Protein Crystals: Of Pack-Men and Pigs
Posted by Peter Nollert on Thu, Jun 04, 2009 @ 04:51 PM
"I know it when I see it" - what exactly are we searching for when inspecting protein crystallization experiments? Most researchers would say: "Got to have facets!". I think that's a myth though, since some well-diffraction crystals don't have a well-defined habit but exhibit a sphaerical appearance. Indeed, a crystal I once called 'the pig' (not shown) had a snout and a wound up tail at the other end. It yielded decent X-ray diffraction and a structure that got me on a Science paper. How about that as a criterion to define a crystal? Below you'll find a few weird looking crystals, check out the submarine and the angels' wings.
Send us your pictures of your favorite crystals!
