Events and E-News

Newsletter

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CLS E-News                          Vol. 8 No. 11
www.lightsource.ca           Oct 31, 2011
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  1. BEST WISHES, JUHACHI ASAI
  2. 2012 ANNUAL USERS' MEETING
  3. CIHR-THRUST SYNCHROTRON-HEALTH FELLOWSHIPS
  4. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: PRESERVATION OF PROTEIN GLOBULES AND PEPTIDOGLYCAN IN THE MINERALIZED CELL WALL OF BACTERIA
  5. INCREASE YOUR IMPACT FACTOR: TALK ABOUT YOUR CLS SCIENCE
  6. NEW STAFF AND NOW HIRING

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1. BEST WISHES, JUHACHI ASAI
Contact: mailto:emil.hallin@lightsource.ca

On October 31, we bid farewell to Dr. Juhachi Asai, who is retiring after a 35 year career as a radiation physicist at the Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory (SAL) and the CLS.

Juhachi began working at SAL in 1976, after graduating with a PhD in nuclear physics from the University of Windsor in 1974. As a theorist with a great understanding of experimental physics, Juhachi has made a significant impact over the years, providing solid support to experimental programs both at SAL and more recently at the CLS. Juhachi has provided theoretical support for radiation shielding design, both for the main accelerator complex at the CLS and for most of our beamlines. His models are thorough, his calculational support--precise, reliable, to the point and timely--exactly what an experimentalist wants in a colleague. On behalf of the CLS and our staff, a heart-felt thanks for your professionalism, diligence, and friendship over the years, and the best of luck in your new career researching and writing about Saskatchewan butterflies!

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2. SAVE THE DATE: 2012 CLS ANNUAL USERS' MEETING
Contact: mailto:UAC@lightsource.ca 

The 2012 CLS Annual Users' Meeting will be held on the University of Saskatchewan campus on May 3-4, 2012.  Workshops will be held in the Biology Building on Thursday, May 3, 2012 and the Users' Meeting, Exhibitor Show and Poster Session will be held in the Biology Building and Geology Atrium on Friday, May 4, 2012. Details will be forthcoming via:

http://www.lightsource.ca/uac/meeting2012/

Please mark these dates in your calendar.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Derek Peak, Chair
Users Advisory Committee

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3. CIHR-THRUST SYNCHROTRON-HEALTH FELLOWSHIPS: APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
***DEADLINE NOVEMBER 18, 2011***
Contact: Delilah Kostuk, CIHR-THRUST program coordinator, mailto:thrust@artsandscience.usask.ca

The CIHR Training grant in Health Research Using Synchrotron Techniques (CIHR-THRUST) is a cross-disciplinary training program to develop and use synchrotron techniques to address key questions in Canadian health research. Centred at the University of Saskatchewan and the CLS, CIHR-THRUST will train more than 50 of the next generation of Canadian synchrotron health researchers between 2009 and 2015.

CIHR-THRUST is currently soliciting applications for CIHR-THRUST Fellowships at the masters, doctoral or postdoctoral level. As well, we are accepting applications for CIHR-THRUST Associates - a new category within CIHR-THRUST. The deadline for applications is Friday, November 18th, 2011 at noon. More information as well as application materials are available on the new CIHR-THRUST website located at http://thrust.usask.ca.

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4. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: PRESERVATION OF PROTEIN GLOBULES AND PEPTIDOGLYCAN IN THE MINERALIZED CELL WALL OF NITRATE-REDUCING, IRON(II)-OXIDIZING BACTERIA: A CRYO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPY STUDY
Contact: mailto:karim.benzerara@impmc.jussieu.fr

Iron-oxidizing bacteria are important actors of the geochemical cycle of iron in modern environments and may have played a key role throughout Earth's history. However, in order to better assess that role on the modern and the
past Earth, there is a need for better understanding of the mechanisms of bacterial iron oxidation and for defining potential biosignatures to be looked for in the geologic record. In this study, we investigated experimentally and at the nanometre scale the mineralization of iron-oxidizing bacteria with a combination of synchrotron-based scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and cryotransmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). We show that the use of cryo-TEM instead of conventional microscopy provides detailed information of the successive iron biomineralization stages in anaerobic nitrate-reducing iron-oxidizing bacteria. These results suggest the existence of preferential Fe-binding and Fe-oxidizing sites on the outer face of the plasma membrane leading to the nucleation and growth of Fe minerals within the periplasm of these cells that eventually become completely encrusted. In contrast, the septa of dividing cells remain non-mineralized. In addition, the use of cryo-TEM offers a detailed view of the exceptional preservation of protein globules and the peptidoglycan within the Fe-mineralized cell walls of these bacteria. These organic molecules and ultrastructural details might be protected from further degradation by entrapment in the mineral matrix down to the nanometre scale. This is discussed in the light of previous studies on the properties of Fe-organic interactions and more generally on the fossilization of mineral-organic assemblages.

The synchrotron data reported in the paper were obtained at the CLS Soft X-ray Spectromicroscopy beamline 10ID-1 by users from Université Pierre et Marie Curie et IPGP, Paris and the UK National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Hertfordshire, UK.

Miot, J., MacLellan, K., Benzerara, K., and Boisset, N. Preservation of protein globules and peptidoglycan in the mineralized cell wall of nitrate-reducing, iron(II)-oxidizing bacteria: a cryo-electron microscopy study. Geobiology (2011), 9, pp. 459-470. DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4669.2011.00298.x

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5. INCREASE YOUR IMPACT FACTOR: TALK ABOUT YOUR CLS SCIENCE AND WIN AN iPOD
Contact: mailto:matthew.dalzell@lightsource.ca

We are always on the look-out for exciting scientific results obtained with CLS data that can be featured in a news release or science highlight. In order to maximize how we can spread the word, it is ideal if we can be made aware of a significant article as early as possible - usually as soon as a paper has been accepted for publication.

Send us a tip regarding your upcoming publication and be entered to win an iPod Nano. The winner will be announced in January, 2012. For more information or to submit your tip please contact Matt Dalzell, CLS Communications Coordinator and Staff Science Writer.

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6. NEW STAFF AND NOW HIRING
Contact: mailto:jobs@lightsource.ca

We are pleased to welcome the following new employees who started with us recently:

Ghina Diab, Science Associate-Experimental Floor
Ghina is a recent graduate from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology.

Ian Drever, Mechanical CAD Technologist
Ian has spent the last three years working at Norcan Fluid Power Ltd. as a Mechanical Engineering Technologist. Ian received his Mechanical Engineering Technology Diploma from SIAST, Kelsey Campus in Saskatoon.

Ryan Lautner, Electrician
Ryan is a journeyman Electrician who has been working with Bridge City Electric for the past 13 years. During his tenure with Bridge City, Ryan completed service, maintenance and construction projects, and acted as a foreman on many projects.

Julie Maier, Science Associate-Experimental Floor
Julie is a recent graduate from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Julie has spent the last several months working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as a Quality Control Intern.

The following job postings are currently available at CLS:

For a list of current opportunities at the CLS please check our website regularly: http://www.lightsource.ca/careers/

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CLS E-News is an electronic newsletter designed to keep users and stakeholders informed about developments at the Canadian Light Source, the national synchrotron research facility located at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. Current and past issues of CLS E-News are available on the CLS web site: http://www.lightsource.ca/enews/archives.php
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Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:08