Researchers have created a computational tool to
help predict how proteins fold by finding amino acid pairs that are distant in
sequence but change together. Protein interactions offer clues to the treatment
of disease, including cancer.
The Rice University biophysicist and his team have created a tool to do just that for proteins and, in the process, have advanced the art of predicting their form and function.
In this case, the dots are amino acid molecules known as residues that link together in chains to form proteins. Proteins are the workhorses that carry out the biological tasks essential to every living thing, but before they can go to work, they fold. Each protein has its own characteristic, folded shape, and various diseases, including cancer, have been linked to proteins that misfold or otherwise misbehave.
As computers grew more powerful over the past three decades, scientists have created many methods to predict how a particular chain of residues is likely to fold and the purpose the resulting protein serves.
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The above abstract is republished from materials provided by Rice University.
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