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Seeding x-ray free electron lasers with customized electron beams produces incredibly stable laser pulses

The Science

New electronic devices and energy solutions depend on scientists clearly seeing atoms and molecules at work. Modern x-ray free-electron lasers do just that using electrons to produce intense x-ray pulses that provide atomic-resolution snapshots. To produce stable, organized pulses, scientists demonstrated a new scheme called echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California.

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Synthetic nanoparticles achieve the complexity of protein molecules

Chemists at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated that synthetic nanoparticles can achieve the same level of structural complexity, hierarchy and accuracy as their natural counterparts - biomolecules. The study, published in Science, also reveals the atomic-level mechanisms behind nanoparticle self-assembly.

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Protein structure determination using metagenome sequence data

DNA sequence data collected from assorted environments has helped researchers generate 3-D models of more than 600 protein families for which the structures were previously unknown, according to a paper published in Science today (January 19). The metagenomic data enabled protein sequence comparisons across an array of species, which lent a statistical power to the predictions that would otherwise not have been possible.

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Electron beam exposes crystal details down to hydrogen atoms

A new algorithm created by Czech and French researchers allows 3D electron diffraction patterns to reveal nanocrystal structures down to the positions of individual hydrogen atoms. Researchers believe its uses could range from studying pharmaceuticals to catalysis and beyond.

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Scientists Catch Snapshot of Photosynthesis

A mystery that has perplexed scientists for centuries may soon be unraveling.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have captured for the first time how a protein complex—photosystem II—harvests energy from sunlight and uses it to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, a process that generates the oxygen in the atmosphere.

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Real-time molecular scale observation of crystal formation

How molecules in solution form crystal nuclei, which then grow into large crystals, is a poorly understood phenomenon. The classical mechanism of homogeneous crystal nucleation proceeds via the spontaneous random aggregation of species from liquid or solution. However, a non-classical mechanism suggests the formation of an amorphous dense phase that reorders to form stable crystal nuclei. So far it has remained an experimental challenge to observe the formation of crystal nuclei from five to thirty molecules.

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