Friday, December 31, 2010

Review in Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

A.D. Bain and B. Berno, "Liouvillians in NMR: the Direct Method Revisited," Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (2011) accepted. (Invited Review) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnmrs.2010.12.002

Pacifichem 2010 Student Poster Competition Awards

Jérémie Leclerc, a Ph.D. student in the Michèle Auger's research group (Laval), has won one of the coveted student poster competition awards at Pacifichem 2010. His poster "Solid-state NMR spectroscopy reveals distinctive protein dynamics in closely related spider silks" was among of only 43 winners selected from more than 2000 student posters entered the competition, and the only poster from Canada to win. Congratulations, Jérémie!

Read the news story at C&EN
http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/88/i51/html/8851news12.html

Thursday, December 30, 2010

NMR paper in Angewandte Chemie

L. Shi, I. Kawamura, K.-H. Jung, L.S. Brown, and V. Ladizhansky, "Conformation of a Seven-Helical Transmembrane Photosensor in the Lipid Environment," Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2011) online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201004422

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance: new entries

J.A. Ripmeester, "Forty-Plus Years of Research in Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy", Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance (2010). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp1041

R.M. Henkelman, "MRI: A Quantitative Measurement?", Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance (2010).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp1024

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

850 MHz NMR System at UBC

University of British Columbia Orders Canada's First Compact 850 MHz NMR System from Bruker to Enable Research on Microbial Diseases

Vancouver, British Columbia, December 15, 2010 (press release)
http://www.bruker-biospin.com/index.php?id=4291

Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR) announces a major order from the University of British Columbia for its ultra-high field AVANCE™ III 850 spectrometer. The 850 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) magnet and spectrometer will enable researchers at the University of British Columbia and nearby Simon Fraser University to study the mechanisms of microbial diseases. Funds to purchase Canada's first 850 MHz actively-shielded compact NMR magnet were provided to the ASTRID (Advanced Structural Biology of Re-emerging Infectious Diseases) project by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, and the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Bruker's new 850 MHz Ascend™ magnetThe AVANCE III 850 spectrometer is based on Bruker's new 850 MHz Ascend™ magnet that combines the key advantages of Bruker's well-established UltraShield™ Plus magnets with the superior performance and greater convenience delivered by advanced superconductor technology. This further innovation has enabled the design of smaller magnet coils, resulting in a significant reduction in the size of the cryostat. The new Ascend magnets are therefore easier to site, even safer to run and offer reduced operating costs. With over 160 ultra-high field installations worldwide, Bruker has an unmatched track record in NMR magnet technology.

The AVANCE III 850 system includes Bruker's high-sensitivity CryoProbe™ technology, enabling researchers to perform measurements on very small quantities of sample. In addition it is equipped with Bruker's latest Efree™ probe technologies offering state-of-the-art research tools for the investigation of membrane proteins in biological solid-state NMR.

Suzana K. Straus, Associate Professor of Chemistry at UBC, commented: "In recent years developments in the field of solid state NMR have led to an emergence of biomolecular methods to investigate membrane proteins. With this new magnet and probe technology, we are now able to determine the full three-dimensional structures and to characterize the membrane interactions of a range of peptides and proteins of interest. This will have great impact on our knowledge of infectious diseases."

"The incredible sensitivity and dispersion of the CryoProbe equipped solution and solid-state 850 MHz spectrometer will enable ASTRID researchers to carry out challenging structural and dynamic studies of the complex biomolecular machines used by notorious pathogens, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis," said Lawrence McIntosh, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Chemistry at the University of British Columbia.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

MR microscopy conference in Beijing - ICMRM11

The 11th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy will be held in Beijing, Aug 14-18, 2011.

http://www.cup.edu.cn/icmrm11/

The first circular for the conference is available for download (PDF, 289 kB)

Deadline for Abstract Submission March 30, 2011

The objectives of the ICMRM are to communicate recent developments in high-resolution, spatially resolved magnetic resonance methods and applications. Meeting strength stems from the eclectic background of participants and a diverse venue that has traditionally focused on non-clinical applications in science and engineering areas. The 1st ICMRM was held in 1991 in Heidelberg and was originally known as the "Heidelberg Conference". It is the biannual conference of the Division of Spatially Resolved Magnetic Resonance of the Ampere Society.

Bruce J. Balcom, Professor
Director MRI Research Centre
Canada Research Chair in MRI of Materials
Director, Institute for Materials Visualization and Analysis
Department of Physics
The University of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, E3B 5A3
New Brunswick, Canada

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Cover article in Structure

DAXX protein, also known as a "death-associated factor", is an important player in many cell cycle processes. However the detailed molecular structure of this important protein has not been reported. In this cover article in Structure Lawrence McIntosh (UBC) and his team has discovered using NMR spectroscopy that the C-terminal half of DAXX is intrinsically disordered, whereas the N-terminal portion contains a well-folded helical bundle domain. This important work provides a structural foundation for understanding the diverse functions of DAXX.

E. Escobar-Cabrera, D.K.W. Lau, S. Giovinazzi, A.M. Ishov, L.P. McIntosh, "Structural Characterization of the DAXX N-Terminal Helical Bundle Domain and Its Complex with Rassf1C," Structure 18 (2010) 1642–1653. (Cover Article) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2010.09.016

Monday, December 6, 2010

CSC 2011: call for papers

The 94th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition is being held in Montréal, Quebec, June 5-9, 2011. This is Canada's largest annual conference devoted to the science and practice of chemistry. It gives participants a chance to exchange ideas, discover opportunities, make new contacts and broaden their knowledge. Our theme, Chemistry and Health, emphasizes the importance of chemistry in all areas of human activities, and more particularly in health.

The Call for Papers is now open and will close February 15, 2011.

Submit your abstract through Hermes Conference Centre via the CSC2011 website. Details are available at http://www.csc2011.ca/Program/submit_abstract.html


You can view the wide range of symposia representing the "Chemistry and Health" theme on the CSC2011 website http://www.csc2011.ca

Two NMR symposia are being organized:
- Solution NMR: Biomolecular Structure, Dynamics, and Function
- Solid State NMR: From Materials to Biomolecules