#crystallography

[noosphe-re]

The symmetry of crystals. Representation of crystal classes Representations of the 32 crystal classes as shown in the International Tables for X-ray Crystallography. https://www.xtal.iqfr.csic.es/Cristalografia/parte_03_2-en.html

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

Monday Musings: Is Copper a mineral or an element?

It's November now so we will now be switching from paleontology to mineralogy! With that in mind, this month will be all about copper!

So, is copper an element or a mineral? It's both!

How you ask? Easy. An element is only made of one type of atom. Copper, for example is only made of copper atoms.

A mineral is a solid inorganic substance with a defined crystal structure and chemical composition. Copper is solid and inorganic. It's only made of copper atoms so it has a defined chemical composition. It also has a defined crystal structure in the form of a face-centered cubic (isometric) system.

Now you know something new about copper. Tune in tomorrow for some copper trivia!

[illuminatingfacts]

What are Wigner Crystals? 🤔 These strange, unusual formations of electrons defy the ordinary and reveal the wonders of quantum physics! ✨🔬 Dive into this fascinating phenomenon. https://mentalitch.com/what-are-the-strange-and-unusual-wigner-crystals/

[spiritualrizla]

[tenth-sentence]

Furthermore, the crystallographic pattern repeats every 3.4 nm.

"Chemistry" 2e - Blackman, A., Bottle, S., Schmid, S., Mocerino, M., Wille, U.

[emmaklee]

[000marie198]

Loving how the gateway portals to the different Shatterverses, which formed due to the shattering of Paradox Prism, are surrounded by the Hexagonal Prismatic crystal structures.

I hated studying mineralogy but this is one perk of it that I like. The structures surrounding those portals are literally the most basic crystal forms in Triclinic Prismatic Class and the main form of Hexagonal Prismatic Class.

And if you see the whole Prism, it is of Triclinic Prismatic structure! (Mineralogists would be able to see it better but the purple shard makes it more clear, look at how it has six prismatic surfaces, it looks like a honeycomb with unequal angles.)

Like, the attention to detail and the research done for this series is just *Chef's kiss*

[rekindledkristin]

Some heavy ass reading that is highly intriguing

[eclecticcollectics]

↬ BEfORE & AfTER ↫

Prior to leaving town for the holidays, we had taken some time to install some new lights in the shop~💡✨

My partner definitely took the lead here and I could not have done it without his help! I don’t think he’s ever done an installation job like this & I am very proud of his handiwork 🥰

What do you think?

Stop by to see them in person, if you’re local to the Tampa Bay area! Or, check out our shop page on Instagram

[prose2passion]

in case you didn't know that cartwheelers crystallise in a cubic lattice, here's a unit cell.

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

Wordplay Wednesday: Tetrahedral

Quartz has a tetrahedral structure. In fact, it has a perfect three-dimensional framework. That is why it is called a framework or tectosilicate like feldspar.

Here's a close-up of how these tetrahedra would interconnect. Each oxygen is shared between two tetrahedra.

Altogether, it would make this shape. And we see this shape with the naked eye.

[sbgridconsortium]

An inside look into the Powerhouse of the Cell

This publication highlight is part of the SBGrid/Meharry Medical College Communities Project, focused on science education and demonstrating how structural biology and preclinical science connect to medicine.

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell. We’ve all heard this phrase at some point in our lives, but what does it mean on a molecular level? A mitochondrion is an organelle in cells like animals, plants and humans that functions to provide the cell with energy in the form of a molecule called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. A sufficient stock of ATP is produced in mitochondria when cells in our body convert food into energy, or what is known as cellular respiration. More specifically, cellular respiration is when our cells take in glucose and oxygen through many steps and then release carbon dioxide, water, and energy. An important step is to store this energy into a form that can be used in different parts of the cell when needed. This is done by moving electrons (really small particles that are a part of atoms) by a group of biomolecules called proteins. These proteins come together to form an electron transport chain. As the name suggests, the electron transport chain is a series of processes where electrons are transported from one molecule (donor) to another molecule (acceptor) resulting in the formation of ATP. For the electron transport chain to work, it relies on electron donor molecules produced from the Krebs cycle, also known as the citric acid cycle. 

