, the world’s first prototype of which was built at FRM II, could bring micro-radiation therapy into clinical application for the first time.