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Whither structural biology?

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 11, pages 12–15 (2004)Cite this article

We know the basic principles of protein, RNA and DNA structure, and we have atomic coordinates of many proteins and RNAs. Structural biology must now expand the range of length and timescales on which we can represent the molecular reality of a cell. Structural molecular biology and structural cell biology must merge into a single discipline, and we must establish a lively intellectual complementarity with the nascent 'systems biology' of the cell.

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Figure 1: Reovirus cores as molecular machines.
Figure 2: Dynamics of molecular transport in vivo, illustrated by a rapid, signal-induced redistribution of MHC class II molecules24.
Figure 3: Activation dynamics of c-Src tyrosine kinase.

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Stephen C Harrison

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Harrison, S. Whither structural biology?. Nat Struct Mol Biol 11, 12–15 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb0104-12

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