May 2025 Newsletter
May 31, 2025
MAY 2025 NEWSLETTER
News you can use
Multiple structures of RNA polymerase II isolated from human nuclei by ChIP-CryoEM analysis.
Researchers have developed a novel ChIP-CryoEM technique to visualize RNA Polymerase II in its native, active state within human cell nuclei. By combining chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) with high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, this method captures RNA Pol II elongation complexes as they transcribe DNA into RNA. The resulting structural snapshots offer unprecedented insight into how transcription is regulated at the molecular level, shedding light on the dynamic interactions between the polymerase, DNA, and associated factors during gene expression. This breakthrough opens new avenues for understanding transcription-related diseases and designing targeted therapeutics.
Employee spotlight
John Kim, Ph.D. - Post-Doctoral Fellow
John is an emerging scientist who is deeply intrigued by the relationship between protein structure and function. Through nine years of focused academic pursuit, he has honed his expertise in various domains, including X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and protein production.
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.
Helix is hiring!
Head of Protein Sciences: We are looking to add an experienced Protein Sciences Leader to our Indianapolis-based team. This role will manage and support the Helix team, planning & tracking all projects to produce high-quality work and support our client’s protein production, biophysical characterization, and structural biology projects.
Head of Structural Biology: We are looking to add an experienced Structural Biology Leader to our Indianapolis-based team. This role will manage and support the Helix team, planning & tracking all projects to produce high-quality work and support our client’s protein production, biophysical characterization, and structural biology projects.
Senior Scientist - Gene-to-Structure: We are looking to add an experienced senior scientist to join our Indianapolis-based team. This senior-level scientist will support our protein production and structural biology pipelines by producing proteins and setting up crystallization and/or cryo-EM experiments, interfacing with our clients, and writing technical project reports.
HELIX HIGHLIGHTS
Helix Biostructures attended PEGS Summit 2025
The Helix team was also excited to attend the PEGS Summit 2025 in Boston this month — one of the premier events for protein engineering and biologics innovation. As part of a dynamic community of scientists and industry leaders, we had the chance to explore the latest advances in antibody discovery, protein therapeutics, and structural biology. It was a great opportunity to highlight our capabilities, exchange insights, and engage in meaningful conversations with potential partners and collaborators. Thank you to everyone who connected with us at PEGS — we’re looking forward to building on the momentum from this inspiring event.
Helix contributes to a recent publication with Purdue University on GPCR–arrestin signaling.
Congratulations to the research team at Purdue University and collaborators on their recent publication in Nature, “Effect of phosphorylation barcodes on arrestin binding to a chemokine receptor.” This groundbreaking study explores how phosphorylation “barcodes” modulate arrestin binding and the structural dynamics of GPCR complexes, providing key insights into receptor signaling and downstream cellular effects.
Helix is proud to have contributed to this work through cryo-EM structure determination, helping to reveal the molecular architecture underlying these complex interactions. Supporting high-impact structural biology research alongside leading academic teams is central to our mission, and we’re honored to have played a role in this important discovery.
Congratulations again to the Purdue team and all co-authors on this remarkable achievement!
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.
Conferences & more
Helix Protein Art
