Biological Sciences
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X-ray Laser Gives Buckyballs a Big Kick
Scientists at SLAC have been blowing up "buckyballs" – soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules – with an X-ray laser to understand how they fly apart. The results, they say, will help them interpret X-ray images of tiny viruses, individual proteins and other important biomolecules.
Scientists Use X-rays to Look at How DNA Protects Itself from UV Light
DNA’s molecular building blocks absorb ultraviolet light so strongly that sunlight should deactivate them – yet it doesn’t. A new SLAC study reveals details of a “relaxation response” that protects these molecules and the genetic information they encode.
Journal Highlights X-ray Laser Impacts on Biological Science
Even in their infancy, X-ray lasers such as SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source are notching a list of important discoveries, and a special issue of a scientific journal highlights their unique contributions to biological sciences.
Stanford Researchers Discover Immune System’s Rules of Engagement
By finding surprising similarities in the way immune system defenders bind to disease-causing invaders, a new study may help scientists develop new treatments.
Fighting Ebola Virus Disease: 'Transformer' Protein Provides New Insights
Researchers have discovered that an Ebola virus protein can transform into three distinct structures with different functions. This rather uncommon property provides new clues for the development of potential drugs for deadly hemorrhagic fever.
Stanford ChEM-H: Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health
Given a year to mature, the Institute for Chemical Biology is relaunching under a new name that better reflects its vision of bringing Stanford's unique interdisciplinary culture to bear at a new frontier of chemistry.
Five Years of Illumination: SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source
Five years ago, the brightest source of X-rays on the planet lit up at SLAC. The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser's scientific and technical progress since its momentous "first light" have been no less luminous, say those who have played a role in its success.
Fossil Leaves Preserve Living Chemistry
X-ray studies conducted at SLAC and in the United Kingdom have resurrected the detailed chemistry of 50-million-year-old leaves from fossils found in the western United States and found striking similarities to their modern descendants.
Data-mining for Crystal 'Gold' at SLAC's X-ray Laser
A new tool for analyzing mountains of data from SLAC’s Linac Coherent Lightsource (LCLS) X-ray laser can produce high-quality images of important proteins using fewer samples. Scientists hope to use it to reveal the structures and functions of proteins that have proven elusive, as well as mine data from past experiments for new information
LAMP: A New Tool Turns On at SLAC's X-ray Laser
A 2-ton instrument the size of a compact car, now available at SLAC's X-ray laser, makes it possible to capture more detailed images of atoms, molecules, nanoscale features of solids, and individual particles such as viruses and airborne soot.
