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Kendalian Dr Kent Brooks trained new director of British Geological Survey  The Westmorland Gazette

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Scientists Explain Why Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Drifting Away From Canada Towards Siberia  Mashable India

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Fossil believed to show squid-like creature attacking fish 200 million years ago  Aberdeen Evening Express

The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) secretes many toxic effectors to gain advantage in interbacterial competition and for eukaryotic host infection. The cognate immunity proteins of these effectors protect bacteria from their own effectors. PldB is a T6SS trans-kingdom effector in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that can infect both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Three proteins, PA5086, PA5087 and PA5088, are employed to suppress the toxicity of PldB-family proteins. The structures of PA5087 and PA5088 have previously been reported, but the identification of further distinctions between these immunity proteins is needed. Here, the crystal structure of PA5086 is reported at 1.90 Å resolution. A structural comparison of the three PldB immunity proteins showed vast divergences in their electrostatic potential surfaces. This interesting phenomenon provides an explanation of the stockpiling mechanism of T6SS immunity proteins.

Sample preparation within single-particle cryo-electron microscopy can still be a significant bottleneck, with issues in reproducibility, ice quality and sample loss. New approaches have recently been reported that use spraying or pin printing instead of the traditional blotting approach. Here, experience in the use of different nozzle designs and spraying regimes is reported together with their influence on the resulting spray and grid quality.

The crystal structure of the c-type cytochrome NirC from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been determined and reveals the simultaneous presence of monomers and 3D domain-swapped dimers in the same asymmetric unit.

The bond-valence method was performed on 51 crystal data sets from nitrogenase proteins, indicating the presence of molybdenum(III) in FeMo cofactors and vanadium(III) with more reduced iron complements in FeV cofactors.

Rice AKR in the apo structure reveals the ordered open conformation and its key residues which form the substrate channel wall and determine its substrate preference for straight-chain aldehydes.

From the perspective of a young(ish) structural biologist who currently specialises in macromolecular X-ray crystallography, are the best years of crystallography over? Some evidence and hopefully thought-provoking analysis is presented here on the subject.

The paper reports the structure of a Δ1-pyrroline-2-carboxylate reductase from the archaeon Thermococcus litoralis, a key enzyme involved in the second step of trans-4-Hydroxy-L-proline metabolism, conserved in archaea, bacteria and humans.

The asymmetric unit of the title MOF, [Zn5(C14H5NO10S2)2(OH)2(H2O)10]n comprises three ZnII atoms, one of which is located on a centre of inversion, a tetra-negative carboxyl­ate ligand, one μ3-hydroxide and five water mol­ecules, each of which is coordinated. The ZnII atom, lying on a centre of inversion, is coordinated by trans sulfoxide-O atoms and four water mol­ecules in an octa­hedral geometry. Another ZnII atom is coordinated by two carboxyl­ate-O atoms, one hy­droxy-O, one sulfoxide-O and a water-O atom to define a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal geometry; a close Zn⋯O(carboxyl­ate) inter­action derived from an asymmetrically coordinating ligand (Zn—O = 1.95 and 3.07 Å) suggests a 5 + 1 coordination geometry. The third ZnII atom is coordinated in an octa­hedral fashion by two hy­droxy-O atoms, one carboxyl­ate-O, one sulfoxide-O and two water-O atoms, the latter being mutually cis. In all, the carboxyl­ate ligand binds six ZnII ions leading to a three-dimensional architecture. In the crystal, all acidic donors form hydrogen bonds to oxygen acceptors to contribute to the stability of the three-dimensional architecture.

In the complex cation of title compound, [Fe(C56H52N4)(C5H8N2)2]ClO4·1.5C6H5Cl, the ironIII atom is coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral manner by four pyrrole N atoms of the porphyrin ring system in the equatorial plane, and by two N atoms of the 1-ethyl­imidazole ligands in the axial sites. A disordered perchlorate anion and one and a half chloro­benzene solvent mol­ecules are also present. The cationic complex exhibits a highly ruffled porphyrin core. The average Fe—Np (Np is a porphyrin N atom) bond length is 1.988 (5), and the axial Fe—NIm (NIm is an imidazole N atom) bond lengths are 1.962 (3) and 1.976 (3) Å. The two 1-ethyl­imidazole ligands are inclined to each other by a dihedral angle of 68.62 (16)°. The dihedral angles between the 1-ethyl­imidazole planes and the planes of the closest Fe—Np vector are 28.52 (18) and 43.57 (13)°. Inter­molecular C—H⋯Cl inter­actions are observed.

