Putting The Squeeze On Sperm DNA: Streamlined Sperm Offer New Way To Read Histone Code Oct 2, 2009
In the center, a structural model determined by X-ray crystallography shows how the two tags (attached to a short section of the histone protein -- all in cyan) fit neatly into the Brdt pocket (purple). In the background image, hypercompaction by Brdt causes relatively diffuse chromatin (stained blue inside the nuclei of two cells on the top left) to compact and clump together (two on the bottom right). (Science Daily)
How the 100th protein structure solved at Diamond impacts our understanding of how insects smell Sep 30, 2009
Dr Jing-Jiang Zhou, adds: "So far, we know that odorant binding proteins [OBPs] within the organism pick up pheromones at pores on the outside of the antenna and carry them through a watery layer to the nerve endings. But it is not clear whether they simply transport and release molecules which bind to olfactory receptors or whether they form a specific OBP- pheromone complex which then activates the receptor. The structures we determined using the crystallography capabilities at Diamond give us... (EurekAlert!)
Stimulus-funded university research addressing issues from climate change to cancer, creating jobs and training a new generation of scientists Sep 30, 2009
"To understand how this enzyme works, my lab has previously used a technique called X-ray crystallography to essentially take before and after snapshots of the cytochrome P450 enzyme that is, still shots before and after foreign chemicals like nicotine bind to it," said Scott. "This grant will support application of a new technique, nuclear magnetic resonance, which will essentially allow us to obtain a video of the cytochrome P450 as it binds different chemicals. It's like the difference... (EurekAlert! -- Business News)
Caltech scientists get detailed glimpse of chemoreceptor architecture in bacterial cells Sep 25, 2009
"In the past, we didn't know if that was an artifact of the crystallography. Now we can see how the pieces fit together in real cells.". The paper also showed that this particular architecture is no single-species fluke. (EurekAlert!)
Mutations Make Evolution Irreversible Sep 24, 2009
The team used computational reconstruction of ancestral gene sequences, DNA synthesis, protein engineering and X-ray crystallography to resurrect and manipulate the gene for a key hormone receptor as it existed in our earliest vertebrate ancestors more than 400 million years ago. They found that over a rapid period of time, five random mutations made subtle modifications in the protein's structure that were utterly incompatible with the receptor's primordial form. (Science Daily)
High-res view of zinc transport protein Sep 14, 2009
The structure was revealed using x-ray crystallography at Brookhaven Lab's [] National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), a source of intense x-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared light. By studying how x-rays bounce off crystallized samples of a protein, scientists can reconstruct the location and orientation of the protein's atoms in three dimensions. (EurekAlert!)
Prodrug Could Help Curb Skin Toxicity Related To EGFR-inhibiting Cancer Drugs Sep 4, 2009
D., assistant professor of molecular medicine and director of the x-ray crystallography program at City of Hope. The first author is Joshua Donaldson, a graduate student at Jefferson. (Science Daily)
Chemists Reach From The Molecular To The Real World With Creation Of 3-D DNA Crystals Sep 4, 2009
This can help in the development of drugs because macromolecules arranged in crystals can be visualized by a technique known as X-ray crystallography. By adding drugs to these crystals, their interactions with these biological components can be visualized. (Science Daily)
Fine-tuning An Anti-cancer Drug Sep 3, 2009
The research team of Barbara Potts and Michael Groll managed to produce crystals of proteasomes blocked by Salinosporamide A and determined, through X-ray crystallography, the precise arrangement of the atoms ... Snapshots of a biochemical process -- obtained through X-ray crystallography -- provide insights that could guide development of tailored anti-cancer drugs. (Science Daily)
Boron-based compounds trick a biomedical protein Sep 3, 2009
The "proof of concept" was completed in the Institute of Molecular Biology lab of the UO physicist Brian W. Matthews, where Liu's synthesized compound was treated with T4 lysozymes, crystallized and examined with high-resolution X-ray crystallography. "I feel this is a fairly big step forward," Liu said. (EurekAlert!)
