Science Highlights

Study finds ‘Missing Link’ in the Evolutionary History of Carbon-fixing Protein Rubisco

SIBYLS beamline scientists contribute to the discovery of an ancient form of rubisco, the most abundant enzyme on earth and critical to life as we know it. By analyzing SEC-SAXS data collected at 12.3.1, they were able to capture how the enzyme’s structure changes during different states of activity.      READ MORE

Postdoctural Fellow Opening

SIBYLS is excited to announce we have a biochemist postdoc fellow opening. This is a great opportunity to work with experienced and innovative scientists in the field of structural biology. We are looking for someone who wants to develop and apply biology for multi-component biological macromolecules. You will be a part of a team that…
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John Tainer

5th DNA Repair/Replication Structures and Cancer Conference

John Tainer, founder and PI of the SIBYLS group, now at MD Anderson Cancer Center, will be one of three chairs at the 5th DNA Repair/Replication Structures and Cancer Conference. The conference will focus on structural and mechanistic insights into dynamic complexes acting in DNA repair and its interface with replication, transcription and other cancer-relevant…
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Using SAXS to evaluate radical scavengers

SIBYLS user Tim Stachowski and the Snell group made the cover of the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation for their paper describing their work using Small-angle X-ray Scattering to evaluate how three scavengers commonly used in crystallographic experiments perform in solution at 10°C. In this study, they found the SAXS-based method can detect damage at X-ray…
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SIBYLS makes cover of Protein Science

SIBYLS scientists Michal Hammel and John Tainer describe the mechanistic insights into NHEJ structural biochemistry determined by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) results combined with X-ray crystallography (MX) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The cover image, like the old car engine malfunctioning without a linchpin and flexible belt, shows the NHEJ efficiency arises from a flexible…
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SAXS study of radiation damage

SIBYLS user Dr. Tim Stachowski from the Snell group at Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, led a research effort combining a protein engineering approach with SAXS to monitor cleavage of a specific bond from exposure to the X-ray beam. X-ray induced disulfide bond breakage is a common phenomenon in X-ray crystallography but there is limited information…
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Scaffold protein compacts human DNA Ligase

SIBYLS scientist, Michal Hammel, analyzing data collected at the SIBYLS beamline gained insight into the shape and conformational flexibility of the XL as well as XRCC1 and DNA ligase IIIα (LigIIIα) alone. This ligase complex is critical for DNA single-strand break repair, a key target for PARP inhibitors in cancer cells deficient in homologous recombination.…
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Evolving SAXS Versatility

In this top 10 cited article using HT-SAXS data collected at SIBYLS, Chris Brosey, along with John Tainer, describe the value and versatility of Small Angle X-ray Scattering. The authors discuss evolving SAXS theory, methods, and applications that extend the field of small-angle scattering beyond simple shape characterization. From capturing architecture and dynamics to enabling…
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