esrf – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Scientists Defuse the Vietnam Time Bomb

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2011Health, Sciencebacterial pathogen, bacterium, burkholderia, burkholderia pseudomallei, cancer, david rice, deadly tropical disease, diseases, drugs, endemic areas, esrf, european synchrotron radiation facility, france, grenoble, hiv and tuberculosis, kevin van cauter, key mechanism, melioidosis, northern australia, pmi2 funding, protein synthesis, rick titball, south east asia, structure of a protein, stuart wilson, therapies to prevent the proliferation of cancer cells, university of exeter, university of sheffield, us military personnel, vietnam time bomb, xrays at diamond light source

A key mechanism by which a bacterial pathogen causes the deadly tropical disease melioidosis has been discovered by an international team, including a University of Exeter scientist.

The findings are published in the journal Science and show how a toxin produced by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei kills cells by preventing protein synthesis.

The study, led by the University of Sheffield, paves the way for the development of novel therapies to combat the bacterium which infects millions of people across South East Asia and Northern Australia.

Using intense X-rays at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility, and at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, the research team solved the structure of a protein from Burkholderia, the function of which was initially unknown. (more…)

Scientists Observe Smallest Atomic Displacements Ever

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 2011Scienceatoms in magnetic materials, des mcmorrow, electrical polarisation, electronic devices, electronic memory, esrf, european synchrotron radiation facility, exotic materials, ferroelectrics, france, grenoble, helen walker, imaging atomic displacements, Japan, kimura, london centre for nanotechnology, magnetic detector, magnetic field, magnets, multiferroics, novel x ray technique, university of oxford

UCL scientists are part of an international team which has developed a novel X-ray technique for imaging atomic displacements in materials with unprecedented accuracy.

The team has applied the technique to determine how a recently discovered class of exotic materials – multiferroics – can be simultaneously both magnetically and electrically ordered. Multiferroics are candidate materials for new classes of electronic devices. (more…)

Tag Archives: esrf

Scientists Defuse the Vietnam Time Bomb

Scientists Observe Smallest Atomic Displacements Ever