The Krebs cycle is a metabolic pathway in the mitochondria that allows our bodies to break down carbohydrates to be used for energy. This process starts with pyruvate entering the system and, after several steps, ends with the production of several molecules such as, ATP, NADH, and FADH2. These important molecules enter the electron transport chain acting as electron donors to make more ATP. CO2 is also produced from the Krebs cycle and enters other metabolic pathways. All of the steps in the Krebs cycle are carried out by different enzymes. One of the enzymes is succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). As a member of the electron transport chain in mitochondria, SDH or complex II, catalyzes the formation of fumarate from succinate- releasing FADH2 as a byproduct. SDH produces a fraction of the total ATP,  but is important for a wide range of cellular activities, such as suppressing tumor growth and neurological development. Although the importance of SDH has been widely established, what is unknown are the details of how the regulation of SDH assembly factors (SDHAF) and SDH assemble into a functional unit.

Left: structure of SDHA-SDHAF2-SDHAF4 assembly intermediate (PDB: 8DYD). Green: SDH, purple: SDHAF4, orange: SDHAF2.  Right: structure of SDHA-SDHAF4 assembly intermediate (PDB: 8DYE). Green: SDH, orange: SDHAF4. CC BY SBGRID.

To address this question, SBGrid member Tina Iverson investigated the intermediate complexes formed by the SDHAF subunits and cofactors. Through the use of cellular studies and biochemical experiments, along with X-ray crystallography and NMR for structural studies, the authors were able to map out the different intermediate complexes that lead to the formation of the fully matured SDH. Interestingly, the authors found that regions of the assembly proteins can transition from ordered (a protein with a secondary structure) to disordered (a protein with no secondary structure) and that this change is important for the transfer between intermediate complexes. These results shed light on the previously unknown steps of the formation of a mature and functional complex II of the electron transport chain. 

Read more in Nature Communications. 

KeAndreya Morrison, Meharry Medical College

[sarosaguaro]

Today is the first lesson on crystallography!

This time around I wanted to start off right by defining some important terms we will use throughout the crystallography section.

Crystallography is the study of crystals which includes natural and synthetic crystals. Remember that a mineral must be the product of natural processes; therefore, the complete scope of crystallography extends beyond the bound of minerology.

A crystal is a homogeneous body bound by smooth plane surfaces that are the external expression of an orderly internal atomic arrangement. This definition means a crystal (1) has faces and (2) has an orderly structure on an atomic level.

Crystalline is the adjective used by mineralogists to describe materials that have orderly internal atomic arrangement, but no faces. Although we will be utilizing the above nomenclature, it is also beneficial to know that physicists use "crystal" to mean any substance that has an orderly internal atomic arrangement regardless of whether or not the substance has faces. They also use additional terms to capture the nuances of crystals. A crystalline solid with well-formed faces is called "euhedral". If the same solid has imperfectly formed faces, it is called "subhedral", and if it has no faces, it is called "anhedral".

There are more terms we will need for further study of crystallography, but since this post is already vocabulary dense, I will define them next week - in sha Allah.

SaroSaguaro.etsy.com

[realdonsteve1]

PRINCIPLES OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AS APPLIED TO BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

Crystallography and electron microscopy are essential tools in the study of biological materials, providing detailed insights into the structure and function of biological molecules. These techniques have revolutionized our understanding of biological systems by allowing scientists to visualize the intricate details of macromolecular structures at atomic or near-atomic resolution. 1)…

[tenth-sentence]

The crucial techniques – crystallography, chromatography, radioactive tracers, the ultra-centrifuge – were all being developed.

"Frankenstein's Footsteps: Science, Genetics and Popular Culture" - Jon Turney

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Each of these beamlines is dedicated to the specific purposes outlined in the table below.

"Chemistry" 2e - Blackman, A., Bottle, S., Schmid, S., Mocerino, M., Wille, U.