Short Course Description
Proteins and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are highly complex macromolecules that are actively involved in the most basic and important aspects of life. The course will provide the student with description of the high-resolution structure and motion of these macromolecules, and discussion of the relationship between both these aspects and function in health and disease. The aim is to provide the student with the ability to read, understand, and critically assess publications in the field, e.g., the introduction of a new protein structure.
Specific topics
+ Physical forces important in biological macromolecular structure
+ Structural considerations and motifs
+ Methods of structure determination/prediction
+ Thermodynamics and stability
+ Dynamics and folding
+ Membrane proteins
+ Molecular recognition and interactions of proteins with small molecules and with nucleic acids
+ Nucleic acid structure and function
Recommended Textbooks:
1. Kessel and Ben-Tal, Introduction to Proteins: Structure, Function and Motion, 2nd Edition
2. Branden and Tooze, Introduction to Protein Structure, 2nd edition
3. Berg, Biochemistry, 8th edition
4. Lesk, Introduction to Protein Architecture
5. Creighton, Proteins: Structures and Molecular Properties
Full Syllabus
