Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Making the step from chemistry to biology and back

  • Commentary
  • Published:

From Nature Chemical Biology

View current issue Submit your manuscript

There is a gap between the nanoscale level of molecular structure and the micron-sized level of cellular ultrastructure that is difficult to probe experimentally. New techniques and simulated images are revealing its secrets.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1: Electron tomography may be used to capture three-dimensional images of large portions of cells.
Figure 2: X-ray crystallographic techniques are being used to determine the structures of increasingly challenging subjects.
Figure 3: A combination of electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography and modeling was used to determine the structure of a clathrin coat.
Figure 4: Extensive cellular, biochemical and structural information is available for several systems, allowing creation of a convincing illustration of the cellular environment.
Figure 5: Convincing illustrations may be created with or without experimental support.

Accession codes

Accessions

Protein Data Bank

References

  1. Frank, J. et al. J. Struct. Biol. 138, 85–91 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Goodsell, D.S. Trends Biochem. Sci. 16, 203–206 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Goodsell, D.S. The Machinery of Life (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Goodsell, D.S. Am. Sci. 80, 457–465 (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Takamori, S. et al. Cell 127, 831–846 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. He, C. et al. J. Cell Biol. 175, 925–935 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Richardson, J.S. Adv. Protein Chem. 34, 167–339 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Goodsell, D.S. Structure 13, 347–354 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ottino, J.M. Nature 421, 474–476 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Goodsell, D.S. ChemBioChem 4, 1293–1298 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Marsh, B.J. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1744, 273–292 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by grant DUE-0618688 from the US National Science Foundation. This is manuscript 18982 from the Scripps Research Institute.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. David S. Goodsell is in the Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA. goodsell@scripps.edu,

    David S Goodsell

Authors
  1. David S Goodsell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Goodsell, D. Making the step from chemistry to biology and back. Nat Chem Biol 3, 681–684 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio1107-681

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio1107-681

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation