Category Archives: Protein Crystallography

No, DeepMind has not solved protein folding

Posted on 2 December 2020 by Stephen

This week DeepMind has announced that, using artificial intelligence (AI), it has solved the 50-year old problem of ‘protein folding’. The announcement was made as the results were released from the 14th and latest competition on the Critical Assessment of … Continue reading →

Posted in Protein Crystallography, science | Comments Off on No, DeepMind has not solved protein folding

Anatomy of a blog post on the anatomy of a scientific discovery

Posted on 26 January 2016 by Stephen

At the risk of getting uber-meta, here is a blog post about writing my latest blog post at the Guardian, which was an account of a scientific discovery – albeit a minor one – that occurred during the process of shepherding … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, moleclues, Protein Crystallography, science | Comments Off on Anatomy of a blog post on the anatomy of a scientific discovery

Structural Biology: a beginner’s guide?

Posted on 17 October 2015 by Stephen

I got impatient waiting for my latest review article to come out, so here it is. The scheduled publication date has slipped twice now without the publisher getting in touch to explain why. The latest I’ve heard, after querying the … Continue reading →

Posted in cryo-em, nmr, Protein Crystallography, publishing, science, Structural Biology | Comments Off on Structural Biology: a beginner’s guide?

Australia Tour 2014

Posted on 10 July 2014 by Stephen

It’s funny how one thing leads to another. The video of my Friday Evening Discourse at the Royal Institution last year caught the attention of a former colleague and produced an invitation to contribute a lecture to her plans to … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Protein Crystallography, science, travel, X-rays | Comments Off on Australia Tour 2014

The very interesting web of connections

Posted on 22 November 2013 by Stephen

The Royal Institution has made a rather lovely film about William and Lawrence Bragg, the father and son Nobel laureates who came up the method of structural analysis by X-ray crystallography around 100 years ago. The film is constructed around … Continue reading →

Posted in Bragg, electrons, George Thomson, History of Science, Protein Crystallography, X-ray crystallography | Comments Off on The very interesting web of connections

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Carbon

Posted on 12 December 2012 by Stephen

I may not know much about Chemistry but I know what I like. And I like carbon. In fact, I’ve decided that it’s my favourite element. I’ll tell you why in the short video below, which is part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon, communication, Protein Crystallography, Royal Institution, science communication | Comments Off on Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Carbon

What’s your favourite colour?

Posted on 14 April 2012 by Stephen

What’s your favourite colour? Anyone who has socialised with small children will have been confronted with this serious-faced interrogation at some point. It’s the sort of question that erupts as soon as young kids learn to verbalise the jumble of … Continue reading →

Posted in Colour, Protein Crystallography, science, X-ray crystallography, X-rays | Comments Off on What’s your favourite colour?

Moving Molecules

Posted on 14 January 2012 by Stephen

Regular readers will know that molecules are my thing, that my scientific endeavours are devoted to revealing the intricate architecture of proteins — the molecular machines that sustain life. They will also know that I have at times struggled with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Drew Berry, molecules, Protein Crystallography, science | Comments Off on Moving Molecules

Jam Yesterday [12]

Posted on 17 December 2011 by Stephen

On a grey day back in October I made my way along Albemarle Street to the Royal Institution for the filming of DemoJam, a lively and light-hearted program of science produced by Jonathan Sanderson and the rest of the gang … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, Protein Crystallography, RI Channel, Royal Institution, science, video | Comments Off on Jam Yesterday [12]

Real and False Economy [16]

Posted on 24 November 2011 by Stephen

Last week I went to Germany to talk to a pharmaceutical company about my work on the blood protein, human serum albumin. It set me thinking. But first I need to tell you about albumin. Albumin is a surprisingly abundant … Continue reading →

Posted in impact, Protein Crystallography, science, Science policy, Scientific Life | Comments Off on Real and False Economy [16]