DNA discoveries through crystallography

DNA Crystallography

Racemic DNA crystallography.

Racemates increase the chances of crystallization by allowing molecular contacts to be formed in a greater number of ways. With the advent of protein synthesis, the production of protein racemates and racemic-protein crystallography are now possible. Curiously, racemic DNA crystallography had not been investigated despite the commercial availability of L- and D-deoxyribo-oligonucleotides. Here,...

Advanced electron crystallography through model-based imaging

The increasing need for precise determination of the atomic arrangement of non-periodic structures in materials design and the control of nanostructures explains the growing interest in quantitative transmission electron microscopy. The aim is to extract precise and accurate numbers for unknown structure parameters including atomic positions, chemical concentrations and atomic numbers. For this...

The Bohemian Bookshelf Supporting Serendipitous Discoveries through Visualization

Serendipity, a trigger of exciting discoveries when we least expect it, is currently being discussed as an often neglected but still important factor in information seeking processes, research, and ideation. In this paper we explore serendipity as an information visualization goal. In particular, we introduce the Bohemian Bookshelf visualization that aims to support serendipitous exploration of...

A Glimpse of Structural Biology through X-Ray Crystallography

Since determination of the myoglobin structure in 1957, X-ray crystallography, as the anchoring tool of structural biology, has played an instrumental role in deciphering the secrets of life. Knowledge gained through X-ray crystallography has fundamentally advanced our views on cellular processes and greatly facilitated development of modern medicine. In this brief narrative, I describe my pers...