RCSB Protein Data Bank

Cidara stock soars as antiviral drug succeeds in flu study Company shares doubled on Phase 2 study results suggesting its drug could become an alternative to vaccines for flu prevention.

Cidara stock soars as antiviral drug succeeds in flu study
Company shares doubled on Phase 2 study results suggesting its drug could become an alternative to vaccines for flu prevention.
www.biopharmadive.co...

Hay fever relief could come in the form of a nasal 'molecular shield' Mice experienced far fewer hay fever symptoms when a pollen-blocking antibody was applied within their nose

Hay fever relief could come in the form of a nasal 'molecular shield'
Mice experienced far fewer hay fever symptoms when a pollen-blocking antibody was applied within their nose
www.newscientist.com...

PDB101: Browse: Vaccines PDB-101: Training, Outreach, and Education portal of RCSB PDB

August is National Immunization Awareness Month
Visit PDB-101 to explore the molecular basis of vaccinations #NIAM
pdb101.rcsb.org/brow...

Where and how to house big data on small fragments Nature Communications - In the coming years, crystallographic fragment-screening campaigns will deliver massive amounts of data and challenge existing practices and resources. In the article,...

Where and how to house big data on small fragments
www.nature.com/artic...
Highlights importance of establishing effective mechanisms for preserving datasets intrinsic to crystallographic fragment-screening campaigns for research and training AI-based models

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Thymine Dimers Ultraviolet light damages our DNA, but our cells have ways to correct the damage

Heading outdoors to enjoy the sun? Remember sunscreen, since too much sunlight can damage cells. Small doses of sunlight are needed to create vitamin D, but larger doses attack DNA. Ultraviolet light damages DNA, but cells have ways to correct the damage
pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/91

PDB101: Register for the Aug 11 Virtual Office Hour on Pairwise Alignment PDB-101: Training, Outreach, and Education portal of RCSB PDB

Register for the Aug 11 Virtual Office Hour on Pairwise Alignment
Learn how to align one or more protein chains to a reference structure in a pairwise manner
pdb101.rcsb.org/news...

DECTRIS (logo) detecting the future

Thanks to @dectris.bsky.social (www.dectris.com), an industrial sponsor of the wwPDB Foundation.
DECTRIS develops and manufactures X-ray and electron cameras to spark scientific breakthroughs around the world.
Visit foundation.wwpdb.org for individual and industrial sponsorship opportunities

McGill researchers reveal how life-saving molecules are created | Newsroom - McGill University Discovery, which had long eluded scientists, could help unlock next-generation therapeutics McGill University researchers have discovered how certain microbes create potent drugs like antibiotics and anti-cancer therapies. Their surprising findings could change the way scientists approach drug discovery and pave the way to the designing of next-generation medications, explained Martin Schmeing, principal investigator and professor in McGill’s Department of Biochemistry and Centre for Structural Biology. Schmeing and his team studied special proteins called nonribosomal peptide synthetases, which act like tiny machines in cells. These “machines” build molecules by connecting smaller pieces called amino acids. For decades, exactly how these microbes worked to form life-saving medicines eluded scientists. To understand the process, the researchers used advanced tools to take highly detailed, 3D pictures of the “machines” both before and after they connected the amino acids. To do this, they had to split the “machines” in a way that provided the best “poses” for pictures, and then put them back together. “Taking 3D pictures of these massive enzymes was like solving a molecular jigsaw puzzle,” added Angelos Pistofidis, lead author and PhD student. “It took years of persistence and many setbacks, but the results were worth it. For the first time, we have a smoking-gun view of how these enzymes work, and it’s not how anyone guessed,” Schmeing said. “Our work helps demystify this incredible natural process. We’ve finally unveiled how these microbial machines piece together building blocks to form these lifesaving compounds. It's an achievement decades in the making, and was a great team effort with our UCLA collaborators”. The microbes are in effect “engaged in an evolutionary arms race with one another,” explained Schmeing, “and we now understand the most important step in how they make these weapons.” He said scientists traditionally thought that the process involved general base catalysis, but now understand that it’s through electrostatic stabilization in a concerted reaction pathway. Designing next-generation drugs The discovery could have wide-reaching implications for medicine. A detailed understanding of how these enzymes operate stands to unlock new pathways for designing next-generation drugs. “The potential is enormous,” Schmeing said. “These microbial machines are already a treasure trove of therapeutics. Understanding their mechanisms could allow us to engineer them for new, custom-designed drugs.” The findings represent an important step forward toward making these machines a go-to tool for drug discovery, the researchers said. This finding also establishes a new roadmap for studying other complex biological systems. “The innovative methods we developed to study these enzymes could pave the way for understanding similarly elusive molecular machines, whether they make medicines, or have a different job,” added Pistofidis. “Fundamental knowledge is important,” Schmeing said. “And sometimes, solving the puzzle of nature opens doors we didn’t even know existed.” Schmeing and his team aren’t finished with this research. “Although this study illuminates the central step in synthesis of these antibiotics, we have lots more to learn from the next 3D pictures of these elegant microbial machines.” About the study Structures and mechanism of condensation in nonribosomal peptide synthesis by Angelos Pistofidis, Pengchen Ma, Zihao Li, Kim Munro, Ken Houk, Martin Schmeing, and their UCLA collaborators was published in Nature. It was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé.

“Taking 3D pictures of these massive enzymes was like solving a molecular jigsaw puzzle,” added Angelos Pistofidis, lead author and PhD student.
McGill researchers reveal how life-saving molecules are created:
www.mcgill.ca/newsro...

A thread of protein-themed card, board, and video games 🧵

Unlocking Fast, Targeted Treatment for Trauma Injuries     

"The moment trauma occurs, specific proteins undergo structural changes, creating a molecular footprint of injury. This opens the door to delivering diagnostics or therapies directly to the site – without affecting healthy tissues."
www.rutgers.edu/news...

Serial femtosecond crystallography reveals protein dynamics in real time Proteins are constantly moving, but our structures of them are static. Clare Sansom talks to the researchers using free-electron lasers to make time-resolved structures

Proteins are constantly moving, but our structures of them are static. Clare Sansom talks to the researchers using free-electron lasers to make time-resolved structures
www.chemistryworld.c...

PDB101: Learn: Other Resources: PDB50 the Game A PDB “worker placement” board game that explores the process of structure discovery

Play the PDB board game that explores the process of structure discovery and deposition. Then, move on to the next project...but keep an eye on the competition and try not to get scooped! #GenCon
pdb101.rcsb.org/lear...

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Arc An unexpected link between viruses and the brain

Arc is the protein of the month on PDB @rcsbpdb.bsky.social! Of course, it's really protein of the century in my mind 😆

Thanks to Janet Iwasa @utah.edu and her team for the excellent write up and animations! pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/308

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Arc An unexpected link between viruses and the brain

August's Molecule of the Month looks at an unexpected link between viruses and the brain
pdb101.rcsb.org/motm...

EDUCATION CORNER: Interactive RNA Education with the Eterna Game Eterna is an online game which models the base pairing and secondary structure of RNA sequences.

Celebrate World RNA Day on August 1 with Eterna
In the latest Education Corner, learn about Eterna, an online game which models the base pairing and secondary structure of RNA sequences
cdn.rcsb.org/rcsb-pd...

Register Now for Webinar: Searching the PDB for high-quality ligand-bound structures On September 8, learn how to search the PDB for the best examples of ligands using text, chemical drawing, and APIs

On September 8, learn how to search the PDB for the best examples of ligands using text, chemical drawing, and APIs
www.rcsb.org/news/fe...

Undruggable No More: AI Hits Disordered Proteins, Unlocks Therapy Targets David Baker’s lab has successfully designed binders to disordered proteins, expanding therapeutic access to over 50% of the human proteome.

