X-RAY VISIONARY: Axel Brünger studes the structure of membrane proteins using X-ray crystallography.
Brünger's research focuses on the three-dimensional structures and functions of biological macromolecules, using X-ray crystallography. "I started out using computer simulations to study protein functions. Determining crystal structure from such data is actually an optimization problem, whereby we come up with a model to best fit all of the data," he explains.
He developed a computer program called X-PLOR to simulate the structures of molecules from the numerical data obtained from crystallographic and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies. Of special interest to his laboratory have been such membrane-associated proteins as surface receptors and vesicle fusion proteins.
The winner of the prize in medicine, Grünther, has applied sophisticated imaging techniques-methods based on the principles of X-rays and nuclear medicine-toward the diagnoses of a variety of disorders.
The wide reach of his diagnostic techniques is evidenced in the diversity ...
