Protein data bank archives 50,000th molecule structure
Research archive doubles in size since 2004 NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. The Protein Data Bank ( PDB ) based at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) this month reached a significant milestone in its 37-year history. The 50,000th molecule structure was released into its archive, joining other structures vital to pharmacology , bioinformatics and education. With its origins in a handwritten petition circulated at a scientific meeting, the PDB is the single worldwide repository for the three-dimensional structures of large molecules and nucleic acids। This freely available online library allows biological researchers and students to study, store and share molecular information on a global scale. Officially founded in 1971 with seven structures at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the archive is managed by a consortium called the worldwide Protein Data Bank ( wwPDB ). Today, the PDB archive receives approximately 25 new experimentally determi...