Filoviruses, such as Ebola virus require host-cell receptors, endocytosis, proteolytic cleavage, and fusion with the endolysosomal membrane for release of viral material into the cytoplasm. Two-pore channels (TPCs) comprise a subfamily (TPC1-3) of eukaryotic voltage- and ligand-gated cation channels that contain two non-equivalent tandem pore-forming subunits that then dimerize to form quasi-tetramers and orchestrate the trafficking of Filoviruses, including Ebola, in human cells.
Approximately 1,700 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. Contact us to add your most recent publications to this collection.
March 2016
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL12-2
February 2016
The list of mechanical and electronic uses for oxide materials is continuously growing, piquing researchers’ interest in how the microscopic properties of these materials affect their functionalities. Oxygen vacancies, which affect electron hopping, have long been identified as a defect in oxide compounds, but researchers now view them as a way to create new, potentially useful, behaviors.
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
BL13-3
February 2016
The practice of storing reclaimed or storm water by refilling an aquifer is called managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Advantages of MAR to regions vulnerable to drought or which have depleted aquifers include water storage for future use, reduced water loss of stored water from evaporation, and stabilization of the aquifers. However, refilling aquifers can change the chemistry, allowing naturally occurring toxins in aquifer sediments to dissolve into the water. Arsenic, a potential poison, is of particular concern, since use of MAR has led to arsenic-contaminated water.
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
BL11-2
February 2016
Mutation of the gene coding for the BRAF kinase, an important enzyme in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, can lead to melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer. The pharmaceutical company Plexxikon has developed drugs, like vemurafenib, that treat metastatic melanoma harboring BRAF mutation.
Macromolecular Crystallography
January 2016
The widespread adoption of renewable energy in many applications, such as electric cars, is dependant on the development of better batteries. A lithium ion battery can be made to have a higher capacity, better thermally stability, and lower cost by changing the cobalt component of the battery cathode (usually LiCoO2) to a mixture of nickel, manganese, and cobalt. While providing great benefits, this material, known as NMC, also has a downside: increased reactivity at the cathode resulting in a shorter battery lifetime. To counteract this reactivity, scientists at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado developed a coating for the NMC cathode.
X-ray diffraction
BL4-1
January 2016
Ion transport across the hydrophobic barrier of the cell membrane is central to life. Biological membranes are hydrophobic barriers that are impermeable to ionic species. Thus, ionic movements across these membranes require catalysis by specific proteins situated at the membranes such as ion channels and transporters. CLC transporters are such proteins that facilitates transport of chloride (Cl-) and protons (H+) across biological membranes.
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL12-2
November 2015
While translocator proteins (TSPO) are clearly important for diverse organisms ranging from bacteria to humans, their roles in cells are not yet fully understood. TSPO is positioned in the outer mitochondrial membrane and binds small molecules, such as benzodiazepine, cholesterol, and porphyrin molecules. It has been implicated as having a role in a number of human diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as inflammation and tumor growth.
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL12-2
October 2015
Scientists have developed a goniometer-based system to study radiation-sensitive macromolecular complexes.
Macromolecular Crystallography
BL12-2
October 2015
Scientists have determined the 3-D structure of a complex of synaptic proteins that controls the release of signaling chemicals from brain cells in less than one-thousandth of a second, which ultimately could help unlock a new realm of drug research targeting brain disorders.
Macromolecular Crystallography
XPP
September 2015
Conventional electronics encode information using the charge of electrons. Spin transport electronics, or spintronics, seeks to encode information using the spin of electrons, up or down. Spintronics has the potential to be more efficient and more reliable, especially as electronic components become smaller. To advance the field, the mechanics of spin transport from one material to another needs to be understood. In a study that develops methods for studying spin transport, a team of scientists looked at how spin information travels between a spin signal source (a ferromagnet) and a non-magnetic material that transports the signal.
BL13-1
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