X-Ray Crystallography

COVID-19 has changed the lives of millions and even billions of people around the world. The disease is caused by SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), an RNA virus, i.e. a virus that uses RNA to store its genetic information. In order to confront it, we must have a detailed understanding of the structur more

Using a unique combination of nanoscale imaging and chemical analysis, an international team of researchers has revealed a key step in the molecular mechanism behind the water splitting reaction of photosynthesis, a finding that could help inform the design of renewable energy technology. "Life depe more

Tularemia is a rare but often lethal disease. It is caused by one of the most aggressive pathogens on earth, the bacterium Francisella tularensis. The microbe, transported by a variety of animals and insects, is able to enter and attack the body through a range of pathways, resulting in different co more

by Xuekui Yu, Lei Jin, Jonathan Jih, Chiaho Shih, Z. Hong Zhou The capsid shell of infectious hepatitis B virus (HBV) is composed of 240 copies of a single protein called HBV core antigen (HBc). An atomic model of a core assembled from truncated HBc was determined previously by X-ray crystall more

Despite the prominent role of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in shaping bacterial metabolism, little is known about the impact of HGT on the evolution of enzyme function. Specifically, what is the influence of a recently acquired gene on the function of an existing gene? For example, certain member more

Abstract Protein‐DNA interactions are essential for many biological processes, X‐ray crystallography can provide high‐resolution structures, but protein‐DNA complexes are difficult to crystallize and typically contain only small DNA fragments. Thus, there is a need for computational methods that more