DNA Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank; doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-026

The RCSB Protein Data Bank has announced that more than 1,000 SARS-CoV-2 proteins are available at no cost.

Headquartered at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, the RCSB Protein Data Bank released its first SARS-CoV-2 structure — the coronavirus main protease (PDB 6lu7) — on Feb. 5, 2020.

The database has helped drive the development of effective COVID-19 vaccines. It continues to shed light on emerging variants of the virus, according to Stephen K. Burley, director of the RCSB Protein Data Bank. “The impact of structural biologists on research related to COVID-19 is a testament to the power of the experimental tools they use and their commitment to making data open access for the public good,” Burley said in a statement.

The database also offers proteins related to other viral…

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

What do cupcakes have to do with oncology, and more specifically, predictive diagnostics?

Before I explain, I’ll provide some context. I recently came across an image that illustrated the difference between how Doppler radar detects conditions for a Tornado Watch versus a Tornado Warning using cupcakes.1 One side of the graphic shows each of the ingredients measured in individual containers. This visual represents when you have everything you need to make a cupcake; in weather terms, the conditions are favorable for a cupcake. A cupcake watch could be declared, but no fully-baked, devourable cupcake is visible yet. On the other side of the image, once the ingredients are assembled and baked, it’s much clearer that we have an actual cupcake on our hands and, therefore, a warning would be in place. For meteorologists, this is when Doppler radar has detected a full tornado, com…

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RCSB Protein Data Bank now has more than 1,000 SARS-CoV-2 proteins

Are predictive diagnostics the Doppler radar of disease?