Macromolecular Crystallography Webinar training series
Welcome to the Rigaku Life Sciences Webinar Series. This free webinar series is designed to provide educational and training materials in X-ray crystallography methods. Each webinar will address a new topic ranging from optimization of crystallization conditions to solving the phase problem. We invite anyone to submit topic suggestions for future webinars and hope that you'll provide feedback for previous webinars.
Past webinars:
LS10: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Practical Approaches to Data Processing Using XDS
In this webinar, Kay Diederichs provided an overview of X-ray diffraction image processing with XDS. Kay created the XDSwiki in 2008 to provide an accurate and up-to-date resource for XDS users. He contributes to the development of XDS and is the author of XDSSTAT, a program that provides additional analytical tools for XDS output. Kay is also the originator of the CCP4wiki and a frequent contributor to the CCP4bb. He is currently a Professor at Universität Konstanz.
LS9: November 19, 2009
Practical Aspects of SAD Data Collection
In this webinar, John Rose covered Single wavelength Anomalous Diffraction enhanced by chromium radiation (CrSAD). Prof. Rose reviewed the reasons for using SAD for de novo and phased molecular replacement structure solution and described the method. Prof. Rose then discussed the practical details of using SAD and walked through an example of sulfur SAD phasing using zinc-free insulin.
LS8: October 28, 2009
High-Throughput Structural Biology at the JCSG
In this webinar, Ian Wilson will describe the current state of High-Throughput Structural Biology at the Joint Center for Structural Genomics. The JCSG is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), as part of the second phase of the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) of the National Institutes of Health. (U54 GM074898).
The JCSG is committed to a model that employs distributed local management and centralized coordination to establish a pipeline with fully functional large-scale production sites that are tightly integrated to ensure standardization of data, uniformity of communication interfaces, and synchronization of production schedules. The overall structure of the JCSG is designed to ensure the most efficient operation and data management that optimizes the use of resources and minimizes the cost per structure. This "factory"-like approach was developed in a scalable mode to enable the JCSG to easily adapt to changing goals and challenges, which importantly includes a learning environment to feed results back from prior experiments in order to increase productivity at each step in the process.
The JCSG is a multi-institutional consortium with major activities at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI); the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF); the University of California, San Diego (UCSD); the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham); and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at Stanford University.
LS7: September 30, 2009
Small angle X-ray scattering techniques for proteins
In this webinar we explore the application of small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques to the study of non-crystalline macromolecular samples in solution. SAXS measurements have shown to be powerful for both ab initio modeling where the structure of the protein is unknown, and fragment based rigid body modeling where some structural information may already be available. Easy control of sample conditions allows SAXS measurements under conditions similar to their physiological environment. SAXS measurements can also be useful to follow the response of samples to perturbations of temperature, compound addition, and other changes to the physical or chemical environment. The webinar includes an overview of the theory and techniques associated with SAXS measurements, experimental hardware for the home laboratory, basic data processing, examples of laboratory based SAXS measurements and comparison to measurements made using synchrotron radiation. Download this presentation
LS6: August 26, 2009
Caveat Emptor: What is the Right X-ray Source for You?
In the previous webinar in this series, we reviewed some of the maintenance procedures associated with rotating anode X-ray generators. Now Joe Ferrara will explore the properties of X-ray sources; that is, the combination of X-ray generator and X-ray optic. We will cover properties such as focal spot size, divergence, spectral purity, beam size and shape and how they affect data quality. Upon completion you will have a better understanding of what type of source best suits your needs.
LS5: July 16, 2009
Maintenance for rotating anode X-ray generators
Modern microfocus rotating anode generators like the MicroMax-007 and MicroMax-007 HF provide higher performance but also require less maintenance and service than older generators. This webinar, presented by RIgaku analytical X-ray systems specialist Adam Courville, will review the maintenance and service required for a MicroMax-007 series generator and present best practices and tips on how to keep your MicroMax-007 generator working at its best.
LS4: June 24, 2009
How to collect exceptional diffraction data for your crystals
With modernized generators, detectors, remote capabilities, and robots it seems that more and more users treat the diffraction experiment as a black box... "Shoot first and ask questions later." Fortunately, this strategy works in some cases but in others a bad data set can often lead to bad results during the structure solution and refinement process. This webinar, presented by Angela Criswell, describes the diffraction experiment in terms of best practices and provide tools both for identifying diffraction quality samples and for collecting exceptional diffraction data.
LS3: May 27, 2009
X-ray radiation safety — What everyone should know
Modern X-ray diffraction systems are more powerful than their predecessors with regard to raw beam intensities. As a result, it is more important than ever for users to have a strong understanding of the risks of radiation exposure, the biological results of exposures, and ways to limit the risk. In this webinar, Kris Tesh will present information about X-ray radiation safety and what every user should know.
LS2: Apr 23, 2009
Getting Funded: What's Hot and What's Not
The stimulus package brought forth by President Obama has made for exciting times at NIH and other federal funding organizations. While it may be easier than ever before to get funding in the life sciences you still need to make sure your grant proposal meets the requirements of the funding agency. Your proposal must also provide the appropriate background information for your particular research field, your contribution to that field , a detailed discussion of your proposal's broader impact, and why your proposal is worthy of funding based on purely intellectual merit. We will review both general tip and tricks for all proposals as well as some specific tips and tricks for proposals to NIH.
LS1: Mar 31, 2009
Macromolecular cryo-crystallography: some opinions about best practices
Jim Pflugrath discussed techniques and best practices for cryo-crystallography some of which can be found in a review paper published in 2004, Macromolecular cryocrystallography—methods for cooling and mounting protein crystals at cryogenic temperatures.
Click here to suggest topics for the Rigaku Life Sciences Webinar Series.