GENOMICS:
Structural Biology Gets a $150 Million Boost
Robert F. Service
The U.S. National Institute of General Medical Sciences this week selected seven centers to be the initial test-beds for structural genomics, a field that aims to work out the structures of large numbers of proteins using robotics and advanced computers. The 5-year, $150 million program is intended to speed up the determination of three-dimensional, atomic-scale maps of proteins, which in turn should accelerate discovery of new drugs by giving pharmaceutical companies a closeup look at the proteins they are trying to target.