Specific Radiation Damage Can Be Used to Solve Macromolecular Crystal Structures

The use of third generation synchrotron sources has led to renewed concern about the effect of ionizing radiation on crystalline biological samples. In general, the problem is seen as one to be avoided. However, in this paper, it is shown that, far from being a hindrance to successful structure determination, radiation damage provides an opportunity for phasing macromolecular structures. This is successfully demonstrated for both a protein and...