Predicting X-ray solution scattering from flexible macromolecules
Proteins are molecular machines that participate in the vast majority of activities that occur in any living system. To carry out their functions, they undergo dynamic changes in structure and shape and interact with other molecular systems. Characterizing these intramolecular motions provides insight into the molecular basis of protein function and, in turn, can result in a deeper understanding of a vast range of physiological functions.
Solving protein structure from sparse serial microcrystal diffraction data at a storage ring synchrotron source
X-ray crystallography allows determination of the atomic structure of proteins, information that is essential to understanding the proteins. It was thought that there was a minimum size of crystal that could be used at storage ring x-ray sources. This paper shows that the minimum size barrier can be overcome.
A naturally occurring antibiotic active against drug-resistant tuberculosis
A naturally occurring antibiotic called kanglemycin A is effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, even in drug-resistant strains, according to an international team of researchers who used chemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, and X-ray crystallography to show how the compound maintains its activity.
Microfluidic mixing chips can reveal how biomolecules interact
Christopher Flynn, a fourth year student majoring in Physics and Mathematics at Fort Lewis College, and a SUnRiSE student at Cornell this summer, is contributing to the design of microfluidic mixing chips which could significantly enhance our understanding of proteins and living cells.
BioSAXS Essentials 8 workshop introduces state-of-the-art density program
In an era when our most detailed pictures of biomolecules come from frozen or crystalline samples, biological small angle X-ray solution scattering (BioSAXS) is more essential than ever as a tool for learning how molecules actually behave under realistic biological conditions in the liquid state.
CHESS squeezes in an early Users’ Meeting prior to extended shutdown
The annual CHESS Users’ Meeting was held this year on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, earlier than usual due to our upgrade project, CHESS-U, starting this June.
Discovering new drugs to combat microbial resistance to antibiotics
Resistance to antimicrobial agents is a worldwide problem. Not only do bacteria mutate to become resistant, they can acquire resistance genes from other bacteria. Using a structure-based strategy, researchers seek to identify new drugs which can inhibit this transfer and so limit the development of antimicrobial resistance.
“Seriously Sweet!” Ace K binding observed in CA IX
Human carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is an enzyme upregulated in tumorigenic tissue that is being targeted by small molecules as a potential cancer therapy.