PubReading [184] - Biophysical Techniques in Structural Biology - C. Dobson

<p>Over the past six decades, steadily increasing progress in the application of the principles and techniques of the physical sciences to the study of biological systems has led to remarkable insights into the molecular basis of life. Of particular significance has been the way in which the determination of the <strong>structures</strong> and dynamical properties of <strong>proteins</strong> and <strong>nucleic acids</strong> has so often led directly to a profound understanding of the nature and mechanism of their functional roles. The increasing number and power of experimental and theoretical techniques that can be applied successfully to living systems is now ushering in a new era of structural biology that is leading to fundamentally new information about the maintenance of health, the origins of disease, and the development of effective strategies for therapeutic intervention. This article provides a brief overview of some of the most powerful <strong>biophysical</strong> methods in use today, along with references that provide more detailed information about recent applications of each of them. In addition, this article acts as an introduction to four authoritative reviews in this volume. The first shows the ways that a multiplicity of bio-physical methods can be combined with computational techniques to define the architectures of complex biological systems, such as those involving weak interactions within ensembles of molecular components. The second illustrates one aspect of this general approach by describing how recent advances in <strong>mass spectrometry</strong>, particularly in combination with other <strong>techniques</strong>, can generate fundamentally new insights into the properties of membrane proteins and their functional interactions with lipid molecules. The third review demonstrates the increasing power of rapidly evolving diffraction techniques, employing the very short bursts of <strong>X-rays</strong> of extremely high intensity that are now accessible as a result of the construction