Our coolest superpower: Seeing all the atoms
Wouldn't it be great if we could just see all the atoms of all the molecules, any time we wanted?
If we were able to sample something — anything — and just tell what it's made of? Where all its atoms were? Which ones were connected or ready to react?
In about the span of a century, scientists have learned more about molecules and their components than we ever thought possible. In some cases, we can already pick up a bit of dust or a tiny droplet and see where the atoms of its resident molecules are. Or we can calculate predicted structures that are so accurate they can be used to predict function.
In old comic books, this kind of X-ray vision was the stuff of superheroes. Someday, in the not-too-distant future, we might all have it.
Submit an abstract
Abstract submission begins Sept. 14. If you submit by Oct. 12, you'll get a decision by Nov. 1. The regular submission deadline is Nov. 30. See the categories.
Join us for a glimpse into the challenges and opportunities of building that future, so we can all scrutinize, predict, build, target and react to all the molecules.
Keywords: Structure, cryo-electron microscopy, microcrystal electron diffraction, alpha fold, tomography, artificial intelligence.
Who should attend: Absolutely everyone should attend. Who doesn't want a superpower?
Theme song: “Mosaic” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
This session is literally powered by electrons and photons.
New frontiers in structural biology
The rise of molecular assemblies
Chair: Rebecca Vorhees
Sarah Shahmoradian, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Lorena Saelices, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
New approaches enabling structural science
Chair: Jose Rodriguez
Roger Castells–Graells, University of California, Los Angeles
Hosea Nelson, California Institute of Technology
Hong Zhou, University of California, Los Angeles
Seeing the chemistry of life
Chair: Hosea Nelson
Lindsey R. F. Backman, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Douglas Rees, California Institute of Technology
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles
Uncovering the mechanisms of a glycosylation disorder
Mutations in OGT, an enzyme that adds sugars to proteins, cause a rare neurological disorder. Using proteomics, researchers reveal how OGT interactions with TET proteins may trigger epigenetic changes and early neural defects.
Heat shock proteins as a promising breast cancer therapeutic
Researchers unveiled isoform-specific targets on heat shock protein 90 which may be beneficial in therapeutic development.
Optimized proteomic analysis of preserved biological tissue samples
Researchers have developed an optimized workflow for analyzing formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. This workflow provides an enhanced collection of unique proteins and phosphorylation sites for more detailed analysis of biological samples.
Blood proteomics reveals fungal infection signatures for faster diagnosis
Whole-blood proteomics identifies more than 3,000 host and 160 fungal proteins during cryptococcal infection, offering potential biomarkers for faster diagnosis and improved monitoring without invasive spinal taps.
When things get SAPpy: Novel insights into complement
Researchers have defined interactions between an innate immune protein and two of its known binding partners. They identified potential areas of crosstalk between the two binding interactions.
Glutathione pathway implicated in rare disease
Researchers found that glutathione metabolism plays a central role in the pathogenesis of rare disease methylmalonic aciduria using a novel multiomics approach.