X-ray Spectrometry / Ezine
Medical, edible cat litter: Sepiolite succumbs to XRD
Date: Jul 15, 2011
Author: David Bradley
Sepiolite has been known since Roman times when it was used to filter and purify wine, today it's commonly found in cat litter trays. It absorbs huge amounts of liquid as it is so porous now an X-ray diffraction study could help explain why and perhaps lead to more technological applications, such as the development of food binders and drug-delivery agents.
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Journal Highlight: X-CHIP: an integrated platform for high-throughput protein crystallization and on-the-chip X-ray diffraction data collection
Date: Jul 11, 2011
Author:
The X-CHIP (X-ray Crystallization High-throughput Integrated Platform) is a novel microchip that has been developed to combine multiple steps of the crystallographic pipeline from crystallization to diffraction data collection on a single device to streamline the entire process.
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Good news for summer: Hayfever X-rayed
Date: Jul 1, 2011
Author: David Bradley
There is potentially welcome news for hayfever sufferers as researchers have now obtained an X-ray crystal structure of the human histamine H1 receptor (H1R). The team reported details in the journal Nature at the end of June and suggest that the structure could help in the development of novel antihistamine drugs.
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Cystitis clue: XRD reveals antibiotic target
Date: Jun 15, 2011
Author: David Bradley
An international team has revealed the structure of a complex protein called FimD that acts as an assembly platform for the pili of the bacteria that cause cystitis. The structure of the FimD protein means scientists reveals, for the first time, how these pili "hairs" are assembled from individual protein subunits to complete structures. The work offers up a new target for antibiotic drug design.
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Journal Highlight: Is PIXE still a useful technique for the analysis of atmospheric aerosols? The LABEC experience
Date: Jun 13, 2011
Author:
Recent atmospheric aerosol monitoring campaigns, performed in urban and remote areas, are presented to evidence how particle-induced X-ray emission can still provide unique information in natural aerosol studies.
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Microbe power: electron-transfer protein structure
Date: Jun 1, 2011
Author: David Bradley
X-ray diffraction has been used to reveal the structure of proteins attached to the surface of the microbe Shewanella oneidensis. These proteins can transfer electrons making this micro-organism potentially rather interesting as an electricity-generating system.
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Ancient minerals: artefacts of the primordial solar system
Date: May 15, 2011
Author: David Bradley
The discovery of the oldest mineral in the solar system, krotite, found in an unusual refractory inclusion of the meteorite NWA 1934 from northwest Africa, provides an unprecedented look back into deep time to the first planetary materials formed in our solar system.
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Journal Highlight: Towards three-dimensional quantitative reconstruction of cement microstructure by X-ray diffraction microtomography
Date: May 9, 2011
Author:
An X-ray diffraction computed microtomography method combined with Rietveld-based quantitative phase analysis and image processing was used to provide quantitative information on the distribution of the various phases present in cement-based materials.
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Volcanic ash cloud: X-rays reveal grounding jets was right choice
Date: May 1, 2011
Author: David Bradley
When Eyjafjallajökull spewed volcanic ash into the atmosphere in 2010, airlines were thrown into chaos as the authorities grounded all planes. But was the move justified, did it stop potentially catastrophic damage to aircraft? A new study that takes a close look at the behaviour of ash particles would suggest so.
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Life clues: X-rays go deeper into origins
Date: Apr 15, 2011
Author: David Bradley
Millisecond oscillations can massively impact how an enzyme functions, a new NMR spectroscopic study in the US reveals. The study suggests that finding ways to control such movements, without altering the overall structure of an enzyme might be useful in disabling an enzyme. Proof of principle was demonstrated with an enzyme from Escherichia coli.
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