Structural Biology will expand our knowledge of the shape of proteins and other macromolecules, its impact on biological function and its application to human health and other areas Proteins contain coils, corkscrews, chains and side chains, threads and pleated sheets that twist, turn, loop, fold and refold into each other in elaborate, complicated 3-D structures. The distance between their components is measured in billionths of meters and they can act in milliseconds. A precise knowledge of their structural details is vital to understanding what they do, how they do it and what it means to living organisms. Structural biology, in general, refers to research into the structure of proteins and other macromolecules, such as nucleic acids, and correlating information about these structures to biological function. At Los Alamos and elsewhere, the research is closely tied to work in several other fields, including the human genome, molecular medicine and bioengineering.
Proteins are the workhorses of biological life.
They provide structure, control bodily functions, store and transport vital particles, help transmit neural impulses and bind to foreign objects as antibodies. Theorists model these data to predict the structure and function of other macromolecules, while seeking greater understanding of the physical principles of protein structure and dynamics to advance fundamental knowledge of biochemical processes. Laboratory researchers have designed novel software programs to present experimental results in useful ways and developed theories explaining the conformation of parts of proteins that are averse to water, a major influence on protein stability and dynamics. Advances in neutron solution scattering techniques are helping Los Alamos researchers put single proteins together in larger groups, up to the level of complexity of viruses and ribosomes, to study how they assemble, interact and reassemble. Los Alamos also is investigating structural genomics, a rapidly developing field whose goal is to identify and analyze the structures of all proteins in nature, including the approximately 60,000 in the human genome.