Press Release
Please stop by the Rutgers University Art Library throughout the month of May to view The Art of Science curated by Maria Voigt and Christine Zardecki. The opening reception will be on Wednesday, May 6th, 4:00pm. Throughout the exhibit individuals may also stop by the exhibit to take a study break and “build your own protein”.
This exhibit looks at the beauty inherent in the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules. While these structures are smaller than the wavelength of light, they have a very strong visual component. Nature relies heavily on symmetry. It also produces fascinating shapes, such as the long strands of collagen and the spherical shells of viruses.
The images presented were created using data from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) archive. Scientists throughout the world jump-start their research into how the body fights off or falls prey to disease by accessing molecular data from the PDB.
The PDB archive was established in 1971 to provide both a home and an access point for the data produced from these experiments. This repository, administered by Rutgers, holds much of the world’s knowledge on the large molecules that are the building blocks of life itself. Understanding the shape of these structures aids in understanding how they function in the body, ultimately leading to scientific breakthrough and drug discovery. The PDB gathers biological data from researchers around the world who have determined the 3D atomic structures of large molecules through painstaking and time-consuming research.Rutgers scientists confirm, standardize, and annotate the complex biological information. They then turn around and make all this knowledge universally available via the internet. It’s a digital laboratory built on global cooperation and knowledge sharing, coordinated at Rutgers.
The power of the PDB archive can be accessed by experts and beginners alike using the RCSB PDB resources at rcsb.org. RCSB PDB is a collaboration between Rutgers and the University of California San Diego that also develop tools for visualization and analysis that help students of all ages explore biology at the molecular level.
The RCSB PDB is a member of the Worldwide PDB organization and funded by a grant from the NSF, the NIH, and DOE.
If you have questions about the Art Library Exhibition spaces please contact Art Librarian, Megan Lotts at megan.lotts@rutgers.edu or (848)932-7189. Please visit our research guide that includes information about our Past, Present, and Future exhibitions at: http://libguides.rutgers.edu/eventsandexhibits
Protein Data Bank Exhibit
Build a protein
