The European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS), in collaboration with La Casemate Grenoble, invites European secondary school science teachers to apply for the ELLS LearningLAB “Structural biology â€" shining light onto the fabric of life” at EMBL Grenoble (France).

The course will provide an interactive introduction to the field of structural biology. The professional training course for secondary school science teachers will consist of a mix of seminars by EMBL scientists, hands-on activities and visits to world-class research facilities on the European Photon & Neutron Science Campus. The programme will cover a wide range of topics and highlight the use of high-energy X-ray sources and protein crystallography to study virus structures on the atomic scale.

During the 2-day course, a combination of seminars, discussions and hands-on activities will:

• Introduce you to X-ray crystallography and its great potential to gain insights into the structure and function of viral proteins and antiviral drug design;
• Update your knowledge on current biological research and get you in touch with research scientists;
• Illustrate a range of classroom activities and experiments and equip you to use the presented resources to support your teaching of biology;
• Include visits to world-class research facilities at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Grenoble and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF);
• Give you the opportunity to develop your own scientific quiz and make it available to your students using the EMBL LearnApp;
• Allow you to network and share your experiences with teachers colleagues.Location: EMBL Grenoble (European Photon & Neutron Science Campus) / La Casemate Grenoble

Â

Course language: English  (teaching resources will be provided in English and French)

Course fee: free attendanceÂ

Â

The aim is to provide MX users with sufficient training to be able to operate any of the Diamond MX beamlines efficiently and to get the most benefit from their beamtime. The training will involve hands-on sessions on the suite of five operational MX beamlines (http://www.diamond.ac.uk/mx-home/) as well as offline software sessions.

Sessions include:

4th December, day session on MX beamlines:

 *  MX software: automation in data analysis
 *  Mini-Kappa goniometry / Anomalous data collection
 *  Sample humidity control (HC1)
 *  I24 new end station
 *  In-situ diffraction
 *  Experiment database: new ISPyB

5th December, morning session: Hands on software in
three tutorial sessions:

 *  CCP4: MR and experimental phasing (CCP4 team)
 *  Manual processing iMosflm (Harry Powell)
 *  Multi crystal analysis / BLEND (James Foadi)


Registration is free-of-charge with lunch provided on the 4th and 5th December, and accommodation and dinner for the nights of the 3rd and 4th December. Travelling expenses within the UK will also be provided. The training is targeted at all users, and is not limited to students and post docs. It is essential that each BAG sends at least one representative per calendar year.

Registration
Places are limited to twenty five participants. The registration deadline is on the 20th November.
Registration is now open

The Swiss Physical Society SPG and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI invite you to a training session on "Modern aspects of the physics of condensed matter" to PSI in Villigen AG.

 Lectures:

Polymer brush structures on polymer surfaces, Dr. C. Padeste, PSI

Nanomagnets as model systems, Prof. F. Nolting, PSI

X-ray phase contrast imaging, Dr. F. Marone, PSI

Magnetism and Superconductivity, Prof. C. Niedermayer, PSI / University of Konstanz

Roundtable Discussion:

Current Topics in Physics Education, Prof. A. Vaterlaus, Dr. C. Wagner, A. Lichtenberger, ETH Zurich

Evening lecture:

The proton accelerator HIPA as a tool for research, Dr. M. Seidel, PSI


Cost: SPG and the PSI take over the costs of meals and accommodation.
Â
The final program will be sent to the beginning of November to the participants.

Course of specialization for learning the Pair Distribution Analysis method, a very useful tool for studying glasses, liquids and amorphous materials, as well as crystalline or partly crystalline materials.

Addressed to scientists working in the structural characterization of materials. The course is aimed at present and future users of the Materials Science and Powder Diffraction beamline (MSPD) at ALBA who are interested in getting experience with the Pair Distribution Function method:from sample preparation to analysis of the experimental Pair Distribution Function. The hands-on course will also present the possibilities of the data taken at laboratory sources.

Participants are expected to bring their own laptops. The following programs will be used: pfgetx3 and pdfgui. Attendees are encouraged to install the software in advance (please contact Inma Peral to solve any technical issues with the installation)

Registrations already completed. To register in the waiting list, send an e-mail to [email protected]

There is no registration fee for the workshop, but you must register in order to get a reservation. The number of attendees is limited to 25. If the number of attendees is exceeded, participation of as many research groups as possible will be promoted.

The workshop will be given by the beamline staff, Laura Barrio, researcher of the Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC and Mauro Coduri, researcher of the Istituto per la Energetica e le Interfasi (Lecco, Italy).

