Bio Briefs

A fish sheds light on cardiovascular disease
The heart, one of the first organs to develop in a human embryo, begins forming about a month after conception. Problems occurring during its development can lead to numerous diseases in adults.

Software automates the analysis of protein cavities
Almost every biological process that occurs in the human body depends on the interaction of proteins with other molecules. To learn how the human body functions at a molecular level, structural biologists have determined the atomic structure of tens of thousands of proteins.

Predicting the 3-D structure of proteins
A protein chain gains unique properties when it folds into a 3-D configuration. Several serious diseases have been linked to protein misfolding.