Announcements

Biosciences Workshop Planned for Feb 13

The Advanced Light Source is planning a major upgrade, which will result in brighter, more coherent beams. The upgrade will occur in 4-5 years, and so now is the time…
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Report from CASP13

A number of our team members have been attending the CASP conferences for several years. CASP (Critical Assessment of technologies for Structure Prediction) invites researchers to submit protein sequences, and…
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ALS is searching for a Science Deputy

The ALS’s previous Science Deputy, Steve Kevan, was recently appointed director of the ALS, so the ALS is now searching for a new Science Deputy. The job posting is here. We in the ALS-ENABLE team of course would like to see a biosciences person in this role, so tell all your biosciences friends!

Gemini undulator install on track

The final review of the Gemini undulator was held recently, covering all aspects of the installation plan, such as vacuum, magnetics testing, control system, interlocks. The device is “go” for the upcoming January shutdown at the ALS. Gemini will be another beamline in the arsenal available to ALS-ENABLE users.

ALS-ENABLE goes to the ACA

The ALS was well represented at the ACA in Toronto this year. Great to see so many users there!

Team picture

We managed to get almost everyone to pose for a shot using Paul’s awesome camera. Note the ALS dome in the background!

USDA project

Members of the ALS-ENABLE team are working with the US Department of Agriculture on crystallizing and solving the structure of uronate dehydrogenase (UDH) variants generated using genetic engineering techniques. The overall objective of the work is to determine ways to turn agricultural waste biomass into useful chemicals. The sugar substrates for this enzyme type are a class of compounds which are left after citrus and sugar beet processing.
Initial crystallization attempts have been successful by the ALS-ENABLE team, and excellent data has been collected. Structure solution in progress!