Training school for beginners on the small-angle X-ray scattering technique. It will be held at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS).

The main idea of this training is to help and build up user community at SAXS1 and SAXS2 beamlines at LNLS. The SAXS group will offer comprehensive hands-on training in synchrotron data collection and analysis for first-time synchrotron users.

In this edition, participants will receive information about basic principles of small angle X-ray scattering and learn how to collect data on SAXS1 and SAXS2. This will help participants to strength their proposal and prepare their first experiment.

The Joint Users' Meeting of the synchrotron light source ANKA and the Karlsruhe Nano-Micro Facility KNMF will be organized in two sections this year, with an update of the current status of ANKA and the KNMF as well as research highlights of users on the 13th of October. KIT scientists will introduce users and especially students to the three special themes with a topical breakfast meeting on Monday. Parallel sessions on "Synchrotron- and lab-based lithography" and "Research using synchrotron-based infrared spectroscopy" will take place the second day. Many different training courses for users will be provided at ANKA Tuesday afternoon.

The objective of the Hercules Specialized Course is to combine theoretical and tutorial courses with practical lessons performed using neutrons and/or synchrotron radiation on state of the art instruments/beamlines. The practicals will take place at the European neutron (ILL) and synchrotron radiation (ESRF) facilities located in Grenoble.

The attendance will be limited to twenty participants (mainly PhD students and Post-Doc scientists) to allow an actual participation in the tutorials and practicals, and the interaction between the participants and the lecturers, as well as among the participants themselves.

The course provides theoretical and practical training covering the full breadth of cryo-electron microscopy techniques from sample preparation to data collection to image processing. This breadth fosters integration of knowledge and methods. There is a focus on theory and practice of image processing for three-dimensional reconstruction. The course is aimed at PhD-students and PostDocs, who have some experience in EM and want to use cryo-electron microscopy/tomography and/or learn advanced image processing. Students should be able to return to their home labs and use the techniques they have learnt at the course in their projects.

Molecular simulation techniques have never been as accessible and as valuable to biologists as to-day. The EMBO practical course will give an overview of state of the art molecular simulation methods used for analysis and prediction of bio-molecular structure, dynamics, and function.

The focus will be on methods providing atomic detail, such as quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics/dynamics and Brownian dynamics, permitting simulations on different temporal and spatial scales. In addition, the course will provide an introduction to protein homology modeling, macromolecular electrostatics, protein-ligand docking, structure-based drug design, data fitting to obtain macromolecular structures, as well as programming techniques.

An EMBL-EBI training course

AIMYoung scientists studying membrane phenomena may be bewildered by the wide range of biophysical techniques which are currently used to study their properties. The aim of the course is to provide participants with a solid grounding in biophysical techniques so that they will not only be able to understand the literature in their area better, but will also be able to decide for themselves the advantages and disadvantages of applying particular methods in their research. Expert advice on specific problems will also be available. In addition, the course is an excellent networking opportunity. Students will meet some prominent biophysicists in the membranes field, and other young scientists from all over Europe, in an attractive and convivial environment.

EBSA COURSE

EBSA is continuing its Advanced Courses on Biophysics, and due to popular demand, this is third of the series is focussing on Membrane Biophysics and Lipid Protein Interactions. This 5-day Advanced course is for PhD students, post-docs and young scientists. The registration includes full accommodation (housing and meals) and is heavily subsidised by EBSA to ensure widest possible participation. The number of Participants is limited to 60. EBSA also supports the 12th Greta Pifat International School of Biophysics.

COURSE FORMAT

Morning : the course will consist of plenary lectures by specialists in the field of membrane biophysics using most methodologies as applied to membranes (NMR, X-rays, AFM, Electron Microscopy, Fluorescence, Calorimetry, IR & Raman, Molecular Dynamics, etc.). Afternoon : Cases studies will be presented by teachers to small groups of participants to ensure maximum involvement of all participants. Round table discussions, where participants will also present their ongoing work and for which they may need advice from specialists, will follow.

Identification of crystalline materials with the polarized light microscope is of importance for those working in forensics, soil science, pharmaceuticals, environmental analyses, analysis of pigments, and earth sciences. This class introduces the student to a range of methods used for the identification of crystalline materials. A number of techniques are employed or demonstrated, including immersion methods, crystal rotation methods and the use of rotating compensators. Optical properties of both isotropic and anisotropic comminuted mineral samples are used as examples throughout the course.

