Previous Editions__________________________________________________________________________SSRL Headlines Vol. 10, No. 8 February, 2010__________________________________________________________________________
Contents of this Issue:
To test this theory, that the microbes are dissolving the basalts for energy, a
group of researchers led by Alexis Templeton and students at the University of
Colorado in Boulder investigated the microbial communities near the Big Island
of Hawaii. They used deep-sea submersibles to collect recently formed basalt
samples to determine if the associated microbes catalyze the release of
specific elements such as iron and manganese. They solved the problem of
detecting chemical changes in minute quantities of these metals by using SSRL
Beam Lines 2-3 and 11-2 to collect synchrotron-based x-ray fluorescence
microprobe mapping and x-ray absorption spectroscopy data. They compared these
spectroscopic results with electron microscopic imaging to reveal where certain
elements were concentrated.
The researchers were surprised at their results that suggest that the microbes
are not gaining their energy from dissolution of the basalts. Instead, the data
suggest that the microbes are dependent on materials from hydrothermal vents
that diffuse in the deep ocean. Additionally, the researchers found that these
microbial communities are forming the precursors to ferromanganese crusts,
which are widespread on the ocean floor but are of previously unknown origin.
This research was published in the December 2009 issue of Nature
Geoscience.
To learn more about this research see the full scientific highlight
Using a combination of spectroscopic and structure determination techniques and
Cu K-edge XAS, Kyle M. Lancaster and Professors Harry B. Gray and John H.
Richards of the California Institute of Technology found a novel copper-protein
interaction and named the site "type zero." A specific mutation of a type 1
protein that uses copper for an electron transfer function results in the type
0 site. When initial analyses suggested that this copper site does not fit
into either the type 1 or type 2 groups, the researchers solved high-resolution
crystal structures of the protein. These revealed structural details that were
unlike those found in either known type, in particular a distorted tetrahedral
site with a very short copper-oxygen bond. To confirm their results and
conclusions, they used SSRL Beam Line 7-3 for a copper-K edge and EXAFS study,
in collaboration with Dr. Serena DeBeer George.
The researchers conclude that they have found a novel type of copper-protein
interaction. They will continue to use SSRL to further characterize the
properties of the type zero site and investigate its potential use as a
catalyst in fuel cells. This research was published in the December 2009 issue
of Nature Chemistry.
To learn more about this research see the full scientific highlight
Anders Nilsson, SLAC Photon Science Faculty and Deputy Director of the Stanford
Institute for Materials & Energy Science (SIMES), was both honored and a little
amused when he recently received the Humboldt Research Award. The award, he
noted, was for a "senior U.S. scientist."
"I was a little shocked because I'm still a Swedish citizen," Nilsson joked.
Much of Nilsson's research has focused on understanding chemical bonds,
especially bonds on the surfaces of materials. He uses x-rays to examine them
at the atomic level. More recently, Nilsson also began studying the structure
of water in its liquid phase, entering a debate on the fundamental properties
of perhaps Earth's most essential molecule. These two rather different fields
within chemistry converge in research methods, as they both rely on x-rays and
can benefit from the LCLS's extraordinarily bright, short pulses of x-ray laser
light. Read more at:
As mentioned in our October edition of the Headlines, Herman Winick has been
awarded the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Upholding Human Rights. At the April
2010 Meeting of the American Physical Society held in Washington DC earlier
this month, Herman, along with other recipients, Joseph Birman of the City
College of New York and City University of New York and Morris Pripstein of the
National Science Foundation, accepted the Prize. Read more at:
SSRL will host the Sixth International Workshop on X-ray Radiation Damage to
Biological Crystalline Samples to be held March 11-13, 2010 here at
SLAC. This series of workshops was originally concerned with the effects of
radiation damage during investigation of protein structures by x-ray
crystallography. Other techniques of structural biology are now being included
to ensure greater information exchange. The workshop will therefore be of
interest to all those using ionizing radiation to examine biological structures
at the molecular and cellular level.
The organizers are Ana Gonzales, Elspeth Garman, Colin Nave, Sean McSweeney,
Raimond Ravelli, Gerd Rosenbaum, Soichi Wakatsuki and Martin Weik. For more
information see:
The SSRL Proposal Review Panel met January 29-30 to review new proposals and
extension requests submitted for the December 1, 2009 deadline. SSRL Acting
Director Piero Pianetta started off the meeting by welcoming new committee
members Rachel Segalman (UC Berkeley), Paul Fenter (ANL), and Gerard Wong
(UCLA) and giving an overview talk. Cathy Knotts, User Research Administration
Manager, followed with a presentation outlining SSRL's current proposal process
as a segue for a panel discussion on ways to make the process and the form
itself more user friendly as we move toward a web-based submission.
The next opportunity to submit new macromolecular crystallography proposals is
April 1 for beam time eligibility beginning June 2010. New X-ray/VUV proposals
are due June 1 for beam time starting in fall 2010. Please note that our
current experimental run ends July 26, 2010. There are many projects planned
over the summer shutdown which will be longer than usual this year. We plan to
resume user operations in late November or the beginning of December 2010.
X-ray/VUV Beam time requests for this scheduling cycle will be due in September
2010.
For more information on proposal submittal see:
See the SPEAR3 operating schedule at:
Getting safely from point A to point B around the SLAC site via car, bike, cart
or foot takes year-round vigilance, but with construction along the Loop Road
continuing into the spring, now is an especially good time for added focus on
safely navigating SLAC's busy roadways. SLAC launched the current focus on
traffic and vehicular safety in January with an article in the SLAC Today
(http://today.slac.stanford.edu/a/2010/01-11.htm).
Additionally, a series of
video clips targeting particular areas of concern has been posted.
Traffic in the parking lot and roadways around SSRL's experimental facilities
housed in Buildings 120, 130 and 131 can be particularly busy with passenger
vehicles, government vehicles, delivery trucks and pedestrians converging from
multiple directions. The speed limit in these areas is 10 mph. Please observe
it!
__________________________________________________________________________
SSRL Headlines is published electronically monthly to inform SSRL users,
sponsors and other interested people about happenings at SSRL. SSRL is a
national synchrotron user facility operated by Stanford University for the
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy
Sciences. Additional support for
the structural biology program is provided by
the DOE
Office of Biological and Environmental Research, the NIH
National Center for Research Resources and the NIH Institute for General Medical
Sciences. Additional information about
SSRL and its operation and schedules is available from the SSRL WWW
site.
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