While much is known about how the acquired immune system recognizes and responds to pathogens, the innate immune system, which also fights off infections and disease, is much less well understood. The inflammatory responses of the innate immune system can be activated by toll-like receptors (TLRs), which often bind to elements from pathogens that have a regular repeat, such as double-stranded RNA.
Approximately 1,600 scientists visit SSRL annually to conduct experiments in broad disciplines including life sciences, materials, environmental science, and accelerator physics. Science highlights featured here and in our monthly newsletter, Headlines, increase the visibility of user science as well as the important contribution of SSRL in facilitating basic and applied scientific research. Many of these scientific highlights have been included in reports to funding agencies and have been picked up by other media. Users are strongly encouraged to contact us when exciting results are about to be published. We can work with users and the SLAC Office of Communication to develop the story and to communicate user research findings to a much broader audience. Visit SSRL Publications for a list of the hundreds of SSRL-related scientific papers published annually and to add your most recent publications to this collection.
While we continue to refine our science highlights content you may access older science summaries that date between 04/2001 to 06/2010 by visiting http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/science/sciencehighlights.html. We will be offering science summaries that date from 06/2012 to the present soon.
April 2011
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL9-2, BL11-1
April 2011
The nature of the pseudogap, which exists above the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of high-Tc cuprate superconductors, is one of the most important unsolved problems in condensed matter physics. Many possible origins for the pseudogap, such as fluctuating superconductivity and competing order, have been proposed, however, since its discovery two decades ago, there has not been a conclusive experiment.
Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy
BL5-4
March 2011
Organic or plastic solar cells have achieved efficiencies greater than 8%, close to the estimated 10% needed to make them economically viable. To close the gap, researchers need to improve control of the nanostructure of the active layer of these organic solar cells.
X-ray diffraction
BL11-3
March 2011
Dioxygen (O2), critical for many of our cellular processes, is carried and activated by a variety of enzymes. These enzymes contain metals that contact the oxygen in different ways to form reactive intermediates. Oxygen’s reactivity is affected by the arrangement of the enzymes’ amino acid residues. Often, the enzyme active site will have a unique structure to stabilize oxygen binding.
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
BL7-3, BL9-3
February 2011
Currently, organic or plastic solar cells are relatively inexpensive to make, yet they are also relatively inefficient. Researchers from Princeton University and SSRL recently studied the structure of organic solar cells that were manufactured and processed in different ways to better understand the causes of the inefficiencies.
X-ray diffraction
BL11-3
February 2011
Messenger RNA, responsible for relaying information from the DNA to the ribosomes, is given a 5’ cap and a 3’ tail. The 3′-end cleavage and polyadenylation are performed by a large protein complex that includes a scaffolding protein called symplekin.
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL9-2
January 2011
It took nature billions of years to evolve proteins that can selectively bind to certain metals. Researchers are now seeking to create such proteins synthetically in the lab, with the end-goal of creating new metal-based functions.
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL7-1, BL9-2
January 2011
Organic solar cells, which use organic polymers or small organic molecules to convert sunlight into a useable form of energy, are a promising new tool for providing inexpensive, environmentally friendly energy. To date organic solar cells have demonstrated comparatively low rates of efficiency, stability and strength. However, there is much room for improvement before the theoretical efficiency limits are reached.
X-ray diffraction, X-ray scattering
BL11-3
January 2011
Cisplatin, a platinum-based anti-cancer drug, is a widely-used and effective cancer chemotherapy drug. It slows the growth of cancer cells by inhibiting transcription through DNA modification, creating chemical links that serve as a roadblock as the polymerase attempts to transcribe the DNA into RNA.
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL11-1
December 2010
Researchers at SSRL have developed a new, more powerful way to probe the behavior of a key component in hydrogen fuel cells. The group, led by Daniel Friebel of SSRL and Anders Nilsson of SSRL and SIMES, coated a single crystal of rhodium with one layer of platinum atoms, creating a platinum catalyst that was in essence "all surface." The unique sample design allowed them to observe how the catalyst surface interacted with the type of acid–water environment typical of fuel cells.
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
BL6-2, BL11-2
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