April 30, 2002: Michael Levitt elected Member
of the National Academy of Sciences. NAS Section: Biophysics and Computational Biology.
Citation: Levitt is a biophysicist, who was one of the founders
of modern computational biology. He has been a leader in developing
important computational methods that allow us to analyze nucleic acid and
protein structures, and he has been a pioneer in the theoretical investigations
of the protein-folding problem.
November 1, 2001: Scholars Recognized
by the American Association David B. McKay, Professor of Structural Biology, was cited "for crystallographic
and biophysical studies providing insights in macromolecular
structure and mechanisms of microbial virulence factors, molecular
chaperone proteins, and catalytic RNAs." [Complete
Article form the November 1, 2001 issue of "The Stanford
Report"]
September
5, 2001: Researchers crack 'code' of elusive molecule that helps
regulate fluid volume By Krista Conger Solving the three-dimensional structure of proteins is a bit
like cracking the Mayan code: difficult yet rewarding. Each solution
contributes to an overall understanding of how a cell functions.
Now a Stanford University Medical Center laboratory has solved the structure
of an important family of cellular receptors that eluded scientists
for years.
[Complete
Article form the September 5, 2001 issue of "The Stanford
Report"]
June 8, 2001: STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY: A Marvellous Machine for Making
Messages By Aaron Klug The wonderful x-ray structures of RNA polymerase published in
the past 3 years have revealed a wealth of information about
how genes are transcribed. In an eloquent Perspective, Klug describes
the latest tour de force from Kornberg's laboratory: the crystal structure
of yeast RNA polymerase II in action.
[Complete
Article form the June 8, 2001 issue of "Science"]
May 23, 2001: Roger Kornberg has been awarded the 2001 Welch
Award The creation of human life begins with a single cell that divides
into two. But how does DNA tell each subsequent cell to become
a blood cell, bone cell, tissue cell or some other specialized
type? And why does this process sometimes malfunction, leading to birth
defects, cancers and other diseases?
Thanks in large part to the pioneering work of Stanford University's
Roger D. Kornberg, scientists now are beginning to understand
the process of copying DNA into RNA, called transcription. This
knowledge ultimately will allow scientists to more effectively
apply the results of the human genome project to better understand disease.
Today, The Welch Foundation announced that Dr. Kornberg will receive its
2001 Welch Award, a $300,000 prize given for lifetime achievements in basic
chemical research, in recognition of these contributions.
May
15, 2001: Michael Levitt has been elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society. Professor Michael Levitt Professor and Chair, Computational Structural
Biology, Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University
School of Medicine, USA. Michael Levitt is distinguished for
his highly original work in structural molecular biology, which
focuses on protein folding and the computational analysis of structures.
He discovered the four classes of protein folds, introduced automated secondary
structure identification, and explained how the structural segments pack.