The redetermination of the crystal structure of barium oxidotellurate(IV) monohydrate allowed the localization of the hydrogen atoms that were not determined in the previous study [Nielsen, Hazell & Rasmussen (1971). Acta Chem. Scand. 25, 3037–3042], thus making an unambiguous assignment of the hydrogen-bonding scheme possible. The crystal structure shows a layered arrangement parallel to (001), consisting of edge-sharing [BaO6(H2O)] polyhedra and flanked by isolated [TeO3] trigonal pyramids on the top and bottom. O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds of medium strength link adjacent layers along [001].

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Sn(C42H26N6)(C7H5O2)2], the SnIV ion is located on a crystallographic inversion centre and is octa­hedrally coordinated with an N4O2 set. Four N atoms of the porphyrin ring form the equatorial plane while the axial positions are occupied by two O atoms from benzoate anions. The molecular packing of the title complex involves non-classical hydrogen bonds of the types C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N, leading to a three-dimensional network structure.

The title compound, [Co(NCS)2(C15H22N2O2)2] or C32H44CoN6O4S2, was prepared from cobalt(II) nitrate, benzyl carbazate and ammonium thio­cyanate in the presence of 4-hepta­none. The compound crystallizes with two centrosymmetric complexes in which the cobalt(II) atoms have a trans-CoO2N4 octa­hedral coordination geometry. In the crystal, N—H⋯S, C—H⋯S and C—H⋯.π contacts stack the complex mol­ecules along the b-axis direction.

In the title compound, [Ba(C10H20O5)2][Zn(NCS)4], the 15-crown-5 mol­ecules are disordered over two positions with site occupancies of 0.706 (4) and 0.294 (4). The Ba2+ ions are sandwiched between the 15-crown-5 rings and Zn2+ ions are surrounded by four N atoms from the thio­cyanate ligands in a distorted tetra­hedral geometry. The crystal studied was refined as an inversion twin.

In the title compound, [Cd2(C9H6O5)2(H2O)2]n, the crystallographically distinct CdII cations are coordinated in penta­gonal–bipyramidal and octa­hedral fashions. The 2-(carb­oxy­meth­oxy)benzoate (cmb) ligands connect the Cd atoms into [Cd2(cmb)2(H2O)2)]n coordination polymer ribbons that are oriented along the a-axis direction. Supra­molecular layers are formed parallel to (01overline{1}) by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding between the ribbons. The supra­molecular three-dimensional crystal structure of the title compound is then constructed by π–π stacking inter­actions with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.622 (2) Å between cmb ligands in adjacent layer motifs.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound (systematic name: 3,3,8,8-tetra­methyl-1,4,6,9-tetra­oxa-λ4-bora­spiro­[4.4]nonane-2,7-dione tetra­hydrate), C8H12BO6·4H2O, consists of half a bis­(2-methyl­lactato)borate mol­ecule and two water mol­ecules of solvation. In the crystal, O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the components into a three-dimensional network.

In the title compound, [Cd(C10H8O4)(H2O)2)]n, the CdII cation is coordinated in a distorted trigonal–prismatic fashion. 3-(4-Carb­oxy­phen­yl)propionate (cpp) ligands connect the CdII cations into zigzag [Cd(cpp)(H2O)2)]n coordination polymer chains, which are oriented parallel to [101]. The chains aggregate into supra­molecular layers oriented parallel to (10overline{1}) by means of O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding between bound water mol­ecules and ligating cpp carboxyl­ate O atoms. The layers stack in an ABAB pattern along [100] via other O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding mechanisms also involving the bound water mol­ecules. The crystal studied was an inversion twin.

The title compound, [Ag2(C2H3O2)2(C19H20N2)2] (2), was readily synthesized by treatment of 3-benzyl-1-(2,4,6-tri­methyl­phen­yl)imidazolium chloride with silver acetate. The solution structure of the complex was analyzed by NMR spectroscopy, while the solid-state structure was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Compound 2 crystallizes in the triclinic space group Poverline{1}, with a silver-to-carbene bond length (Ag—CNHC) of 2.084 (3) Å. The mol­ecule resides on an inversion center, so that only half of the mol­ecule is crystallographically unique. The planes defined by the two imidazole rings are parallel to each other, but not coplanar [inter­planar distance is 0.662 (19) Å]. The dihedral angles between the imidazole ring and the benzyl and mesityl rings are 77.87 (12) and 72.86 (11)°, respectively. The crystal structure features π–π stacking inter­actions between the benzylic groups of inversion-related (−x + 1, −y + 1, −z + 1) mol­ecules and C—H⋯π inter­actions.

