The Scottish Macromolecular Imaging Centre (SMIC)

To understand the processes of life and disease, it is important to understand the shapes of biological molecules. Watson and Crick's ground-breaking work to understand the structure of DNA revolutionised our knowledge of the mechanisms by which traits are passed from parent to child in the form of genes. Scotland has a thriving community of structural biologists engaged in research to understand the shapes of protein and DNA molecules, their interactions and functions. A powerful new technique has emerged in the past few years; cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM). This allows scientists to record images of assemblies, such as viruses or enzymes - the molecular machines that perform vital tasks within the cell. These images can be processed in the computer to determine the structure of the objects at the atomic level. These structures then inform our understanding of how biological processes occur. The Scottish Macromolecular Imaging Centre is a world-class cryoEM research facility, founded by a partnership of Scottish Universities - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and St. Andrews. It acts as a hub for a network of expert scientists, fostering new collaborations and training programmes to ensure scientific excellence and a new generation of highly skilled young structural biologists."