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While there may be a high level understanding of the processes which support life, there are still many unanswered questions at the deeper molecular level. Research lead by teams from Laurence Berkeley National Labs, Diamond Light Source and several other institutions are working together to unravel such questions using some of the world most powerful X-ray laser sources. These X-ray lasers such as: the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility ( ) and the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron Laser ( ) in Hyogo Japan, are being used to determine the atomic and electronic structures of molecular interactions in time-resolved experiments.

Time-resolved X-ray crystallography is being used to observe molecular interactions with 100 pico-second time resolution with the goal of observing molecules in action and determining protein kinematics and the structure of intermediate compounds in biological processes. Potential outcomes from the research include the development of powerful methods to time resolve molecular interactions and the enabling of a fundamental understanding of processes such as photosynthesis and antibiotic resistance.