Sixth International Workshop on X-ray Damage to Biological Crystalline Samples

第六届生物晶体样品x射线损伤国际研讨会将于2010年3月11日至13日在斯坦福同步辐射光源（SSRL）举行。x射线晶体衍射是迄今为止获得蛋白质、核酸及其复合物详细的原子分辨率三维结构的最佳工具；为了了解它们的机制和相互作用模式，了解结构是必不可少的，并提供了一个机会，以有利于人类健康的方式调节它们的活动。现代同步加速器源提供非常强烈的x射线束，其发展对这种方法可以处理的目标数量产生了巨大影响，包括医学上重要的分子和已建立或潜在的药物目标。然而，在实验过程中持续暴露于这种强烈的x射线会对晶体样品造成重大损害，要么阻止成功的结构解决，要么损害从结构中提取的生物信息。x射线对生物晶体样品的损伤国际研讨会是介绍电离辐射对晶体生物材料影响的最新实验和进展的主要论坛。讲习班的目标是进一步详细了解大分子晶体中的辐射损伤过程，并鼓励开发新技术，以减轻或纠正损伤对衍射数据和由此产生的结构模型的影响。一些报告作为同行评议的文章发表在同步辐射杂志的特刊上。这种做法确保了更广泛的传播，并为结构生物学研究中同步加速器x射线束线的智能使用提供了坚实的基础。该系列的第六次研讨会将由该研究领域的领导者组成的科学委员会组织。会议主题将包括减少和减轻辐射损伤、辐射化学和生物分子的辐射分解、生物晶体学中对辐射损伤的认识进展、辐射损伤影响的纠正、金属蛋白的减少、利用辐射损伤研究晶体蛋白的大分子功能、电子显微镜和电子晶体学中的辐射损伤、非晶体学的方法来研究辐射损伤和使用强短脉冲x射线源，这是目前即将上线。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Partial support is requested for The Sixth International Workshop on X-ray Damage to Biological Crystalline Samples to be held at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Light Source (SSRL) from March 11th -13th 2010. X-ray crystal diffraction is the best tool available to date to obtain a detailed atomic resolution three-dimensional structure of protein, nucleic acids and their complexes; knowledge of the structure is essential in order to understand their mechanism and modes of interaction, and provides an opportunity to modulate their activity in a way that is beneficial to human health. The development of modern synchrotron sources, which provide very intense X-ray beams, has had a dramatic impact on the number of target that can be tackled by this method, including medically important molecules and established or potential drug targets. However, continuous exposure to such intense X-rays during the experiment can cause significant damage to the crystalline sample, either preventing successful structural solution or compromising the biological information extracted from the structure. The International Workshops on X-ray Damage to Biological Crystalline Samples are the main forum for the presentation of the latest experiments and advances in understanding the effects of ionizing radiation on crystalline biological materials. The objectives of the Workshops are to further the detailed knowledge of radiation damage processes in macromolecular crystals, and to encourage the development of new techniques to mitigate or correct for the effects of damage on diffraction data and the resulting structural model. Some of the presentations are published as peer-reviewed articles in special issues of the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. This practice ensures wider dissemination and provides a strong basis for intelligent use of synchrotron X-ray beamlines for structural biology studies. The program for Sixth Workshop in the series will be organized by a scientific committee composed of leaders in this research field. Session topics will include reduction and mitigation of radiation damage, radiation chemistry and radiolysis of biological molecules, progress in the understanding of radiation damage in biological crystallography, correcting for the effects of radiation damage, reduction of metalloproteins, the use of radiation damage to study macromolecular function of crystalline proteins, radiation damage in electron microscopy and electron crystallography, non-crystallographic methods to study radiation damage and the use of intense short pulsed X-ray sources, which are currently coming on line. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by the applicant): Proteins play a vital role in biology in that they are responsible for the machinery of life: e.g. digestion of food, signaling in the brain, movement of muscles etc. By finding their three-dimensional shape by X-ray crystallography, we are able to gain valuable information on their mechanism of action, and also to understand how and why they malfunction (e.g. by switching a cell from its normal state into a cancerous state), knowledge that informs drug design against disease and can lead eventually to better treatments to improve human health. However, the X-rays disrupt atomic bonds within and between the molecules of interest, which can result in failed experiments or in misleading structures. The Sixth International Workshop on X-ray Damage to Biological Crystalline Samples seeks to advance the understanding of the effects of X-rays on biological macromolecules and to apply this knowledge to the development of techniques to mitigate or correct these effects.