Do you then study the X-rays to find out what they tell us about the proteins themselves, or do you just work out how

Question: Do you then study the X-rays to find out what they tell us about the proteins themselves, or do you just work out how they damage them
- Keywords:
  damage,
  protein,
  x-ray
Asked by Hedgehog to Jonny on 23 Jun 2015.
- Jonny Brooks-Bartlett answered on 23 Jun 2015:
  
  Most people study the X-ray patterns (an example of the X-ray diffraction pattern is on my profile page, last image: /lutetiumj15-zone/profile/jonnybrooksbartlett/). We usually get hundreds of these patterns, not just one.
  People study the patterns because that tells us what the protein looks like which will ultimately tell us what the protein does in our body.
  
  But if the proteins damage too quickly then the patterns start to fade away and you can’t get any information about the proteins. I look at how the X-rays damage the patterns so that I can see if I can help the other people correct their damage images and continue to study the protein.

Question: Do you then study the X-rays to find out what they tell us about the proteins themselves, or do you just work out how they damage them