Speaker: Dr. Dean Myles, Director, Neutron Scattering Sciences Division and Center for Structural Molecular Biology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory USA.

Date: 2009-06-09

Time: 11:00

Place: Lecture hall B in the Chemistry building, Getingevägen 60, Lund

Abstract: Neutron scattering and diffraction provide information on biological processes on time and length scales that span from the atomic to the cellular levels of detail. Applications extend from the location of individual hydrogen atoms in enzymes through to the analysis of protein complexes and assemblies in solution and in membrane associated states. Neutron spectroscopy extends this view to the dynamic world, providing pico-second to micro-second information on biological molecules in motion.  The next generation of Spallation Neutron Sources, currently under construction in the US and Japan, will deliver further 10-50-fold gains in performance and will greatly extend the range and scale of biological systems that can be studied by these sophisticated techniques. The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, completed in 2006, uses an accelerator to produce the most intense beams of pulsed neutrons in the world. The facility is now well on its way toward achieving its design performance goal of 1.4 MW and offers unprecedented opportunities for biological research. We will describe past, present and future applications of neutron scattering in the health and life sciences, focusing upon the unique information that can be provided on the structure and dynamics of complex biological structures, interfaces and assemblies.

Download: Dean Myles presentation: Myles.pdf