Supercomputers Help Supercharge Protein Assembly




Supersized Science show

Summary: Using supercomputers, scientists are just starting to design proteins that self-assemble to combine and resemble life-giving molecules like hemoglobin. Hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells transport oxygen by changing their shape. Four copies of the same protein in hemoglobin open and close like flower petals, structurally coupled to respond to each other. A science team from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan made a flower-like structured molecule by supercharging proteins, which means they changed the subunits of proteins called amino acids to give them an overall artificially high positive or negative charge. The scientists first reported their findings in January of 2019 in the Journal Nature Chemistry. The scientists say their methods could be applied to useful technologies such as pharmaceutical targeting, artificial energy harvesting, 'smart' sensing and building materials, and more. Host Jorge Salazar interviews Jens Glaser and Vyas Ramasubramani of the University of Michigan; and Anna Simon of UT Austin. Story: www.tacc.utexas.edu/-/supercomputer…rotein-assembly Music Credit: Raro Bueno, Chuzausen freemusicarchive.org/music/Chuzausen/