Room-temperature photo-induced martensitic transformation in a protein crystal. Corrigendum

In 1928, bacteriologist Frederick Griffith worked on a vaccine for pneumonia, which is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. Griffith studied two pneumonia strains in mice: one pathogenic and one non-pathogenic. Only the pathogenic strain killed host mice.
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...

Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...

Crystallization is a phase transformation process in which crystals are precipitated from a supersaturated solution or formed from other sources. During crystallization, atoms or molecules arrange themselves into a well-defined, rigid crystal lattice to minimize energy.
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent...

Crystal Field Theory
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...

The Collision Theory
Atoms, molecules, or ions must collide before they can react with each other. Atoms must be close together to form chemical bonds. This premise is the basis for a theory that explains many observations regarding chemical kinetics, including factors affecting reaction rates.
The collision theory is based on the postulates that (i) the reaction rate is proportional to the rate of reactant collisions, (ii) the reacting species collide in an orientation allowing contact between...

Microbial communities are dynamic environments where cell lysis releases free DNA into the surroundings. Other cells can take up this extracellular DNA through a process known as transformation.When a cell incorporates this foreign DNA into its genome, resulting in genetic modification, the process is known as transformation. Cells capable of this process are termed competent. Competence can be natural, as observed in certain bacteria and archaea, or artificially induced in the...