Structures in close up – successful LearningLAB at EMBL Hamburg

“Protein crystallisation is black magic” – these words can be heard frequently in structural biology laboratories. At the beginning of October, twenty-three secondary school teachers explored how the science behind this “magic” can be brought into European classrooms. The teachers and teacher trainers from nine different countries were part of a 2-day training workshop organised by ELLS in collaboration with EMBL Hamburg and took place at the interdisciplinary science campus of the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY).

The LearningLAB called “Bringing structures to life – new ways of teaching biology” included an intense programme of hands-on activities, lab experiments, scientific seminars and visits to research and education facilities of the DESY campus.

The course started off with an introduction to the theory behind protein crystallography. Visualising the atomic structure of proteins helps scientists to understand the function of those molecules, which in turn helps to understand processes in biological systems and makes it easier to design novel drug targets. To analyse a protein, scientists use the phenomenon that proteins can be prompted to form crystals to their advantage. In a crystal, millions of copies of the same protein are packed in a repeating three-dimensional array. When high intensity X-rays generated at a synchrotron are fired at the crystal, the proteins diffract the beams into a pattern which can be used to deduce the three-dimensional structure of the protein.

EMBL group leaders Thomas Schneider and Rob Meijers gave participants insights into current research and hot topics in protein crystallography. They shared their personal stories on what inspired them to become scientists and illustrated what important roles their teachers and mentors played along their career path. In the practical part of the course, participants got hands-on with the trickiest aspect of X-ray crystallography: growing a good protein crystal, i.e. a crystal containing a well ordered array of proteins. Under the guidance of EMBL scientists, the teachers were set up a crystallisation screen to test varying crystallisation conditions – a process crystallographers use to find the perfect experimental conditions for a protein they have never crystallised before.

“There are so many factors that play a role in getting a good crystal”, explained Philipp Hornburg, EMBL PhD student. This is also why protein crystallography is often referred to as “black magic” – whether or not a protein crystallises can be unpredictable. Unlike crystallographers who might have to wait in suspense for days, weeks or even months to see whether their crystals grew, the LearningLAB participants only had to hold their breath until the next morning.

Having been introduced to the art of protein crystallography – both theoretically and practically – the eager teachers explored first-hand what happens to proteins studied in the EMBL labs. A fascinating tour through the hightech Sample Preparation and Characterisation facility illustrated how protein samples are assayed and crystals are grown in high-throughput processes in preparation for X-ray analysis. And at the experimental hall of the X-ray beamlines, participants got a close look at the instruments and machines responsible for crystal mounting, X-ray firing, data collection and processing.

On the next day, 46 excited eyes were searching for protein crystals under the stereo microscopes – and the experiment was indeed a success: beautiful crystals could be observed and optimal crystallisation conditions for the protein determined. Could the teachers imagine their students to be fascinated by the art of crystallography and the power of scientific enquiry just like they were themselves during the experiment? In a career-themed session, the participants had the opportunity to quiz EMBL scientists about their motivations on becoming researchers, what they like most about their job and how they deal with the challenges of a research environment. Is working with a method like protein crystallization, which is dubbed “black magic” due to its unpredictable results, a frustrating experience? For Vivian Pogenberg, EMBL research scientist and careers panel member, it is exactly this characteristic that makes his work particularly exciting: “I really enjoy the artistic aspect of my job. Because it is not an exact science it allows me to play around with experimental protocols”.

Besides focusing on research and experimental aspects of X-ray crystallography, the course also fostered exchange and discussion about teaching structural biology in the classroom. A core part of the programme was dedicated to the presentation and discussion of ready-to-use teaching resources on structural biology and the study of proteins presented by ELLS, the Science in School magazine and three course participants. To add a further interdisciplinary component to, the course programme was complemented with a visit to the education facility “physik.begreifen”, a physics out-of-school lab on the DESY campus.

Portuguese teacher Tânia from the Escola Secundária Filipa de Vilhena summed up her experience of the course like this: “The ELLS LearningLAB for teachers was a unique opportunity to discover and update my scientific knowledge in different biology fields, as well as to develop a new perception about modern science and cutting-edge technologies. I had also access to innovative and various educational resources. Now, I am able to give students a perspective of how scientific knowledge is really developed and constructed, highlighting the scientists’ work at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and, hopefully, raise pupils’ decreasing interest in STEM careers. Every science teacher should try to attend these excellent courses!“