Sneaking up on tiny crystals with electron diffraction
Published Date: 2/21/2020
Source: phys.org
Understanding the structure of proteins, the building blocks of life, is essential to obtain insight into their biological function. Due to their minute size and extreme fragility, these structures are enormously difficult to determine. Acquiring data of sufficient resolution requires immense doses of high energy X-ray radiation, which unfortunately irrevocably damages the proteins principally being investigated.