Publications
July 31, 2025
News you can use
“Artificial diamonds are forever” – 70 Years of Man-Made Brilliance
In a Nature "News & Views" article published July 28, 2025, materials‑scientist Bingbing Liu reflects on the groundbreaking 1955 discovery that unlocked the reproducible synthesis of diamonds.
Today, 70 years later, that innovation has unleashed vast technological potential—from X‑ray optics and high-thermal-conductivity heat spreaders, to promising roles in nuclear‑fusion experiments. Liu’s piece reminds us that beyond sparkle, diamonds have reshaped science, industry, and engineering.
“Diamonds are not only the hardest material … but also one with exceptionally high thermal conductivity, remarkable transparency… and almost perfect chemical inertness”.
Why it matters:
Traces the historic milestones from Bundy et al.’s first reliable lab synthesis to today’s high-performance engineered diamonds.
Captures how synthetic gems have become key tools in cutting-edge application domains.
So, whether you're intrigued by advanced materials or new frontiers in clean energy, this 70‑year retrospective is a sharp reminder: diamonds may be forever, but their uses keep evolving.
Employee spotlight
Ben Watson, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Ben Watson is a postdoctoral fellow at Helix BioStructures. Originally from Nashville, Indiana, he earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from Purdue University after transferring to pursue research opportunities. He completed his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology in Dr. Seema Mattoo’s lab. Outside of work, Ben enjoys hiking, cooking, and spending time with his family, including his 10-month-old daughter.
Featured services
Biophysical Characterization Service -
Biophysical characterization plays an essential role in drug discovery R&D. Helix offers biophysical characterization services using key instruments that cover all your research and project needs.
We are excited to provide our customers with various biophysical characterization services (ITC, SPR: T200 & 8K, BLI, MST, DLS, TSA, CD, LC/MS, SEC-MALS, Mass Photometry, and more) at affordable prices, with accurate data and fast turnaround time.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help you with your biophysical characterization needs.
HELIX HIGHLIGHTS
Helix Biostructures was part of the 75th ACA Meeting!
The Helix team joined the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA) in Lombard, Illinois (July 18–23, 2025), and we’re proud to be a sponsor of this milestone event ( https://www.acameeting2025.com/ ) to celebrate ACA’s legacy and future with peers across academia and industry. Cannot wait to see you all next year in Calgary at the IUCr/ACA joint event. Till then, keep building the map and driving science!
Instrument review
The Thermo Scientific Vitrobot Mark IV System offers semi-automated vitrification to provide fast, easy, and reproducible sample preparation for cryo-EM. It performs the cryo-fixation process at constant physical and mechanical conditions like temperature, relative humidity, blotting conditions, and freezing velocity. This ensures high-quality cryo-fixation results and a high sample preparation throughput prior to cryo-TEM observation.
We are equipped with a Vitrobot Mark IV System in-house and can prepare grids without freezing protein samples. This will allow us to produce the highest quality cryo-EM data and images to define protein structures for our customers. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you with your cryo-EM projects.
