Photon Science Seminar: Dr. TJ Lane, DESY, "Time-resolved crystallography captures light-driven DNA repair"

Abstract
Photolyases employ light to repair DNA, specifically DNA damaged by sunlight. Due to its  importance, spectroscopists have studied this life-preserving reaction for decades. Now, however, time-resolved crystallography is nailing down mechanistic questions that have eluded spectroscopy all that time. My talk will tell the story of how we witnessed DNA repair by a CPD  photolyase using SFX and detail the mechanistic questions we resolved. I will conclude with a short perspective on what we are working on next, and why mechanistic details matter.