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Nerves and blood vessels grow to the right places because they receive instructions to keep them on the correct path. These instructions come from pairs of molecules: receptors and ligands on the surface of different cells. When a matched pair makes contact in a specific ‘handshake’ it directs the cell carrying the receptor right or left, just like SatNav. If we understand what different handshakes look like, we can design drugs that to strengthen them – to help nerve regeneration, or stop ...
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Aurora-A is an essential enzyme which is required for human cells to multiply. Aurora-A has higher activity than normal in many human cancers and is a target for the development of anti-cancer drugs, some of which are in clinical trials. X-ray crystallography is used to characterise how these small molecules interact with Aurora-A, and these data provide information on how they work and allow the production of a new generation of more potent inhibitors.
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The first publication from Diamond Light Source utilised the synchrotron’s high intensity x-rays and a diamond-anvil cell on the Extreme Conditions beamline I15, to study the unique behaviour of sodium at high pressures. This research was carried out by a team from the Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions at the University of Edinburgh, working in collaboration with the I15 beamline team.1
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Dr Paul Schofield is a researcher in mineral sciences in the Department of Mineralogy at the Natural History Museum (NHM). Paul used I18 to study a range of earth and life science specimens from the collections at the NHM. The spectroscopic data he obtained should provide an insight into natural processes, environmental systems and Earth and planetary history.
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The first users on the I22 Non-Crystalline Diffraction beamline, Professor Tim Wess and his team at the University of Cardiff, have been able to analyse the state of the collagen within parchment and its degenerative change to gelatine. Understanding the deterioration process will allow them how to preserve parchment for future generations. In cases where precious parchments may be too damaged or at risk, they have developed techniques to image written work without unrolling the fragile ...
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David Eastwood is a post-graduate student working with Professor Brian Tanner at the University of Durham. David used I16 to carry out detailed examinations of new sensors to be used in computer components that ‘read’ the magnetic information stored in its memory.
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Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) is a key enzyme that is responsible for removing harmful oxygen radicals from cells by catalysing their breakdown into hydrogen peroxide and water. The synchrotron radiation at Diamond was used to determine the molecular structure of a SOD which contains the metal manganese from the parasitic worm C. elegans. The structure will help us understand how the enzyme works and how it chooses manganese over other metals. The picture shows the four protein chains in ...
