protein structure

Scientists working to understand the implications of Zika's new prevalence in the Americas have found strong evidence that infection with the virus can cause fetal abnormalities and even miscarriage in pregnant women. On The Pump Handle, Liz Borkowski examines a series of studies conducted on Zika, including one which found the virus infected "most of the cortical neuron progenitors, which form the brain’s cortex" more quickly than other types of stem cell. This may be how the virus causes microcephaly, a birth defect resulting from abnormal brain development in the womb. On Discovering…
tags: A Quick Peek at X-ray Crystallography at the Diamond Light Source, X-ray Crystallography, Diamond Light Source, proteins, Synchrotron, Van Morrison, wavelength, streaming video This is a short video recorded on a trip to the Diamond Light Source by a group of Imperial College crystallographers. The video attempts to give a flavor of the strange things that they do to protein crystals when trying figure out the structures of the molecules within them. Music, "Wavelength", is by Van Morrison. X-ray crystallography is a technique for determining the precise arrangement of atoms within a…