Secrets of Enzyme Action
Designer Enzymes for Industry and Medicine
A unique Los Alamos facility, the Protein Crystallography Station (PCS), is now producing complete atomic-level pictures of enzymes. Those pictures contain secrets that may lead to new, improved enzymes for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, producing better biofuels, defending against chemical and biological warfare, and fighting disease.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090506104430im_/https://www.lanl.gov/1663/img/Item/722/10md.jpg)
Paul Langan (foreground) and Benno Schoenborn aligning the beamstop that protects the gleaming neutron detector of the Protein Crystallography Station. The detector, developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, is a major advance and makes the PCS a practical tool.