Undruggable No More: AI Hits Disordered Proteins, Unlocks Therapy Targets
David Baker’s Nobel Prize-winning lab has successfully designed high affinity binders to disordered proteins, expanding therapeutic access to over 50% of the human proteome
www.genengnews.com/t...

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Hepatitis C Virus Protease/Helicase Structures of hepatitis C viral proteins have led to the discovery of direct-acting antivirals.

PDB structures of hepatitis C viral proteins have led to the discovery of direct-acting antivirals. #WorldHepatitisDay
pdb101.rcsb.org/motm...

Team members and students in front of a collagen sculpture

Happy National #NewJerseyDay!
NJ is home to the RCSB Protein Data Bank at Rutgers University, great students, and a 2,000 pound sculpture of collagen

New myosin inhibitors can drug the brain without stopping the heart Potential indications for these more-specific compounds include brain cancer and methamphetamine addiction

Myosins are tiny motors; they clamp onto the cell’s actin skeleton and pull, generating force that cells use to move cargo, power muscle contractions, and pinch off the divisions between cells during replication
cen.acs.org/biologic...

Playing card featuring Rosalind Franklin

Happy Birthday, Rosalind Franklin!
Born #OTD in 1958

pdb101.rcsb.org/lear...

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Circadian Clock Proteins Circadian clock proteins measure time in our cells

Today is 7-24
Our cells contain tiny molecular clocks that measure out a 24-hour circadian rhythm. This clock decides when we get hungry and sleepy. This clock senses when days are getting longer or shorter, and then trigger seasonal changes.
More at pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/97

Fatty acids are essential for energy storage and are vital components of various tissues. Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS) is the master architect behind the construction of these fats. FAS is a sophisticated enzymatic system comprising two identical protein subunits, each folded into seven interconnected functional domains. It functions like an assembly line, with each domain catalyzing a distinct step in the reaction and with the growing fatty acid chain being transferred from one active site to the next. These active sites are marked with bright flashes. Visit the 2025 Calendar: The Structural Biology of Nutrition to learn more. Illustration by RCSB PDB intern Xinyi Christine Zhang.

Fatty acids are essential for energy storage and are vital components of various tissues. Visit PDB-101 to learn more #PeakPerformance
pdb101.rcsb.org/lear...

Scientists getting off the buses at APS

Scientists touring a beam line

Scientists touring a beam line

Overview of APS

As part of the 75th Annual @acastructuralsci.bsky.social Meeting, over 100 attendees participated in a tour of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory!

Thanks for the amazing tour!

💎🦠🔬🔋🧬

#ACA2025

PDB101: Browse: Drugs and the Brain PDB-101: Training, Outreach, and Education portal of RCSB PDB

July 22 is #WorldBrainDay.
Explore brain-related molecules at PDB-101
pdb101.rcsb.org/brow...

Hand holding Molecular Machinery poster and zika model

Last day of the #aca2025 exhibit hall, which means your last chance to take home our Molecular Machinery poster and 3D zika paper model! (all materials are of course downloadable from PDB-101).

thermofisher cake

CCDC 60th celebration cookies

It's very ... sweet in the #aca2025 exhibit hall tonight thanks to @thermofisher and @ccdc_cambridge

CCDC booth at ACA

Thrilled that PDB data is now part of the @ccdc_cambridge leaderboard at #aca2025! Go, PDB depositors, go!

Thrilled that PDB data is now part of the @ccdc.cam.ac.uk leaderboard at #aca2025!
Go, PDB depositors, go!

Not at #aca2025? Sign up for updates using the "expression of interest" form at www.iucr2026.org

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Antifreeze Proteins Small antifreeze proteins protect cells from damage by ice

More on how small antifreeze proteins protect cells from damage by ice at PDB-101
pdb101.rcsb.org/motm...