For the last 100 years, information contained in crystals is used by biologists and biochemists to uncover the structures and functions of the most crucial components of living organisms : proteins, DNA and RNA. The method, X-ray crystallography, uses the diffraction of X-rays from crystals of such giant molecules, in order to determine the 3-dimensional shapes of these molecules, atom-by-atom. In this talk, I will highlight some episodes of the history of crystallography, and describe some of its basic principles. We will then see a couple of examples of the most important type of application of the knowledge obtained, which is the design of new drugs against major diseases.
Speaker
LE STUDIUM / MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE RESEARCH FELLOW
FROM : Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Centre for Scientific Research ‘DEMOKRITOS’, Athens - GR
IN RESIDENCE AT: Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire - CBM (CNRS), Orléans - FR
