There is still time to apply to attend this GRC, relevant to researchers interested in Methods Development - details below! The official closing date is 22nd June, but places are limited to a total of 125. Best wishes Elspeth Garman and Andrew Leslie Gordon Research Conference on Diffraction Methods in Structural Biology July 13-18, 2008, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, USA Co-Chairs: Elspeth Garman & Andrew Leslie The 2008 Gordon Research Conference on Diffraction Methods in Structural Biology will encompass advances in the methodology for macromolecular X-ray crystallography, and other diffraction/scattering applications. The full confirmed programme and timetable for the meeting can now be found below and at: http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2008&program=diffrac as well as details on how to register (registration closes on 22nd June 2008 but attendance is limited to 125 researchers). All macromolecular crystallographers interested in Methods development are encouraged to apply. To promote a lively meeting, we hope that all participants will present a poster and contribute to the discussions. *Confirmed Program as at 8th May 2008.* *MACROMOLECULAR STRUCTURES: PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES * Discussion Leader: *Janet Smith* (University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, USA) *Jens Preben Morth* (Aarhus University, Denmark) "Structure determination of the sodium-potassium pump" *Jack Johnson* (Scripps Research Institute, USA) "Crystallography of Viral Maturation Intermediates: Large Unit Cells, Particle Dynamics, and Energy Landscapes" *EXPERIMENTAL ASPECTS* Discussion Leader: *James Holton* (University of California, Berkeley, USA) *Douglas Juers* (Whitman College, USA) "Rational approaches to cryo-crystallography protocols" *Zbyszek Dauter* (Frederick Cancer Institute, USA) "A thoughtful approach to data collection" *Eddie Snell* (Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, USA) "Are X-rays damaging to structural biology? A case study with xylose isomerase" *Martin Weik* (Institut de Biologie Structurale, Grenoble, France) "Temperature-controlled cryo-crystallography to study the structural dynamics of proteins" *COMPLEMENTARY TECHNIQUES* Discussion Leader: *Peter Kuhn* (Scripps Research Institute, USA) *Junko Yano* (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA) "Combination of XAS and XRD for studying a high-resolution structure of the photosynthetic water-splitting catalyst" *Dean Myles* (Oak Ridge National Laboratory USA) "New opportunities for neutron structural biology" *Carrie Wilmot* (University of Minnesota, USA) "Single crystal spectroscopy coupled to crystallography" *FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN SYNCHROTRON BASED MACROMOLECULAR CRYSTALLOGRAPHY * Discussion Leader: *Elizabeth Duke* (Diamond Light Source, UK) *Soichi Wakatsuki* (KEK, Japan) "Microfocus and low energy PX developments looking towards next generation synchrotron sources" *Ed Mitchell* (ESRF, Grenoble, France) "Bigger, better, faster, more: The ESRF Upgrade Programme" *Aina Cohen* (SSRL, USA) "Automation, Robotics and Remote Access at the SSRL Protein Crystallography Beam Lines" *Frank von Delft* (Structural Genomics Consortium, Oxford, UK) "A User's Wish: An Experiment-Focussed Beamline Interface" *EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES* Discussion Leader: *Andrew Leslie* (MRC-LMB, Cambridge, UK) *Robert F. Fischetti* (GM/CA-CAT, Argonne National Laboratory, USA) "Where have all the photoelectrons gone?" *Clemens Schulze-Briese* (Swiss Light Source, Villigen, Switzerland) "PILATUS 6M - the first year of regular user operation" *COMPUTATIONAL METHODS* Discussion Leader: *Airlie McCoy* (University of Cambridge, UK) *Sasha Popov* (ESRF, Grenoble, France) "BEST SAD data collection" *Paul Adams* (Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, USA) "Automated structure solution with PHENIX" *Kevin Cowtan* (University of York, UK) "The 3 R's of automated model building: R-factors, resolution, and refinement" *George Phillips* (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) "Interpretation of electron density maps from protein crystals" *CHALLENGING PROBLEMS / MEMBRANE PROTEINS * Discussion Leader: *Tom Terwilliger* (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) *Chris Tate* (LMB-MRC Cambridge, UK) "Thermostabilisation and structure determination of a beta1 adrenergic receptor" *Mike Lawrence* (The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Australia) "Pursuit of the structure of the human insulin receptor ectodomain" *Mark Mayer* (NIH, Bethesda, USA) "Structure and function of allosteric ion binding sites in glutamate receptor ligand binding domains" *TALKS SELCETCED FROM POSTERS* *VALIDATION* Discussion Leader: *Ana Gonzales* (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, USA) *Gerard Kleywegt* (University of Uppsala, Sweden) "Validation" *Jane Richardson* (Duke University, USA) "MolProbity Progress: RNA, Auto-corrections, and H redux" *IMAGING METHODS OF THE FUTURE* Discussion Leader: *Raimond Ravelli* (Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands) *Steve Ludtke* (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA) "Resolution and Molecular Motion, Frontiers in CryoEM" *Carolyn Larabell* (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) TBA