The Path To New Antibiotics Aug 29, 2009
Using protein crystallography, a 3D structure of the enzyme in complex with one of the inhibitors was solved providing guidelines for further drug improvement. This is proof-of-concept that NadD is a good target to create antibacterial agents, said Dr Osterman. (Science Daily)
New Images Capture Cell's Ribosomes At Work Aug 24, 2009
To help elucidate the ribosome's movements as it interacts with mRNA and tRNA, the researchers used X-ray crystallography to obtain a highly detailed picture of the ribosome - a mere 21 nanometers wide - from an Escherichia coli bacterium. In addition to revealing atomic level detail, the technique allowed the researchers to capture the ribosome mid-action, a challenge because it acts fast, adding 20 new amino acids to a protein chain every second. (Science Daily)
Raising The Alarm When DNA Goes Bad: 'Rapid Response Team' Monitors And Quickly Responds To DNA Damage Aug 23, 2009
A high-resolution image, obtained by X-ray crystallography, shows how the macrodomain forms a pocket fitting the PAR signal exactly. Among the members of the family the researchers found a protein called histone macroH2A1. (Science Daily)
Enzyme That Causes Genetic Diseases Investigated Aug 18, 2009
Set up in 2002, this Center uses the most advanced Molecular Magnetic Resonance imaging, Electron Microscopy, and X-ray crystallography equipment (as does CIC bioGUNE's Structural Biology Unit). In this joint research project, the NYSBC took charge of the X-ray crystallography part, while CIC bioGUNE's Structural Biology Unit has undertaken the Electron Microscopy part. (Science Daily)
Jet-propelled Imaging For An Ultrafast Light Source Aug 14, 2009
Until now, the best way to solve the structure of a protein or virus has been with x ray crystallography. The crystal consists of many copies of the protein or virus arranged in regular order. (Science Daily)
Scripps Research scientists find early evolution maximized the 'spellchecking' of protein sequences Aug 7, 2009
"Often one study is based on computer-based informatics, or x-ray crystallography, or enzyme function analysis. But here all of these methods and more were brought to bear on an issue." ... As a first step, they determined the structure of C-Ala by x-ray crystallography, a technique used for obtaining the three-dimensional arrangement of proteins and other molecules by bombarding them with x-rays. (EurekAlert!)
New technique gives big picture of AIDS Aug 6, 2009
Other imaging methods such as X-ray crystallography can capture the precise position of each atom, but only one small area at a time. SHAPE gets a bigger picture, but not at the atomic level, Weeks said. (MSNBC -- Health)
Monday, August 03, 2009, Ron Silliman, Sillimans Blog Aug 4, 2009
Anyone can see and hear Bok's work online, which is an amazing experience; that said, the new Coach House editions of Eunonia and Crystallography are beautiful - and different - enough to make anyone sorry to imagine a time when poems aren't still published in books. Re the howling about the flarf/conceptual writing feature in Poetry: it wasn't the inclusion in the magazine's "SoQ pages," Stan Apps notwithstandingm that elicited most of the uproar: it was its availability online that did; as we... (Harper's Magazine)
Fighting Hepatitis E Atom By Atom Jul 28, 2009
Tao's lab specializes in X-ray crystallography, a powerful technique that can pinpoint the exact location of every atom in a biomacromolecule or a large biomacromolecular assembly. In this case, the assembly was the viral capsid shell, made from a network of individual capsid proteins from a strain of HEV that had been made in insect cells, then purified and crystallized. (Science Daily)
Reprints Desk Makes Pharmaceutical ePrint Procurement Service Available Through FIZ AutoDoc Document Delivery System Jul 27, 2009
FIZ Karlsruhe also produces databases and information services and operates scientific portals, mainly in mathematics, computer science, energy and crystallography. Primary literature can be ordered through the full-text broker service FIZ AutoDoc. (PR Newswire)
Protein structures revealed at record pace Jul 21, 2009
The result is a system that moves at breakneck speed compared to current techniques used to determine the shape and structure of proteins: x-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance ... "This would have taken several years with x-ray crystallography," says Hura ... Adds Tainer, "We can now obtain structural information in solution on most samples, rather than the 15 percent obtained by the best of the current Structural Genomics Initiative efforts employing nuclear magnetic resonance... (EurekAlert!)
