Computational Biology Simulation Mimics Life's Most Essential Nanomachine

[phantom power]

The ribosome is the ancient molecular factory responsible for synthesizing proteins in all organisms. Using the new tool, the Los Alamos team led by Kevin Sanbonmatsu is the first to observe the entire ribosome in motion at atomic detail. This first simulation of the ribosome offers a new method for identifying potential antibiotic targets for such diseases as anthrax. Until now, only static, snapshot structures of the ribosome have been available.

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Sanbonmatsu posits that this technique offers a powerful new tool for understanding molecular machines and improving the efficacy of antibiotics. Antibiotic drugs are less than one one-thousandth the size of the ribosome and act like a monkey-wrench in the machinery of the cell. Such drugs diffuse into the most critical sites of this molecular machine and grind the inner working of the ribosome to a halt.

"Designing drugs based on only static structures of the ribosome might be akin to intercepting a missile knowing only the launch location and the target location with no radar information. Our simulations enable us to map out the path of the missile's trajectory," Sanbonmatsu said.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051101223046.htm