News

Diffraction data of core-shell nanoparticles from an X-ray free electron laser

X-ray free-electron lasers provide novel opportunities to conduct single particle analysis on nanoscale particles. Coherent diffractive imaging experiments were performed at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), SLAC National Laboratory, exposing single inorganic core-shell nanoparticles to femtosecond hard-X-ray pulses.

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BioXFEL CoPI Appointed to DOE Advisory Committee

Abbas Ourmazd, a UWM distinguished professor of physics, has been appointed to serve on the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The 25-member committee has a substantial impact on national scientific programs, supporting more than 2,500 principal investigators in physics, chemistry, geology and biosciences at 165 institutions in 49 states and 14 DOE laboratories.

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Bacterial expression, correct membrane targeting and functional folding of the HIV-1 membrane protein Vpu using a periplasmic signal peptide

Structural analysis of membrane proteins has traditionally been bottlenecked by the lack of sufficiently large amounts of pure, properly folded and functional membrane proteins. The issue is particularly important considering the fact that membrane proteins constitute a significant proportion of clinical drug targets.

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BioXFEL collaborator Henry Chapman receives 2017 Roentgen Medal

DESY scientist Henry Chapman has been awarded the Roentgen Medal by the city of Remscheid. The town in which Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen was born has been presenting this award annually since 1951 to individuals who have made outstanding contributions towards improving and advancing the use of the radiation discovered by Roentgen. Henry Chapman, a Leading Scientist at DESY and professor at the University of Hamburg, has been awarded the Medal in recognition of his pioneering work on the application of X-ray lasers for determining the structure of biological macromolecules. 

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BioXFEL researchers uncover details of key drug target regulating blood pressure

Designing molecules that selectively bind to a specific receptor type is often challenging, but can be crucial for different therapeutic purposes. Both angiotensin II receptors are important drug targets, since the blockade of AT1R has anti-hypertensive effects, while the modulation of AT2R could be useful for cardioprotection, neuropathic pain relief and the treatment of several other conditions.

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The room temperature crystal structure of a bacterial phytochrome determined by serial femtosecond crystallography

Phytochromes are a family of photoreceptors that control light responses of plants, fungi and bacteria. A sequence of structural changes, which is not yet fully understood, leads to activation of an output domain. Time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) can potentially shine light on these conformational changes. Here we report the room temperature crystal structure of the chromophore-binding domains of the Deinococcus radiodurans phytochrome at 2.1 Å resolution.

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