Evotec Announces Research Agreement On Fragment Based Screening Drug Discovery With Cubist Pharmaceuticals Jul 14, 2009
In combination with fragment screening technology, Evotec will use its expertise in structural biology and protein crystallography in order to determine the 3-dimensional structure of the fragments bound to the targets of interest. To this end, Evotec will use its internal crystallography platform and will access the state-of-the-art synchrotron technology of the Diamond Light Source, its partner for protein crystallography. (Primezone Releases)
Structural Biology Scores With Protein Snapshot Jul 13, 2009
Sanders is collaborating with other Vanderbilt investigators to tackle G protein-coupled receptor structure using both NMR and a complementary structural approach, X-ray crystallography. DAGK may be a therapeutic target for certain types of bacterial infections. (Science Daily)
Fields of Scientific Study Jul 5, 2009
Crystallography News Stories, Current Crystallography News Events, Discoveries and Articles. Manually add to your RSS reader. (BrightSurf.com)
Yeast: Highest Resolution Three-dimensional Structure Yet Of A Membrane Protein Jun 30, 2009
The unique high resolution of the x-ray crystallography data presented here by Karin Lindkvist, Richard Neutze, and colleagues from Germany and Sweden has enabled the scientists to visualise the role of a previously mysterious region of the yeast aquaporin molecule a long "tail" (or amino-terminal extension) that these authors now show regulates water flow by regulating the opening and closing of the wa ter channel. "Our study shows that the amino-terminal extensions in yeast act as a gate that... (Science Daily)
MIT: Extending the shelf life of antibody drugs Jun 30, 2009
Unlike static representations such as those provided by X-ray crystallography, the new model can reveal hydrophobic regions and also indicates how much those regions are exposed when the molecule is in solution. The other important aspect of the model is that it selects out regions responsible for aggregation, as opposed to just single sites. (EurekAlert!)
Site for alcohol's action in the brain discovered Jun 29, 2009
Left: X-ray crystallography revealed a binding site for alcohol in an ion channel that plays a key role in several brain functions associated with drugs of abuse and seizures. Right: This. (EurekAlert!)
New Images May Improve Vaccine Design For Deadly Rotavirus Jun 27, 2009
To get a closer look at how antibodies latch onto VP7 and neutralize the virus, Harrison and his colleagues used x-ray crystallography to examine the molecular architecture of VP7 in the grasp of a fragment of the antibody. X-ray crystallography is a powerful tool for "seeing" the orientation of atoms and the distances separating them within the molecules ... Before Harrison's team could use x-ray crystallography, however, they first had to crystallize VP7 in complex with the antibody fragment. (Science Daily)
Structure Of HIV Protein Shell Revealed Jun 17, 2009
In order to view the CA hexamer at even higher resolution, Yeager's group turned to X-ray crystallography ... "Our work takes advantage of so-called hybrid methods molecular biology, biochemistry, electron microscopy, and X-ray crystallography," says Yeager. (Science Daily)
Impossible Crystal: Crystallization At The Molecular Level May 30, 2009
Five-fold symmetry is considered to be impossible in crystallography for the same reason that pentagonal tiles do not exist - it is not possible to cover a floor or wall simply using tiles with five sides of all the same length. The only way around the problem is to use other geometrical shapes to fill in the gaps, a principal used by the builders of mosques as long ago as the 15th century. (Science Daily)
* Team makes discovery in search for new antibiotic May 24, 2009
After five years of work, the team managed to obtain its three-dimensional structure by coaxing the purified membrane protein PMP1b into crystals and using X-ray crystallography. The resulting model gives a clear picture of how PBP1b binds a substance called lipid II and performs a kind of a knitting job to finally make a new skin when the bacteria divides, the research institutes statement said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Taiwan)