Course Outline:

Introduction

Crystal systems and symmetry; review of Miller indices

Properties of light and polarized light; dispersion

Refraction and Snell's law; velocity vs refraction; relief

Isotropic and anisotropic substances, and the relation of crystal symmetry to optical properties; calcite experiment

Anisotropic optics: Extinction, retardation, phase interference phenomena, birefringence, extinction

The petrographic microscope; components, and adjustment for orthoscopic and conoscopic observation.

Properties observable with the petrographic microscope: Twinning, pleochroism, cleavage, birefringence, sign of elongation, extinction angles; relation to crystal symmetry, anomalous interference colors, interference figures.

Formation of interference figures: Optic axis, off-center optic axis, Bxa, Bxo, optic normal (flash), random figures; use of angle of entry and exit of hyperbola (AEEH) to diagnose centered figures. Recognition of interference figures and application to interpretation of crystal orientation in uniaxial and biaxial minerals: Optic sign; determination using both a waveplate and a quartz wedge, optic angle (2V) and relation to indices of refraction in biaxial minerals, optic axis dispersion; crossed axial plane dispersion

Refractometry: Identification of crystalline materials using calibrated index liquids and the colored Becke line; cause of Becke line colors.

Properties of the more important rock-forming and accessory minerals in thin section: Silica-group minerals; polymorphs of SiO₂, feldspar minerals; K-spar and plagioclase groups, amphibole- and pyroxene-group minerals, phyllosilicates, carbonates, accessory minerals.

Advanced methods of crystal identification: Measurement of retardation by use of rotary compensators, spindle stage, universal stage.

Ore microscopy: Demonstration of basic optical properties (reflectance, bireflectance, anisotropism, reflection pleochroism, Kalb line, etc.) that can be measured in reflected light, and their application to identifying opaque minerals or characterizing metallurgical samples; comparison of the properties of reflected and transmitted light.

This is an advanced course in X-ray microanalysis using energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS). The prerequisite is successful completion of INS-510: Scanning Electron Microscopy or an equivalent level of experience. The course will provide instruction and hands-on practice on performing EDS, analyzing difficult samples, mapping, and interpreting analysis results.

Course outline

• Brief review of the theory of X-ray generation
• Optimizing X-ray detection
• Qualitative X-ray strategies for difficult samples
• Performing matrix correction and quantitative analysis
• Elemental line profiling and spectral imaging
• Interpreting EDS data

This Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) imaging course is an advanced topics course and provides instruction and hands-on practice for getting the best possible SEM images, especially from difficult samples, or under challenging operating conditions. Signals and image generation, instrument operation, operating variables, image interpretation and applications of SEM will be studied through lectures and hands-on activities. Advanced SEM imaging topics such as very high resolution imaging and low voltage imaging will be covered.

• Sample preparation for SEM imaging   Â
  
• Optimizing microscopes for imaging
• Imaging at low vacuum
  
• Imaging at low accelerating voltages
• Very high resolution imaging
• Image analysis and interpretation

Two sessions available: 13 and 14 July 2014, and 14 and 15 July 2014

In the framework of the International Year of Crystallography, the IUCr Commission on Mathematical and Theoretical Crystallography organizes a training course on "symmetry and group theory" at Tsukuba, Japan, on 15 to 17 August 2014.

Pre-requisites

The participants are expected to know basic matrix algebra (how to multiply matrices and vectors, how calculate determinant and trace of a matrix), fundamental electromagnetism (waves, diffraction) and basic chemistry.

Program

The training course will span three full days, from 15 to 17 August, 2014. An optional pre-school day is organized on August 14 for those needing to revise general concepts about matrix algebra and abstract algebra (general introduction to group theory).

Thursday, 14 August

Optional session on matrix and abstract algebra (2 p.m. onwards)

Friday, 15 August (9 a.m. - 7 p.m.)

Introduction to symmetry and periodicity
Lattices and crystallographic symmetry in 2 and 3 dimensions
Choice of the unit cell
Crystallographic point groups
Morphological symmetry
Stereographic projection, with exercises

Saturday, 16 August (9 a.m. - 7 p.m.)

Matrix representation of point group operations
Screw axes and glide planes
Introduction to space groups
Graphical construction of space groups, with exercises
Metric tensor and applications

Saturday, 16 August (9 a.m. - 7 p.m.)

Reciprocal lattice and systematic absences
Matrix representation of space group operations
Group-subgroup relations
Structure-substructure relations and applications to displacive phase transitions

Coffee break will be served at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Lunch break will be from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. The evening of August 15 a welcome reception will be organized.

