Date:11/25/2008

ilt functional enzymes, and engineered protein interactions, that previously did not exist in nature. His group has also contributed new ways of studying proteins in membranes -- the thin fatty covering that separates the inside of the cell from the external environment. These transmembrane proteins include molecular channels that permit the flow of calcium into and out of the cell, and that are responsible for the passage of neural impulses and communication between cells. The Baker group was able to apply the Rosetta program to these unusual proteins by treating the membranes as a series of layers with different protein folding requirements.

Baker has involved people of all ages and backgrounds from around the world in helping with protein folding research. People donate their idle computer time to a project called Rosetta@home ( http://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/). The combined computing power of thousands of home computers around the globe (called "distributed computing") allows for lengthy, complicated analysis of the data needed to study how proteins are assembled. Watch a YouTube video on Rosetta@home: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=GzATbET3g54

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Contact: Leila Gray 206-685-0381 University of Washington Source:Eurekalert

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