Long-awaited Atomic Structure Of Well-known Enzyme Solved: Discovery Heralds New Approaches To Protein-engineered Biofuels May 22, 2009
By defining AADase atomic structure using X-ray crystallography, the research team corrects those assumptions and provides the missing structure that explains Westheimer's hypothesis about microenvironmental control of enzyme reactions within the cell. The research, entitled "The origin of the electrostatic perturbation in acetoacetate decarboxylase," appears online in Nature. (Science Daily)
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Announces Presentation of Forodesine Data at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology May 15, 2009
BioCryst is a biopharmaceutical company that has developed a deep pipeline of novel therapeutics targeting major illnesses by employing crystallography and structure-based drug design. BioCryst is currently advancing investigational new drugs discovered in-house in late-stage clinical trials for influenza and lymphoma. (PR Newswire)
New Energy Source? Bacteria Harvest Light May 5, 2009
Scientists typically characterize molecular structures using X-ray crystallography, a technique that determines the arrangement of atoms in a molecule and ultimately gives information that can be used to create a picture of the molecule; however, X-ray crystallography could not be used to characterize the chlorosomes in green bacteria because the technique only works for molecules that are uniform in size, shape, and structure ... "They are like little andouille sausages. When you take... (Science Daily)
Matrix protein key to fighting viruses Apr 29, 2009
Using x-ray crystallography, the team's been able to see the intimate details of the matrix protein that controls how the RSV virus assembles inside a cell. The technique allows them to see how the virus protein functions and this could help the team to develop biochemical tools to treat respiratory ailments and the common cold. (EurekAlert!)
Scripps scientists uncover mimicry at the molecular level that protects genome integrity Apr 14, 2009
In the study, the team used x-ray crystallography to determine the structure of a Rad60 SUMO-like domain at an ultra high-resolution, which is within the top half a percent of all published structures. "This resolution allowed us to develop and use a novel technique utilizing the Scripps Research supercomputer to solve the structure within a few weeks, which would likely have taken years if attempted on a desktop computer," said Andy Arvai a scientific associate in the Tainer lab. (EurekAlert!)
CSHL researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments Apr 10, 2009
For these answers, Schalch and the CSHL team made use of Joshua-Tor's expertise in X-ray crystallography the science of determining the exact position of atoms and bonds within a molecule by creating a crystal, which is then probed with powerful x-rays. Disrupting each point of interaction between Chp1 and its target by engineering various mutations into the Chp1 protein decreased the strength of binding to different levels. (EurekAlert!)
A splice of life Mar 28, 2009
Using x-ray crystallography, the scientists for the first time were able to create a three-dimensional structure of an integral complex of the human spliceosome, which consists of specialized RNA and protein subunits. The spliceosome's job is to modify the message relayed from our genetic materialDNAby clipping, or splicing, genetic bits in such a manner that they are acceptable for translation into protein. (EurekAlert!)
Scripps scientists find structure of a protein that makes cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy Mar 27, 2009
The team, which included scientists from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center as well as Scripps Research, determined the structure of P-gp using a technique in structural biology known as x-ray crystallography, which involves making crystals of ordered arrays of protein and then blasting the frozen crystals with x-ray radiation ... Once the scientists succeeded in performing the x-ray crystallography and solving the structure, they found that the mouse protein P-gp, which is 87 percent... (EurekAlert!)
