Science Highlights

Nitric Oxide Synthase is the PDB Molecule of the Month

One of our favorite molecules has been selected as the January [Molecule of the Month](http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/static.do?p=education_discussion/molecule_of_the_month/pdb133_1.html) by the RCSB Protein Data Bank.

Ku and DNA-PKcs dynamic conformations

The number one in the citation hits for SAXS-study in 2010 obtained SIBYLS collaborative work on Ku and DNA-PKcs ([Hammel et al. 2010](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19893054)). Here, Ku and DNA-PKcs solution structures alone and in complex with DNA, defined by X-ray scattering (SAXS), reveal major structural reorganizations that choreograph non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) initiation. These results show how…
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2007-2009 MX data archived

To free up space on the primary /data volume we’ve recently created compressed read-only archival filesystems (using the [squashfs](http://squashfs.sourceforge.net/) filesystem if you’re interested) for all MX and SAXS data collected at the SIBYLS beamline between 2007 and 2009. You will find the archives mounted as /2007\_data, /2008\_data, and /2009_data on most of the beamline computers.…
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Fast X-ray Scattering : FoXS

SIBYLS staff together with Dina Schneidman from Andrej Sali’s lab have developed the FoXS web application. FoXS (Fast X-Ray Scattering) is a rapid method for computing a SAXS profile of a given structure and for matching of the computed and experimental profiles. In our recent publication in Nucleic Acid Research we describe the interface and…
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Mre11 is the May 2010 PSI featured molecule

Near and dear to our heart, Mre11, has been chosen as the May 2010 [featured molecule](http://dx.doi.org/10.3942/psi_sgkb/fm_2010_5) by the Protein Structure Initiative. Additionally, the blurb on the PSI website features a beautiful rendering of the *Pyrococcus furiosus* and *Thermotoga maritima* Mre11 nucleases created by [David Goodsell](http://mgl.scripps.edu/people/goodsell/).

Rotary motion of Rho hexameric helicase elucidated

UC Berkeley researchers, James Berger and Nathan Thomsen, used the SIBYLS beamline to solve the structure of a hexameric helicase, the Rho transcription termination factor (from E. coli), bound to both ATP mimics and an RNA substrate. The results showed that Rho functions like a rotary engine: as the motor spins, it pulls RNA strands…
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New Web-Based DVD Backup Service

We are pleased to announce a new web-based [DVD backup system](/DvdSystem) now available at the SIBYLS beamline. It is fairly straightforward to use, but we have included a set of detailed [instructions](/dvd_backups/dvd_backup.php) to help get you started. Just login in with your SIBYLS username and password and follow the simple steps to create your custom…
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Accurate Direct Beam Position Now in Image Header

For the MX endstation we’ve characterized the dependence of the direct beam on detector distance and 2-theta. We collected 4 sweeps of the detector from 120mm to 1600mm combined with 2-theta offsets from 0º up to 12º. These are the gnuplot 3D plots of the data. This set of 3D plots uses gnuplots pm3d settings…
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