Single crystals of the title complex, [Zn(C7H5N2O4)2(C2H6OS)2] or [Zn(NBZH)2(DMSO)2], were isolated from a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution containing [Zn(NBZH)2]·2H2O (NBZH = 3-nitro­benzo­hydroxamate anion). The asymmetric unit comprises of one O,O'-chelating NBZH anion, one O-bound DMSO ligand and one zinc(II) cation localized on an inversion centre. The three-dimensional crystal packing includes N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding, as well as O⋯H and H⋯H contacts identified by Hirshfeld isosurface analysis.

In the title compound, [Zn(C9H6O4)]n, the ZnII cations are coordinated in a tetra­hedral fashion by carboxyl­ate O-atom donors belonging to four 4-(carb­oxy­meth­yl) benzoate (4-cmb) ligands. Each 4-cmb ligand binds to four ZnII cations in an exo­tetra­dentate fashion to create a non-inter­penetrated [Zn(4-cmb)]n three-dimensional coordination polymer network with a new non-diamondoid 66 topology. The crystal studied was refined as an inversion twin.

In the title complex, [Ni(C7H3NO4)(C15H11N3)]·C3H7NO·H2O, the NiII ion is six-coordinated within an octa­hedral geometry defined by three N atoms of the 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine ligand, and two O atoms and the N atom of the pyridine-2,6-di­carboxyl­ate di-anion. In the crystal, the complex mol­ecules are stacked in columns parallel to the a axis being connected by π–π stacking [closest inter-centroid separation between pyridyl rings = 3.669 (3) Å]. The connections between columns and solvent mol­ecules to sustain a three-dimensional architecture are of the type water-O—H⋯O(carbon­yl) and pyridyl-, methyl-C—H⋯O(carbon­yl).

The title tetra­nuclear stannoxane, [Sn4(C6H5)8(C6H4NO3)4O2]·1.5CHCl3·solvent, crystallized with two independent complex mol­ecules, A and B, in the asymmetric unit together with 1.5 mol­ecules of chloro­form. There is also a region of disordered electron density, which was corrected for using the SQUEEZE routine [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18]. The oxo-tin core of each complex is in a planar `ladder' arrangement and each Sn atom is fivefold SnO3C2 coordinated, with one tin centre having an almost perfect square-pyramidal coordination geometry, while the other three Sn centres have distorted shapes. In the crystal, the complex mol­ecules are arranged in layers, composed of A or B complexes, lying parallel to the bc plane. The complex mol­ecules are linked by a number of C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds within the layers and between the layers, forming a supra­molecular three-dimensional structure.

The title compound, d-(+)-glucosa­mmonium potassium tetra­thio­cyanato­cobaltate(II) dihydrate, K(C6H14NO5)[Co(NCS)4]·2H2O or (GlcNH)(K)[Co(NCS)4]·2H2O, has been obtained as a side product of an incomplete salt metathesis reaction of d-(+)-glucosa­mine hydro­chloride (GlcN·HCl) and K2[Co(NCS)4]. The asymmetric unit contains a d-(+)-glucos­ammonium cation, a potassium cation, a tetra­iso­thio­cyanato­cobalt(II) complex anion and two water mol­ecules. The water mol­ecules coordinate to the potassium cation, which is further coordinated via three short K+⋯SCN− contacts involving three [Co(NCS)4]2− complex anions and via three O atoms of two d-(+)-glucosa­mmonium cations, leading to an overall eightfold coordination around the potassium cation. Hydrogen-bonding inter­actions between the building blocks consolidate the three-dimensional arrangement.

Trinuclear copper–pyrazolate entities are present in various Cu-based enzymes and nanojar supra­molecular arrangements. The reaction of copper(II) chloride with pyrazole (pzH) and sodium benzoate (benzNa) assisted by microwave radiation afforded a neutral centrosymmetric hexa­nuclear copper(II) complex, [Cu6(C7H5O2)4(OH)2(C3H3N2)6(C2H5OH)2]·2C2H5OH. Half a mol­ecule is present in the asymmetric unit that comprises a [Cu3(μ3-OH)(pz)3]2+ core with the copper(II) atoms arranged in an irregular triangle. The three copper(II) atoms are bridged by an O atom of the central hydroxyl group and by three bridging pyrazolate ligands on each of the sides. The carboxyl­ate groups show a chelating mode to one and a bridging syn,syn mode to the other two CuII atoms. The coordination environment of one CuII atom is square-planar while it is distorted square-pyramidal for the other two. Two ethanol mol­ecules are present in the asymmetric unit, one binding to one of the CuII atoms, one as a solvent mol­ecule. In the crystal, stabilization arises from inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions.

