February 12, 2009

446th Brookhaven Lecture: When Crystallography Won't Show You the Membranes

High fever, stomachache, coughing, sneezing, and fatigue: These are all painful signs that you may have caught the flu virus. But how does your body actually "catch" a virus? Somewhere along the way, the virus infected your body by penetrating the membranes, or surfaces, of some of your body's cells — and then it spreads.

Lin Yang

Cell membranes are permeable surfaces made of proteins and lipids that allow vital materials to enter and exit cells. Many proteins and cell structures are studied at the NSLS using a technique called "protein crystallography," but they sometimes have unique characteristics that do not allow them to be easily studied using this widely adopted method. These characteristics make it difficult to understand the cell membrane structure and its ability to both welcome and refuse certain materials and viruses, such as the flu, on behalf of the cell's internal components.

On Wednesday, February 18, join Lin Yang of Brookhaven's NSLS for the 446th Brookhaven Lecture, titled, "When Crystallography Won't Show You the Membranes." All are invited to attend this free talk, which is open to the public and will be held in Berkner Hall at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be offered before and afterward. All visitors to the Lab ages 16 and older must carry a photo ID while on site.

During the lecture, Yang will explain the protein crystallography procedure, the simple structure of the cell membrane, and the unusual characteristics of its proteins and lipids. He will also discuss a new, unique method being developed at the NSLS to study proteins and lipids within their native environment as they form the essential permeable surface of a cell membrane.

Yang earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Beijing University in 1995 and a master's degree and Ph.D. in physics from Rice University in 1998 and 2001, respectively. He worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the NSLS from 2001–2003 until becoming an assistant physicist in 2003 and an associate physicist in 2005. In 2007, Yang was promoted to physicist at the NSLS.

To join Yang for lunch at a restaurant off site following the lecture, contact Angela Bowden, bowden@bnl.gov, Ext. 5169.

ARTICLE BY: Joe Gettler