An international team of researchers that included developers of the Phenix software suite performed an analysis of AlphaFold predictions, comparing them with both high-quality experimental data and experimentally determined structures. Their results led them to conclude that AI-based protein structure predictions are best considered to be exceptionally useful hypotheses, and that experimental measurements remain essential for confirmation of the details of protein structures.
Nigel Moriarty, Wave Wizard
Experimentation abounds for computational research scientist Nigel Moriarty. A lifelong stamp collector and surfer, Moriarty approaches culturally-distinct pockets of society with the curiosity of an anthropologist. And applying quantum chemistry and theoretical physics to drug design is part of his day-to-day work writing software with MBIB’s PHENIX group.
Adams Appointed ALD for Biosciences
Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell has appointed Paul Adams to the position of Associate Lab Director (ALD) for Biosciences. Adams has been serving as the interim ALD for the Biosciences Area since 2021, taking over for Mary Maxon, who is now with Schmidt Futures. Over the past two decades, Adams has played an important role promoting Berkeley Lab’s leadership in structural biology nationally and internationally. As ALD, Adams will continue to advance the Area’s scientific vision and operations excellence while advancing IDEA principles and broadening outreach to institutions serving groups that are underrepresented in STEM.
Enzyme Structure Reveals Key Details in Strigolactone Signaling
A recent study published in Nature Plants used a combination of genetic mutation and X-ray crystallography, conducted at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology, to reveal structural details of a key enzyme involved in plant signaling.
BCSB Determines Interactions of Potential Inhibitor with SARS-CoV-2 Protease
Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine employed previously constructed DNA-encoded chemistry technology (DEC-tec) libraries to identify several candidate molecules that could inhibit the action of Mpro, the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. In a recent study, the researchers described CDD-1713, a new inhibitor to the enzyme Mpro that is involved in propagating the virus. The X-ray crystallographic data, which was collected by Banumathi Sankaran in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, allowed the researchers to determine that CDD-1713 inhibits the activity of Mpro by binding in the active site of this enzyme.
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