Transparent Metal Under Pressure? Mar 14, 2009
The team, led by Artem Oganov, Professor of Theoretical Crystallography at Stony Brook University, and Yanming Ma, the lead author and professor of physics at Jilin University in China, was able to demonstrate that sodium defies normal physical expectations by going transparent under pressure. See also. (Science Daily)
Antibody Key To Treating Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) Mar 13, 2009
To understand the 'connection' between the antibody and the protein, scientists at Liverpool used X-ray crystallography technology to build a three-dimensional picture of the binding between an antibody called ICSM18 designed to 'stick' effectively to prion proteins and PrP cells. Samar Hasnain, Professor of Molecular Biophysics at the University, explains: "To pin-point where the antibody 'sticks' to the protein we used X-ray crystallography, pioneered by Nobel Prize winner Max Perutz.... (Science Daily)
Secrets Of C. Difficile's Protective Shell Revealed, Paving The Way For New Superbug Drugs And Vaccines Mar 10, 2009
They used X-ray crystallography techniques to produce the first ever high-resolution images of the structure of LMW-SLP, one of the two proteins that make up C. difficile s S-layer. The team also produced lower resolution images of the two S-layer proteins linked together to form the 'building block' which makes up the layer over all. (Science Daily)
* Scientists discover chinks in hospital superbug armor Mar 2, 2009
Separately, scientists at Imperial College London have used X-ray crystallography to produce the first high-resolution images of the germs protective jacket. The work, published in the latest issue of Molecular Microbiology, is important because it opens up a theoretical path for drugs that crack open the shield, disabling the bacterium inside. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
What Comes First, Misfolded Proteins Or Alzheimer's? Structural Polymorphism Of 441-residue Tau At Single Residue Resolution Feb 27, 2009
Standard methods, such as X-ray crystallography, have not revealed the structure. The breakthrough in analysing the structure comes from using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. (Science Daily)
UVM Provost Hughes Resigns Feb 21, 2009
In a letter to the campus community, Hughes says he's looking forward to returning to the classroom and continuing his scholarly work in X-ray crystallography of minerals. Click here for recent web links from The Channel 3 Ne 0000217C ws. (WCAX.com, VT)
Practically pure Feb 19, 2009
Well it turned out that small plumbing is indeed a powerful tool for crystallography; our chip was commercialized through Fluidigm, a company I co-founded (full disclosure: I am a consultant and equity holder), and commercial versions are used around the world. Eminent biologists have used them while solving crystal structures for a variety of proteins, some of which relate to human health - such as vaccine targets from ebola virus and the avian flu, and a human integrin protein which play a... (International Herald Tribune -- Ed/Op)
Measuring Molecules To Improve Drug Design Feb 19, 2009
It will complement other techniques like X-ray crystallography. The DAC software was tested using fluorescent polystyrene microspheres only 100 nm across about one thousandth the width of a hair. (Science Daily)
Researchers Shake Up Scientific Theory On Motor Protein Feb 13, 2009
Dynein is poorly understood, partly because it is difficult to engineer for experimental studies and because the usual techniques for determining the structure of a molecule X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) - have been unsuccessful. The Leeds team worked with synthetic dynein engineered by their Japanese colleagues which contained fluorescent marker proteins at key points within the motor. (Science Daily)
Groundbreaking study on complex movements of enzymes Feb 12, 2009
"We have suspected for some time that the enzyme complex is extremely flexible, which makes it difficult to analyze using X-ray crystallography. Last year the X-ray structure of the complex was solved by a group in Switzerland, but this structure provided only a snapshot of the complex in one of its many poses. We were able to use state-of-the-art electron microscopy to obtain images of the complex in many of its different conformations and assemble these images into a movie that displays the... (EurekAlert!)
* Chink discovered in staphs armor Feb 10, 2009
Academia Sinica researchers contributed to the research by solving the structure of the enzyme by X-ray crystallography, which helps prevent the formation of the golden pigments at the first step, Liu said. With lab success on mice, the teams next step will be to investigate whether this new approach of fighting staph works on humans, she said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Texas State U Acquires Rigaku SCXmini Chemical Crystallography Instrument for Cyber-enabled Teaching and Research Feb 8, 2009
Tokyo, Jan 24, 2009 (JCN) - Rigaku Americas announced that the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Texas State University has purchased a Rigaku SCXmini benchtop small molecule X-ray diffraction (XRD) crystallography instrument for Cyber-enabled Small Molecule Structure Analysis for Research and Educational Purposes as funded by a Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). A Rigaku SCXmini X-ray crystallography system was chosen by... (JCN Network, Japan)
