Did you notice that in many movies the evil character is illuminated with some green light from the side? It makes us feel uneasy because it is unnatural. This uncomfortable feeling can also happen when we look at some nanotechnology images. Many portray saturated laser lights in a dark background and shiny atomic particles. Moreover, scientists may like to explain in a single image multiple aspects of their experiment. This is often achieved by multiple layers including a background, a...

This months the PDB Molecule of the Month features “Natural RNA-Only Assemblies” recently found in Clostridium  and Streptococcus bacteria, which form nanocages. Their biological function is unknown, but some are large enough to sequester a ribosome inside. What could they store inside? Could they be used for drug delivery? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References: https://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/313...

My best wishes Christmas card of this year features the PDB Molecule of the Month: FOXP3 https://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/312 . FOXP3 controls the expression of numerous genes in regulatory T cells, which make sure that white blood cells don't attack our own body, keeping us healthy. For their discoveries regarding regulatory T cells, Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year. FOXP3 can form "microsatellite DNA" assembling...