Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2021
Volume 66, Number 5
Saturday–Tuesday, April 17–20, 2021; Virtual; Time Zone: Central Daylight Time, USA
Session G03: Accelerators for SocietyInvited Live Undergrad Friendly
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Sponsoring Units: DPB Chair: Sarah Cousineau, ORNL |
Sunday, April 18, 2021 8:30AM - 9:06AM Live |
G03.00001: Accelerators for Medical Isotope Production Invited Speaker: Stephen Milton Ionizing radiation has been used for decades in many applications, and it comes in two primary forms: particles and electromagnetic radiation. While ionizing radiation is generally not the best thing for you, it does have its place in medical applications, both x-rays for diagnostics purposes and proton beams for cancer treatment come immediately to mind. But there are other sources of beneficial ionizing radiation, specifically atomic isotopes. ``Stable'' atoms found in abundance in nature have a specific atomic mass number (total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus). Atomic isotopes are atoms with an atomic mass number different than the stable atom, i.e. they have more or less neutrons in the nucleus. They have, therefore, identical electronic properties, but very different nuclear properties. Some isotopes are stable while others are not, and the unstable, radioactive, isotopes emit ionizing radiation. While not all radioactive isotopes are useful for medical applications, there are many that are. Strontium-82, for instance, is used worldwide for heart imaging. But these isotopes, by their very unstable nature, are not found in abundance in nature. They must be produced. And that is where the accelerator comes back in to the picture. In this talk I will describe the history of medical isotope production via particle accelerators and in some cases the subsequent use. I will walk through the process for some commonly used isotopes and then delve into where we are headed in the future and the machines that will be used for this important component of the medical industry. LA-UR-21-20176 Approved for unlimited release. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 18, 2021 9:06AM - 9:42AM Live |
G03.00002: COVID-19 Research at Neutron Sources Invited Speaker: Hugh O'Neill The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is marching towards one hundred million, while the number of deaths is approaching a grim milestone of two million. This deadly disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) has become one of the leading causes of death in 2020, according to the World Health Organization. Although several vaccines have been developed to slow down the spread of SARS-CoV-2, there is a need for therapeutic agents, including small-molecule drugs that inhibit essential steps in the viral replication cycle. A large part of the genome of SARS-CoV-2 encodes for non-structural proteins (NSPs) that assemble in the endoplasmic reticulum of infected cells to support viral RNA synthesis and virus replication. These proteins display multiple functions and activities and were shown to form various complexes. Understanding the dynamic assembly and disassembly of NSPs and their interaction with RNA during virus replication is key to development of effective therapeutic agents against COVID-19. In this presentation, I will highlight how different neutron scattering techniques are being used for SARS-CoV-2 research. Neutron macromolecular crystallography is being used to pinpoint critical hydrogen positions in active sites of the main protease, a critical target for therapeutics development. Insights into how the NSPs of the SARS-CoV-2 replication machinery assemble to form complexes with each other and with viral RNA are being performed using small-angle neutron scattering. Interactions of SARS-CoV-2 surface proteins with host cell membranes are being studied using neutron reflectivity. Neutron spectroscopy techniques are providing information about the dynamical properties of drug molecules that can be used to inform computational drug design studies. These studies provide unique information about the SARS-CoV-2 replication machinery that is unattainable by other means. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 18, 2021 9:42AM - 10:18AM On Demand |
G03.00003: COVID-19 Research at Light Sources Invited Speaker: Paul McIntyre The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a rapid and multifaceted response from the global scientific community. As part of this response, the tools of structural molecular biology available at synchrotron and x-ray free electron laser light sources have played a critical role in resolving angstrom-scale details of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that determine its interactions with antibodies and cells. In particular, the structure of the main protease and spike proteins of the virus have been the focus of attention for the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs. As of early 2021, one year after the first report on the structure of SARS-CoV-2, macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments performed at light sources world-wide have produced many hundreds of protein data bank deposits and have contributed to numerous drugs and vaccines in clinical trials. The rapidity of this scientific response was made possible in part by many years of development of highly-automated MX experimental capabilities that support remote-access by users. This has allowed light sources to remain operational for COVID-19 research when local health orders and travel restrictions do not permit the physical presence of users on-site. Innovations in sample delivery, controls and remote data collection at light sources have occurred in parallel with advances in data analysis and structure validation that make rapid, automated access to MX experimental stations and structure determination even more impactful. These capabilities continue to be refined for structural molecular biology and, as a consequence of the pandemic's effects on light source operations, they are increasingly being adopted for many non-biological experiments at light sources around the world. [Preview Abstract] |
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