The synthesis and crystal structure of the title PtII complex, [Pt(C23H16N)Cl(CH3CN)], based on the C,N-chelating 2,4,6-tri­phenyl­pyridine as the primary ligand, is described. The central PtII atom is in a distorted square-planar coordination environment. In the crystal, mol­ecules are arranged via a metallophilic inter­action between platinum atoms with a Pt⋯Pt contact of 7.052 (2) Å. In addition, a π–π inter­action occurs.

The title two-dimensional coordination polymer, [Zn(C6H5PO3)]n, was synthesized serendipitously by reacting a tetra­phospho­nate cavitand Tiiii[C3H7, CH3, C6H5] and Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O in a DMF/H2O mixture. The basic conditions of the reaction cleaved the phospho­nate bridges at the upper rim of the cavitand, making them available for reaction with the zinc ions. The coordination polymer can be described as an inorganic layer in which zinc coordinates the oxygen atoms of the phospho­nate groups in a distorted tetra­hedral environment, while the phenyl groups, which are statistically disordered over two orientations, point up and down with respect to the layer. The layers inter­act through van der Waals inter­actions. The crystal studied was refined as a two-component twin.

The asymmetric unit of the title inorganic–organic salt, poly[di(μ2-2-hy­droxy­propano­ato)cadmium], [Cd(C3H5O3)2]n or [Cd(Hlac)2]n (H2lac = 2-hy­droxy­propanoic acid), comprises of a cadmium cation and two 2-hy­droxy­propano­ate anions. The cadmium cation exhibits a distorted penta­gonal–bipyramidal coordination environment defined by the hy­droxy and carbonyl O atoms of the 2-hy­droxy­propano­ate anions. The coordination mode leads to the formation of layers extending parallel to (010). O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding between the hy­droxy and carbonyl groups stabilizes the structure packing.

The title magnesium complex, [Mg(C21H20NO2)2(C4H8O)]n, exhibits two N,O-bidentate 2-(di­methyl­amino)-α,α-di­phenyl­benzene­methano­late ligands, form­ing two six-membered chelate rings. The distorted square-pyramidal coordination sphere of the MgII atom is completed by the O atom of a tetra­hydro­furan ligand, with its O atom in the apical position. The O and N atoms are in a mutual trans arrangement. Except for two C—H⋯π inter­actions, no significant inter­molecular inter­actions are observed in the crystal.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound {systematic name: sodium [2-({2-[(1-carboxyl­ato-2-methyl-2-sulfanidylprop­yl)amino]­eth­yl}amino)-3-methyl-3-sulf­an­idyl­butano­ato-κ4S,N,N',S']indate(III) tetra­hydrate}, Na[In(C12H20N2O4S2)]·4H2O, contains four indate(III) complex anions {[In(d-ebp)]−; d-H4ebp = N,N'-ethyelenebis(d-penicillamine)], four sodium(I) cations and sixteen water mol­ecules. The indate(III) anions and sodium cations are alternately connected through coordination bonds between Na+ ions and the carboxyl­ate groups of the complex anions, forming an infinite sixfold right-handed helix along the c-axis direction. In the crystal, the helices are linked by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between water mol­ecules bound to Na+ ions and carboxyl­ate groups. The crystal studied was twinned via a twofold axis about [001].

In the title compound, [Cu2(C7HF4O2)4(C12H8N2)2(CH3OH)], the mol­ecule lies on a twofold rotation axis in space group C2/c. The Cu2+ ion exhibits a distorted octa­hedral sphere with two N atoms from the phenanthroline ligand, three O atoms from the 2,3,4,5-tetra­fluoro­benzoate ligands and one O atom from a methanol mol­ecule. The distortion from an octa­hedral shape is a consequence of the Jahn–Teller effect of CuII and the small bite angle for the bidentate fluoro­benzoate ligand [54.50 (11)°]. The methanol mol­ecule bridges two symmetry-related CuII atoms to form the complete mol­ecule. In the bidentate fluoro­benzoate ligand, one F atom is disordered over two positions of equal occupancy. In the crystal structure, only weak inter­molecular inter­actions are observed.

The structure of the title compound, [Os(C6HF4S)4{P(C6H5)3}], has been previously reported [Arroyo et al. (1994). J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Trans. pp. 1819–1824], in the space group Poverline{1}. We have now obtained a monoclinic polymorph for this compound, crystallized from ethanol, while the previous form was obtained from a hexa­ne/chloro­form mixture. The mol­ecular structure is based on a trigonal–bipyramidal OsIV coordination geometry, close to that observed previously in the triclinic form.