X-Ray Diffraction in Biology: How Can We See DNA and Proteins in Three Dimensions?

Abstract

Knowing the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules, such as proteins and DNA, is crucial for understanding the functioning of life. Biological crystallography, the main method of structural biology, which is the branch of biology that studies the structure and spatial organization in biological macromolecules, is based on the study of X-ray diffraction by crystals of macromolecules. This article will present the principle, methodology and limitations of solving biological structures by crystallography.