Dear Robbie, List, This thread is steadily diverging. Apologies for my contribution to its diversification.
<snip> > Who knows what they did to the maps in terms of (unwarrented) density > modefication to make them look cleaner? > > The advantage of the EDS is that it is impartial and > uniform. The maps are generated in a clear and well-described way. </snip> I agree with you that map deposition is probably a waste of resources. I strongly disagree, though, with the existence of validation tools that have strong views about how best I should do science. For example, your sentence above imply that the validation tool is more fit (than myself) to decide which maps I should be looking at. Which means that if I chose to calculate (and view) not the simple FFT-derived map, but its maximum entropy estimate, I am in danger of being accused that 'I did something to the maps to make them look cleaner', where in fact, I'm just doing a better job out of the existing data than the validation tool (which probably generate maps in a clear, well-described and wrong way :-) The take home message of what I'm saying is this: We should not be deterred from practising our craft as best as we could, even if that implies that our models contain information that a validation tool can not reproduce. It is only fair that a well-informed and well-educated human being can do a better job than a fixed-frozen automated procedure. Fraud is a moral issue, and can not (and should not) be used as an excuse for converting validation tools to the sacred holders of scientific standards. My twocents, Nicholas -- Dr Nicholas M. Glykos, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Democritus University of Thrace, University Campus, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece, Tel/Fax (office) +302551030620, Ext.77620, Tel (lab) +302551030615, http://utopia.duth.gr/~glykos/