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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO
Published on: February 12, 2013
Bringing diffuse X-ray scattering into focus
Michael E Wall1, Alexander M Wolff2, James S Fraser3
1Computer, Computational, and Statistical Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
Abstract:
X-ray crystallography is experiencing a renaissance as a method for probing the protein conformational ensemble. The inherent limitations of Bragg analysis, however, which only reveals the mean structure, have given way to a surge in interest in diffuse scattering, which is caused by structure variations. Diffuse scattering is present in all macromolecular crystallography experiments. Recent studies are shedding light on the origins of diffuse scattering in protein crystallography, and provide clues for leveraging diffuse scattering to model protein motions with atomic detail.
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