December 2025 Newsletter
December 31, 2025
December 2025 NEWSLETTER
Spotlight Reads!!
When Solar Took the Lead: A Turning Point in Energy!
The journal Science has announced its 2025 Breakthrough of the Year, recognizing the most impactful scientific advance of the year: the unstoppable growth of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power, which has begun outpacing fossil fuels in new electricity generation globally. This milestone marks a significant shift in the global energy landscape, as renewables now supply more energy than coal, representing a turning point in efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.
Alongside the top breakthrough, Science’s editors highlighted a diverse set of runner-ups across disciplines, underscoring the breadth of scientific progress in 2025—from biomedical advances to discoveries in the physical sciences.
This recognition not only celebrates innovation but also highlights how scientific breakthroughs can shape real-world challenges and future opportunities in health, technology, and sustainability.
Employee spotlight
James Fuller, Dir, Electron Microscopy
James Fuller is a biochemist and structural biologist with extensive expertise in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and a deep understanding of structural biology. With over 10 years of hands-on laboratory experience, James has independently led projects from conception to protein production, purification, and structural analysis. His comprehensive skill set spans sample preparation, data collection, and data processing for various techniques, including SAXS, X-ray crystallography, and single-particle cryo-EM.
James has been instrumental in the creation and development of the cryoEM service at Helix BioStructures, where he currently leads the cryo-EM team. His work has positioned him as a world leader in cryo-EM data processing, with a particular focus on optimizing sample preparation techniques, such as ice and particle distribution, using Thermo Scientific Vitrobot systems. His experience extends to high-throughput crystallization screen setup, where he employed robotics to streamline processes.
In addition to his practical laboratory skills, James is proficient in a variety of structural solution software, including ATSAS,Chimera, PyMol, Coot, CCP4, Phenix, RELION, CisTEM, Sphire, and EMAN2. His computational expertise also includes general Linux/UNIX operations, Bash shell scripting, and familiarity with tools such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Git.
James holds a BA in Biology and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry &Molecular Biophysics. His contributions to Helix are marked by his commitment to scientific excellence and innovation, making him a key leader in the field of cryo-EM.
Outside of work, James enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter and is a passionate Formula 1 racing enthusiast, reflecting his love for precision, speed, and innovation. See his LinkedIn here
Featured services
MX Data Collection Service - Helix is a world leader in synchrotron X-ray data collection. We make it extremely simple to schedule your desired data collection using our booking website. Helix takes care of the entire process, including handling all the shipping logistics (including making shipping paperwork), synchrotron agreements/forms, and storage of raw/processed data. With over 50 years of combined synchrotron and industrial data collection experience, our customers rely on Helix for X-ray data collection and stick with us due to our quality, reliability, and continuous access to beamtime. We offer by-the-crystal pricing, so whether you have a few samples or hundreds per week, we can help with your x-ray data collection and help optimize your structure solution process.
News you can use
Seeing Side Effects at Atomic Resolution: Why Cryo-EM Matters More Than Ever
A recent Nature Communications study highlights the power of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) by revealing how statins interact with the ryanodine receptor (RyR1), a key muscle calcium channel. By capturing multiple binding and activation states at near-atomic resolution, cryo-EM provided a clear molecular explanation for statin-associated muscle side effects.
This work showcases how cryo-EM enables direct visualization of large, dynamic, and previously intractable targets—turning complex biology into actionable insight. Such structural clarity opens the door to designing safer, next-generation medicines, reinforcing cryo-EM’s central role in modern drug discovery.
Happy Holidays!
Holiday Cheer, Helix Style!
Our Helix Christmas party was the perfect way to wrap up the year—bringing the team together for an evening of fun, laughter, and friendly competition at Topgolf. Despite the cold Indianapolis weather outside, things stayed warm with great swings, plenty of food and drinks, and even better company.
It was a wonderful chance to celebrate the season, reflect on a strong year, and enjoy time together beyond the lab. We are grateful for the Helix team and the energy everyone brings; I look forward to an exciting year ahead!
Instrument review
The mosquito® Xtal3 adds to our lineup of crystallization robots. It provides increased efficiency for plate setup, extremely low volume drop setting (30-50nL), a customized humidity chamber to protect those small volume drops, and superb reproducibility. The touchscreen interface gives this instrument a high-tech modern feel that is extremely user-friendly. This robot will be the workhorse behind Helix's crystallization and will greatly benefit our customers' projects.
We are super excited about the dragonfly®! Long gone are the days of spending an hour to make a custom deep-well block or 96-well gradient screen manually by hand. This multi-channel dispensing robot delivers it all. We are able to painlessly create customized crystallization screens to help optimize or reproduce crystals. Paired with the MXone® mixer; we are now setting up optimization screens in a matter of 10-15 minutes. Read more here
Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
