Going MAD in Grenoble

IUCr Newsletter (1996). 4(3), 21.

Multiwavelength Anomalous Diffraction (MAD) is the newest experimental weapon in the arsenal of macromolecular crystallog raphy. Following the development of a critical mass of synchrotron stations where MAD experiments can be done with ease, the method is at last becoming mature. The first meeting devoted to instruction and discussion of MAD was jointly organized and sponsored by the European Molecular Biology Lab and the French Inst. de Biologie Structurale. A "Study Week on MAD" held in Grenoble in June 1996, combined tutorials by specialists, discussions of the state of the art of MAD among an international group of participants and practical sessions for the 32 participants. There were also hands-on practical exercises in MAD data collection at the ESRF. Among the lecturers were W. Hendrickson, R. Fourme, C. Branden, J. Smith, C. Nave, P. Evans, A. Friedman, V. Biou, E. Dodson, E. de La Fortelle, B. Weis, N. McDonald, U. Kapp, C. Oubridge, and N. Budisa. The Study Week covered all aspects of a MAD experience including incorporation of anomalous scatterers into biological macromolecules, experimental design, data collection, data processing and scaling, and phase determination. Additional sponsorship was provided by Glaxo, Huber Diffraction, Zeneca, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Abbott, and DuPont, and computer equipment was loaned by Hewlett Packard, Silicon Graphics (France), and Digital Equipment.

Janet Smith