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A virus recognizes the starting point on the DNA to be packaged inside its protein shell
A bacteriophage – a virus that attacks bacteria – assembles into an infectious species using a powerful nanomachine to stuff its DNA into a protein shell. In several types of phage, this genome packaging motor is composed of several copies of large and small terminase subunits (TerL and TerS, respectively) that attach to a portal into the protein procapsid.
2021 CHESS Users' Meeting - Save the Date!
The 2021 CHESS Users' Meeting will take place on June 8/9, 2021 as a virtual meeting with plenary sessions, poster sessions and workshops held online and accessible for participants remotely.
BioSAXS facility at CHEXS develops stringent anoxic sample environment
From the gut microbiome to the depths of the ocean, life has evolved to thrive in the absence of oxygen. In fact, it is not hyperbole to say that life as we know it would not exist without the oxygen sensitive metalloenzymes that we all rely on.
High-pressure small-angle X-ray scattering cell for biological solutions and soft materials
Pressure is a fundamental thermodynamic parameter controlling the behavior of biological macromolecules. In many cases pressure alters molecular shape and therefore also the biological function. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a widely used method to determine the shape and size of macromolecules, but typical sample cells for SAXS experiments are unsuitable for use at high pressures.
CHESS receives $32.6M from NSF for new X-ray beamline
The National Science Foundation has awarded the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) $32.6 million to build a High Magnetic Field (HMF) beamline, which will allow researchers to conduct precision X-ray studies of materials in persistent magnetic fields that exceed those available at any other synchrotron.
CHESS Restarts for Remote Research
The Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, CHESS, has reopened for researchers after a long shutdown due to CoVID-19. Users who typically travel from all over the world to perform research at CHESS are now able to study their samples by logging in remotely from their home institutions.
ACA Workshop Highlights Practical Application of Small Angle
Richard Gillillan, CHESS Staff Scientist, conducted a SAXS workshop at the ACA conference late last month. Organized by former CHESS postdoc Jesse Hopkins, and now staff scientist at the Advanced Photon Source, students learned about this useful technique and its applications from the people that have written the book on Small Angle X-Ray Scattering.
Richard Gillilan describes capabilities of BioSAXS at the 70th Annual ACA meeting
“If there’s one thing I want everybody to remember, it’s this one statement: Anything a biomolecule does changes its volume.”