BioCARS: Synchrotron facility for probing structural dynamics of biological macromolecules

A major goal in biomedical science is to move beyond static images of proteins and other biological macromolecules to the internal dynamics underlying their function. This level of study is necessary to understand how these molecules work and to engineer new functions and modulators of function. Stemming from a visionary commitment to this problem by Keith Moffat decades ago, a community of structural biologists has now enabled a set of x-ray scattering technologies for observing intramolecular dynamics in biological macromolecules at atomic resolution and over the broad range of timescales over which motions are functionally relevant. Many of these techniques are provided by BioCARS, a cutting-edge synchrotron radiation facility built under Moffat leadership and located at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. BioCARS enables experimental studies of molecular dynamics with time resolutions spanning from 100 ps to seconds and provides both time-resolved x-ray crystallography and small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering. Structural changes can be initiated by several methods—UV/Vis pumping with tunable picosecond and nanosecond laser pulses, substrate diffusion, and global perturbations, such as electric field and temperature jumps. Studies of dynamics typically involve subtle perturbations to molecular structures, requiring specialized computational techniques for data processing and interpretation. In this review, we present the challenges in experimental macromolecular dynamics and describe the current state of experimental capabilities at this facility. As Moffat imagined years ago, BioCARS is now positioned to catalyze the scientific community to make fundamental advances in understanding proteins and other complex biological macromolecules

Non-invasive prospection and landscape archaeology of Monte Primo (Marche, Italy) : new perspectives on a monumental mountain site

This paper presents new research of the monumental mountaintop site Monte Primo near Pioraco (Marche, Italy) and the changing landscape in which it is situated. Monte Primo was in use between the Late Bronze Age and the Roman Republic period and is characterized by a series of large enclosures of uncertain date which cover an area of ca. 2 hectares. The earliest occupation of this 1300 m high summit is often interpreted as a fire offering place (Brandopferplatz) related to pastoral land use. Iron Age and Roman activity is attested by various bronze figurines found by metal detectorists and/or looting. Geophysical prospection, aerial photography, and surface modelling allowed to analyze the spatial organization of the large enclosures and natural features on the mountain, and to model the ritualized access to the summit. By placing Monte Primo in a longue durée context of increasing social complexity and landscape formation processes, this article proposes how this site was embedded in its cultural and natural surroundings, and how its role changed during its 1000-year occupation history

A geophysical multi-method approach to investigate the archaeological landscape of Lanakerveld (NL)

– Large scale geophysical prospection of an archaeological landscape in the Netherland. – Integrated and multimethodological approach for archaeological interpretation. – Challenges for the prospecting and interpretation of multiperiod archaeological sites