Gordon Reseach Conference on 3D EM of Macromolecules

描述(由申请人提供)： 该提案请求支持第10届戈登大分子三维电子显微镜研究会议(GRC)。EM在生物武器中占有独特的地位，因为它可以在分子和细胞水平上解决其他结构方法无法企及的问题。EM可以在亚细胞分辨率的光学显微镜研究与X射线结晶学和核磁共振提供的原子分辨率结构之间架起桥梁。最近的技术突破使人们能够以越来越高的精度确定3D结构，从而为在特定的生理条件下研究大分子系统开辟了道路。其结果是为理解生物机制、大分子之间的相互作用和双分子设计原理提供了新的机会。 这一系列会议通过将在不同层次的结构层次工作的科学家聚集在一起，促进了对生物复杂性的综合看法。这些会议旨在确定未来的挑战，并集中协调一致地处理从分子到亚细胞大小的生物标本的准备、成像和解释方面的问题。前九届会议的影响是如此之大，以至于3D EM社区已经开始将这次GRC视为至关重要的事件。 2003年的会议是围绕“连接细胞、分子和原子拆分”的主题组织的。我们的目标是创建一个充满活力的论坛，以(I)传播过去两年来该领域的主要进展，以及(Ii)确定新的技术和生物挑战，这些挑战必须得到解决，以便3D EM成为解决细胞生物学问题的基本和普遍的工具。本着GRC的精神，我们选择了一个代表我们领域前沿的项目。发言者的选择是根据其最近贡献的重要性和其特定研究方法的潜在影响而定的。挑选了外地发言者，希望促进跨学科的方法，并挑战外地朝着它迄今从未考虑过的方向前进。根据过去的经验，我们自信地预计，3D EM GRC将继续在定义新的技术挑战方面发挥核心作用，并集中协调一致的方法来理解基本的生物学问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests support for the 10th Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on 3D Electron Microscopy of Macromolecules. EM occupies a unique position in the biological armamentarium in that it can address questions at the molecular and cellular level that are unapproachable by other structural methods. EM can bridge light microscopic studies at subcellular resolutions with atomic resolution structures provided by X-ray crystallography and NMR. Recent, technical breakthroughs enable 3D structures to be determined with ever-increasing accuracy thereby opening the way to the study of macromolecular systems under defined physiological conditions. The result is new opportunities for understanding biological mechanisms, interactions between macromolecules and the principles of bimolecular design. This series of conferences fosters an integrated view of biological complexity by bringing together scientists working at different levels of the structural hierarchy. These meetings serve to define the challenges of the future and to focus a concerted approach to problems in the preparation, imaging and interpretation of biological specimens that range in size from the molecular to the subcellular. The impact of the preceding nine conferences has been such that the 3D EM community has come to regard this GRC as an event of pivotal importance. The 2003 conference is organized around the theme of "Bridging Cellular, Molecular and Atomic Resolution". Our goal has been to create a dynamic forum for (i) the dissemination of major progress in the field over the past two years and (ii) identification of new technical and biological challenges, which must be addressed in order for 3D EM to become an essential and ubiquitous tool for solving cell biological problems. In the spirit of the GRC, we have chosen a program that represents the frontier of our field. Speakers have been chosen based on the importance of their recent contributions and the potential impact of their particular research approach. Speakers from outside the field have been selected in the hope of fostering interdisciplinary approaches and for challenging the field to reach in directions it has so far not contemplated. Based on past experience, we confidently expect that the 3D EM GRC will continue to play a central role in defining new technical challenges, and in focusing a concerted approach to understanding fundamental biological questions.