Language

The official language of the training course is Japanese. No simultaneous interpretation will been provided.

Venue

The training course will be held at the KEK main research building, meeting room No. 1.

Lecturer

Prof. Massimo Nespolo, Université de Lorraine, France (on behalf of MaThCryst)

Local Organizing Committee

Dr. Maki Okube, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Prof. Takashi Kamiyama, KEK
Prof. Noriyuki Igarashi, KEK

Registration and accommodation

Online registration and information about the accommodation is available at the local website.

This intensive EMBO Practical Course is dedicated to modern methods in sample preparation and characterization of proteins for structural studies. It covers cloning and overexpression in bacterial and eukaryotic systems, protein purification with and without tags, sample quality control, sample optimization and crystallization.

The fourth Australasian Course in Macromolecular Crystallisation will be held in Parkville, Victoria (Melbourne) between the 9th and 13th of December, 2013. Â This course is an intensive, hands-on practical course that combines lectures on all aspects of macromolecular crystallisation, from sample preparation to cryo-protection and harvesting of crystals. One day will be spent at the MX and SAX beamlines of the Australian Synchrotron.Â

Invited International lecturers: Jim Pflugrath (Rigaku Americas), Terese Bergfors (Uppsala University), Martin Caffrey (Trinity College, Dublin), James Holton (LBL, ALS) and Rob Thorne (Cornell University) as well as stars from Australia.

The sixth BioCrys course will be focused on Macromolecular Crystallography, by developing the fundamental concepts of Crystallography and illustrate these by tutorial and practical sessions.
 This is particularly important due to the rapid development of the field and also due to the fact that many young researchers do not receive a formal education in Crystallography. Additionally, with the introduction of high-throughput methods, the need to understand and grasp the theory behind modern methods will certainly be critical to overcome the difficult problems that will arise and will not be solved by the automated procedures.
Topics of the course will run from fundamentals such as symmetry, point groups and crystal systems, basic diffraction physics, reciprocal space and the Ewalds sphere, radiation damage, data processing, symmetry in the diffraction pattern, structure factors, Patterson function to modern methodologies including molecular replacement, SAD, MAD, MIR and maximum likelihood phasing, direct methods, density modification, refinement, model building, twinning and structure validation. Main challenges on sample preparation and crystallization of proteins will also be covered.
The course will be organized with lectures in the mornings and interactive practicals and tutorials in the afternoons. Evening lectures will address two main important topics within Structural Biology, one covering studies of membrane proteins and the other the beginning of use of free electron lasers in macromolecular Crystallography.
Participants will be limited to 36, aimed primarily at people at the beginning of their crystallographic research activity as PhD students or others. Selected applicants are invited to present a poster during the course.

Why a summer school named after Professor Ke Hsin Kuo?

Professor Ke Hsin Kuo (1923 - 2006) was a prominent electron microscopist and crystallographer. He attended Zhejiang University in the early 1940's. After studying and working in Sweden for ten years, he returned to China in 1956 and introduced electron microscopy to materials science research there. His discoveries of icosahedral, octagonal and decagonal quasicrystals in 1980’s and 1990’s placed him among the most influential electron microscopists and crystallographers in the world. Professor Kuo was also instrumental to the introduction of cryo electron microscopy to China. He served as President of the Asian Society of Electron Microscopy, President of the Chinese Society of Electron Microscopy, and Member of the Commission on Electron Diffraction of the Internal Union of Crystallography. Over the years, he trained more than 120 graduate students, most of them are currently active in scientific research. This school series is a tribute to Professor Kuo as a remarkable human being, a great scientist and a loving mentor.Â

The subject of the school series will alternate between biology and materials science.

• Â First School:
• • Â Beijing Workshop of Cryo Electron Microscopy in Structural Biology
  • Â Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, July 14 - 16, 2008
• Â Second School:
• • Â In-situ Electron Microscopy of Nanomaterials
  • Â Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China, July 15 - 17, 2009
• Â Third School:Â
• • Â International Workshop of 3D Molecular Imaging by Cryo Electron Microscopy
  • Â Institute of Biophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing, China,August 8-12, 2010
• Â Fourth School:
• • Â International electron microscopy Symposium on Materials
  • Â Institute of Metal,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Shenyang, China,July 11-15,2011
• Â Fifth School:
• • Â International Workshop of 3D Molecular Imaging by Cryo Electron Microscopy
  • Â University of Science and Technology of China,Anhui,China,September 7-12, 2012